page 8 READER REVIEWS le,6(ftee,?? eY--Xe Between The Lines Janis lan Columbia PC 33394 by Mike Bless Occasionally an Album is released that is so exceptionally well done, both musically and technically, that it is difficult to review. Between The Lines is such an album. Some of you may remember a song of the mid-sixties - Society's Child - that established Janis lan as a promising folk artist at a time when it was more profitable to wail rock-n-roll from the Fillmore. After a brief success, she became one of those obscure details in radio trivia. Luckily she continued to write and perform. Last year Stars ap peared on the record racks with moderate success. Janis blended her own style of folk with C&W and soul to arrive at some very pleasing cuts, particularly "Stars" and "Jesse". With the release of Stars, she toured the night club college campus circuit during which I was fortunate to see her at Dickinson and the Cellar Door. With her very first number, she totally captivated me. Between The Lines has continued this captivation. This album could easily be her piece de resistance. The subject matter is very simple- loneliness: the loneliness of love denied, the loneliness of love destroyed, and perhaps most devastating, the loneliness that results from the realization that lode is dying. Janis has that rare quality of being able to fill her music with the essence of her own heart. She is a poet as well as a songstress. There are no bad cuts on the album! however, two songs - "Seventeen" and "Watercolors" - stand out as definitely the album's finest selections. "Seventeen" deals with the ctisillusions of adolescent, "ugly duckling" girls such as Janis. "Watercolors" is the after math of a lovers quarrel. Throughout the album Miss lan plays some fine piano and acoustic guitar. Moreover, she is backed by very proficient (although obscure) musicians with instrumentation in cluding strings, woods, horns and occasional sax riffs. The LP is by no means strictly folk. It varies from the title cut, which is rather reminiscent of Mary Hopkin's cabaret like "Those Were The Days", to "Bright Lights and Promises", a low key piano -bar blues. Between The Lines has my highest recommendation. This is definitely white wine and candlelight music - perhaps a Petite Chablis, dry, subtle, and with just a hint of cynicism. Some of you - the varsity squad captains and prom queens - will not appreciate the albums style and meanings. Con sider yourselves quite fortunate. For the rest... enjoy it, for the ugly duckling has finally become a swan. Think What You See The Little Prince Produced and Directed by Stanley Donen This is a film for those who like to think about what they are seeing; James Bond fans stay away! It is a deeply moving exploration into the meaning of Love, its begin nings, effects, and implications. All in the form of a beautiful fairy tale. I would imagine that most Humanities majors have read the book, and I would advise those others who wish to see the movie to borrow the slim volume from someone and read it before seeing the film. It only takes about an hour to read, and I think it is necessary fora complete enjoyment of the visual version. As I imply here, the film stays very close to the original in both story development and the visual representations of characters and scene; the latter based on the sketchy illustrations in the book. The use of the wide-angle lens technique (although perhaps overdone in the case of the Historian sequence) is probably the best I've ever seen in any film. The design, color, and use of symbols are excellent. Richard Kiley isq uite adequate in the role of the Pilot, the story's narrative figure, Bob Fosse is slinkily sufficient as the deadly Snake, and Gene Wilder is cute, intense, won derful, loveable, and in short, perfect as the Fox who the Little Prince tames but leaves behind. But the crowning achievement character-wise is the representational per fection four-year-old Steve Warner gives to the role of the Little Prince. You have to see him to believe him. The songs are the movies' weakest point, but even they aren't very bad; although I feel personally that the film would flow more smoothly without them. I came away from the film deeply moved, my young lady came away from it with tears streaming down her cheeks. I recommend both the film and the book very highly. Help Us Help Others The Harrisburg Council of be through referral and are Churches and the Welfare carefully screened. Department have pined Hard times are here for together to form a food bank most of us but there are located at 6th and Forester many less fortunate. Won't avenues in Harrisburg,Thru you help them? Donate a SGA, We're trying to help by canned good today! having a canned goods drive (Canned goods are being on our campus. High protein collected at the round table foods are needed. Ap- in the main lobby.) plicant's for the food must Nilsson has come out fighting. In his newest LP, Dolt On Mon Dei, Harry punches holes in several major American institutions: marriage, TV, modern life, astrology, home, and God. And all of it in what is now the venerable Nilsson trademark of light rock and roll Since Son of Schmilsson, Harry has flagrantly flaunted convention in favor a having a vinyl good-time. In Pussycats, friend Lennon joined in the festivities as producer, supplanting Richard Perry as Harry's control booth boss. On Duit, Nilsson has, for the first time, taken on the production chores