The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, Morch 31, 1981-Page 5
ARTS
The Michigan Daily
Page 5
Dance Crag
Soundtrack from the movie 'D
Craze' (Chrysalis) - If I were a
more cynical, I might refer to this
collection as "The Best and the Re
"Two Tone." Even though I won'
that, it's hard not to treat Dance C
as some sort of State of the Art c
ment on the ska revival, since it
tains three songs by each of the top'
Tone groups - Madness, The Eng
Beat, The Specials, and The Select4
and three more cuts split between
lesser cohorts - Bad Manners and
Bodysnatchers.
Even if the tunes represented on
album are not "The Best" of each
ticular group. they are a good same
of their work. The English Beat e
show themselves to be the most
and forceful of the lot with their cri
balance between anchored bass
driving guitar. The Specials, howe
sound less clinically professional a
their music as they stretch out"
Klub" and tackle "Man at C & A,'
of the most challenging cuts from A
Specials.
NOT EVERY SONG on this albu
as unreproachable as the above,
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already keyed into the revved-up
reggae of the ska revival won't be able
to live without this offering. Those of
you who aren't already acquainted with
this new trend now have the change to
buy a virtual survey of this influential
phenomenon and its most enjoyable of-
fspring. So, what are you waiting
for?
-Mark Dighton
Don McLean
Don McLean - 'Chain Lightning'
two (Millennium Records) -Somewhere
Th between anesthesia and annoyance
this lurks 95 percent of the music that wins
s AM airplay, and to this big, wide, won-
par- derful world of non-art we can now
pling welcome Don McLean, who had his big
asily hit nine years ago with "American
solid Pie" and hasn't had one since.
ucial "Pie" remains a powerful (if all too
dver, familiar) curiosity, a kaleidoscopic
bout view of the 60s in a repertoire centered
Nit mostly around a more dated, clunkier
'one desire to be another generation's Pete
More Seeger. Seemingly embittered by the
lack of follow-up success, McLean
mis retreated in post-"Pie" days to songs of
(The increasing self-pity and tantrummy
social satire and to unexpected stardom
in Europe, where his folky pretensions
were mistaken for the real thing.
HIS NEW LP, Chain Lightning, is
probably selling more in the United
States than his last five combined (not
much of a feat, admittedly), and dread-
ful as it is, one can hardly begrudge
McLean the belated success. After all,
he did have some talent as a songwriter
and a vocalist. Whatever his commer-
cial chances might have been were
g rather hastily scrapped by a record
company that didn't know how to
And then there are the cover ver-
sions. Buddy Holly was honored by
McLean's poignant reference to him in
"American Pie," but the cover of "It
Doesn't Matter Anymore" (Holly's last
recording) makes one feel protectively
happy that Holly is dead and gone.
Similar yelps of pain - from the
listener, though McLean doesn't seem
to be having much fun either - accom-
pany the Geritol-influenced inter-
pretations of "Crying" (the ghastly AM
single), originally recorded by Roy Or-
bison), "Lotta Lovin' " (Gene Vin-
cent), "Since I Don't Have You" (The
Skyliners), and "You're Cheating
Heart" (Hank Williams). Well, McLean
certainly listens to some nice music
when he's not busy doing these awful
things to it on record.
--Dennis Harvey
MANN THEATRES
VILLAGE 4
375 N MAPLE
769-30
Daily Discount Matinees
TUESDAY BUCK DAY
market anything not smacking of
"American Pie"-ness.
As for the new record-oh, well. The
first song, "Words and Music," is an
innocuously okay, upbeat bar-band
rocker, but from there it's string-
sections and wheezy listening all the
way. McLean's other four original
tunes are all here-we-are-in-the-forest-
and-you're-so-right-for-me-darlin'-and-
isn't-life-grand material. He also wrote
"Genesis (In the Beginning)," distinct
as the vaguest tune to date in the whole
born-again musical sweepstakes - it's
too tame to be self-righteous.
Rush- Rush
Rush -'Moving Pictures' (Mercury)
- I simply refuse to refer to Rush as a
"dead" band as I recently heard them
described. If they are indeed "dead,"
judlging from their album sales and
concert receipts; they are making a
hell of a success out of such an
inanimate state.
To call a veteran rock entity such as
;R tsh "dead" is not only a gross in-
justice to the talented trio but also to
th$ myriad followers they have
amassed, who themselves are no fools.
Rush gives them exactly what they
want - solid, unadulterated rock and
rdil.
RUSH HAS always ranked among the
more creative heavy metal bands
(-yes, contrary to popular belief,
perimenting with mass-appeal
techniques.
