4 Page 8 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, April 17, 1986 Books Images The Falconer of Central Park Donald Knowler Bantam Books, $8.95, 192 pp. Every day from January 1, 1982, to December 31, 1982, English journalist Donald Knowler went to Central Park. Visiting the entire 834 acres, 1knowler detailed each day's visit in the Falconer of Central Park. Writing with the style of a distracted James Michener, Knowler basically describes the surroundings, people, and, specifically, the many bird species. kEarly in the book, Knowler in- troduces himself: I had come to New York in search of something I could not define, to take stock, to find not a new beginning, but an adjustment of course, another avenue ... for reasons I did not know, I was paying more attention to birds than anything else, drawing irresistible parallels bet- ween them and the people using the park. Knowler tries too hard to draw correlations between animals and people. For instance, he talks of bir- dwatchers defying a mugger as chickadees defy a blue jay. He also includes unfamiliar references such as that of a stray cat resembling the 'Tom Cat' California citrus adver- tisements of yesteryear. One must give the author credit for his endurance in detailing every single thing he sees, however. He also deserves sympathy when he describes burying a stray cat he'd befriended and later found dead. He guardedly shares the emotion of the moment. While he painstakingly tries to share his experience with flowery prose, Knowler remains too distant from the reader on most accounts. The ornate style was perfect for the subject matter but seemed too full of effort and strained to be effective. Nevertheless, some positive points can be found in the work. He includes little known, historical facts about Central Park itself, such as: in 1982 the biggest tree trunk was that of an elm planted by the Prince of Wales in 1860. Also, of possible interest to bird watchers, he includes a list of the 131 types of birds he saw in the park. In fact, maybe Knowler's book is ideal for birdwatchers. A great deal of the content is totally concerned with sighting each variety of bird But other readers might be better advised to look to different books for accounts of experiencing Central Park. -Gloria Sanak 14 Records Dumptruck- Positively (Big Time) Smooth, light, upbeat, and bright - and never too much pop to prevent you from loving it. That about sums up Positively, the newest LP from the Boston-based quartet. Dumptruck. Don Dixon's Drive-In production lifts Dumptruck's material sky high, and the mood keeps going for the en-- tire album. Dixon's been adding his touch to several pop-come-lately out- fits, but Dumptruck has something special to (thankfully) push them beyond this category, which has become distressingly uninteresting. The band's lyrics probably tip the scales most in this manner. They're cynical enough to keep the songs from sailing into the stratosphere, but never get bogged down in artistic put N'JY " '~IT? downs, or angst. And Dumptruck is always as tight as can be, musically. The album opener, "Back Where I Belong" absolutely sings. It's something between a drone and a stagger, with Kirk Swan and Seth Tiven harmonizing a vendetta over the merry-go-round bass lines, This is for the time you told me everything would go Wrong . . . With the exception of "Secrets" - which has a bit of that tin can quality to it - their harmonizing adds a nice touch throughout the record. Confusion plays a central role in many of the following tracks. On "Autumn Light" the band takes a rather clever approach, with a driving, definite rhythm off-setting the lyrics Where am I to go now . . . The music is definitely in motion, but the vocalist indicates it's not going anywhere after all. "Ethics" is a wonderfully glum, loser's-stream-of-consciousness song. The guitars buzz like the swarming bees that accompany an evil hangover, and the vocalist drones in character Insignificance seems per- sistent once again, in a way. Positively's real musical winner is its guitars. Lush, fresh, twining, chiming together; a slice of 12-string here and there. These instruments are always crisp and exciting, and work expecially well on the theatre of the absurd set-up of "Nine People," and "Walk into Mirrors." They hit upon a gorgeous texture in "Winter," which rings with awe and stillness, and on the next side prove capable of sailing into gutsy rock-and-roll on "Alone." 14 IA Daily Photo by JAE KIM -r Dumptruck may boast one of the unlikeliest names for a rock combo, but one listen to 'em proves they can outdo much of anything else you are likely to hear. This album's a gem. Positively. -Beth Fertig Rebirth presents: Mark Murphy with trio and Wendell Harrison & Friends Armadillos, Bears, Cougars, Dawgs, Eagles, Frogs, Gators, Hurricanes, Indians, Jayhawks, Knights, Lions, Mules, Nighthawks, Owls, Panthers, Quails, Razorbacks, Seminoles,Tide, Unicorns,Vikings, Wildcats, Xerus,Yaks and Zebras all make the right move with Ryder. -4 Go tobatx ag3ainstA D efects" p Support the March of Dimes BIRTH DEFECTS FOUNDATION Ir APRIL 26, 1986 Pease Auditorium - Admission $10.00 EMU Call (313)875-0289 I ee-,zxse INTERESTED IN MUSIC PRODUCTION? Position of Eclipse Coordinator Open for Fall 1986 Job entails: * Booking Requirements: * Promotion * Interest in jazz . Production * Experience recommended * Facilitating Group Meetings * Must be a student INQUIRIES 763-0046 Great Experience for the Music IndustryI U. S. Department of Health & Human Services 4 TEST. YOUR SKILL. I S L!,Jy }:, '~ ~ 4'~ C ; y. ---