THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Wednesday, February 17, 1971 w
THE MICHIGAN DAILY Wednesday, February 17, 197 ~
records
I lton John
By RICHARD LEHFELDT
Elton John: TUMBLEWEED
NNNECTION (UNI Stereo "
can
Smages
rowee, now who could that be
that Matthew Brady photo-
,ph, looking as funky as can
Isn't that British pop singer
songwriter Elton John, and
lyricist, talented hippy Ber-
Taupin? Well . . . it seems
t Elton John has taken a
rat do you call those things)
to the country, the Ameri-
Wild West to be exact. And
y not, after all? If the Band
id come over from Canada
do it, why shouldn't Elton
n? In order to really appre-
e this record. it is first neces-
y to redefine artistry as the
lity to get away with murder;
1 Elton John does it-by the
n of his teeth.
emember when the Beatles
t conquered America, follow-
by that interminable string of,
er groups called collectively
British Invasion? Every-
,y was p r e t t y surprised
tally because of the stunning
ence of British accents. By
v, the American accents of
lost all British rock stars
ie only exception that comes
mind immediately is the
iks.) is an accepted fact of
. In a way, it does make
se, rock and roll being the
inctly American music form
is. But the confusion grows
bade hairier when one touches
lyrics. Try this one on for
: "I saw grandma v.ster-
, down at the store/Well she's
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sing it,
How could Elton John possibly
sing gunslinger ballads? But he
does. All you need is a ten-gal-
lon hat and the gall to try it,
and you too can be a Wild 'iest
rock and roll star.
There is not much substance
in Tumbleweed Connection. At is
simple, easy listening, ever so-
accessible and ever so shallow.
Elton John is.blessed with a fine
group of back-up musicians who
serve him well, and the produc-
tion on the record is flawless.
THE EARTHY SIDE (PIP 6804)
"David with a single stone the
great Goliath slew/But when he
fucked Uriah's wife he found he
needed two." Yes, but is it Art?
This little gem, and the thirty-
two similar gems Which follow
it, comprise an extraordinary
new album called, appropriately,
The Earthy Side. I must admit
that I have been listening to it a
lot recently, only of course out
of a scholarly concern since this
is, after all, a landmark event in
the recording industry. The re-
cord has the appearance of a sin-
cere attempt to expose to the
public certain scatalogical mas-
terpieces which have been sup-
pressed over the years. As such,
this is the first 33 1/3 RPM Id,
containing some obscure (and
so can
very entertaining quotes from. of
all people, Abraham Lincoln,
Benjamin Franklin( an extended
advisory note on how and why
to seduce oldernwomen), Rud-
yard Kipling, and on and on.
Most,dthoughare traditional
dirty ditties, some of them fa-
niiliar, giving one that exquisite
deja vu experience of every
men's shower room you have
ever invaded.
And, after all, how can one pan
a record issued by so pristine an
organization as The Movement to
Preserve Scatalogical and Pru-
rient Material in Its Original
Form? With liner notes written
by . Studs Terkel? Surely we
have stumbled onto something
very important here. This de-
spite the somewhat outlandish
cover (Lincoln with his hand in
Franklin's pants, etc.). If origi-
nality its what you're after, a re-
cord which will take you far
41
S$1.050
you
from the beaten path (if you will
pardon the image), this is a re-
cord for you.
"Play this record to those you
love," wrote John Peel in the
liner notes to the first Pentangle
album. But we know better than
that now. Love is passe, perhaps
even counter-revolutionary, mood
music is passe because mood is
illusion. It's about time we came
to grips with the harsh realities
of life instead of trying to fashion
the impossible. How much more
nitty-gritty can one get than
"Oh it's so neat/To beat your
meat/While sitting on the toilet
seat"? If all of that emotional,
soppy music was recorded to be
played to people you love, play
this one to people you can't
stand. It will drive them out of
your room within seconds. And,
oh yes . . . satisfaction guaran-
teed.
