Elton 'Moves' into
By 808 FRICK
Collegian Staff Writer
BLUE MOVES
By Elton John
MCA-2-1104 .
$12.98 list price
Elton John• continues his
decline into musical
anonymity with his latest
album, a two-record fiasco
entitled "Blue Moves."
M.C.A. Records tries hard
to make "Blue Moves" sound
good, but even-. ac
companiments by two string
sections, the London Sym
phony Orchestra, choirs and
horn sections only raise the
total album quality froni
drivel to high class drivel.,
With each successive
album, Elton John seems to
Kleiber conducts a
BY MARK MILLER
Special to the Collegian
BEETHOVEN'S
SYMPHONY NO. 5, OP. 67
Vienna Philharmonic.
Carlos Kleiber, conductor.
Detitsche Gfammophon
/ 2530-516.
This record has been out for
a while now but deserves a
review, even if belatedly.
; Why even bother reviewing
yet another of the world's
most recorded and best
known symphbny?
To put it simply this per
formance. is a revelation.
Kleiber takes nothing for
,granted. He approaches •the
dtail;Collegian arts
Lou Reed 14stenable again .
:Heart' beats with more interest
By STEVE HALVONIK
' Collegian Staff Writer
Rock and Roll Heart. By Lou Reed. Artista AL 4100.
In a world full of crazies, Lou Reed has shown the ability to
stand out • in a crowd. His former band, the Velvet
Underground, was probably the first group to incorporate S &
M into their stage act. After leaving the Underground, Reed
became
. wardrobe consultant for MASH's Corporal Klinger,
who graciously returned the favor by posing for Reed's
"Transformer" cover. Reed's songs were indicative of his
burgeoning career. Songs teeming with references to kinky
sex and dope were commonplace.
' a/bum review
But "Rock and Roll Heart" is a different kind of album.
There are no bizarre songs like "Make Up" or "Animal
Language" here. Curiously, the album seems to be Reed's
self-examination of his musical roots. Many of the songs
appear to be snippets from various stages of his career. At any
rate, the songs have a street quality to them that suggests
Reed has returned to his old hunting ground for musical ideas.
"I Believe In Love," "Chooser and the Chosen" and "Follow
The Leader" have a tough, saxophone sound reminiscent of
1950 s New York City street Music.
"Rock and Roll Heart," "Claim To Fame" and Reed's ode
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If you have a warning
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be removing himself more
and more from the actual
musical production, leaving
just a remnant of his talent,
which, at its peak in "Yellow
Brick Road," made him one
of the most popular artists of
the Seventies. Now the term
artist must be used loosely
when describing him.
record review
The lyrics in ''Blue Moves"
are sparce and meaningless.
In order to stretch them to fit
the length of the songs, Elton
fills in syllables with oohs and
aahs, and whole minutes with
the banal repetition of
work carefully almost as if it
were a new or unfamiliar
piece of music. A fresh,
cliche-free and electrifying
performance is achieved.
People who have listened to
this symphony over and over
again would do well to hear
this version. It will truly seem
as though you are hearing it
for the first time.
record review
A listening comparison was
made between this recording
and the New York Philhar
monic-Bernstein version on
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Across from South Halls
484 E. College 238-1465
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Joy Blume 9:30 - 10:30
ROOM 301 . •
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phrases or choruses. One gets
the feeling that many of the
melodies were matched with
the lyrics by chance, that
they're interchangeable.
The first cut of the album,
"Youi• Starter F0r..." has
probably the nicest melody on
the album. It's written by
Elton's guitarist Caleb
Quaye.
In "Sorry Seems to be the
Hardest Word," Elton at
tempts to borrow the tune of
one of his early pieces from
"Captain Fantastic" and
vary it to,' avoid being
redundant by mixing it with
the theme from the television
detective series, "Bronk."
While the music from
sources outside Elton John's
own band slightly improves
Colombia. Bernstein is
certainly one conductor who
can't be accused of lack of
drive and excitement in his
performances and his
Beethoven Fifth is no ex
ception. But just put on
Kleiber's version! It makes
Bernstein's seem like it's
dragging. The greatest dif
ference is in the first
movement.
Kleiber takes it at an in
credibly fast, exciting pace
but not at the 'expense of
detail. Kleiber brings out
even the smallest nuances not
heard fp many recordings.
