Tuesday, December 5, 1972
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Three
Tuesday, ||1111|11111111111 December 5, 1972111111 111THE111MICHIGAN111111DAILY1111Page Three1111
CU LURE CA L ENDAR Who comes
MUSIC-University Musical Society presents Austral String
Quartet, from Sydney, Australia, tonight at 8:30, Rack-
ham Aud. Part of the Chamber Arts Series, the concert
will mark the first appearance of the quartet in Ann,
Arbor. The program will be: Quartet No. 9 (1968) by
Felix Werder; Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110 (1906)
by - Shostakovich; String Quartet Music (1929) by Peter
Sculthorpe; and Quartet in G major, K. 387 by Mozart.
The Austral String Quartet was formed in 1958 by four
members of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
FILMS-Ann Arbor Film Co-op shows Russell's Women in
Love tonight at 7, 9:30, Aud. A; Cinema Guild shows
Bergman's The Passion of Anna tonight at 7, 9:05, Arch.
Aud. About this film, Daily reviewer David Gruber com-
ments:
Just before his unsuccessful venture into the English
language in "The Touch," Bergman made this superb
study of a man living alone on a sparsely populated
island. Through friends he meets Anna, a widow who
has deluded herself into thinking her marriage was a
happy one despite evidence to the contrary. She killed
her husband Andreas in an automobile accident. Her
new lover is named Andreas also. When they go driving
together, life threatens to become a recurring nightmare.
HOLIDAY SPECIAL-U-M Dearborn presents Fair Lane Mu-
sic Guild Holiday Concert: Stanley Quartet and the
Gentlemen and Boys Choir of Christ Church of Grosse
Pointe tonight at 8:30, Fair Lane Center, Dearborn.
FEMINIST SPECIAL-Women's Studies Film Series presents
Multi-media Women's Theater and film: The Salt of the
Earth tonight at 7, RC Aud.
By HARRY HAMMITT
During the blues boom several
years ago, there was discovered
an albino blues guitarist from
Texas who, when brought up to
the Northern rock circuit, amaz-
ed audiences with his dexterious
playing and became an instant
hit. His name was Johnny Win-
ter.
He brought into prominence
along with him, his brother, Ed-
gar who played piano and sax
in his band for awhile. Johnny
went on to another band and Ed-
gar was left on his own.
Whereas Johnny has quit pop-
ular music now, he's gone back
to Texas to play blues and think
about getting a rock 'n' roll band
together, Edgar is still plugging
away. His new band is a four-
piece one, including himself, and
is called the Edgar Winter
Group. The band has just re-
leased their firsttalbum, They
Only Come Out At Night (Epic
KE 31584), and it is, to say the
least, disappointing.
The band consists of Winter
on piano and other keyboards,
vocals, and sax; Chuck Ruff on
drums; Dan Hartman on bass
and vocals; and Ronnie Montrose
on guitar. The recording has
11
ct at night?
abundant faults in the perform-
ance itself, and much of the fault
must lie with Montrose. Mont-
rose played guitar quite well on
V a n Morrison's Tupelo Honey,
but that was under the watchful
eye of Morrison. Here, when he's
on his own, he plays nothing but
heavy rock cliches, and he does-
n't even play them very well.
His only interesting guitarwork
is some mellow rhythm guitar on
"Free Ride." The entire band
sounds anemic and uninterested.
Winter has proven himself up
until now to be an interesting and
competent musician. On this al-
bum, his competence can't be
questioned, but his interest is
definitely lacking. His piano
playing is never better than com-
petent, it never rises to the point
of excitement. His sax-playing
is sparsely used, but he does
manage an all too short mo-
ment of light jazz, counterpoint-
ing the guitar in his instrumen-
tal "Frankenstein." Edgar has
a good strong, unique voice with
a powerful falsetto. On this al-
bum, his voice doesn't get much
of a workout. His voice is still
fine, but gruffer, more like John-
ny's, and his falsetto only gets
used once or twice. Hartman
does most of the singing, but his
voice has no particular distinc-
tion. Ruff's drumming isn't slop-
py, but it lacks vitality and nev-
er rises above the general level
of banality which pervades the
entire group.
