Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Sunday, November 14, 1971 Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Sunday, November 14, 1971 Commander on disc: Sining to youth at 71 Fun, freaky, hybrid By AL SHACKELFORD Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen are Ann Arbor's all-time favorite band, so I better be pretty careful what I say in this review. The last time I saw the Commander, in an over-sold. Alley, avFreak in back of me started to mutter something about "neg vibes" when I booed the strained Airmen version of "What Made Milwaukee Famous." I exited to dirty looks as my ears were assailed by an almost note-for-note version of Merle Haggard's "Workin' Man Blues." It was a poor set by a fun band. That performance at the Alley put me in the mood to say bad things about Commander Cody's first album Lost in the Ozone (Paranount PS 6017), but most of it is pretty good. There isn't anything innovative on it, or even very creative, but the guys have done their homework and come. up with an authentic-sounding mixture. of straight country and old rock and roll. The only instrumentalist who bugs my ears out is lead guitarist Bill Kirchen. - Kirchen really has his licks down, ranging from fast, clipped coun- try on "Lost in the Ozone" to Charlie Christian-like jazz on "Mid- night Shift." That last song sounds like the hybrid of a session uniting an early Elvis with the Benny Goodman Sextet. The West Virginia Creeper, recently memorialized in Esquire magazine, confines himself to strongly-derivative licks, nice to listen to but nothing that will make Rusty Young or Sneeky Pete shake in their boots. He does take a nice solo on "Seeds and Stems (Again)" and adds interesting novelty work to"Hot Rod Lincoln." I guess my big complaint with Commander Cody is that, as a country-rock band, they aren't anywhere near as good as Poco or the Flying Burritos; and, as a straight country band, they don't have anywhere near the soul of Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty, or any number of others. So where does that put Commander Cody? Basically they are a freak .act, a hippie band that plays country music that is pretty straight and pretty good. My favorite song on Lost in the Ozone is a Billy C. Farlow .une called "Daddy's Gonna Treat You Right;" it is real pretty and, for my money, establishes. Farlow as the star Airman. He sings pretty well, especially on the rock numbers, and the album's best original material consists of Farlow compositions. Side one moves along pretty well until the inevitable dug- up religious song comes up, this one a honey called "Family Bible." Religious songs are in popular vogue ("Put Your Hand in the Hand," 'We Need A Whole Lot More of Jesus"), and this one is as phony as the rest. Rhythm guitarist John Tichy contributes for- gettable singing and a super-lame spoken break to this tune. Side two is also mostly thumbs-up: "Lost in the Ozone" and "Midnight Shift" stand out as the top numbers. The album ends up with "Beat Me Daddy," 5:08 of superfluous boogie recorded live last summer at Hill Auditorium. NOTES: The Flying Burrit Brothers are currently wowing audiences in the East with a repertoire of bluegrass, old tunes by Hillman-Parsons and new ones by Rick Roberts. The Burrito is: Chris Hillman, bass; Roberts, rhythm guitar and lead vocals; Mike Clark, drums; Al Perkins, steel; and Ken Woods, banjo. This boffo lineup is occasionally supplemented by bluegrass all-stars Byron Berline, fiddle and Al Bush, acoustic bass. The Gilded Palace .of Sin (A&M SP 4175) is the Burritos' first album and one of the best country numbers of all time, if anybody's interested TONIGHT HAROLD GOETZKOW Internationally known researcher for Peace Action. Former U-M faculty member-now with Northwestern University. 8 P.M.-First United Methodist Church 120 S. State-Wesley Lounge 6th WEEK 'DIAL 86416 At 7-9 P.M. "WILL GLUE YOU TO YOUR CHAIR AND FILL YOU WITH AWE. THE PHOTOGRAPHY IS A MIRACLE OF ARTISTRY. THE SOUND TRACK IS SUPER." -Liz Smith Cosmonolitan Mannzin By ABBY MILLER This old world is mean and cruel, But still I love it like a fool This world, this world. I'd rather go to the corner store Than sing hosanah on ,that golden shore ... That song seems to express Melvina Reynolds and her songs. She's a 71 year old grandmoth- er from Berkeley who combines youthfulness and wisdom. She's written hundreds of songs, well- known ones like "God. Bless the Grass." "Little Boxes" and "Mag- ic Penny." I've heard so many of Melvina's songs sung by oth- ers and so many wonderful things about her. Friday night at the Ark I finally got to see her and hear her sing her songs. Melvina sits there and con- verses with the audience with natural transitions between her conversation and her songs. The songs are a crystallization of her thoughts and impressions. They speak of things we're all con- cerned about, but bring them into focus and convey her out- look. ". . . This is an exper- ience that touches them (the audience) so that they laugh and sing about it - it suddenly