Page 8-Wednesday, May 19, 1982-The Michigan Daily
.4
Records
War -'Outlaw' (RCA)
War has been described as an Afro-
Cuban-Jazz-Rock-Blues band ever sin-
ce their inception in 1971. Outlaw han-
dily demonstrates their musical ver-
satility. From the poignant theme of
"The Jungle" which describes life in
the inner city to "Baby, it's Cold Out-
side", a soulful ballad, War proves that
they can handle almost any style of
music with ease.
"The Jungle," a brilliant medley com-
posed of four sections ("Beware, it's a
jungle out there," "The Street of walls,".
"The Street of Lights," and "The Street
of now") is the black man's answer to
Pink Floyd's stunning The Wall. "The
Jungle" is bitter, cynical and yet
hopeful that things will get better. This
piece also brings back memories of
War's earlier smash "The world is a
Ghetto". It is certainly a fine commen-
tary on today's society.
It's obvious from listening to this
album that War is extremely adept at
handling anything they play. The time
is ripe for their inimitable music which
defies stereotyping. Because groups
like The Police, Hall and Oates, and
Prince are all crossing over with great
success, War should be able to stay on
the current bandwagon which they
helped to create. Whatever style of
music you crave, Outlaw can provide.
-Elizabeth James
Third World-"You've Got the
Power' (Columbia)
A friend recently complained to me
that many people believe all reggae is
basically the same and you either like it
or you don't; who's playing really
makes only a small difference. Jimmy
Cliff only vaguely differs from Dennis
Brown and (local pretenders) I-Tal just
comes from a different country.
However, this just isn't so.
Third World provides a good example
of a group whose musical style, ap-
proach, and purpose contrasts strongly
with its reggae contemporaries. Unlike,
say, Aswad (whose album covers
prominently feature Ethiopan colors),
Third World is not blatatly or even ac-
tively political. Unlike Black Uhuru,
Third World does not defiantly espouse
rastafari dictates.
Instead, this Jamaican ensemble
prefers to dilute itself into the "spirit"
of reggae, something bland and
carefully prepared enough to be easily
and painlessly consumed by the sup-
posed masses of people who just want to
try a little reggae to make sure they're
in vogue. ("Hey, this is real funky new
dance music, huh? Let's smoke
something, waddya say?).
On this album, Third World even
recorded in California and recruited
Stevie Wonder to produce, arrange,
sing, and write-to make sure
everything would go smoothly in the
attempt to "spread the word" to the
(paying) American audience.
Well, theymay sell a fewTecords, but
I believe that moderately
discriminating ears will soon detect the
hollow ring to those electric drums. You
can almost spot the contrivance in the
album cover, with its commercial
colors and oddly grinning faces.
And of course the songs: Wonder's
supposed blockbuster "Try Jah Love,"
and his "You're Playing Us Too Close"
come closest to adequacy, but there are
too many silly things like "Jah Jah
Children Movin' Up." Meant for the
most easily sated children, evidently.
I would assume most people, whether
they like "reggae" or not, will "have
the power" to resist this rather insipid
travesty.
-Ben Ticho
4
4
Conversation sparkles
in Dinner With Andre'
(Continuedfrom Page 7)
movie doesn't show us much except the
two men talking.
That could have been a problem if the
dialogue were not as interesting as it is.
Gregory and Shawn are quite convin-
cing playing roles fashioned after
themselves. Although they have no
climactic arguments and their voices
never range far from ordinary conver-
sational tones, what they say is just so
damn interesting that it is reason
enough for youto watch the movie.
Perhaps the film could be released on
a record or presented on radio. It would
probably be better that way, because
the movie isn't intended to overwhelm
you with action; anything that inter-
venes between the conversation and
your listening must be deleted.
Most movies made from plays have
scenes added to make the production
more interesting and visually exciting.
This movie deliberately goes the other
way, letting the film play as unimpor-
tant a role as possible to allow the wor-
ds uninhibited access to the viewer.
Louis Malle gets the director credit
on the film, but I wonder just how much
influence he had on the finished
product. Certainly his efforts were
directed at the actors rather than at the
cameras. The results are
unquestionable, no matter who gets the
credit.
My Dinner With Andre is an in-
triguing film that does everything it can
to not be a film. That it succeeds is due
to the imagination and wit of Shawn and
Gregory. Two people sitting still, an ab-
sence of extravagent camera
movements, no symphonic score, no
special effects-it sounds doomed to
failure, if not outright un-American.
You wouldn't think two hours of ram-
bling philosophical discussion could be
interesting. It is.
Support the
March of Dimes
51RTH DEFECTS FOUN .ON
4
4
4
4
4
9,oway1 yr2Zl&c4hw<ana-
Tickets: $5.00 (general admission) in advance, $6.00 day of the show. Advance
Tickets are available at The Michigan Union Box Office, PJ's Records, School-
kids Records, & all CTC outlets. For more information call 763-6922.
4