As for the music itself, there
is nothing new on the album; the
majority of it is heavy rock 'n'
roll-oriented which never reach-
es any peak of excitement or in-
terest. There are a few slow
tunes; one is "Alta Mira" where
there is some fairly interesting
use of calypso rhythms and har-
monies. There is one acoustic
number, "Autumn," where Hart-
man sings and plays guitar in an
easily forgotten tune. None of
Edgar's tunes are up to his
standards; even "Rock 'N' Roll
Boogie Woogie Blues" with an
impressive title, is no more than
average. Edgar's "Round &
Round" receives an average per-
formance, but reminds one of the
type of tune and lyric that Don
McLean might come up with,
a tune that could easily make
it on AM radio.
Another, off the scene, pro-
ponent who contributes to the
downfall of the album is Rick
Derringer who is responsible
for producing the record plus
playing some obnoxious slide gui-
tar and unnecessaryhsteeltguitar
on the record. The ultimate
fault lies with the entire mem-
bership of the band who are ap-
parently not made for each other
and turn in uninspired, disinter-
ested performances that only
barely bring the album above
the level of competence; the mu-
sic here and its performance is
only a slight notch above the
capabilities of a group such as
Grand Funk. Edgar Winter is
certainly to be held partly re-
sponsible for this debacle, but he
does deserve better. His per-
formance is very sub-average,
and as such, we can expect the
band to have a short life. It
should probably be observed that
the album is not totally devoid
of merit; in the hands of a tol-
erant listener, the record can
pass as moderate rock, and at
least high-grade background mu-
sic. But still, the album stands
as the lowest point in Edgar's
career to date,
Holiday showings,
at 1 nion Gaitery
By CAROLE TOWNE
As C h r i s t m a s ap-
proaches, there's a proliferation
of art shows with artists taking
advantage of the gift giving spirit
of the season to sell their works.
This year isn't any different in
that respect; but judging by the
display at the Union Gallery, the
type of works that are being
created have changed.
Three years ago, any similar
show would have probably fea-
tured mostly thickly painted oils
or water colors. Recently, how-
ever, the emphasis has changed
from painting to printmaking.
Lithography andwsilkscreening,
the relatively newer and more
versatile methods, are gaining
popularity - especially photo-
silkscreening due to the recent
success of Andy Warhol.
The lack of linocuts and wood-
block printing is disappointing,
but perhaps reflects the attitude
that such methods of printing are
too limiting and old fashioned.
Crafts are making a strong
showing at the Gallerv. The
handblown glass vases of Beth
Anne Hamer and Janet Kelman
are lyrical and graceful shapes
of rich color. Pottery ranges
from the basic forms of Rem-
sen's butter tubs and pitchers
to the more highly refined, high-
ly polished vases of Rebecca
Rupp. Crafts like ceramics, glass
blowing, and weaving are be-
ginning to get the recognition as
an art form that they have for
a long time richly deserved.
The Union Gallery provides an
opportunity to see promising
young artists likesRita Messen-
ger and Paul Mindell. Messen-
ger's subtly hued lithographs
evoke an atmospheric quality.
Her simpletshapesrand forms
lend themselves to such works as
"Tuscon Sunset." Mindell's ser-
ies of "Available Forms" cap-
ture much attention.
Confused doll-like faces caught
in a mass of tangled arms and
legs are portrayed in a couple of
large, imposing works done in
thinly washed oil anda number
of small drawings. That the Gal-
lery's jury has chosen so much
of Mindell's work foreshadows
certain success.
A considerable amount of wit
and humor is being incorporated
into today's art thanks to the
influence of recent movements
which emphasize the inane foci
of modern life with all the subtle-
ty of aksledgehammer. Gerhard
Schlanzky's series of ceramic vi-
olins have a pop art-ish quality
to them, especially ."Violin
Purse" which looks like imitation
leather and zips up the middle.
