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The Michigan Daily-Saturday, November 12, 1977-Page 5"
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A S A BELATED means of introduction, I'd like to tell you all that the
Aname you see heading this column is indeed mine. It's a necessary
clarific'ation, since over the past few weeks I've been variously bylined as
Christopher Potter, Kim Potter and C. Michael Potter.
Some of you have doubtless marveled over how the Daily could corral
the triplicate journalistic deftness of these three talented Potter brothers (or
perhaps sister); well, any literary laurels or brickbats should be directed
solely at the fertile brain of this siblingless critic, whose billing as "C.'
Michael" was the product of an editor's erratic inspiration, and "Kim" due
to a lifelong parental nickname. Glad to meet you at last, folks!
THE INVADERS' COLONIZATION plans seem assured of success but
for the fact that they've already been beaten to the punch. It seems there's a
kind of intergalactic rest station under the Atlantic Ocean, manned by
something called the "League of Races." These large-headed folks serve as
undetected observers and guardians of planets housing "primative races," a
category which of course qualifies cretinous humanity for charter member-
ship.
Soon the invaders and the guardians are having at each other in a death
struggle with Earth's fate hanging in the balance. (It's easy to tell the good
guys from the bad guys - the invaders wear black leotards, while the guar-
dians wear white or baby blue). As the battle lines are drawn, the guardians
benignly kidnap an American "UFO expert" (Robert Vaughn) and a com
puter builder friend of his in order to obtain scientific expertise and equip-
ment. Why these all-minds are forced to rely on two barbarian Earthlings
for salvation is never made clear, but of course we need audience identi-
,fication in there somewhere.
Meanwhile back on earth, humanity has become plagued with what ap-
pears to be a mass suicide epidemic, actually triggered by mind rays (?)
eminating from an orbiting enemy ship. While mind rays may seem like an
awfully cumbersome means to do in all 31/2 billion of us, they do provide the
film with its only genuinely unsettling scenes.
Starship Invasions is virtually the only new feature to visit a recently
stagnating local film circuit, and as one might immediately surmise is a
pathetically blatent attempt to cash in on the Star Wars mania. Actually, it
owes its "thematic debt" more.to'War of the Worlds or, to be more
aesthetically-monetarily accurate, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers. From the
moment Starship Invasions' first flying saucer comes into view wobbling
like a poorly-thrown frisbee, one becomes dismally aware that Kubrick-
Lucas this just ain't gonna be.
It seems there's this planet in a far off solar system who's sun is about to
go nova, and whose population needs a place to move to in a hurry. Earth, as
usual; turns out to be the most habitable alternative, and we soon see an in-
vading army of flying saucers (resembling rather elegant garbage can tops)
zipping through space, commanded by no less than that prince of grade-B
darkness, Christopher Lee.
MOST OF THE really superior horror-sci-fi flicks (Invasion of the Body
Snatchers) knew that the more commonplace and homespun their physical
surroundings, the greater the terror - a twisted nightmare of all that's
familiar and safe transforming and crumbling before one's eyes.
We start to get hooked when we see Vaughn's wife and daughter driving
down a neighborhood street mottled with blood-stained bodies, later on a kit-
chen sequence of his wife trying desperately to fight off a passion to slash her
wrists while her unknowing child watches TV in another room. At this point
one can feel a genuine synthesis of panic and helplessness; but before you
can say SCHZAM, we're back out in the dime-store cosmos, cavorting with
aliens on a special effects par with The Green Slime or Catwomen on the
Moon. And once again you realize what a singularly exploitive venture Star-
ship Invasionsis.
Whatever meagre acting honors exist'in this opus go by default to
Christopher Lee, who fits sinisterly and comfortably into the low-budget
surroundings. Robert Vaughn looks abashed throughout, probably won-
dering if his Actors Studio labors and his P.hD. in visual communications
have all come to this. The rest of the cast is composed of unknowns who in
this case seem to unanimously deserve their anonymity.
The most regrettable side to this filmed misadventureis that it's the
latest cinematic dog put on view at the Wayside Theater.