The timing for the first
movement in Bernstein's
to masturbation, "Banging On My Drum," are basic rock and
roll songs that showcase Reed's musical strengths: simple but
powerful chord construction, with biting rhythm guitars,
wailing saxes and aggressive drumming that really pounds
out the beat. On the title cut, Reed explains his songwriting
philosophy: "I guess I am dumb. 'cause I know I ain't smart,
but deep down inside I got a rock and roll heart."
But the most intriguing song on "Heart" is the one that most
resembles' the Velvet Underground "Ladies Pay." The '
haunting piano line beguiles the listener, but Reed effectively
uses his howling guitar as a tonal regulator, employing
distorted guitar sounds to add tension to the music. The
swirling images painted by the lyrics add the finishing touches
to a very eerie song
"A Sheltered Life" has a smoky, jazz club feel to it. The off
key saxes. and Reed's confessions that he never used dope
make this number a humorous put-on. ,
Unfortunately, "Heart" also contains' several songs
reminiscent of Reed's weaker solo album. "Vicious Circle"
and "Temporary Thing" are senseless chord-pounding songs
with little melody and even less lyrical significance. "Sense
lessly Cruel" is aptly titled. They are too poor to be called
filler, so I would call them emptier .
"Rock and Roll Heart" is not the consummate rock album
that Reed is capable of making. But the music at least is in
teresting again. With albums like "Rock and Roll Heart," Lou
Reed won't be needing Corporal Klinger any more.
a decline
the overall • quality of the
album, it can in no way make
up for his regular musicians.
Kenny Passarelli's bass is
incredibly dull, perforMing
with nowhere near the vitality
of Elton John Band's former
bassist, Dee Murray. Rodger
Pope's performance on the
drums lacks the flair and
creativity of another E.J.B.
alumnus, Nigel Olsson.
Despite Elton's apparent
lack of work •in "Blue
Moves," flashes of his former
ability, especially keyboard
skills, still appear. "Cage the
Songbird" is a mellow tune,
reminiscent of his earliest
albums, "Tumble Weed
Connection" and "Madman
Across the Water."
"Tonight," with help from
fresh
version is 8:35 while Kleiber's
driving tempo takes only 7:15.
The playing of the Vienna
Philharmonic is exemplary.
The crescendo at the
beginning of the third
movement is amazing. The
horns are noble and over
powering and their sound has
been caught in all their
majesty by the Deutsche
Grammophon engineers. The
fast sections for the double
basses, a test of an or
chestra's virtuosity, are
handled with great dexterity.
Another nice feature of the
recording is that Kleiber
chose to observe all of the
repeats in every movement.
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the London Symphony, is a
powerful, entertaining piece
until Elton interrupts it with
thin, screechy vocals. In
other cuts, however, he
surprises the listener with a
more melodic, fuller style of
singing.
In general, the melodies
range from cocktail trash,
such as "Idol," to the mildly
pleasant "Cage the Song
Bird" sparming many dif
ferent flavors of music, in
cluding exotic-eastern and
reggae.
For the price of "Blue
Moves" one could afford two
or three of his earlier albums,
which, while lacking a
limitless budget, still offer a
bargain of solid songs, played
with style.
Fifth
This is especially important
in the last movement when
the repeat of the opening
exposition gives added im
pact to the entire symphony.
It is certainly fitting that
the orchestra of the city
where Beethoven lived and
where this symphony was
first performed has made a
recording of this great work
which will set the standard '
for years to come, This is the
one to get whether you don't
own any or do own half a
dozen versions of the Fifth.
Note: A - Vienna-Kleiber
version of . Beethoven's
Seventh Symphony will be
released shortly.
Sci-fi
By TOM MARCINKO
Collegian Staff Writer
THE WIND'S TWELVE
QUARTERS.
By Ursula K. LeGuin.
Bantam, $1.75
MARTIAN TIME-SLIP.
By Philip K. Dick.
Ballantine, $1.50
Those who know science
fiction are starting to speak of
Ursula LeGuin as being in the
same class with Robert
Heinlein, Isaac Asimov and
Ray Bradbury. She became a
major SF writer with "The
Left Hand of Darkness," a
finely detailed look at an
' androgynous world. Her
"Earthsea" trilogy and "The
Dispossessed" have repeated
her success, which , lies in
showing believable
imaginary worlds, avoiding
cliches, and creating real
characters.
"The Wind's Twelve
Quarters," her first book of
short 'stories, makes a good
introduction to her work.
"Nine Lives" uses. genetic
engineering to deal with love,
loneliness, and acceptance.
LeGuin imagines a group of
cicones genetically identical
humans might share
perfect rapport. Then all but
e ,t, -.* ".