Sex in art is becoming more
and more bizarre. Sculptor
Charles Ruggles attaches an os-
trich head to a bronze stocking-
ed female body, in "No Eggs To-
day." The combination speaks of
a rather strange sort of eroticism
for those with peculiar fetishes.
But the work which attracts
the most attention is a rather
Dadaist parody of a famous Ren-
aissance masterpiece, "Birth of
Venus" by Botticelli. More con-
servative patrons of the gallery
may be offended by Ralph
Wolfe's transformation of a
beautiful young girl emerging
from the sea to a grotesque, Mia-
mi-ish naked old women, wear-
ing rhinestone studded glasses,
standing on the traditional sea
shell.
Insulting or not, the very con-
trast between Wolfe's work and
the Masterpiece makes one even
more aware of the beauty of the
Botticelli. Wolfe, is a versatile
master, exhibiting drawings,
prints, and sculpture of an off-
beat nature. Its too bad, how-
ever, that more of his work can-
not be seen at the Gallery, as it
currently spread between three
shows this weekend.
Under the direction of Sher-
ryle Shaw, who is an impressive
painter in her own right, the Un-
ion Gallery has gathered a fine
show of art works. On Saturday
night, the Gallery held a Holiday
Reception to kick off the Christ-
mas season. A classical guitarist
from the Paulus Hofhaimer En-
semble and the Honors Baroque
Trio provided pleasant back-
ground music and a pleasant di-
version. Although the space is
a little cramped and some areas
of the room are poorly lit, the
Union Gallery provides an inter-
esting variety of works by stu-
dents and others from the Ann
Arbor community.
ForHofor HER
The ideal gift-icke
our classic key
ring with personalized
tag. Available in
sterling silver and
gold-filled.
1X Y from $6.50°
(engraved at
no extra charge),
e
arcade ewelry shop
16 Nickels Arcade
for finejewelry - We Will Help You Find the Right Gift
Daily Photo by KAREN KASMAUSKI
In the midst of the Union Gallery's Holiday reception Saturday, one student appraises a piece of
sculpture on display there.
From naked songs
% to Jesus Freaks
vocal delivery is used to perfec-
tion here, and the songs are giv-
en a justice that they could only
receive at the hands of Lou
Reed.
ARTS
By HARRY HAMMITT
Al Kooper has been in the re-
cord biz for some time now, and
now he does solo albums every
0
THE NEWALBUM
once in awhile. His newest ef-
fort, Naked Songs (Columbia
KC 31723), is typical of his mu-
sic. The best that can be said
about the album is that there is
good variety and the musician-
ship is generally high. Otherwise,
there is a disasterous tendency to
overproduce every n u m b e r.
Somehow the music comes out
as sounding rather dated. Best
song is "As the Years Go Pass-
ing By," blues which features
some fairly decent guitar by
Kooper.
About a year and a half ago,;
Jeremy Spencer abruptly quit
Fleetwood Mac and became a
Jesus Freak. He's still a Jesus
Freak, but now he has a band
and their first album is called
Jeremy Spencer and the Chil-
dren (Columbia KC 3 19 9 0).
Without a doubt, this is the fin-
est music to come out the Jesus
movement. Spencer has written
all the songs, and does most of
the vocals plus playing slide gui-
tar and piano. The other musi-
cians are all really good and as
such, the music is superbly per-
formed. The so'nd is very close
to Fleetwood Mac, a gentle lyric-
ism with a devastatingly sharp
edge. The lyrics, which are con-
tained in the album, may rub
some people the wrong way, but
they are generally harmless.
* * *
With the break-up of the Vel-
vet Underground, the individual
members of the band have gone
their own way, and several have
pursued solo careers. One of
them is ex-Velvet leader, Lou
Reed, who is certainly the most
enigmatic member of the band.