himself. The results are noticeable to any Nilsson buff. His voice range sounds more restricted than in Perry's production, but not as narrow as in Lennon's production. Duit On Mon Dei is definitely typical Nilsson, with several songs whose melodies hark back to earlier days, but with a flair that makes them distinctly unique. The music is all reasonably well-done, with the exceptional pieces being "Easier for Me", "Turn Out the Light", and "Salmon Falls". "Salmon Falls" must be considered the best cut on the album. The music, written by Klaus Voorman, is im pressively strong and tightly knit, and the lyrics show Nilsson at his most serious best. by P.R.J. Smith C.C. Reader Do It To It Duit On Mon Dei Nilsson RCA The only other "serious" song on the album is "Easier for Me:' This is typical Nilsson-mush, with sloppy love-words, and some lighter moments. This song appeared in Ringo's Goodnight Vienna under a slightly different title. On the lighter side, Harry furnishes us with nine cuts that demonstrate his acknowledged ability to turn a silly phrase into sly parody. "It's a Jungle Out There" is the classic example of this, as it pertains to Harry's view of 20th- Century life. Inanother case, there's "Down By the Sea" which is the classic tale of the man who wanted to make his mate happy and moved to the shore, giving up everything he had, and now wondering if it was all worth it. "Kojak Columbo" takes our dependence on TV to task, and the results are hilarious. How can he lose with these lyrics?: "You've got nineteen inches baby And that's a real good size... I could twist your knobs right off And fool around with you I don't need no TV Guide . To tell me what to do"(+) But I don't want to ruin any surprises you might get if you plan to buy the album, so I'll just say there's plenty more where that came from, the old Tits and Laugh of Nilsson rock. The cast of characters on Duit includes Ringo, Dr. John, Klaus, Jim Keltner, Jesse Ed Davis, and a host of other studio musicians and superstars who've been on each others albums lately. Although none of this makes Duit a monster classic, it will nonetheless go down as another fun to-hear, tutti-fruiti Nilsson album. (+) copyright 1975, Blackwood Music Peo jingo YES YESTERDAYS ATLANTIC SDIBIO3 There are few bands today that can qualify as truly super groups. Judging by their box office success and record sales Yes certainly qualifies as one of these. As with virtually all successful musicians a greatest hits album is inevitable. Well, Yesterdays is not one, at least not exactly. This new LP by Yes is a composite of their first and second albums - Yes and Time and a Word, plus a 10:31 version of Simon and Garfunkel's "America". "America" stands out as the most dynamic selection, sounding closest to the Yes we now know (probably because it is the only cut with Wakeman on organ). However the album boasts many noteworthy numbers - among them "Survival", "Sweetdreams" and "Astral Traveler". These are performed by the original group - Peter Banks (Flash), Tony Kaye, Bill Bruford, and the Squire-Anderson team (who are the only original members still with the group). The LP is very good. Naturally it doesn't have the polish and technical excellence of Close to the Edge and Relayer, but it does present an accurate account of Yes' early roots and is a must for all Yes enthusiasts. Records reviewed in this column will be highlighted on Friday at 1:35 on WZAP. Jim Bollinger MRB "the Kozmic Kid" April 3, 1975 S.G.A. Minutes MINUTES S.G.A. METTING MARCH 12, 1975 Call To Order 8:15 P.M. Attendance: Present: Mike McAllister, Russ Hogg, Andy Pivarnik, Dave Shrader, Bette Karp, Max Piefer, Paul Mathis, Chet Goregorski, Scott Deardorf, Jorn Jenson, Mark Fey, Skip Gibson, Richard Laychock and Janice Stephy. Present: Mike McAllister, Russ Hogg, Andy Pivarnik, Dave Shrader, Bette Karp, Max Piefer, Paul Mathis, Chet Goregorski, Scott Deardorf, Jorn Jenson, Mark Fey, Skip Gibson, Rich Laychock and Janice Stephy. Proxies: Skip Laratonda and Dan Martin, other members were absent and unexcused. PIRG: It was brought up that Sat. was the (March 15) due date for all petitions. Capitol Campus fell far short of the 50 percent goal. Commencement: A com mittee has been formed to determine the speaker for March graduation. Anyone interested in being a member of this committee should contact Emil Albertini, Doug Gibboney, Cathy Wert. The S.G.A., following constitutional procedure, discussed and then voted on the reinstatement of Senator Robert Bayer. The Senate and Executive Branch found Senator Bayer to be defunct in his duries to the student body at Capitol Campus and voted unanimously that he not be reinstated. Adjournment: 9:00 P.M. Penn PIRG Speaker Here Scott Kennedy, National spokesperson for PIRG will speak on Campus April 10th from 9:15 to 11:15 in Room E 338. If you give two shits about this nation and where it's heading... Then it will certainly be worth your while to hear Scott Kennedy speak on how big business rips you off. RUSS HOGG Spring Enrollment Spring term at Penn State-Capitol Campus began Tuesday, March 25. A ccording to Mary Gundel, director of admissions, student enrollment is over 2300, with 75 new students enrolled for the spring term. New students attended an orientation on the 24th, and met with program chair persons for course ad visement and registration. Penn State-Capitol Campus is in its ninth academic year.
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