Thursday, May 29, 1975

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Page Five

arts

Bowie's 'Americans':
Pleasantincantations

By JOHN POTTER
YOUNG AMERICANS
DAVID BOWIE (RCA
APLI-0998
So what if his singing re-
mains as lily-white as ever, his
latest incantation even a bit
more ludricrous than usual? Da-
vid Bowie's highly touted
"soul" album is, essentially,
music to dance to.
Bowie, from the beginning,
has presented himself as a Star,
distinctly above and beyond his
audience. No Steve Stills in pro-
letarian flannel shirts, no Gil
Scott-Heron revolutionary raps
during the performance.
THE SONGS from Bowie's
classical period confirm his
negative attitude. "Sonny wants
to turn the world, well he can
tell ou that he tried," he sang
in "Star." "So enticing to play
the part I could play the wild
mutation as a rock and roll
star."
But although he's at home in
the world of Glamour, he has
always had a Dylanesque eye
for its insanities. In "Five
Years" or "Watch That Man",
he pictures a manic, violent
world in which the singer him-
self is going a bit crackers.
- And the 'rock-star hero of his
David Bowie breakthrough album, Ziggy
Stardust (who became indis-
Wrap-around skirt: Latest in
fashion from France

tinguishable from Bowie during
the album's heyday) "sucked up
into his mind/ like a leper mes-
siah" upon achieving success.
THE UNIQUE thing about
Bowie's art is that he becomes
whatever fantasy he creates in
his music. A total package, as
it were. Which brings us to the
present.
No longer the cosmic guitarist
of Ziggy Stardust or the alien-
ated madman of Aladdin Sane,
David has emerged, for better
or worse, as a cockney Otis
Redding, complete with shark-
skin suit and soul chorus.
And it's the music that in-
contestably makes Young Amer-
icans. For the first time since
Aladdin Sane, the execution
and production itself is fault-
less.
IlS BAND, except for hold-
over Michael Garson, rock's on-
ly cocktail pianist, is all-new.
and mainly black. Luther Van-
dross, who co-wrote and ar-
ranged the vocals, guitarist
Carlos Alomar, and several
others spent time with Philadel-
phia's primo soul unit MFSB.
And their slick professional-
ism shows. Bowie's first appear-
ance with any of them, on last
fall's David Live, proved them
painfully uncomfortable with his
old glam-rock material.
But the new Iunes on Young
Americans are tailor-made for
the band, an incredible spec-
trum ranging from sweet, tre-
mulous soul ("Win," "Can You
Hear Me?") to the searing funk
of "Fame".
And whether the new soul
groove is cause or effect, Bo-
wie's undergone an attitude
change.
ALTHOUGH the semi-scat vo-
cal on the title cut describes,

somewhat obscurely,- big - city
post - Nixon despair, the churn-
ing music is unabashedly affir-
mative. But mainly, the lyrics
are simpler and, believe it or
not, happier. Bowie belts out
his new - found confidence in
"Somebody up there likes me,"
and grinds out a crescendo of
g e n e r a 1 encouragement
in "Right."
There are low points, of
course. John Lennon, who re-
cently has made a career out of
latching on to latter-day super-
stars, adds some unnecessary
vocals and guitar, while allow-
ing David to pervert his old
ecology hymn "Across the uni-
verse."
And Bowie, whose voice has
always been versatile, never-
theless fails to sound genuine
performing soul grunts.
But the oddities of Y o u n g
Americans soon fade, as the
impeccably funky music takes
hold. You can still sneer at the
old glitter rocker if you wish,
but throw this one on the turn-
table and watch the critics tap
their feet. It's infectious.
if
you
see
news
happen
call
76-DAILY

By BARBARA CORNELL
Special to The Daily
PARIS, France - Get out
your scissors, your needle and
thread, and find that pile of
rags your mother has stashed
somewhere. When you find i,
wash it, patch it, and you'll be
wearing the latest style from
that sizzling fashion capitol of
the world - Paris, France.
What is this super shmata
that will change your life and
send hourdes of hungry young
men to pound at your door?
Think back carefully now. It
was in style over 10 years ago
and it is the type of thing that
vhen you finally laid it In rest
you said, "That old th'ing'l
never come back into style, but
at least it'll be good for rags."
GIVE UP? Why, wrap-around
skirts, of course!
Houses of the hautest of haute
couture are selling these mid-
calf length ditties as if they
were giving them away as pro-
motional items. But, don'tbe
deceived. It'll cost you at least
SHORT or LONG
HAIRSTYLES TO PLEASE
I DASCOLA
BARBERS
ARBORLAND--971-9975
IMAPLE VILLAGt--761 -2733
E. LIBRTY-668-9329

$25 to swing and sway in style
this summer in even the cheap-
est wrap-around skirt.
You should have known they'd
be back again. Just as you
were getting your last s k i r t
shortened, the hems all drop-
ped, so what made you think
the wrap-around was dead and
gone?
AND just look at the practi-
cality of the situation. W r a p-
arounds are just as terrific for
climbing in and out of that old
Edsel when you want to look
"like a lady" at the local sock
hop.
You also look so very dainty,
carefully clutching the flap of
your skirt so a good wind does-
n't come along and show the

whole world "vou've got leggs. '
Besides, they do make rally
great rags.
Oh, and by the way, as long
as you're scrounging through
that musty cupboard looking for
your wrap-around dust rag,
don't forget to look for your
pedal pushers, too. You never
can tell . . .
Making your own tartar
sauce for fish and seafood is
cheaper than buying it. To con-
coct the sauce, add minced on-
ion or scallion, minced pickle
(dill or swett) and minced
parsley to mayonnaise. Use the
seasonings in the proportions
you like.


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