ARTS Friday, September 26, 1986 Page 7 The Michigan Daily Fairport convent ion reunte t r klI .1 C. h. +' h ' c JBY Joseph Kraus ,To say you've heard Fairport Convention is like saying you've 'heard Jefferson Airplane. The English folk-rock band, like its west coast counterpart, has gge through an astonishing number of changes in personnel a i style since it was first formed in 1966. Unlike the various incarnations of Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, and Starship, Fairport Convention has usually had the sense to keep quiet when it didn't have fresh ideas. ' The band's most notable period of silence ended last year when it released Gladys' Leap, its first studio album in over seven years. While the band members on that album, Simon Nicol, Dave Mattacks, and Dave Pegg, were all long-time members of Fairport, things were very different. Over the years, Fairport had become as well known through the work of its departed members as it had through its work as a band. Sandy Denny had gone on to become Britain's leading female vocalist, Richard Thompson was (and still is) knocking critics dead, and Dave Swarbrick, in partnership with Martin Carthy, was producing some of the finest traditional recordings anywhere. Nicol, Mattacks, and Pegg, powerful musicians in their own right, were nevertheless the relative unknowns of the band. On Gladys' Leap, each was forced to carry a new share of the band's duties. For the first time, Nicol became the principal vocalist and Nicol and Mattacks, with help from the great Ralph McTell, wrote the bulk of the original material. The album, while it featured a few bits of vintage Fairport, is most notable simply for its giving the band a new lease on life. In subsequent tours, the three old-timers admitted Ric Sanders, a violinist who had played session for Gladys' Leap, and multi-instrumentalist Martin Allcock to full status within the band. And since then things have really changed. The new ensemble has just released the band's first completely instrumental album, Expletive Delighted, and with its whirling improvisations it promises a whole new future for Fairport. Just when folk-rock, a hybrid itself, has become accepted as a distinct genre, Fairport has a new hybrid, jazz-folk-rock. The driving force behind the shift seems to be Sanders, who has been trained both in jazz and classical music and whose violin swirls prominently in and out of virtually every track. Nicol, speaking Wednesday night from Columbus, Ohio where the group is opening its American tour, explained the changes. "(Sanders) is a musician who has worked in the folk genre for some time, but he actually casts his musical net a lot wider than most of the musicians who have been in this band." But he stressed that Sanders was only a part of that change. "Obviously, this band is still a cooperative thing, it's not a one- man outfit at all," he said. . Even with the changes, though, Fairport hasn't forgotten its roots. Asked about plans for t e snow, Nicol said, "We've got a lot of material to draw on obviously. We've got a whole back catalogue, and. we'll try to put in the old favorite here and there." Fairport Convention plays Sunday night at The Ark. 'Showtimes are 7:30 and 10 p.m. Tickets are $9.50 and are available at Schoolkid's, Herb David's, the Union, and The Ark. Exhibiton Gme 'Detroit R ed Wings VS. Toronto; Maple Leafs Sept. 28.7:30' p YOST ARENA TICKETS: $8.00 & $4.00 * Must Present U-M student ID Card Legal Eagles:' yuppies in love GAMING } -~PRIZES -.fY/c -WORKSHOPS PAITN 4 ccri FASAAmA STVE J zLN AIf(cwer mw~t... CHLL 419535540ae Tgm O136/5 The Office of Major Events presents HOLLY NEAR I By Brian Hall 'With so few new movies available, the, movie studios have decided to re-release some of the more popular films of the summer. Legal Eagles, at the Ann Arbor Theater, is one such example. Produced and directed by Ivan Reitman(Stripes) and starring Robert Redford, Debra Winger,. and Daryl Hannah, Legal Eagles is the story of mirth, murder, and lawyers in love. Redford plays Tom Logan, a New York City assistant district attorney with an impressive case record. Debra Winger is Laura Kelly, a young defense attorney who will try anything to get her clients off the hook, including putting a dog on the witness stand. She must defend Chelsea Dearden (Hannah), a troubled "performance artist" who is framed for murder. When evidence surfaces that may prove Chelsea's innocence, Tom and Laura enter into a possibly un- ethical, but nonetheless romantic relationship. Redford is too uninspired for his character to be believable, and his lack of talent for physical comedy makes Tom frequently appear silly, rather than cute as the director had intended. Laura initially appears hard- posed and unscrupulous, typifying the ambulance-chasing lawyer out to earn a buck. Yet around Tom, she turns into a wide-eyed girl who deifies Tom's legal prowess and practically everything else. Not the least bit representative of female lawyers, she is more reminiscent of a giddy school girl who has fallen for her teacher. Chelsea is a young artist whose life remains haunted by her Record s Randy Travis STORMS OF LIFE Warner Bros. Country music is a genre of losin', cheatin', hometowns, and honky tonks-tales of heartbreak and survival that symbolize the American South. Randy Travis touches on all of these traditional themes on his debut LP Storms of' Life, but fails to capture the emotion that they require. Instead, he makes a safe, formulated country album, per - fectly suited to the country Top 40. Selected by the Academy of Country Music as the top new male vocalist of the year, Travis is among Nashville's new wave of young country singers. His peers include such performers as George Strait and Dwight Y.Qakam. Unlike Yoakam, S whose band plays fiery, straight father's murder. Despite her title, it seems her only true talent is that of getting what she wants by having sex with various men. She wants sympathy, but it is hard to feel that she deserves it. With the plot revealed, the movie turns to the budding relationship between Tom and Laura. Symbolic is a scene where the two of them, in their respective homes, fight insomnia as they fret over the consequences of an earlier meeting. Tom humor- ously tap dances in the bathroom while Laura eats everything she can lay her hands on. Both tune into the late movie and join Gene Kelly in a chorus of Singin' in the Rain. This is a cute, well- directed scene, but the writer's attitude towards Laura's bulimia is insulting, which greatly detracts from its comedic quality. Quickly the viewer realizes that Tom and Laura will wind up living happily ever after. Thus the film can shift focus onto the murder mystery. With one life- threatning episode after another, Tom and Laura quickly become skilled detectives and slick crime-stoppers. When the actual killer traps Laura and Chelsea, it's up to Tom to solve the crime and save the poor damsels. Another happy ending. With its starring cast and Baby Boomer soundtrack, Legal Eagles initially appears to be a harmless, romantic Yuppie comedy. However, this seemingly simple comedy presents unending sterotypes of women, becoming little more than the daydream of some egomaniacal male. This is certainly too bad because Legal Eagles had a lot of potential, and is even mildly entertaining. But unfortunately, the insults get in the way. Tickets available at the - _Yost Arena Box Office - Call for Infornation E L G(313) 764-0244 __ ___Great Seats Still Available!I Saturday, September 27 8pm, Power Center Ann Arbor Tickets available at the Michigan Union Ticket Office, all Ticket World Outlets, Schoolkid's Records & Tapes, Herb David Guitar Studio Charge by phone 763-TKTS stifles most of the emotional impact In the same vein, Travis' singing seems to lack feeling. He sings nearly every song in the same careful voice, sounding almost afraid to put in the in- flections necessary to convey the song's emotion. The result is a dull album with only a few bright spots. One of these bright spots is the album's opening song "On the Other Hand," where Travis tells the tale of a man deciding to leave a woman because she is married to another man. The song's title is a clever play on words refering to her wedding ring: On one hand I could stay and be your lovin' man, but the reason I must go is on the other hand. His careful singing fits the cautious tone of the song, producing a very good country single, but from this