En Vogue creates chemistry with mix of music styles
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“Funky Divas”
En Vogue
East West Records America
With their harmonizing sassy style of mu
sic, members of En Vogue have gotten the
attention of fans everywhere with their sopho
more effort, “Funky Divas.”
En Vogue, the California-based female
foursome, burst on the scene in 1990 with its
platinum LP “Bom To Sing.”
The new “Funky Divas” is much like the
group’s first LP with its party-like style and
interjections every now and then from group
members Dawn Robinson, Terry Ellis, Cindy
Herron and Maxine Jones.
[ The first single off this LP, “My Lovin’
l\ (You’re Never Gonna Get It),” is an up-tempo
song that is definitely sassy and funky.
This style embodies En Vogue, and this is
the style that made the band’s first LP so
successful.
With the exception of this song, which is the
best track on the LP, these funky divas of soul
take several different approaches to the LP that
might surprise the listener— in a pleasant way.
Instead of just using their four-octave vocal
range to entertain the listener, the band mem
bers are able to capture the listener by using a
variety of styles. Rap, hip-hop, house music,
rock, funk ‘n’ roll and sensuous reggae.
In the song “Desire,” the use of sensuous
reggae will make the listener just want to sit
back, relax and take in the soft sounds of this
ballad.
In “Hip-Hop Lover” and “It Ain’t Over Till
The Fat Lady Sings,” En Vogue sounds more
like Oaktown 3 5 7 and uses its singing talents
and a spiced-up bit of rap to give it that funky
sound.
In “Free Your Mind,” which has a rock
sound to it, these ladies sing about freeing
one’s mind so that one’s thinking will not be
limited by things such as stereotypes.
Like the preceding LP, En Vogue has re
made three tracks that have been recorded by
other artists.
“Giving Him Something He Can Feel” and
“Hooked On Your Love” were written in 1975
by R&B and pop writer/producer/singer Curtis
Mayfield. The third song covered was “Yester
day,” which was written by Paul McCartney
and was a No. 1 hit for the Beatles in 1965.
The rest of the four songs that fill out this LP
make for enjoyable listening. The final track
ends the LPon a subtle note with a benediction/
prayer.
“Funky Divas” is a good LP. On first listen
ing, one might be deceived and want to put it on
the shelf to collect dust.
Just listen to the LP and you will come to
appreciate some of the changes and adjust
ments in chemistry made by En Vogue.
— Anthony Speights
Candide
Continued from Page 9
and Maximillian. But Cooke’s per
formance as Dr. Pangloss threatens to
steal the show. Excellent comic de
livery and a booming singing voice
characterize an outstanding portrayal.
A Strong chorus portrays a wide
range of characters.
Ronald H. Wainscott’s direction
successfully emphasizes the absurd
ity of the play’s constantly changing
world.
Lori L. Bush’s fantastic scenic
design helps Wainscotl with his task.
The stage accommodates a collection
of scaffolding, a rotating platform,
on-siage seating for the audience and
a staircase from stage to balcony. The
set is visually stunning and provides
for easy transition from scene to scene.
The on-stage seating gives a theater -
in-lhe-round quality to the produc
tion.
A costumed orchestra, conducted
by Vincent T. Learned, occupies center
stage and performs quite well. Unfor
tunately, it is sometimes difficult to
hear when an actor is singing from the
far side of the theater.
Janice Stauffer’s fanciful costumes
provide a lot of color and give the
show a fairy tale or mythic quality.
“Candide” continues its run with 8
p.m. performances today through
Saturday.
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Buhler
Continued from Page 9
tappin’.
Dr. Buhler, who has been perform
ing his satires since his days as a
graduate student, played a variety of
instruments in the first set.
He opened the show with a coun
try tune, played on the “what-a-piccc
of-work-is mandolin.” He varied his
style for each of the sonnets per
formed, demonstrating Shakespeare’s
influence on recording artists like
Nirvana and Chuck Berry.
Besides sonnet 18 (Shall I Com
pare You . . .) Buhler performed a
blues rendition of sonnet 94 (They
That Have Power to Hurt and Will Do
None) subtitled by Buhler “Lilies and
Weeds.”
His electric version of sonnet 129
(The Expense of Spirit in a Waste of
Shame) was set to the tunc “Smells
Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana.
He claims that Milton’s “Paradise
Lost” was originally a blues tune.
Buhler performed an extremely ab
breviated version of the epic on the
scrannel pipes (harmonica) and acous
tic guitar as part of his second set.
He also performed “Post Median
Noctem (After Midnight)” and
“Glutinous Heat,” which went to the
tune of “Pink Cadillac” by Bruce
Springsteen.
The chorus:
“Glutinous heal — don’t you be
coy; Don’t keep that rose from this
beastic boy. Spending nature’s coin,
drinking in delight — That’s the way
I want to spend a Saturday night.