,
,4:,1'
Bottlecelli
author
one ' are killed. Where does
that leave the survivor, to
whom normal humans are
aliens?
"The Day Before the
Revolution" and "The Stars
Below" take up a common
theme in her work: the
alienation of a man or woman
who stands above the crowd.
Though LeGuin's characters
are larger than life, she
humanizes them without
Making them martyrs.
"Semley's Necklace" and
"A,pril in Paris" are early
roiliantic fantasies using the
old themes of time-space
travel and conjuring spirits.
They point the way to her
more mature work, which
explores standard SF-fantasy
devices in new ways.
LeGuin's work isn't barren of
new ideas, though. - "The
Direction of the Road," for
example, is told from the
viewpoint of a tree.
A few stories, . like
"Things," don't work there
are such things as too much
symbolism and obscurity
but the collection as a whole is
worth even $1.75. LeGuin may
be the best writer in SF since
Heinlein, and that should be
recommendation enough.
Philip K. Dick's very best
_
UNIVERSITY CALENDAR
Wednesday, November 3
SPECIAL EVENTS •
Alpha Phi Omega Bloodmobile, 10 a.m. -4 p.m., HUB ballroom.
HUB Video Tape, "World Series of Jazz," 12 noon, HUB reading room.
FSHA 410 dinner, "Pennsylvania Dutch Meal," 5:30 p.m., Maple Room. Reser
vations: 865-7441.
HUB Football film, "Penn State vs. Temple," 7 p.m., HUB assembly room.
University Theatre, "Cradle of the Hero," 8 p.m., Playhouse Theatre.
GSA Photography Workshop, 8 p.m., Room 101 Kern.
HUB "Coffee House," 8:30 p.m., Room 301 HUB.
SEMINARS
Earth and Mineral Sciences Student Council, 7:30 p.m., Room 26 Mineral Sciences.
Dean Charles Hosier on "Science, Society, and Other Natural Disasters."
Fuel Science will meet in 62 Willard.
FILM. .
South Cinema Musical, "Gay Divorcee," 7 and 9:30 p.m., Room 121 Sparks.
MEETINGS
Chess Club, 7 p.m., HUB gameroom.
PSOC Ski Division, 7 p.m., HUB ballroom. Organizational meeting.
Alpha Tau Alpha, 7 p.m., Room 317 HUB.
Alliance Student Fellowship, 7 p.m., Rooms 320, 321 HUB.
USG Academic Assembly, 7:30 p.m., Room 225 HUB. .
Penn State Magazine Club, 8 p.m., Rooms 323, 324 HUB.
. • EXHIBITS
Museum of Art: Antwerp Drawings from the 16th and 17th Centuries. Twenty-four
British Potters.
Zoller Gallery: "Super Mud," Student Invitational.
The Daily Collegian Wednesday, November 3, 1976-
Colin Pearson's "Bottle Form" is included
in the "24 British'Potters" exhibit showing at
the Museum of Art through Dec. 22.
new Heinlein
novels, "The Man in the High
Castle" and "Übik," are out
of print, but the publication of
"Martian Time-Slip" (1964)
partly atones • for that. If
LeGuin's main strength is
background, Dick's is
character. His books are full
of well-drawn average people
caught up in strange
situations.
book review
Few of his situations are
stranger than that in "Time-
Slip." The plumber's union
has a stranglehold on Mars
because water is so scarce.
Arnie Kott, the union leader,
wants to keep the United
Nations from taking control
of colonists from Earth away
from him.
Since the educational
system of the day produces a
lot of schizophrenics and
catatonics, and theory has it
that they experience
disorientation in time, Kott
tries to cure a young
catatonic and get a look into
the future. '
Like the hero of "The Three
Stigmata of Palmer El
dritch," Kott gets trapped in a
recurring Dick nightmare:
stranded in an alternate
reality where another person
has complete control.
Philip Dick has been
compared to Kurt Vonnegut,
with some reason. His plots
and subplots are at least as
convoluted as "The Sirens of
Titan," and things aren't
always what they seem. The
Viking probes may have
dated Dick's setting there
are Martians and canals here
but like Bradbury's
"Martian Chronicles," the
entertainment value lives on.
Movie
tonight
Francois -Truffaut's film
"Jules and Jim" will be shown
at 8 tonight in the University
Auditorium under the aus
pices of the Artists Series.
The film tells the story of
a friendship between a Ger
man and a Frenchman and
their 20 year love for the same
woman.
Tickets will be available at
the box office beginning at
7:15p.m.