Tuesday, August 9, 1977
Tube talk*
By NINA SHISHKOFF
T'HE NEW CROP of summer replacements °
on television is a mixed lot. There's some-
thing for everyone; a sense of deja vu, nostalgia,
the mystery of life, and, of course, Norman
Lear.
"Szysznyk" is the title of a new Monday
night show on CBS, about an ex-marine who be-
comes the supervisor of a community center
and has to deal with juvenile delinquents, wom-
en's libbers, and other phenomena his military
training hasn't taught him how to handle.
It's a good idea, and it works up to a cer-
tain extent, as Szysznyk ("say it Ziznik") stub-
bornly tries to cope with his boss, a ferocious
black woman (Olivia Cole), an old caretaker run a gas stat
(Leonard Barr), and four young street hoods and anything. I
(Scott Colomby, Barry Miller, Jarrod Johnson, look like "Mast
and Thomas Carter). It works because Ned Beat- decide which i
ty, as Szysznyk, and Cole play their roles con- g h
vincingly and with warmth. The characte
Archie Bunker,
THE WHOLE THING breaks down with the maniac, their
four kids, who must have been kidnapped from a moronic emp
the classroom next to "Welcome Back" Kotter's; first episode, J.
they're carbon copies of Washington, Barbarino, to Bobbi Lou's b
and the other "Kotter" kids. a restaurant, wi
the right light,'
TUESDAY AT EIGHT, CBS made one of the antique. J.T. tI
most brilliant moves of the season, and brought the boyfriend b
back four of the old "Jack Benny" shows. Even turns out to rea
for those who never saw it when it was originally said.
shown from 1950 to 1964, it will bring back a NORMAN L
flood of nostalgia. It's Benny at his best, and with a new con
why don't they make 'em like that any more? the adult sit-co
and now, as if
It takes a lot of money to put a series on cal situation co
the air, and a lot of worthy projects get scrap- CBS Fridays,
pod because of the lack of imagination of the (Greg Evigan
networks. devil's lisping,
It seems like the cream of the crud gets into exchanging
on, yet it's beyond all comprehension how a show top, as .a hit r
like "The Kallikaks" ever got on TV (Wednes- Mickey Rooney
days on NBC). Everyone tries
posed by Don K
It's about a poor Appalachian family who but the whole
Chambel r m1usic fest'
underw ay tonight
THE ANN ARBOR Chamber Beethoven's "Trio, op. 11"
Music Celebration opens Duparc's "Chansons" Paul
today with a fine selection of Crestons "Saxophone Quartet"
music and performers includ- and Jack Marshall's "Goldrush
ing soloists from the National Suite". U-M Music School fac-
Symphony, Detroit Symphony, ulty members performing in-
and members of the U-M Mu- lude: Jerome Jelinek (vello)
sic School's faculty and student David Shifrin (clarinet) Donald
body. Sinta (saxophone) Ellen Weck-
Three concerts are included ler and Nancy Hodge (piano)
in the series, including this eve- and Leonard Johnson (tenor).
ning's performance of Stravin- The third concert, scheduled
sky's "L'histoire du Soldat" for Monday, August 15 includes
suite and Schumann's "Fanta- Telemann's "Concerto Trum-
sie Stucke, Op. 73. Other per- pet, Oboes and Continuo" and
formances are .scheduled for Mozart's "Sonata in B major
August 11 and I5. Series tick- fQr Violin and Piano, K.454."
ets are available at 10 general Performers include Rafael
admission, $6 for students at Druian (violin), Alfio Pignotti
the Pendleton Room of the (viola), Jerome Jelinek (cello),
Michigan Union. David Shifrin (clarinet), Sara
The second concert of the Watkins (oboe) Treva Shifrin
series carries the tradition of (oboe) Robert Williams (bas-
chamber music from the Ba- soon) Gary Miller (harpsi-
roque through the present. The chord) and Theodore Lettvin
evening's repertoire includes (piano).
TH-E M CHIGANy DA1LY
Pine Five
THE MhHIAvDIL ,grFv
- Recrds i Brie
Benny
ion, and try to rip off anyone
It makes the Beverly Hillbillies"
terpiece Theater." It's hard to
s orse; the script or the act-
rs are J.T. Kallikak, a hillbilly
his wife Venus, a cackling sex.
daughter Bobbi Lau, and Oscar,-
loyee at the gas station. In the
T. trys to sell an old "junk car"
boyfriend, head chiciken dipper at
rho looks like Robert Redford "it
" by telling him it's a valuable
hinks he's made a killing when
uys it, but (you guessed it) it
lly be a valuable antique. Enough
EAR has once again come up
cept for television. First it was
rm, then the comedy soap opera,
anyone needed it, the first musi-
medy. "A Year at the Top," on
concerns two young songwriters
and Paul Shaffer) whom the
and apparently gay, son tricks
their souls for a year at the
ock group. If that isn't enough,
plays the songwriters' uncle.
sincerely, and songs are com-
irshner, of "Rock Concert" fame,
thing is a ridiculous mess.
By KURT HARJU
THOUGH only a handful have
made it, those Canadians
who've managed to slip into
the American mainstream have
created an impact far greater
than their numbers. Folk ar-
tists like John Mitchell and Gor-
don Lightfoot have either trans-
formed or perfected the idiom
in a way American musicians
would have been too self-con-
scious to accomplish. Similiar-
ly, rock underwent a strong
dose of shock therapy when ex-
posed to the Band, who put our
heritage in perspective, and
Neil Young, whose protests
were somehow more authentic
for being foreign when he spoke
out in "Southern Man," On the
Beach and "Ohio."
