THE MICHIGAN DAILY S I E NtIE 'u'"sic in ' ev w Thursday, January 29, 1976 Page Five Rock makes strong showing in 1975 By JEFF SORENSEN tious optimism, at the very least. For the first time in years, jN THE 20 years since Elvis rock afficianados have some- Presley's "Heartbreak Ho- thing to get excited about. 1975 tel" added a new twist to popu- witnessed the re-emergence of lar music, rock has achieved Bob Dylan as a prime force in mass acceptance and commer-' popular music, the arrival of cial success beyond the wildest! Bruce Springsteen as the first dreams of its founding fathers. genuine superstar in years, and But the past few years have; an auspicious debut album from been particularly uneventful for I Patti Smith. the generation of fans who grew I These people, and a host of! up with rock'n'roll in the '50's' others, offer ample evidence and '60's. Since 1968, very few that, despite everything-the new artists have surfaced, while venemous, dollar-hungary record the established musicians seem companies; the fickle, uncritical to have less and less to say. No audience; the lack of new talent one has emerged in the 70's of in the business-there is still comparable stature to Chuck some life left in the rock music Berry, Presley, the Beatles, the world. Rolling Stones or Bob Dylan. Bruce Sprinsteen's Born to NEVERTHELESS, the musical Run LP was launched with a events of the past year provide floodtide of national advertising listeners with grounds for cau- as well as Sprtngsteen's first} real nationwide tour, a cam- album haS lost none of its mittedly limited. paign which finally secured him I wer a s it featuressomeof! the popularity which his music, so richly deserved. THE ALBUM also established Springsteen as a masterful com- poser of rock music and a con- summate artist in the recording studio. He seems to be one of the few artists around today who is capable of using all the resources of modern studios and multi-track recording to theirI fullest extent. 1 1 i , - 1 i+ the best backup musicianship .Neil Young released two of and vocal work on any Dylan Zuhismnest works to date last record to date. year, Zuma and Tonight's the On Horses, Patti Smith suc- Night. In particular, Zuma rep- ceeded in blending her substan- resents his most carefully- tial poetic talents with rock crafted selection of songs since music. Smith and her producer Everybody Knows This is No- John Cale somehow brought to- where in 1971. An encouraging zether suchf diverse ms ,Ad note for young fans is the fact like Jimmy Cliff, seem to be moving towards the mainstream of American pop music in an attempt to increase record sales. In contrast, the best reggae record of 1975 was Funky Kingston by Toots and the Maytals, a group who re- fuses to compromise their raw, uncommercial music. literary influences as Dylan, that he has decided to work Another group to watch in Baudlaire, Rimbaud and 'la', with members of the Crazy 1976 may well turn out to be rouk'n're Rimbau.This Horse band again. the Jefferson Starship ne Jef- rock'n'roll on one album. This ferson Airplane. With the re- debut LP and her current tour SEVERAL of Jamaica's reg- turn of Marty Bal i to his certainly mark her as a major gae artists continued to exciteformer songwriting role on Red talent to be watched this year. American audiences across the Octopus, they may once again country. Unfortunately, several regain their position as one of steen and Smith's work clearly of the most popular musicians, America's top rock bands. Dylan's Blood on the Tracks (see "Pop Record of the Year") was a stunning tour de force. Although Dylan's backup band occasionally failed to realize the full potential of some of' his numbers on the album, the very best songs, like "Tangled Up in Blue" and "Buckets of Rain," stand up to a compari- r POP RECORD OF THE YEAR Dylan's Blood' By KURT HARJU I with his wife Sara, withint context of a chaotic society a A YEAR AGO this month, the prospect of his crumbli Boy Dylan created a sen- career. There is uncertainty a sation in the record world with involvement here - he is the release of an immensely sure how or why he fits in powerful collection of new songs, the scheme of things anymo changing his public image and and that vulnerability is se placing him once again at theI in the intentional ambiguity forefront of contemporary mu- the titles - "Tangled up sic. With Blood on the Tracks, Blue," "Shelter from the Storn it became evident that Dylan and "Simple Twist of Fate.' had abandoned