Page 4-Saturday, July 29, 1978-The Michigan Daily
RECORDS
Double Vision
Foreigner
AtlanticSD19999
Can the overnight success of
Foreigner carry them through a trium-
phant encore to their phenomenal debut
effort? This Anglo-American sextet has
found its formula in combining driving
rock with awesome technical precision.
Their new album, Double Vision, builds
on the rockers from Foreigner, con-
tinuing the exemplary execution and
even improving on the overall sound
quality. Better yet, there isn't another
"Cold As Ice."
Two of the better numbers, the title
cut and "Hot Blooded," are good, solid
rockers with strong guitars. "Spellbin-
der" is cast roughly in the same vein as
"Damage Is Done," and "Blue Mor-
ning, Blue Day" also recalls tunes off
the first Foreigner album. One might
even suppose that the band is simply
redoing old stuff with a tinge of
variation.
NOT TO worry. Mick Jones and
friends sound like they want to rock on
Double Vision, and if the album's
highlights are any indication of what
Foreigner is looking for, then they've
found the end of their rainbow.
If their debut album suited you, then
Double Vision will probably hit the spot
once again.
-Timothy Yagle
fine acoustic piano, wild bass lines and
a strong, tight, vocal delivery. The
quality of the lyrics is debatable, a
problem throughout much of the
record. Josie James' pure voice shines
like a crystal throughout, and
sometimes it's possible to forget what
she's singing and get carried away in
how she's singing it. She and Duke belt
out some clear long notes and har-
monies, and achieve some unique effec-
ts.
ANOTHER first is a Latin-oriented
song entitled "Percussion Interlude,"
written by Duke's longtime musical
associate, Leon "Ndugu" Chancler,
and Sheila Escovedo, both percussion
players. It features all the rhythms,
percussion, and pseudo-Spanish lyrics
and harmonies that would fool anyone
who didn't know where it was coming
from.
The greatest piece, however, is a two-
part composition beginning with a short
introduction entitled "Preface."
Opening with violins, viola, plucked
guitars, piano, timbales, and syn-
thesized flutes, it slides into "The
Future," which carries on the same
themes and melodies with that smooth
Duke jazz feel. If this means there's
more stuff like this in store for the
future, then I'll be even more ap-
preciative. I like this sort of music
much more than the funk on the
majority of the LP.
OTHER HIGH points on the album
are some funky guitar licks by Wah
Wah Watson on "We Give Our Love,"
and "Yeah, We Going" by Ndugu.
There's a lot of improvisation (or just
plain hacking around) with the voices
on "Dukey Stick," including the lines,
"let us all confess that we have seen
what we do not believe in/Duke ta
funk." It's also a treat to have
Napoleon Murphy Brock (another for-
mer Mother of Invention) singing on the
album, and even lead on the title song,
but it's a disappointment that he
doesn't play his tenor sax.
Basically this is a fine album, with
top-notch performancesalthough Duke
has done better. The only fault, aside
from the triteness of some of the lyrics,
is that a lot of the tunes sprawl in dif-
ferent directions. Duke's eclecticism
may be more of a drawback than he
knows.
Barbara Undershaft (Janice Reid) scolds her munitions manufacturer father,
Steven Undershaft (Lou Brockway), in Michigan Repertory 78's production of
Shaw's "Major Barbara."
"Major Barbara' long
on time,
By SUSAN BARRY
The acting company of The Michigan
Repertory Theatre took on a major
challenge Thursday as they attempted
to enact one of George Bernard Shaw's
most dogmatic dramas, Major Bar-
Major Barbara-
By George Bernard Shaw
Michigan Repertory 78
Pwer Centerx
Lady Britomart...
Stephen Undershaft ..
Morrison ............
Barbara Undershaft .
Sarah Undershaft....
Adolphus Cusins .....
Charles Lomax ......
Andrew Undershaft ..
Snobby Price ........
Rummy Mitchens ....
Jenny Hil ...........
Peter Shirley........
Bill Walker ...........
Mrs. Baines ..........
Bilfn
.Kathryn Long
John V. McCarthy
.Daniel J. Hurtado
.........Janice Reid
.........Betty Reid
...........Don Hart
.......Terry Caza
..... Lou Brockway
........David Manis
.....Laura Salazar
... Rebecca Watson
...Loren DaleBass
..... Ted Badgerow
....Kate Conners
d vii ln(,ir
laughs
inevitably resort to verbal battles in an
effort to sell their own principles to
each other. Andrew Undershaft's best
weapon is his fortune, which he wields
benevolently whenever it can gain him
influence. His daughter, Barbara, has
admirable strength of character and a
rational mind, which Undershaft is
most interested in conquering. The
remaining characters round out the
plot by providing the comic interest.
UNDERSHAFT has a son, played by
John V. McCarthy, who has an abnor-
mal affection for his mother and a
rather misplaced conviction in his
nameless morality. McCarthy is a bit
stiff as Stephen Undershaft, but his
ability to snivel on cue is rather affec-
ting.
The most entertaining of the minor
characters, however, is unquestionably
Andrew Undershaft's future son-in-law
Charles Lomax, played by Terry Caza.
Caza has honed this role to perfection,
as the openly ignorant fop who is
always waving "Howdy do" to his
humorless in-laws. His ability to say the
wrong thing at the wrong time is
flawless.
A rather irritating detraction from
the play, however, is Mrs. Undershaft.
Lady Britomart, played by Kathryn
Long. Her voice is a spiraling screech
that opened the production on a rather
sour note. It is well for her to try to ex-
press her character through her voice,
but when this is not controlled, it can be
disastrous. Her put-downs were so
clever that it was a shame to lose them
in a high-pitched howl.
ANOTHER notable performance was
that of Ted Badgerowas Bill Walker,
See BARBARA Page 14
hton . y.....................Po avt AianGrier
Becky B. Prophet, director;
Don't Let Go
George Duke
Epic JE 35366
The majority of the music on George
Duke's new album, Don't Let Go, is
funky, but it definitely retains his cat-
chy spirit.
Most of the tunes stretch away from
the dimensions that Duke has explored
in the past with such heavy jazz greats
as Frank Zappa, Jean-Luc Ponty and
Billy Cobham, as well as the blues he's
done on his own and with Cannonball
Adderley.%
An excellent example is "Movin'
On," the closest Duke has ever come to
a potential radio hit. It contains some
Summe
Sta
OWEN GLEIB
Arts Edit
STAFF WKITERS: Mic
Bornstein, Peter Manis,
Christopher Potter, Eric
Kerry Thompson,TimYa
sHeller StevenL. Gilliam, setdesigner; Marcia
-Douglas Grace Froelich, costumes; R. Craig Wolf, lighting;
RichardBurgwin, artisticrdi-ector
bara. The play is exceedingly long
(three and a half hours), and travels a
philosophical gamut from strict
religious moralism to proclamations of
unabashed hedonism. This play is even
r A rtIs more difficult to act than it is to sit
through, but in all, this company did an
admirable job.
The plot settles around an
aristocratic family in England and the
3ERMANcomplications stemming from a
E oadhe, daughter, who is a major in the
hael Baadke, Karen Salvation Army, and her father, who
Stephen Pickover, has made his millions manufacturing
Smith, R. J. Smith, cannons and firearms, both of whom
agle. are reunited after a long separation and