The trouble is that the Wayside is the area's official "family theater," so
designated by the Butterfield film chain. This means a steady celluloid diet
of Disneyana, Sunn Classics and occasional kiddie-horror oddities such as*
The Car. How I would long to stretch out there and watch Seven Beauties or
Last Tango in Paris; alas, it seems we're consigned to satisfy our X-rated
depredations in cramped playhouses and popcornless auditoriums. And
creative cinema would seem so much nicer if you had a Forever Yours
bar ..
Bowie's 'Heroes' incon
By OWEN GLEIBERMAN
D AVID BOWIE has long been
singled out as an artist who can
completely alter his musical charac-
ter with every album. Although one
can't help but acknowledge that
Bowie's range is truly remarkable,
encompassing everything f r o m
hymn-like mysticism ("Word On A
Wing") to the jittery disco-like
rhythms of "Fame" and "Golden
Years"; his underlying tempera-
ment has always been fundamentally
rock-oriented.
Bowie's latest release, Heroes, is
successful only where he follows
through on his past formula of fusing
rock with an offsetting style. But
when he turns his back on the
essentials of rock 'n' roll form, the
music falls flat. When he transforms
that structure without sacrificing it,
the result.can be stimulating, origin-
al contemporary music.
Heroes appears to be a sort of
sequel to Low, Bowie's last album, at
least in format. Side one is compara-
tively straight, and many of the
songs arise from similarly frag-
mentary musical ideas; the core of
side two is "experimental." Once
again Bowie has utilized the talents
of avant-garde synthesizer wizard
Eno, whose influence is felt through-
out the record. Even in the relatively
ordinary *uts Bowie and Eno experi-
ment wondrously with sounds and
textures, making the various synthe-
sizers and guitar treatments function
within the compositions and not
merely as "effects."
IF THERE'S a problem with side
one of Heroes, it's that there's really
very little exceptional about it. The
title cut, the best on the album, pro-
vides some of the few moments of ex-
pansive intensity, as the song builds
slowly but steadily toward its power-
ful finish. If most of the other tracks
seem to give the album a sense of
unity, it's due only to the singular
lack of variation within each num-
ber. The drums (all played by Dennis
Davis) are naggingly steady, and
there's a consistent lack of rhythmi-
cal variation throughout. This tech-
nique can sometimes be effective,
witness "Blackout," but i can also
drive a song onto repetitive boredom.
When Bowie comes up with an in-
teresting harmonic progression it
can carry the song, but his less
inventive ideas are doomed to mon-
otony. The disco-like beat of "Beauty
and the Beast" is the song's only
distinguishing characteristic, and it
becomes perfectly tiresome- after
about thirty seconds.
Then there's the "avant-garde"
side, which makes its counterpart on
Low look about as experimental as
"Beer Barrel Polka." Oh, it's differ-
ent alright, but the whole damn thing.
.'
Bowie '77
.
Twilley returns magic to rock
By ALAN RUBENFELD '
R OCK N' ROLL. There is nothing-
I mean absolutely NOTHING Like
it. Rock n' roll is the automatic cure-all
for every single physical malaise.
"Have a stomach ache? Take; two
spoonfulls of Who's Next and call me in
the morning." No matter what ailment
you encounter, there is nothing, a few
chords of Lou Reed might not cure.
1977 is a good year for rock n' roll
medicine. With the demise of heavy
metal noise, those fuzzbox disasters are
now being replaced by The Real
Thing-the Buddy Holly Neo-,
Romanticist School of Rock n' Roll. A
plethory of new records convey the
feeling that was conspicuously vacant
on records by Black Sabbath, Deep
Purple, Uriah Heep, Grand Funk, etc.
Those groups proved it was impossible
to replace emotion with schizoid decibel
levels.
Luckily, one rock amalgamation is
now discovering the feeling again. Just
ask Dwight Twilley-one performer
helping to pave the road for the return
of real rock n' roll.
