Hall
Continued from Page 9
Francisco scene, mixing folk rock,
blues and psychedelia on such hits as
“Somebody to Love” and “White Rab
bit.”
Gladys Knight and the Pips had
hits in 1967 with “I Heard It Through
The Grapevine” and in 1973 with
“Midnight Train to Georgia.”
Little Willie John, a soul and blues
performer from the 1950s, co-wrote
the song “Fever,” which became a hit
for Peggy Lee. The Shirelles, a girl
group founded in 1957, sang “I Met
Him (Jn a Sunday in 1959 and Sol
dier Boy” in 1962.
The Velvet Underground’s hits in
clude “Waiting for My Man” in 1967
and “Rock and Roll” in 1970.
Seeger, 76, wrote or co-wrote such
folk standards as “Turn! Turn! Turn!”
and “If I Had A Hammer.” His social
activism has been as much an influ
ence as his music.
Donahue was an executive at
KMPX and KSAN in San Francisco in
the 1960s and 70s. He led a rebellion
against Top 40 radio that continues
today in the battle for dominance be
tween rigidly formatted radio stations
and college and alternative stations.
American Heart h
Associations,^^
Fighting Heart Disease
and Stroke
. Plug Into the
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' Bigred Classes
Now that you have your computer account on BIGRED, you can
discover how to tap into the resources available to you on the internet.
These classes are free and no reservations are required. Seats are
available on a first come, first served basis. Call 472-9050 if you
have any questions.
Intro to E-Mail
Tuesday, October 31 2:30 - 4:00 p.m. Bancroft Hall, 239
Wednesday, November 1 10:30 - 12:00 noon Bancroft Hall, 239
UNL Community:
It’s time to help one of our own
Chanel Jenkins-Todd, 11, has a rare form of cancer.
Her parents, Tom and Lynda Todd, are UNL employees,
and need help paying for a $250,000 bone marrow transplant.
You can help!
Send a check today
to the Chanel Jenkins-Todd Foundation
at any Cornhusker Bank branch.
Sponsored by UAAD.
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Barry Black
“Barry Black"
Alias Records
Grade: A
At a time when everyone in indie
rock is, as Mary Lou Lord put it,
“stuck on his four-track,” stripping
the sound to its bare bones acousti
cally, Eric Bachman from the Ar
chers of Loaf is toying with his own
solo project.
Unlike the other frontmen, how
ever, Bachman isn’t stealing “Icky
Mettle” and turning it into a folk
album, throwing off acoustic ver
sions of “Floating Friends” or “Fat.”
In contrast, he’s broadening his
approach, utilizing a gamut of in
fluences, and allowing himself to
be taken over by a whole new per
sona, that of Barry Black.
It is, of course, an invented name,
which is representative of a number
of Bachman’s friends and himself
under the production of Caleb
Southern. The resulting effort is a
definite delight, a perfect addition
to the canons of independent rock,
an instrumental album oozing with
creativity.
Though Bachman isn’t talking
much, intuition seems to suggest
that this album is a bit conceptual,
sort of a tribute to men like Herb
Alpert and Miles Davis, whose
records are not full of toe-tapping
sing-a-longs, but rather intense
background music.
Songs like “Vampire Lounge”
and “Staticus von Carrborrus” are
not the angry anthems of the Ar
chers, but their lead singer’s at
tempt at his own “Kind of Blue.”
i ne cover an even runners me allu
sion, arranged as simply and
unglamorously as those of old.
But it goes so much further than
jazz. The psyche of Barry Black is
indeed schizophrenic, soaked with
surf riffs, dark moods, southern
charisma, playful melodies, haunt
ing beats, and instances of Eastern
European influence previously no
ticeable in “Underachievers March
and Fight Song” on “Vee Vee.” In
fact, that type of flavor actually
permeates throughout the album,
completely exposing itself in the
nostalgic “Animals are for Eating.”
The great diversity is the result
of the high level of talent involved,
the majority stemming from
Bachman himself. Besides writing
and arranging all 14 tracks, he also
plays banjo, a water pot, the train
whistle, guitar, drums, organ, clari
net, baritone and alto sax, piano,
bass and the flute. With the help of
his chums come the additions of the
violin, cello, upright bass, trom
bone and the trumpet.
It is from this pool of sounds that
Barry Black emerges. And though
his path is not as traditional as his
contemporaries, Eric Bachman has
created quite an impressive, slick
alter ego, who does more than re
gurgitate singles, but instead in
vents new genres. And, therefore,
how can you not agree that Barry
Black is all that and a bag of chips?
— Matt Kudlacz
“Tower of Song: The Songs of
Leonard Cohen"
Various Artists
A&M Records
Grade: A
When one thinks of the greatest
songwriters ever, several people
come tomind: Dylan, Lennon, Reed
... and then there’s the underground
genius of Leonard Cohen.
Many people know very little of
Leonard Cohen, but if you mention
a song that’s his, many people may
know a cover version of it.
“Everybody Knows,” which
many people think is a Concrete
Blonde song, is a prime example. If
you’ve ever seen “Pump Up The
Volume,” Slater’s theme song is
the Leonard Cohen version.
So what happens when you tell
the best of today’s artists that you
are making a tribute to Leonard
Cohen? Everyone wants to play on
it, and that’s no overestimate, be
cause if you haven’t heard of these
artists, then you don’t listen to mu
sic.