He hqs gained the nickname of
the Phantom of Rock 'N' Roll,
and deservedly so. He has re-
cently gone to London and joined
forces with David Bowie, and
their collaboration has resulted
in Reed's second solo perform-
ance, Transformer (RCA LSP-
4807). This album is one of the
most intriguing things that Reed
has done yet. All the songs were
written by Reed, and are per-
formed by him on vocals and
guitar, backed by a number of
British musicians. There is a
balance between slow and fast
songs on the record, and all of
them are good. Reed's lyrics
are, to say the least, very inter-
esting. His now famous relaxed
A little more than a year ago
Poco lost guitarist Jim Messina
who left to produce records.
They replaced him with Paul
Cotton, and the band has now
released their second album with
Cotton, A Good Feelin' to Know
(Epic KE 31601). Cotton has
fitted well into the band and has
infused it with more energy.
This album proves that Poco has
retained all the craftsmanship
and tastefulness that they always
had. Ritchie Furay remains the
mainstay of the band and is one
of the finest songwriters in what
could loosely be called a coun-
try-rock idiom. His three songs,
including the title song, are the 6
high points of the album, but
the three songs by Cotton, and
the two by bassist Tim Schmitt, 6:
are really fine in their own
right. The other song on the al-
burm is an old Buffalo Spring-
field number by Steve Stills. The 7
musicianship is fine, particularly
the steel guitar of Rusty Young
who is one of the most inventive
players around. The drumming 7
of George Grantham is always 7
simple, but interesting. The band
is very powerful vocally, with
some of the best harmonizing to
be found anywhere. The acquisi- 8:
tion of Cotton has made the band
more powerful, but they still re-
tain their exciting melodic flavor.
tonight
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4 7 News
Courtship of Eddie's Father
Flintstones
How Do Your Children Grow?
4 7 News
I Dream of Jeannie
Giligan's Island
Your Right To say It
Tr-Ath or Consequences
News
To Tell The Truth
Beverly Hillbillies
I Love Lucy
French Chef
What's My Line?
You Asked For It
Parent Game
rPotectors
Hogan's Heroes
Who Is?
Maude
Bonanza
r
Temperatures Rising
Getting Together
Family Game
THIS COMING FRIDAY NIGHT!
Aliman Brothers Band
IN CONCERT-SAT., DEC. 9
TUE./WED.
PASSION
OF ANNA
Dir. ingmar Bergman, 1970
With Bibi Anderson &
Max von Sydow. Together
with Shame, this is prob-
ably Bergman's best of
the recent films. In some
sense a sequel to Persona,
it is less dependent on
personal symbol ism.
Bergman's treatment of
violence in life & art. The
acting is particularly good
in this film.
50 Dragnet
8:30 2 Hawaii Five-O
7 Movie
"The Couple Takes a Wife.'
9 Pig and Wistle
56 Bill Mayers' Journal
"The Miners Decide'
50 That Good Ole Nashville Musie
9:00 Bold Ones
9 News
50 Pro Hockey
56 Common Ground
9:30,2 Movie
"A War of Children."
9 Front Page Challenge
56 Black Journal
10:00 4 First Tuesday
7 Marcus Welby, M.D.
9 Tuesday Night
56 Detroit Black Journal
10:30 56 Artist in America
11:00 2 4 7 News
9 CBC News
11:20 9 News
11:30 2 Movie
"The Girl Who Knew Too
Much" (1969)
4 Johnny Carson
7 Madhouse 90 N
50 Movie
"The Brotherhood of the Bell"
(1970)
12:00 9 Movie
"White Comanche" (1967)
1:00 4 News
7 Blue Angels
1:30 2 Movie
"Charlie Chan in Shanghai."
(1925)
7 News
3:00 2 News
Have a flair for
artistic writing?
If you are interest-
ed in review ing
poetry, and music,
or writing feature
stories a b o u t the
arts: Contact Artf
Editor, c/o The
drama, dance, film,
Michigan Daily.
DIAL 668-6416
IN.
r m- 6 ft- - L U s ! A A / wOWN04