DWIGHT TWILLEY is not a great
singer, nor is he is stellar musician. But
he has it; an intangible aspect inherent
in true rockers giving his music the
edge that lets the listener know his stuff
is good. Twilley's songs are real. No
soft ballads that the El Lay scene
produces. Twilley is a Toledo-
Cleveland-Omaha man, all meat and
potatoes. His music does not reek of
any coastal influences because nis im-
petus comes from the soul of rock n'
roll, which knows no geographic entity.
His new album on Arista, Twilley
Don't Mind, is a gold mine of the "old
wave" of rock music. No fancy instru-
mentations here, just your basic guitar
band. turning out high volume music
with a beat that captures the listener's
heart halfway through the album's
opening cut.
University of Michigan
Gilbert and
Sullivan Society
DIRECTORS
NEEDED
for Winter term production
(April 12, 15, 1978)
Applicants for Dramatics, Musical
(vocal/orchestral) or Set Designer/
Technical Director may contact the
Society by mail (Michigan League
48109) or Joseph Beital (665-5244 eve-
nings) before Nov. 21.
Petitioning meeting will be held
Mon. evening, Nov. 28.
Shows being considered are GONDOLIERS,
UTOVIA LIMITED and PRINCESS IDA
Twilley Don't Mind possesses a
vitality felt throughout the entire
record. "Here She Comes," 4/4 rocker,
opens the first side with some real old-
fashioned guitar rhythms. "Looking for
the Magic," is another upbeat corker.
It's a theme of sorts for Twilley, since
on this album he has the magic. The
record's best cut, "Rock and Roll 47,"
is a knockout hard rocker that shows a
true singles potential.
TWILLEY HAS a tendency to drift in-
to pointless lyrics and a juvenile falset-
to voice, but fortunately these lackings
are not enough to obscure Twilley's ap-
parent potential for breaking out of his
cult status and gaining a wide audience
of admirers.
Music critics have a supercilious
habit of preaching to their readers
about their predictions of who will be
the next "superstars of rock." Nine out
of ten times, besides being pompous
and haughty, we are usually wrong.-But
occasionally we are right, as Bruce
Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac, and other
musicians will testify.
Now, one more nomination must be
placed into contention. Dwight Twilley
has the ability of becoming one of the
year's best new stars, and Twilley
Don't Mind has the potential of
becoming one of the widest acclaimed
albums of the year.
It's now up to the listening public to
determine if my conjectures are
correct. Twilley will be pulling into
town next week on Tuesday, November
15 to play at Second Chance. Do your-
self a favor and give it a try. It may be
just the medicine the doctor recom-
mends.
,0
'Kings in
By TIM YAGLE
I HAVE BEEN a Rush fan for
quite a while. When I was intro-
duced to the group in 1975, with the
2112 and Fly By Night albums, I
didn't think they would be' just
another band lost in the rock market.
I was right. When their double live
set All The Worid's a Stage was re-
leased in 1976, I figured those who
had never heard of Rush would soon
latch onto them. The band has
attracted and maintained quite a
following and has established itself
as a good heavy'-metal band.
'The new album, A Farewell to
Kings, takes the Canadian trio on a
slightly different musical course.
Most of the tunes are more orches-
trated and show a greater creativity
than their previous material. The
overall mood is changed. The LP has
SCHERR NAMED
NEW YORK (AP) - Samuel
Scherr has been named president of
the American Crafts Council
Barbara Rockefeller, chairman of
the councils board of trustees, said
Adele Greene and Robert Peterson
had been named trustees of the
council.
sistent
is, dare I use the phrase, unredeem
ably self-indulgent. In "'ioss Gar,
den" Bowie creates some interestin
founds with a Japanese Koto, but the
composition quickly deteriorates int
a stark, lackluster bit of nothing
"Nuekoln," the only experimenta
track to offer any relatively compel
ling harmonic unity, comes across a
best as paper-thin music. In essence,
all Bowie has done is to mix fairl'
traditional chord patterns with stoc
"modern" motifs, and the resun
lacks the genuine creative spark o
his more formal songs.
