ARTS
Page 12
Friday, August 7, 1987
The Michigan Daily
New Bond
By John Shea
007 is back, but is he better than
ever?
Well...yes and no.
The name is Dalton. Timothy
Dalton. With Roger Moore's
departure from the role after 1985's
disappointing A View to A Kill,
Dalton becomes the fourth James
Bond.
The Living Daylights is
Dalton's first assignment, and the
British actor is game throughout.
Unlike Moore's later Bond efforts,
which saw him long in the tooth
and lacking enthusiasm, Dalton
gives Bond- and the series - a
new life.
Make no mistake about it; this
is a different Bond. Conspicuously
absent from The Living Daylights
is fancy gadgetry, scantily clad
woman, and the dry wit and humor
which has all but evaporated. We
get right down to some serious
spying.
The plot, like
is dense and aw
won't go into det
I don't want to s
and partly becai
what was goingc
Several Briti
agents are kille
Bond pursues th
become involve(
cellist (Maryam
by a madman An
(Joe Don Baker)
Soviets for
Afghanistan. Th
can make it. It is
At the cente
Dalton; he reall
job. Trained in
theater, Dalton
depth than either
ever did. The cha
human form, wt
parture from M
which fell just si
adds depth
Dalton is actually grieved at the
most Bond films, death of his friend and fellow agent
'fully confusing. I and looks scared as the entire
ails, partly because Russian army chases him.
poil any surprises However, part of the appeal of
use I had no idea the recent series lay in the dry wit
on. and humor constantly injected by
sh secret service Moore. It is missing here-and is
d on the job and missed. Dalton is more serious,
e assassin, only to more somber, more world weary.
d with a beautiful He is flat in this regard.
d'Abo) and a plot The supporting cast is somewhat
nerican arms dealer weak with Baker not very believable
to sell arms to the as a Bond villain. He exudes no
their war i n evil; what the film really needed
at is as simple as I was a more dominating, more
far more intricate. sinister villain. D'Abo is incredibly
r of the storm is sexy but too naive.
y does a credible A general rule of Hollywood is,
i Shakesperean "don't mess with success." If
gives 007 more you've got a winning formula, stick
Connery or Moore to the equation. At least the
racter takes a more producers had the nerve to take
hich is quite a de- some chances with the 007
oore's portrayal, character, and a few of them actually
hort of cartoonish. work.
Timothy Dalton debuts as the new Agent 007 James Bond in The Liring
Daylighs.
Many 'Trees' grow at University Museum of Art
By Catherine Kim
You don't have to stroll
through Nichol's Arboretum to'
catch a glimpse of some of natures'
most awe inspiring trees. In fact,
you don't even have to go outside.
The University Museum of Art's
current photography 'exhibit,
appropriately entitled "Trees" offers
a spectacular photo collection of
some of nature's most beautiful
forest giants. The exhibit displays
several time periods and styles of
worldwide photography. The works
all include trees, but the similarities
end there.
Ansel Adams, a name that goes
hand in hand with nature photogra-
phy, is featured at the exhibit along
with a host of others who haven't
received the same recognition.
Adams offers a somber work enti-
tled "Aspens, Northern New
Mexico", 1958, which demon-
strates the modern use of photogra-
phy as an emotional medium. He
captures the same emotion in his
work "Oak Tree, Snowstorm" as
well.
Two earlier works date back to
the late 1800s, and demonstrate the
traditional documentary style then
common to photography. Italian
Georgio Sommer's "Avenue of the
Palms, Botanical Gardens,"1870,
depicts a traditional Italian Garden
in Palermo. William Henry Fox
Talbot's "Loch Katrine," 1884, also
shows a river scene. Both prints use
dated salt print techniques which
fade the print quickly and are meant
to reproduce the scene, rather than
convey emotion.
Leopold Hugo's "Tall Poplar,
California", c. 1930, demonstrates
photography's painterly stage,
when photographers tried to imitate
the brushstrokes of art with the
bromoil process.
The development of non-repre-
sentative photography is shown in
several abstract prints. Irishman
Alan McWeeney's "Flies in the
Window,",1972, blends the fore-
ground and background for humor-
ous effect. Czech Josef Sudek's
large-format contact print flattens
foreground for its dream-like quali-
ty.
In the only color print in the
collection, "Paesaggio, Baia Della
Zeagere,"1970, Franco Fontano at-
tempts to depict only the elements
of sand, water, and trees by flatten-
ing out the whole composition.
Michael Smith's "Near Blue Riv-
er,"1975, uses similar technique in
black and white.
The exhibition is on a flexible
time schedule, and will run for
about one month.While the collec-
tion is small, its variety makes it
well worth looking into.
Records
Jill Jones
Jill Jones
Paisley Park
One has to wonder about Prince.
His own records are among the
finest of the decade, consistently
innovative, challenging, and daring.
His spin-offs once rivalled him.
The Prince-produced Vanity 6 record
remains the standard for all aspiring
slut-funk units. And Morris Day,
Jimmy Jam, and Terry Tyler played
the most butt-shaking funk on the
three Time albums.
Things get more tenuous,
though, when Shiela E. is added to
the list. Shicla is unquestionably a
talented percussionist, but more
often than not, her personality was
overwhelmed by her mentor's
presence.
And now we get Jill Jones.
This record sounds like the out
takes from Prince's Sign '0' the
Times double LP, with occasional
vocal overlays by Jones. As was
the case with Shiela E.'s "A Love
Bizarre" single, Prince i s
everywhere, writing half of the
songs, singing half of the songs,
and then fading away momentarily,
seeming almost like a bandleader
offering a saxophone player a short
solo. Jones does little with these
rare opportunities, revealing an
above-average voice coupled with
an absence of punch.
The lyrics are inescapably
Princely. "Baby you're the Cross
that's too deep to bear / Baby
you're a star that's tooI
attributed to Jones, but
and the phrasing ar
guy's.
Sign 'O' the Times
benefited from the effo
on this record. Jill
benefit from relegation
of Badness' back-ups, <
less career.
James Cotton
Take Me Back
Blind Pig
The current blues t
has pushed the mus
commercial success, is,
it further and further av
far away" is roots. Sick and tired of it and
the images feeling constrained by his big band,
e the short Cotton reassembled much of his
original mid 60's band and recorded
would have Take Me Back, an album of back
rt expended to the basics blues.
Jones will Freed from his big band, with
to the ranks which he is also generally
or a mentor- excellent, Cotton sounds more
impassioned in both his singing
John Logie and harp playing than he has in
years. The band, including pianist
"Pinetop" Perkins and drummer
Sam Lay, cooks, playing
unspectactular but deeply felt
music.
The first two song, Little
rend, which Walter's "My Babe" and "I Done
ic towards Got Over It" are particularly good,
also moving upbeat blues. Cotton sings, howls,
way from its asdblows-lak am pused--
This is an excellant and exciting
trip back 25 years and Cotton is to
be commended for daring and caring
enough to record this album.
--Alan Paul
Joan Baez
Recently
Gold Castle
The release of a new album after
a ten-year respite is fraught with
peril - especially for a folk singer.
One risks estrangement from old
fans if one "goes too modern" or
rejection from younger audiences if
one remains true to older musical
forms.
See RECORDS, page 13