gets lifted out of individual needling so that everyone is holding it up; it's carried by everyone," she said about "There's a Bottom Below." She writes about specific incidents and larger issues, but there's something universal in each. They express recognition of what's hard and bad in t h i s world, but no illusions a b o u t changing them tomorrow. Yet there is an optimistic feeling. We're here and have to try to make a better world and there is something good in just that. Her songs can be poignant, like "Turn Around." They can be good humored and poking fun as in "Fantastic Man." She's ple, but as she says, you can't be concerned about people with- out caring about the world they Corner of State and Liberty Sts. DIAL 662-6264 OPENS 12:45 Shows at 1, 3, 5, 7, 9:05 FRANK ZAPPA'S R ..images Czech quartet here Tuesday The renowned Prague Quar- tet will give a concert at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 16 in Rack- ham Auditorium, under t h e auspices of the University Musi- cal Society. The program will be Haydn's Quartet in C Major, Op. 54, No. 2; and music of Two Czech composers, Janacek's Quartet No. 2 and Dvorjak's Quartet in G. Major, Op. 106. The Prague Quartet began its public performances in 1956 and since then has attained an es- tablished reputation on several continents. During its f'irst tour of America in 1965-66 the quartet was so well received that the following season it was booked in a series of 30 success- ful concerts throughout the Uni- ted States. O A PERSONAL G1FT The monogrammed CIRCLE PIN is a cam pus tradition many sizes and finishes to choose from STERLING or GOLD FILLED No charge for engraving from $3.75 to $8.00 0 ? , arcade jewelry shop116NcesAad 16 Nickels Arcade6 for beautiful jewelry O STOP IN AND BROWSE Lt9 t«) t)!> t 4 4 * Watch J EAN-LUC GODARD AS HE MOVES FROM THE BOURGEOISE TO THE REVOLUTIONARY FROM MONDAY TO MONDAY AT live in - hence "The Cement Octopus" and "The Faucets are Dripping in New York City." Way back in 1956-she wrote "We Don't Need the Men." She's been with it for a long time. Singing along on simple re- frains, laughing and respond- ing was more like sitting around the living room enjoying some- one you respected and were fond of, than being at a performance. Feeling Melvina's love for life, concerned primarily with peo- and people, her compassion and gentle humor was a warm ex- perience. THE ALLEY 330 MAYNARD PINBALL NEW MACHINES 11:30 A.M.-12 MIDNIGHT 5 BALLS PER GAME i Cinema Guild i PETER FONDA, NANCY SINATRA, and MICHAEL POLLARD in Roger - Corman's THE WILD ANGELS W EN E RA TI ®IE the n~e lerate woma * BLAZING COLOR* Plus 2nd feature* ar_ 1 nem412-3300 -- - tulleg with Bruce Dern and Members of the Hell's Angels, Venice, California "A Shocking Reflection of Our Times "One of the most imoprtant films of the last decade" BENEFIT for PIONEER II (Pioneer Nigh Free School) by the ann arbor film cooperative WEDNESDAY -November 17th --ONLY! Natural Science Auditorium - Pothecolor -75c -7 & 9:30 p.m. . . . I 'UL .L h THE ALLEY CINEMA PRESENTS TOMORROW ONLY-Mon., Nov. 15 400 BLOWS dir. FRANCOIS TRUFFAUT First and foremost of the new wave masterpieces is this moving story of a young boy turned outcast- actually the autobiography of Truffaut's childhood. " Cannes Film Festival--Director's Award, 1959 " Winner-New York Film Critics' Award SHOWS AT 7& 9:30 $1.00 330 MAYNARD sponsored by ann arbor filb cooperative The School of Music and Department of Art present MOZART'S OPERA THE MAGIC FLUTE (IN ENGLISH) NOV. 19,20,22, & 23 MENDELSSOHN THEATRE i $1.50 and $3.00 ($1.50 tickets for U-M students only) I Conductor: JOSEPH BLATT Stage Manager: RALPH HERBERT INFORMATION: 764-6118 BOX OFFICE HOURS: 12:30-5:00 P.M. November 15-18 12:30-8:00 P.M. November 19, 20, 22, & 23 Closed Sunday, November 21 as own _./ . TODAY ONLY at Nat. Sci. Aud. E Shows at 1 '3, 5, 7, 9, & 1 1 P.M. Ave. I_1ELLSTROM CHROICE0 "John Schlesinger's 'SUNDAY, BLOODY SUNDAY' is a film of such subtlety, such perception and such maturity that it makes all other films-even the best of them-that pretend to deal with the way we live in 'adult' terms seem adolescent and superficial. It is not only a furthering of the creative skills of the director of 'Darling' and 'Midnight Cowboy' and therefore a fascinatingly beautiful film in technique and performance, it is also a multi-leveled consider- ation of the love we live by, the settlements we make to continue that living, the innocent desroyers the generations bring upon us. Conceived by Sch- lesinger, with a screenplay by Penelope Gilliatt, the film critic whose writings are marked by delicacy of feeling, its very contemporary story of triangular love is ultimately brought to searingly compassionate universal terms. It is that rare film that illuminates the deeper corners of he heart, that probes beyond the obvious concepts, that expands our understand- ing." -Judith Crist, NEW YORK MAGAZINE Joseph Janni pwdsucon of John Schlesinger's Film SudaSunday" 5S MT W T F S Down Madison "PUTNEY SWOPE" 11~ThP Trli th anri .ant iI NM'vip,