Here ’ s the rundown of who plays
on it: Don Henley (fromthe Eagles,
when they were still a band), Elton
John, Billy Joel, Bono, Tori Amos,
Sting & The Chieftains, Trisha
Yearwood, Martin Gore (of
Depeche Mode), Peter Gabriel,
Aaron Neville, Suzanne Vega,
Willie Nelson and Jann Arden.
The last Cohen tribute included
artists like R.E.M., the Pixies, John
Cale, James and others. That was a
while ago, however, and it focused
too much on the bands showing
themselves off instead of Cohen’s
work, which kept the disc from be
ing greai instead or jusi an ngni.
Cohen’s masterstrokes lie in his
lyrics. Tori Amos’ cover of “Fa
mous Blue Raincoat” is told as a
letter, including the signature. “Sin
cerely, L. Cohen” reads the last line
ofthe song. Amos’ piano work over
lays the words gorgeously, simply
her and her instrument. It’s a lovely
performance.
On the other side of the coin,
Bono’s performance of Cohen’s
“Hallelujah” is all about the words
with next to no background music.
His voice soars through it, the beats
in the background somewhere be
tween U2 tracks “Numb” and
“Lemon.” Again, a marvelous per
formance.
During “Suzanne,” which is very
clearly Peter Gabriel, the focus is
still on the words. Amid all the
powerful sounds, the shakers, the
drums, the bass and the xylophone,
you still hear the words, and
Gabriel’s voice clearly is perfect in
the feel.
Ironically, the album has 13
tracks, since fans of Cohen have
been waiting for the better part of a
year for this tribute, and it was well
worth the wait.
No matter what your style of
music, there’s something here for
you... and somethingto think about,
if you pay attention to the words, as
well you should.
— Cliff A. Hicks
“Ring Them Bells”
Joan Baez (with a lot of guests)
Guardian
Grade: A
Joan Baez. There’s a name that
hasn’t been heard in a long time.
She makes a triumphant return to
the folk music scene with “Ring
Them Bells,” and she’s brought
some friends this time.
“RingThem Bells” isa live show,
recorded in one take. That being
said, it leaves one with this ques
tion: “How did she do all this mar
velous stuff at one show and how
come she never slips?” Well, al
most never.
Only two songs on the album are
actually Baez songs, “Sweet Sir
Gallahad” and “Diamonds & Rust
There are also two additional tracks
she arranged, “The Lily ofthe West”
and “Willie Moore.”
Other songs include two Dylan
songs, “Ring Them Bells” and
“Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright,”
as well as.a song by Amy Ray (of
the Indigo Girls), “Welcome Me,”
Leonard Cohen’s classic
“Suzanne,” Janis Ian’s “Jesse,” Dar
Williams’ “You’re Aging Well,”
Eric Bogle’s masterpiece of a war
song, “And The Band Played Waltz
ing Matilda” as well as a few oth
ers.
Her friends help out a lot on this
record. They include the following:
the Indigo Girls, Mary Chapin Car
penter, Mary Black, Mimi Farina,
the McGarrigles, Tish Hinojosa,
Dar Williams and Janis Ian.
Although she makes a few mis
takes with the words on “And The
Band Played Waltzing Matilda,”
the song still comes across well. It
doesn’t have quite the desperation
of Bogle’s original, or the drowned
drunken sorrows of the Pogues’
cover, but it has its own nice touch,
an original take on the old ballad.
Highlights ofthe concert include
“Swallow Song,” the Richard Fa
rina song which Baez performs with
Mimi Farina, “Ring Them Bells”
on which Baez and Black simply
sing a duet while Pat Crowley plays
piano, Baez’s cover of “Welcome
Me” and the almost acoustical jam
feel when the Indigo Girls play and
sing “Don’t Think Twice, It’s
Alright” with Baez.
The most stunning moment in
the concert, and perhaps the reason
to buy the CD is “Diamonds &
Rust.” Baez’s most compelling
song, the duet with Mary Chapin
Carpenter couldn’t have gone bet
ter. It’s enthralling, hypnotic and
absol utely entrancing.
The song also ends di fferently in
the concert. Not to spoil it, the origi
nal way the song ends is: “And if
you’re offering me diamonds and
rust/I’ve already paid ...” You can
hear the new ending yourself.
“Ring Them Bells” is a marvel
ous return for one of the original
folk masters. Baez and Dylan both
seem to have gotten a resurgence of
popularity as of late, and this con
cert proves why every record sold
is merited.
— Cliff A. Hicks
Powder
Continued from Page 9
captivates with his performance as
Powder. His work here is nothing short
of breathtaking.
Partially because of Flanery’s bril
liance in this role, the other actors
don’t seem quite as prominent, but
each shows a great deal of talent.
Mary Steenburgen (“What’s Eat
ing Gilbert Grape,” “Philadelphia”)
portrays Jessi Caldwell, the head of a
school for troubled youths. Her per
formance, while not at the same level
as Flanery’s, is still quite compelling.
Also making a good showing is
Lance Henriksen (“Aliens”) as Sheriff
Bamum who is a cold yet somehow
compassionate man to the problems
that Powder is facing.
As always, Jeff Goldblum (“Juras
sic Park”) plays the slightly off-bal
ance scientific guy, but there’s a good
screen magic between Goldblum and
Flanery that projects well to the audi
ence.
With eye-catching special effects,
a well-written script and fantastic act
ing, “Powder” is worth seeing, if for
nothing else than to see Flanery cap
ture your heart, but it’s probably a
good idea to leave the theater when
Goldblum, Steenburgen and Flanery
are standing on the porch.
Whatever ending you can come up
with is probably going to be better
than this one.