But, with the irony and
sleight - of - hand he's proven,
he's always capable of, Young
does not go after this culture or
its failures in ' his latest LP,
American Stars in Bars, (War-
ners Bros. MSK 2261) though
the title seems to address itself
directly to the topic.
INSTEAD, HE DEALS with
the life he has made in the
States and the success that has
befallen him here. For though
his roots are in Canada( the
"northern Ontario" he missed
in "Helpless"), his career and
music reflects the extent he's
become the artistic property of
this country. Once agaain draw-
ing a bead on Southern Califor-
nia but keeping it on a personal
level, Young makes the connec-
tion between stars and bars
stick.
Being a North American hero
apparently hasn't been easy for
him as his private misfortunes
and occasional public rejections
indicate. But he's been on a
definite upswing the last three
LP and, on American Stars 'N
Bars, he's reached a new peak
-a retrospective selection of 9
songs that offer a strong taste
of the future and a firm glance
at the past.
It's probably precisely be-
cause Young changet styles at
the flick of a switch that made
him decide to alternate old and
new material for a public who
became sometimes confused
by his shifts in emphasis from
album to album. Side 1 is
Young as he is now, or was,
with Crazy Horse this spring.
In the opening number, "The
ild Country Waltz" he sets the
tone with the explanation "I
ain't go no excuses/ I just want
to play." By the amount of
energy such songshas "Hey
Babe" and "Bite the Bullet"
generate, it seems the more
he's a hit with the public, the
better he is able to rise to the
occasion.
Though many reviews have
come out in favor of this LP
already, few mention how well
Young can sing with a female
partner. Linda Ronstadt joins
him for a couple of the new
ones and, with her vocal range,
he can let her sing the high
parts he usually attempts and
concentrate on a fuller and
more natural tone as in the
wailing "Hold Back The
Tears."
YOUNG ONCE RECORDED
a variety of material with Em-
my Lou Harris and one of
those takes surfaces on Side
2, from 1974, the haunting bal-
lad "Star of Bethlehem" and
its quietly - stated revelation:
"Maybe. the star of Bethlehem
wasn't. a star at all."
"Will To Love" is Neil's shin-
ing, totally solo spot that echoes
such of his work throughout
the years but especially the ly-
rical approach he took his very
first album - the keyboards
are almost as perfectly under-
stated as they were in "The Old
Laughing Lady." If the song
shows Young's fighting sirit in
a gentle way, then "Like A
Hurricane" displays it with all
the fire and fury he can mus-
ter. The two together are the
best 15 minutes and 25 seconds
the Young has ever laid side
by side.
"Homegrown," formerly the
title cut of a defunct album,
brings back the same off the
wall county flavor that the new-
er stuff leans towards though
it was reworded two years ago,
Coming full circle, the album
is un unqualified success but
it is because he's balanced his
musical persona in a manner
that discourages criticism of
any particular style. By cover-
ing all his bases, he's reached
a point where probably any-
thing he now records will re-
ceive the acceptance and at-
tention he found, lost and is
striving for again.
Have o lior ifr
aetistic writiaw?
I you are Interest-
ed to celeatas
poi Cry, and aat
or writteg eattire
starles aborut the
drama, dance. Oiat
arts: Contact Arts
E d i t or. c/o The
Micitegan Daly.
S
S
Kin re
By SUSAN BARRY
IT'S DIRTY WORK for anyone with a feminist
consciousness to knock Carole King. What could
be more rpfreshing than watching a successful,
energetic woman enthusiastically performing mu-
sic that, whatever the technical expertise, is
at least bringing more recognition to women in
the professional world?
And the opening set of King's performance
at Pine Knob last Thursday night was complete-.
ly entertaining. Through technical difficulties;
King's voice kept cracking, the piano sounded
tinny and there was an inordinate amount of
feedback, Carole King just kept on trying. Play-
ing nearly every memorable cut from her Tape-.
stry album, King piled one hit on top of the
other until she had the audience enchanted.
WATCHING HER PERFORM is part of the
attraction. She bobs her bushy head from side
to side and rocks on her piano seat until her
enthusiasm is projected to her audience. "Hey
you people are neat," grins the subtle King.
And the audience bellows back, "we love you
The other attractive feature of her perform-
ance is her lyrics and bouncing melodies. Even
the saddest song has an upbeat rhythm. King
performed her torchier compositions such as
"So Far Away," "Been So Long," and "It's too
Late," as well as such favorites as "Beautiful
As You Feel," "Natural Woman," and "Only
Love Is Real."
From here however, her appeal began to
wane. Introducing a band called "Navarro,"
King explained that they were not merely a
backup band. Navarro then proceeded to dom-
inate the concert with their soggy lyrics and
mediocre musicianship. King played along with
them but her contributions were lost.
It seems as though lately most folk musicians
feel they will lose their commercial appeal un-
less they can prove themselves able to perform
rock. At the sacrifice of their individuality most
of them blend in rather well with large bands.
But the effect is definitely not the same.
As soon as she became one of the band King's
concert became uninteresting. Her last finale,
"You've Got a Friend," seemed anti-climatic.
The audience left satisfied but far from thrilled.