the image of The painful loss of his lov contented family man and had seems to close one cycle inh returned to that of the trouba- life and he is forced to lo dor. I at himself - and the world Fans and critics alike . differently now that he's onr responded enthusiastically to I own. While he mourns his m this major development in his riage in beautiful and mel constantly-evolving career; they I choly love songs, he slash took it for a sign that he had out at his fate with lines lI ended his self-seclusion and re- turned to the mainstream of I've been double crossed American culture. For the very last time Unlike Planet Waves, where And now I'm finally free Dhlm avn&c% tntaad 'mp' changes the THIS LP CHANGED all that. nd The impassioned vocals are the ing driving force of every song, nd from the winding narrative of n't "Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack into of Hearts" and the soft-spoken' re, plea "If You See Her, Say Hel- een lo," to the happy-go-lucky of "You're Going To Make Me in Lonesome When You Go." i" The back-up band occasionally' ' fails to match his energetic de- ver livery. "Idiot Wind," clearly his j one of Dylan's thematic master- ook pieces, doesn't come across as his I ar- IOIK an Syiotiak pF hess in new By CHRIS KOCHMANSKI i soniwith tthe best of Dylan's work on Mghway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde.- Dylan was also responsible1 for two of the most significant~ The Rolling 'thunder Revue and, the release of The Basementl powerfully as the material de- Tapes album. mands.j Unrealized though it may l THE REVUE, which featured' sometimes appear, Blood on the such notables as Joan Baez,i Tracks features Dylan in one Joni Mitchell,, Roger McGuinn, stand out from most of the mediocrity so prevalent in the rock marketplace, several other artists managed to produce al- bums worthy of notice. Multi-talented producer/vio- list/solo artist John Cale was in- volved in much of the year's best offerings. In addition to his work on Horses, he produc- ed Nico's The End, appeared~ on a live album, June 1, 1974, and released two solo works, Fear and Slow Dazzle. Fear was the best of the lot,, featur- ing engaging melodies and ex- quisite musicianship, although Cale's vocal talents are ad- IF YOU'VE WONDERED ABOUT MILEAGE SIGNS I SAN FRANCISCO (,) - The signs posted alongside the high- way that give the motorist the distance to a nearby town or city, says the National Actomo- bile Club, actually measure the number of miles from the sign to the City Hall of the next town. of his best musical moments. The melodies are uncommonly rich and lovely, the rhythyms infectious, and the performances have a fine cutting edge. By so poignantly expressing his deep- est feelings and attitudes, Dylan spoke directly and frankly to individuals about matters of uni- versal importance. Allen Ginsberg and many others, provided a sharp con- trast with most rock tours (in-4 cluding (Dylan's own in 1974)1 that feature massive advertis- ing campaigns, huge concert{ halls and over-priced tickets. The Basement Tapes, long1 available on several bootleg tapes, was the icing on the cake. Although recorded in 1967, the! uyan expresses love ant Blood on the Tracks ex feelings of hate and f well. With these new 1 he hit a vital chord heart of his audience.1 music had become im again. THE ALBUM itself is legry of Dylan's sep Bernas insighi By KEVIN COUNIH TrEE FASCINATION Gustav Mahler ist tively recent phenomenon Bruno Walter's devote motion of the composer concert hall and eventu record in the early 1950's ler's awesome sym works (which must inclu Lied von der Erde) hav continually challenging t ductors and orchestras w sire to expand their rep without overextending th dience. For many years, Walte published a small but ins biogr'aphy of Mahler) est ed the standard for pe ance with his pioneering On Columbia (since tran to the budget Odyssey I A decade later, Leonar stein began to record1 presses from "nAVID SYROTIAK, whose ear as One aIdio W ind."taward-winning Art of The; hemes, reiveaspect of this reordwao Puppeteer playshtonight at the in the! ree qivjti fibleopaisewask. Mendelssohn Theatre, warns Dylan's th ality s vocs ork.adults not to bet'scared off by Dylan has always used his voice tewr ppe. portant like an electrified instrument" lk aneetiidisrmnbut it seemed that the better i puppetry," says Syrotiak, an al- the quality of his vocalsb h "is a very pureaartform and aration less he had to say. the director's