Honey, I’m just wondering, can any
thing compete/ with that glutinous
heat, glutinous heat.”
If you can gel into that, then keep
an eye out for future Buhler venues.
You can’t keep this guy down.
And if you dig Shakespeare, you
might look in on the all-day marathon
reading of his complete sonnets Thurs
day in Andrews Hall.
It’s a must for all fans of the irrev
erent.
I Announcing:
HERBIE HUSKER
Tryouts
Interviews will be held:
Wednesday, April 22
4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Thursday, April 23
3:00 pm to 6:00 pm
City Union,
Room will be posted.
For more information and
■i to sign up for an interview time call
■ Terri, 477-8164 and leave a message.
REPRESENT THE CORNHUSKERS
^ WITH SPIRIT AND PRIDE
You.... Yes You,
Could Be Herbie
Engrossing plot leaves
readers hanging at end
“The Waste Lands”
Stephen King
Penguin Books
By Shannon Uehling
Staff Reporter__
Few serial books possess a plot
interesting enough to keep readers,
but “The Waste Lands,” the third in
Stephen King’s “Dark Tower” books,
is an exception to the rule.
Although this book is the continu
ation of the last gunslinger’s story,
the premise is fresh and the storyline
has enough twists to hold the interest
of even the most disillusioned King
fan.
In the first book, “The Gunslinger,”
King introduces Roland, the last
gunslinger. Roland follows and catches
Walter, the man in black — who King
implies is the wizard Merlin of King
Arthur fame.
“The Gunslinger” also introduces
Roland’s symbolic son, Jake, who
seems to do an awful lot of dying.
“The Drawing of Three,” the sec
ond in the scries, tells the talc of
Roland’s drawing three people from
our world to be part of his “ka-tet,”
which is a group that is drawn to
gether by “ka,” or fate. The ka-tet is
made up of Roland, Eddie Dean and a
woman who marries Eddie to become
Susannah Dean.
“The Waste Lands” begins with
the trio journey ing to the Dark Tower.
Roland is teaching the others to be
gunslingers, a skill Eddie and Susan
nah seem to pick up naturally.
The group has its first adventure
within the first 10 pages and there arc
no dull moments after that.
They find one of 12 doors to our
world, and the travelers soon arc fol
I- " -
lowing the palh of one of the Beams
that hold Roland ’ s world together and
lead to the Dark Tower.
Along the course of their travels,
the three become closer, solve Ro
land’s mental problem, battle a de
mon and pull Jake back out of our
world and into theirs. With Jake and
Oy, the billybumbler who befriends
Jake, the ka-tet is complete.
The real crisis begins when the
group reaches Lud, a city whose in
habitants have separated into two
battling factions — the Grays and the
Pubes.
The three need to Find a train,
named Blaine the Mono, which can
take them almost to the Dark Tower.
The book is full of foreshadowing
that lets the reader know that Blaine
is dangerous and not trustworthy.
King of ten has the tendency to add
so much detail that the storyline gets
bogged down. Although “The Waste
Lands” has excessive descriptive
passage in places, they don’t slow the
reader down. They arc necessary to
move the story along because, for
half the book, two stories arc running
at once — those of Jake in our world
and the ka-tet in Roland’s world.
This split-story gimmick is another
of King’s standbys. The split story is
a great literary tool, but can be annoy
ing if done wrong. King has come a
long way since the days of “Christine”
and “Carrie,” when his split-story ploy
didn’t work as well.
King’s characters are vibrant and
freshly three-dimensional. Even Jake’s
talking billybumbler — a soft, furry
raccoonish animal — adds his part to
the talc.
The most annoying part of “The
Waste Lands” is thoend.
King figuratively throws his read
ers over the edge of a tall building
where they are left dangling. In other
words, the book ends abruptly with
the con II icl unresolved. In an author's
note, King lets the reader know the
fourth book of the scries eventually
will follow.
But that's small comfort for the
hanging reader.
--i
Student dancers to perform
From Staff Reports
Orchcsis, the UNL student dance
group, will sponsor a dance con
cert, “Eclectic Dance Showings,”
on Thursday and Friday.
Performances begin at 7 p.m. in
Mabel Lee Hall, room 304.
Ticket prices arc $2 for adults
$1 for students.
Also included on the Orchesis
calendar is “Sable Solitudes,” a
modem dance concert presented
by Heather Hetrick and various
artists on Saturday. That conceit
also will be in room 304 of Mabel
Lee Hall. Performances arc at 3
p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets are S3 at
the door.
concert to support ecology
From Staff Reports
A benefit conceit to raise money
for Ecology Now will beat Duffy’s
Tavern, 1412 O St., on April 28
from 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. The con
cert will feature The Precaution/,
The Mystery and Too Smooth.
Admission is S3.
