The Michigan Daily -Monday, April19, 1993-Page 13 Fun, fast-pac by Karen Lee In her director'snotes, Mary Locker declared that she wanted her production of "Tbe Gondoliers" to, as the song goes, leave the audience "with feelings ofpleasure."It was very clear thatLocker and her cast aimed to please, and even though I personally have trouble with The Goiidoiiers Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre April 15, 1993 operetta in general, I appre- . ciated the effort that so obviously went into such a venture. The plot was typically convoluted Gilbert and Sullivan. Two gondolier brothers, both Republicans, are told that one of them is the long lost infant prince ofBarataria, hidden away some 20years ago in Venice. Now, the Grand Inquisi- tor needed to bring the heir back to Barataria to rale; the problem is, he doesn't know which of the brothers is the royalty. Suffice it to say that every- thing worked out in the end, although, by this time, everyone knew how it would turn out because the plot twist had been all but revealed in the middle of Act I. Performed on scenery that, like the operetta itself, was sunny, bright and * elaborate, the show moved along at a fairly quick rate, and the space was used extremely well. Everything on the set served some function and was not sim- ply used as decoration. The actors as well all served a pur- pose.In too many shows, chorus mem- bers are placed on the stage, where they just sit and make the rest of the scene look good. Here, however, the Gondo- liers and their Contadine were an inte- gral part of the show, carrying off their ed operetta helped by Diana Hunt's admirable cho- reography, made all the more meritori- ausbecause she had so many people to work with. The leading actors are to be com- mendedaswell.CurtisPetersandDavid Zinn, as the brothers Marco and Giuseppe Palmieri, made agreat come- dic team, with beautiful voices that complemented each other well. Tricia Klapthor, playing the romantic lead Criselda, had a clear, soaring soprano that reflected what she was feeling at all times. Additionally, she was an able comedienne, and she performed well withMitchGillet'sLuiz.LisaWirtzand Julie Jacobs, as the gondolier wives Tessa and Gianetta, did a nice job as well, although Jacobs' soprano had a little too much vibrato. Wirtz had a bigger problem, however, in that she did not have a strong lower register; there were times that, from where I was sitting in the balcony, I could not hear what she was singing, or even ifshe was singing. The comic showpieces, however, were Kevin Casey asDonAlhambradel Bolero (the Grand Inquisitor), and Beverley Pooley and Linda Nadeau as the Duke and Duchess of Plaza-Toro. Casey was the epitome of self-impor- tance in his part as political manipula- tor, Pooley and Nadeau reveled in the wealth that would soon come of their daughter's maniage and tried desper- ately to cover up their marital problems in front of her, although not so much that the audience could not delight in them. Director Locker, in her first active work with the Gilbert and Sullivan so- ciety after an absence of five years, put together a show that was worthy of her return. Fast-paced and fun, "'The Gon- doliers" satisfied any lover of operetta Midnight Oil Earth and Sun and Moon Sony Music Before he answered even the first question, Midnight Oil's Peter Ganrett wanted to set one thing straight: Mid- night Oil isnot apolitical band. It's just coincidence that all their best songs are political and that they play at least a dozen benefit concerts a year. It must also just be coincidence that their latest album, which deals with mostly eco- logical issues, is titled "Earth and Sun andMoon,"andwasrecordedinasolar- poweredstudio. But then again, maybe not. Peter may have a point, though. Midnight Oil doesn't sound like a po- litical band. It sounds like a rock band. When I first put the new disc on, I thought I was listening to the Doors; then theguitars kicked in, andI was sure itwastheWho,whenactually,it was the Oils. The sound is still distinctive, but this time around, it's as familiar as it is fresh. "It's going to come out eventu- ally," remarked the lanky singer. "We tried to ignore it for a while, but those were our influences." "Earth and Sun and Moon"is a bit of a departure for the band, and a long- awaited one at that. When asked what took three years, Peter said, "'Twelve good songs."Once again, he was wrong. There are only 11 songs on the album, and 10 of them aren't just good, they're grr-e-a-t (thanks Tony). The first track, "Feeding Frenzy," sets the tone for the album. The instru- mentation is simple (nothing electronic at all), yet lays a serious groove. The next track, "My Country," is even bet- ter. It is as infectious as "Beds Are Burning,"butmuch more uptempo.Like so many songs on the disc, "My Coun- try" hasone of thoserefrains that stay in your head all day, but just this once you may not