Fortunately, Bowie's sub-ordinarf
excursions are limited to three songs
all of which are sandwiched i
between two outstanding cuts, "V-2
Schneider" and "The Secret Life 91
Arabia." Both of these have ai
irresistably understated rhythmic'
lilt, the latter reminiscent of "Golder
Years"; "V-2 Schneider" makes
marvelous use of vocal texture
rather than words. Despite a refrarin
oddly similar to Elton John's "Swee
Painted Lady," "Sons of the Silet
Age" successfully provides the al;
bum with some beautifully eeri*
moments.
Heroes is anything but a landmark
for Bowie, but it has enough fin
material to keep most fans at bay
One only hopes that in his futur1
exploits Bowie will maintain the rocl.
orientation that has always formed
the groundwork for his best materia
but Heres indicates he's far fro
losing it.
NEW WORKS
NEW YORK (AP) - "Recent Gift,
and Purchases," an exhibit of wor
added to the Guggenheim Museum
collection during 1977, will be o
display through Oct. 16.
The show consists of 21 paintings
seven sculptures and five works On
paper.
FINAL PERFORMANCE!
S8P.M.
IN Tl POWER CENER
S(R F iF PE 1f ORMING ARTS,
The
AC A'
Compapy
in
Nov. 11 & 12
hapeoaul
by Alfred Uhry & Robert Wadma
,A AlUSiCal BaSe'd Upown Euigene Labche'ttinSra":tr.
Power Center Box Office
Saturday, 1-5 p.m., 6-8 p.m.
For information call:
(313)763-3333
tomorrow only
Nov. 13 mat. & eve
ll~ and er c14kke~s
by Bertolt Brecht
Tickets also available through Hudson s
a
m
a
iaginative
a taste of medieval culture with
frequent references to what life was
like back in that age, coupled with
more relaxing melodies.
[ The title cut opens theralbum with a
pleasant variety of rhythms, an
energetic heavy-metal guitar, and
lots of cymbal smashing and drum
pounding.
"XANADU," "Closer To The
Heart," and "Cinderella Man" en-
lighten your ears with intriguing ly-
rics and everything from rich folk
ballad, sounds to a grinding guitar
with different tempos.
"Cygnus X-1" brings the' now en-
thralled listener back to what Rush is
mostly known for - an inspiring
rocker with a sizzling guitar domin-
ating the tune.I
"Madrigal;" another peaceful
number, making the listener want to
check the album cover to confirm
that it's a Rush album he is listen-
ing to. Lead vocalist Geddy Lee's
voice seems to soften the arrange-
ments even more.
Rush is off on a musical tangent
from the strident rockers they ordin-
arily produced.
OY VEY LAS VEGAS
N IGHT'
Sat., Nov. 12th-9:00 p.m.
Place your bets on the Roulette and don't forget
Blackjack, Snacks; Craps, Surprises and Prizes!
COME TRY YOUR LUCK!
10 Chips for $1 .00
1429 HILL ST. (HILLEL BLDG.)
aft
14-40963 00000000000000000000000000 0000 lt00 50 O .I
V
- ± '
HUE8'S
All New for Lunch
Now, in addition to our great luncheon deal of sand-
wich, soup, salad and relish bar (which now has also
been expanded), we're serving new specials.
Especially for the Weight-Watcher:
DOWNTOWN
114 E. Washington
All New for Dinner
Pick your day and plan ahead. All you can eat!
Chidren
Under 9
SUNDAY: Italian Buffet.......$3.49, 1.99
MONDAY: Spaghetti........ .2.49, 1.99
TUESDAY: Bar-B-O Chicken or Beef Ribs..
. ...3.25, 1.99
WEDNESDAY: Seafood Buffet . . 3.95, 2.50
THURSDAY: Smorgasboard . . . 3.49, 1.99
"May.be
it vii1
go 'away.
The five most dangerous words
in the English language.
A - --i.. ____ ~4~d ^-d '!hd"W
Unlimited trips to our $1 .95
SALAD & RELISH BAR
with over 25 items, 6 dressings
including Blue Cheese at no extra charge
i