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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 22, 1978)
r friday, September 22, 1978 page 8 daily nebraskan arts and entertainment Hall and Oates sacrifice originality in favor of formula By Jeff Taebel Well folks, it's time once again for the Daryl Hall and John Oates show, as those two peerless purveyors of pop have seen fit to bestow upon us with yet another album. As one might expect, most of the music on their fourth effort, Along The Red Ledge, is merely a reworking of their earlier ideas. However, when you have three gold records under your belt, why change the formula? Hall and Oates seem to have a distinctive knack for assembling songs that are both eternally hummable and instantly forgettable, such as their hit single "Rich Girl." They also seem to be able to churn them out as fast as their loving audience will buy them. Indeed, there may be some merit in being consistent in this fashion, but when doing so means sacrificing originality and sincerity, it hardly seems worth the price. Along the Red Ledge was intended to be the duo's rawest work, their attempt to get back to rock n' roll. According to Daryl Hall, 'This album has tons more energy than anything we've done before." However, if this is what they call high-energy music, one would hate to see what they call mellow. Fortunately, Hall and Oates are surrounded by a first rate band which includes former Elton John sidemen Caleb Quaye on guitar, Kenny Pasarelli on bass and Roger Pope on drums. In addition, David Kent is on keyboards and Charlie DeChant on saxophone. These musicians, especially Quaye, do their best to cut through the syrupy vocal UNL prof to give violoncello recital Priscilla Parson, professor of music at UNL will present a free violoncello recital at 8 p.m. Friday in Kimball Recital Hall. Prof. Parson will be assisted by Prof. Thomas Fritz, pianist, and by student instrumentalists. She will open the program with variations from cello and piano by Beethoven which used a popular Mozart melody from the opera "The Magic Flute." Also on the program will be a fantasia and fast move ment from Kodaly's "Sonata for Violoncello and Piano, Opus 4;" "Bunraku" by Mayuzumi which is an applica tion of the Japanese technique of plucked stringed instrument to the cello, and a "Concerto in A Major" by Italy .s violon virtuoso, teacher and composer, Tartini. The final number will be Debussy's "Sonata for Violoncello and Piano," a work written in 1915 by Debussy and Joesph Salmon. Students assisting with the recital will be Brenda Manuel and Gay Koh, violins, Irene Wade, viola; Tracy Sands, violoncella, David Saphra, bass, and Robert Rhein, harpsichord. arrangements with some Inspired playing, but it's an uphill battle. Along The Red Ledge also is made interesting by the appearance of a myriad of guest artists. The cast of luminaries features George Harrison, Todd Rundgren, Robert Fripp and Rick Nielson of Cheap Trick. However, most of the celebrity licks are kept at a minimum jo the vocals of Daryl and John are not obscured. Side one of the album slugs along like a boring lecture with occasional guitar breaks providing the only rewarding moments. Hall's lyrics on "It's a Laugh," the side's opening song, sum it up best: "It's so stupid, I gotta laugh." Side two is an entirely different story. Hall and Oates start off with the hard-driving opening song, "Alley Katz," which probably is the most powerful rocker they Ve ever recorded. The second song, "Don't Blame It On Love," provides no let-up as the vocalists trade lines with blazing dual guitars on .top of a rollicking beat. Unfortunately, the rock stops there, as the next cut, appropriately titled 'Serious Music," takes the energy level back down. In addition to this, "Serious Music" features a set of em barrassing lyrics which probably are the most inane of any on the album. The side closes with a "cutesy" number called "Pleasure Beach," that would have been a nice idea had it not been done many times before, and a sure-fired sleep inducer called "August Day." Hall and Oates show some flashes of creativity and enthusiasm on this album. But on the whole, Along The Red Ledge is another dreary exercise in the sort of pop mediocrity that we seem to tolerate so much of these days. J 'go c :. . h 4mm fix ( r V . Kj-TT 1 - - f j J ' A A X- ,-..-, ..v ..,- . Z, fcMMK Photo courtesy RCA records Daiyl IlaD and John Oates present their "rawest" work in the new album, Along the Red Ledge. Barbershoppers say they sing for shear enjoyment By Mike Schmoldt Barbershop quartets have to be about as old as barber shops themselves. Groups of four men with handlebar mustaches dressed in red-and-white-striped jackets are still around, along with a variation called a barber shop "chorus." The Lincoln Continentals is a group of about 65 Lincoln men who devote three hours a week to crooning in four-part harmony. The Continentals' director, Jon Peterson, said his chorus is especially popular with people who know something about barber shop singing. He said the Continentals sing for a diverse set of or ganizations, such as bankers' associations, chambers of p , I j M Photo courtesy Al Drttmer The Chord Motor Company. Left to right: Al Dittmer, Dak Comer, Lance Powell, and Dale Hefliger reminisce about 'those good ol rrverboat days. commerce arid 44i groups, and their own events. He added that they also sang at the recent Junior Olympics. "We entertain," Peterson said. "That's our thing. We're there for anybody who needs entertainment." Peterson, who also is chorus director at Lincoln East High School, said his group is the Lincoln chapter of a national organization, the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Incorporated. The Continentals are entered in the organization's annual nationwide competition. They, and nearly 18 other choruses from five states, will compete in Kansas City in October. The district winner goes on to inter national competition. Peterson added that the national organization has a service project. The Continentals' dues, and the money they raise, benefit the Institute of Logopedics, which helps people with hearing and speech problems. One of the Continentals is UNL Ombudsman Al Dittmer. He said there are several students, faculty and UNL employees in the chorus, and also a few high school students. Dittmer has been singing barber shop since his high school days. He said quartets of all kinds were popular in 1954 and that some fellow students and he decided to form a barber shop quartet. After that, he went to a meeting of the national organization's local chapter and decided to join the society. Dittmer, who now is a member of a quartet called the Chord Motor Company, said that wherever he has moved, he has been able to find a chapter of the national barber shop singing society. If you have never heard the Continentals, they will be performing in Fairbury and Columbus next month. And they aim to please.
