Friday, November 22, 1968
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
5
the rock hound
Potpourri of albums
By WILL HARDESTY
Surely/ Donovan Leach must be a holy person. And his music, too, for it is ethereal, angelic, good, beautiful—the music of the spheres.
He has produced another heavenly work entitled THE HURDY GURDY MAN on Epic.
As per usual, it is a collection of songs in which Donovan revels in the natural beauty seen by his eyes and created in his mind. The beauty of the songs lies in their simplicity. The subjects are nature, the sea and people-all kinds of people from medieval castle dwellers to modern Greenwich Village dwellers. The 13 songs on this album show the same intensity of living and seeing, thinking and feeling as past Donovan works have. And throughout is the sense of a musical Christ, or saint, or Brahman, or guru or Buddha singing of his religion.
THE HURDY GURDY MAN also shows Donovan is not limited by one musical genre. The album contains swing, acid rock, folk, folk rock, raga rock, jazz and calypso.
And, also as usual, Donovan has something to say. "Get thy bearings.' Know the time./ Don't you worry./ The weather's fine. . . . Get together./ Work it out./ Simplicity/ Is what it is about. . . ."
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Another new Donovanesque record is DONOVAN MY WAY by Vic Lewis and his Orchestra also on Epic.
This album contains most of Donovan's major works—"Sunshine Superman," "There Is a Mountain," "Mellow Yellow," "Hurdy Gurdy Man," "Catch the Wind," "Jennifer Juniper," etc. And this album shows why few persons have orchestrated Donovan's music—it is Donovan's music, and something is lost when it is not performed by him. The simplicity which makes his music so beautiful is lost when the music is orchestrated. On DONOVAN MY WAY, the delicate and refined instrument which is Donovan's voice is not there. Also, the lyrics are missing.
If you had never heard Donovan, this album would be very good, but for Donovan, it can't compare with the real thing.
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THE HOLY MACKEREL by The Holy Mackerel on Reprise is a very good album.
It is the first album for the
group, but they have a first-class sound which is quite well developed and allows them to play a variety of musical forms. Their music doesn't fit into any real category. The album shows everything from nice, unamplified, bouncy stuff to electronic rock to Country & Western-rock.
What is amazing about the group is they look so young, yet play so well. None of them look like they could be more than freshmen, but as far as their music goes, they've got their drees.
The front side of the album is kind of a warm-up. The first song, "The Secret of Pleasure," is gentle and swinging, but the beat picks up, peaking in "Wildflowers"—a very rocky song, which is the only band on the album to be heavily electrified. Next is "The Somewhere in Arizona at 4:30 a.m. Restaurant Song (And Now I Am Alone)." This sets the pace for side two by trotting out the Country & Western guitar, phrasing, harmonica and drums. Unfortunately, the first side ends with a real dud. The old story of Prinderella and her sisty uglers is the only detriment to the whole album.
The second side of the album really gets into the CW-rock. "Bitter Honey" is more like something which would be played for an upbeat number on a "good music" FM station, but "Nothin' Short of Misery" sounds like a hip version of The Grand Ol' Opry. "Golden Ghost of Love" is more rock than western, but the group then does the best song on the album—"The Wild Side of Life." The song opens with an introduction: "Wellcum, fokes, to the Mack-rel Jamburree, en heers Mentor Mack-rel to sing fer ya." The song is about, "I didn't
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They do everything from James Brown to Mick Jagger to Burt Bacharach to their own stuff-14 songs all together—in a swinging 45 minute show. And they are good.
Their music is definitely soul through and through, but it's more, it's better. For one thing, it is more jazzy than the average soul. With nine men, all of whom are musicians, their sound is more tuneful than a lot of soul—which sounds like a singer backed only by a beat.
When Arthur Conley sang of that "Sweet Soul Music," he must have had the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band in mind. Their first album, TOGETHER, on Warner Brothers-Seven Arts will give you a good taste.
The last two songs on the side are good, but are paled by "The Wild Side of Life." They should have been put before "Wild Side" and the album would have had a spectacular ending with the crowd crying, "More. More."
Kinda makes ya wanta get out yur ol' Hank Williams and Johnny Cash albums and listen to them and smoke dope.
The Holy Mackerel should be heard from in the future. They are a good group, and they know how to get the most out of all their talented personnel. They have a good, strong, unified sound. It is just the right blend of CW and rock.
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They are enjoyable. They are good. What more needs be said?
know God made honky-tonk angels./ Well, I mighta known you wouldn't make a wife./ You gave up the only one who ever loved you., And went back to the wild side of life."
One of six finalists announced Tuesday will reign over the annual ROTC Military Ball, Dec. 6, in the Kansas Union Ballroom.
Don Willoughby, Hutchinson senior and director of public relations for the ball said the queen will be selected by three prominent persons in the University community.
Military Ball to be Dec. 6; six queen finalists picked
The finalists include:
BELGRADLE. (UPI)—The Yugoslav army will spend $153 million to modernize its army next year.
Ann Henry, Shawnee Mission freshman, Corbin Hall; Sandy Hoagland, Palo Alto, Calif. Freshman, Gertrude Sellars Pearson Hall; Judy Jarrell, Shawnee Mission junior, Kappa Alpha Theta; Lorlyn Seelbinder, Tongonzie sophomore, Naismith Hall; Cathy Steinmitz, Parsons sophomore, Delta Gamma, and
Saturday Night Only
Vee Ann Stephens, Prairie Village sophomore, Gamma Phi Beta.
CARY AUDREY
GRANT · HEPBURN
"CHARADE"
STANLADE
A STANLEY DONEN Production
TECHNICOLOR
CARY GRANT
LESLIE CARON
"FATHER GOOSE"
Technicolor*
TREVOR HOWARD
A UNIVERSAL RELEASE
A Granox Company Production - A Universal Release
PLUS
Evening
7:15-9:15
Sat. & Sun.
Mat. 2:30