want to leave. Some of the songs, such as "Truganini," sound like classic "Die- sel"-eraoils, whileotherslike "Renais- sance Man," and "Tell Me the Truth," are memories of "Red Sails ..." in fu- ture tense, complete with melodies that don't quite work, but keep you singing along anyway. "Earth and Sun and Moon" prob- ably isn't the Best Oils album ever, but it is as musical and energetic as any- thing that has been released in the past year.Theharmoniesareperfect, and the beat unstoppable (though a bit funkier than expected).Every Oils fan will want to rush out and buy it as soon as pos- sible,and anyone else who's looking for a solid pop-rock album may want to go along with them. And, of course, all of you should go see them when they tour this summer. They're as intense as Metallica, as talented as Rush, and as fun as the B-52's. -Jason Vigna Coverdale /Page Coverdale /Page Geffen Records Without question, "Coverdale / Page"contains Jimmy Page's best play- ing since Led Zeppelin's 1979 album, "In Through the Out Door." Consider- ing his most memorable efforts in the last decade were two solos on Robert Plant's "Now and Zen" album and the retro-groupthe Honeydrippers, it didn't take much to top his last decade of recording. So there's no denying that there is a certain thill in hearing the descending acoustic blues riff of the opening cut, "ShakeMy Tree." It sounds just like Led Zeppelin, full of pompous majesty. Yet when the song moves into the verse section, the chords are sim- plistic, formulaic,andpredictable.Page still knows how to structure a song, yet his riffs are frequently empty emula- tionsofhisolderwork. Whenhechooses to solo he proves to still be a master of phrasing and tone, whether it is the smooth legato blues of "Don't Leave Me This Way" or the manic rockabilly of "Feeling Hot." Unfortunately, under half of the tracks have guitar solos, forcing the weak, unmemorable riffs to support the songs along with the lackluster vocals of David Coverdale, perhaps the most boring singer in hard-rock. Although Coverdale manages to avoid a full- blown Robert Plant imitation (mainly by never singing in a high register), his melodies, lyrics and voice are numb- ingly conventional, making Page's au- ral experimentation sound ordinary. "Coverdale/Page"manages to produce some guilty pleasures (the frenzied "Absolution Blues," "Shake My Tree" andthefirstsingle, "PrideandJoy"), yet often slips into pedestrian hard-rock, exemplified by such radio-ready bal- lads as the dreary "Take A Look At Yourself." - Tom Erlewine Boukman Eksperyans Kalfou Danjere Mango Inthe BoukmanEksperyans' home- land of Haiti, this exquisite album was banned by military authorities as some- how being "too violent."This statement boggles my mind. The soothing rhyth- mic pulses and soulful harmonies throughout Kalfou Danjere parallel the work of African musical artists Fela Anikulapo Kuti and Ladysmith Black Mambazo as healing forces, not the polemical bombshells of American rabble-rousers Public Enemy and Ice Cube. Perhaps this musiccould be clas- sified as "counter-violent" in the con- textofrevolutionaryculture-betteryet, "threatening" with its steady founda- tion in the spiritual uprising of the Hai- tian people. The nine-piece band Boukmnan Eksperyans stays "true to the game" in the midst of sociopolitical chaos in their home, Haiti, but the range of theirmusic stretches far beyond those borders. Boukman touches on so many interna- tional bases of the African diaspora that anyone with a drop of African blood in their veins (everyone?) should dig this. Aspects of Haitian voudo, WestAfrican pop, Caribbean, Rara and rock swirl about in the mix, all glued together with the band's mesmerizing vocals and dis- ciplined "grooves." Among my favorite tracks, "Nanm Nan Boutey" tells a timeless story of culturalresistance withahypnoticblend of sweet guitar licks and percussion. The song's intricate blends of melody and rhythm not only bely the seething discontent voiced in the lyrics, butbring it to a transcendantal peak.The upbeat "Jou Nou Revolte" blends complex polyrhythms of bass, guitar andpercus- sions while the band's irresistible vo- cals creep into the jam with pleasing results. More distinctly South African- sounding, the charming "Kouman Sa TaYe" gels through acomplex interplay of Boulanan's male and female voices and sweet guitar lines. "Too violent,"the authorities called this record. Unbelievable. If this warm collection of songs can be banned as harmful by the powers that be in Haiti, I'll take it over the sounds of machine guns and grenades anyday. -Forrest Green III HI Fl STUDIO has immediate service We have the: " Experience .HUGE parts inventory "Connections It's wet! w t t etrip to us I * VCR and stereo service " Speaker repairs & components " Technics 1200 turntables special " Used & Rentals: Audio (10's of items)., VCRs. 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