dream. You build and control your actors and sets and do what other artists " might do with drama or dance. Puppetry is, in fact, one of the1 purest forms of theatre." Syrotiak's production is, he ti/ 11warns, "primarily intended for M a h ler I adults and very sophisticated." He asks parents not to bring small children because the show AN and became the first conductor will go over the heads of most to record the complete nine pre-teens. with symphonies. Everything is expressed a re E-RN music and mime by, . Since BERNSTEIN clearly showed amazingly anatomically realistic d pro- a unique perspicacity and sym- marionettes, with only a few in the pathy for Mahler from the start short voice-over interludes. ally on and this perception culminated SYROTIAK AND DUNNING{ , Mah- in his unsurpassable perform- have structured their work into: Aphonic ances on symphonies 6 ("Tra- four segments. The first is en- t de Das ! gic"), 9, and, most recently, titled "Progogue," and in 17" e been his re-recording of No. 2 ("Re- minutes a single marionettet to con- surrection") with the London quite remarkably introducesI vho de- Symphony. one to puppetry's fantastic pos-1 ays comedy up eteer' The second segment, a tightly choreographed ballet for marion- ettes, reveals the puppeteer's craft at its best. A third segment follows in- termission and is highlighted by Blanche ahippopotamusstrip- per. Syrotiak says this act has provoked outrage among Wom-! en's Lib devotees,sbut he stress- es that Blanche satirizes what he terms the "ludicrous art of stripping," and is not sexist. The show's "Epilogue" deline- ates the relationship between the puppeteer and his puppets. Syrotiak notes that, backstage after the show, well-wishers are often "freaked out" when they see the limp, lifeless puppets hanging on the wall, so real is the illusion of life onstage. Marionettos a r e not just for kids. David Syrotiak has trans- formed this traditionally chil- dren's art form into a mature, sophisticated presentation de- sianed especially for an adult audience. Color, light, music, dance, and mime combine into a beautiful display of "the art of the puppeteer." Don't miss this rare chance to view a true master of a unique field. 1 -- -- ----------- ATTENTION! "'I x :S -A I. The National Marionette Theater THURS., JAN. 29-8 P.M.-MENDELSSOHN THIS IS THE third year Syro- tiak and Dunning have taken Puppeteer on the road, and in this time, they have steadily built a reputation for excellence. Syrotiak and Dunning stress that puppetry is a form of theatre, and that if you like theatre, you'll enjoy Puppeteer. They predict that puppetry, with the increasing interest of col- lege theatre students, will be recognized in the next ten years Tickets 2.50 Adults 1.25 Children under 12 Available at Mendelssohn Box Office and Hill Aud. CHILDREN'S SHOW Wed. 1 p.m. Tickets available at the door. For more info, call 763-1107 UAC/ETC. YOU'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT! -- _- ertoire eir au- r (whoy sightful tablish-: erform- g disks sferred label). d Bern- MahlerI te ann ar.or TONIGHT-Th YOJI (AKlIA KURC AUD A- An outroaeous take-off ont free lance professional qunm Samurai and ends up killing cuard. "The first shagav-m Kael. Japanese with subtitles. Starring TOSH AUD. A, AN $1.25 ad FRI..: Dwarf Doi It was with anxious appre- ____ --- ------asa mayor artiur4T. hension that the musical com- munity awaited his reading of the incomplete Symphony No. 10 (Adagio). The recording has VERA CHYTILOVA'S 1963 finally been released (Colum- bia M 33532) and it reaffirms!SOMETHING Bernstein as the most profound interpreter of Mahler of the DIFFERENT century. See BERNSTEIN, Page 10 Two women, one a housewife and the other a gymnast, j both (under continual demands from their robs) face a crisis. Theresolution of their differing conflicts reveals * they share something in common-a responsibility for S. pa *their lives An amazing Czech film. FAMILY NIGHT ursday, Jan. 29 FRI.: Frank Capra's IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE m oG Tonight at OLD ARCH. SAWA, 1961) Cinema Gudy7:00 & 9:05 A 1. -7 & 9 Am 12 the American Western The an becomes the unemployed a i the bodies he is hired to nan movie . . "-Pauline IRO MITANE! IGELL HALL dmission able Bill in MLB UAC Presents (1 nightonly!) Rw &IheaSILVER BULLET BAND CRISLER ARENA Wed., Feb.11 8pm TICKETS- $6.00 &$5.00 (RESERVE SEATING ONLY) Tickets available at the Michigan Union, Huckleberry Party Store, I Pr ~ 0 w' L "-" tA ~.nt I