By no means has Rush sold out, but
rather they have made a few adjust-
ments. Probably the most significant
lies within the key that separates Rush
from any other rock band-the vastly
distinguishable voice of Geddy Lee.
GEDDY LEE possesses one of the
few voices that I would venture to call
immortal. The moment that he opens
his mouth there is no doubt about
it-what follows is Rush. On Moving
Pictures, Lee's voice has a
predominantly lower tone to it (the
opening cut "Tom Sawyer" is a good
example) making it more pleasing than
the shrill crooning on previous LP's.
An impressive aspect of Moving Pic-
tures is the cut that proves Rush's in-
strumental expertise, "YYZ," a jazz-
oriented tune written by Lee and
Lifeson.
Follow this up with a lyrical piece
about the life of a performer entitled
"Limelight," and what you've got is a
versatility that makes me wonder
where these people uttering the death of
Rush have been sticking their heads
lately? -
-Tammy Reiss
Andrei Codrescu, a prize-winning
poet born in Rumania, will read from
his work tonight at 8:00 p.m. in East
Quad's Benzinger Library. Codrescu,
who is the fourth and last guest in the
Residential College Writers-in-
Residence series, has been called "one
of our most powerful younger poets."
... Codrescu is really beginning to
write in a new language as though
someone in the middle of a conver-
sation suddenly started speaking in
multicolored bubbles instead of wor-
ds", the Village Voice says.
Codrescu's provocative, enigmatic
style and anti-war themes have attrac-
ted and intrigued a wide variety of
audiences. He is the scheduled guest
at the Hopwood Tea this Thursday at
3:30, and he will also be at the State
Street Bookstore Friday from 4-6 p.m.,
to autograph his new book, Diapers in
the Snow.
? / e-
'
2 Days of Sales Madness!
OVER 40 STORES
April 4 & 5
U of M Track and Tennis Building
FREE ADMISSION
Selecter especially prove themselves
barely tolerable with their grating
vocals and hackneyed themes) but
nothing interferes with the
unquestionable dance potential of this
disc. The album is mixed so that it
sounds like one continuous performan-
ce. The final vinyl doesn't sound like
your average dissected and disem-
boweled live LP, but instead builds real
tangible momentum just like a good
concert should.
There really isn't any excuse not to
own this record. Those of you who have
DISTINCTIVE
HAIRSTYLING FOR
MEN AND WOMEN
Try a 1980 NEW LONG or SHORT STYLE
THE DASCOLA
STYLISTS
liberty off State .. 663-9329
East U. at So. U.... 662-0354
Arborland ........ 971-9976
Maple Village .... 761-2733
CINEM11A 11
presents
Tonight, Tues. March 31 7:00 and 9:00
Nat. Sci. Aud.
AUTUMN SONATA
(Ingmar Bergman, 1978)
The euphoric reunion between a worldly concert pianist (INGRID BERGMAN)
and her self-denying daughter (LIV ULLMAN) declines into an exchange of
cruelties, triggering an agony of recriminations about the past. This explo-
sion of their mutual rivalry and guilt illuminates the frail, but indestructible
bonds between mother and daughter. Swedish with subtitles.
Wed. April 1st
7:00 and 9:00
"GREEK NIGHT"
Nat. Sci. Aud.
heavy metal does have a creative side)
and no one can accuse them of nonsen-
j, eeal lyrics. Drummer Neil Peart is a
proficient poet, and with the music-
writing talents of Alex Lifeson and
jGeddy Lee, the Canadian group has
designed and modified their formula
for success.
Moving Pictures is the ninth album
for Rush and it denotes some subtle as
well as dramatic alterations. In Moving
'Pictures, Rush seems to be reaching
out to a wider circle of listeners. The
abstract properties of 1978's
Hemispheres or even 1977's Farewell to
Kings have been toned down. With the
success of Permanent Waves, it is no
wonder that Rush chose to continue ex-
SORORITY GIRL AND RUSH
(Roger Corman, 1957)
The king of the B's directed this tale of a college bad girl (SUSAN CABOT)-a
Corman favorite) involved in the mindless hedonism of the 50's college scene.
Sound familiar? PLUS: Rush-the juxtaposition of this documentary with
Sorority Girl proves once again that Truth is stranger than Fiction. Depicting
sorority rush week at the University of Mississippi, this was one of the
highlights of the New York Film Festival. Both films at 7:00 and 9:00.
admission $2.
Fri: THAT MAN FROM RIO and CAT AND MOUSE
Sat: THERESA THE THIEF (Ann Arbor Premiere
Sun: FRENCH CAN-CAN and LABETE HUMAIN
._..
A very spacey
comedy.
" Burl Ives
Earth
Sbound
1:30
3:30
5:20
7:15
9:15
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