NOW AT
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CML*Al& I4. ! S ANM ASTAR PROC.'II" PRESEN.T
A RAY STARK-HERBERT ROSS Product'cn
Barbra Stread
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TON IGHT AT 7 & 9
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RADICAL FILM SERIES
A detailed, personal picture of the collectivization of Russian Farms 4
Alexander Dovzhenke's
EARTH
TONIGHT
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Story IN COLOR A PARAMIOUNTf PICTURE
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really doing fine for eighty four/
Well she asked me if sometime
I'd fix her barn/Poor old girl
she needs a hand to run the
farm." Thus speaks Bernie Tau-
pin through his mouthpiece, El-
ton. John, in the song "Country
Comfort." There is no reason -to
labor the point overly, but what
degree of believability is it pos-
sible to muster for a song like
this, coming from a song-vwirting
team whose contact with "coun-
try comfort" is minimal to say
I, _________-_
the least? Should this be a criti-
cism, though? It is perhaps just
as much my failure to suspend
my credibility that prevents me
from accepting a song like
"Country Comfort," but I have
been prejudiced against Elton
John from the beginning oecause
he seems to be such a media-
created pop star. It depresses me
that, at this point, people who
have never seen a tree (so to
speak) are becoming pop cele-
brities through country music.
All you need do is call us. We'll tell you everything you
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Free literature will be sent upon request.
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ANN ARBOR 1971
8 mm
FILM FESTIVAL
Rosalie
Sorrels
with
Witchcraft, Black Mass and Demonology
I
I
THUR., FRI., SAT.-FEB. 18-20
R.C. AUDITORIUM (EAST QUAD)
8:00 p.m. and on
Admission 75c
CHRIS
DeLOACH
lead guitar
&
STEVE
NEWHOUSE
pedal steel
john whiting
TH E DEVILS
at 8:00 P.M.-Wednesday-Saturday, February 17-20
TRUEBLOOD THEATRE-Box Office Opens 12:30-764-5387
university of Michigan Players
En1wIiMatL Wolf presens
T7 AN ALLIED ARTISTS FILM
DIARY OF A
SCHIZOPHRENIC
GIRL
n EASTMNOLandCINEMASCO P
THURSDAY
I
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OPENS WEDNESDAY-TICKETS NOW!
CINEft I ILl
AMERICAN FILM STUDIES
CITIZEN KANE
di r. ORSON WELLES (1941)}
This has been called the best American Film ever. j
Orson Welles directs and stars in thinly veiled story
of William Randolph Hurst. "Citizen Kane infected
the American Cinema with the virus of artistic am-
bition." Andrew Sarris The American Cinema
7 & 9:05 Architecture
662-8871 75c Auditorium
I
from alow
whoop
to a high
birdlike howl .
t!
-New York Times
"the best damned
cowgirl singer
you've ever heard !"
--Michigan Daily
COUNTRY-
WESTERN AT
ITS BEST
"
NEXT WEEK-
JEAN
REDPATH
WOULD YOU BELIEVE
AND
I
WIWI
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Ih4
LOLLI-CLOCKS. . .to sweeten
the passage of time
and add a bright splash of color
. . .battery-operated metal and
plastic funtastics by Westclox.
Hong them on a wall. Admire them
on their pedestals. Cove their
touch of whimsy. Even read
N& WED
.504
A Sidewalk Sale
FEBRUARY 18th, 19th, 20th
Beautiful Bargains50%0off
MEN'S DEPARTMENT
Sport Shirts-long sleeved cotton .............were $9-$18
Hathaway wool shirts ........................ were $25.00
Dress shirts ................................now $3.00
Wool Suits .......................... were $89,95-$210.00
Wool sport coats ..................... were $55.00-$100.00
Ties ............... ...............were $3.00-$12.50
Jockey Alpine Turtlenecks ....... were $3.00-$3.50 Now $1.50
Haggar & Farah wash slacks . .were $8.00-$12.00 Now $5.00
Belts ...............were $4.00-$8.00 Now $3.00
LADIES' DEPARTMENT
Selection of better cottons.......................$25.00
Odds and ends .......................... .......$5.00
Final selection of Pendleton ...................... . %price
Chiffons .....................-...............1/2, price
Wool coats.............................were $100.00
Coat and dress ensembles .................... . ..'./2 price
Wool jump suits.........................*..'/price
LADIES' TO-DAY SHOP
All Junior Sizes-...........................50% off
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MIXER!!,
with
Law and Business Fraternities
(live band)
Tin rfAnI a r gn
I
the time! V
how three from the
collection: Yield Shield,
Censored, and Petal Pusher.
b'71 fce 1 34"hah. ater
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