KWSAN REVIEWS
Films: The Committee
BY BOB BUTLER
Kansan Arts and Reviews Editor
Placing "The Committee" under the heading "FILMS" is somewhat misleading. "The Committee" is actually more like a television show, both in form and production.
"The Committee" is a group of young satirists based in L.A. who have taken it upon themselves to expose America's foibles in comic revues. They have appeared most recently on the Smothers Brothers show where their unidentified faces have become common fixtures. Now they have brought their entire revue to the screen.
It's not a likely subject for cinematic treatment, but once the viewer gets used to the films technical problems (the show looks like it was taken off a TV screen) he can settle back for some of the most biting (and sometimes painful) satire to be found today. The six men and two women who comprise "The Committee" here present 19 shits, all of them hysterical.
This is satire at its best. A special standout routine is "Black Like Me" in which a white reporter turns himself black for an "inside" story and asks a Negro friend to coach him on acting black. Through the laughter you realize that as the two assume the part of the opposite race some of our deep-seated racial misunderstandings are brought painfully to the surface. You'll laugh, but more than one person will say "Ouch!"
Aside from the excellent material, the best thing about "The Committee" is the troupe itself. These people are fantastic actors. They can slip in and out of character with ease and their timing, perhaps the greatest single factor in comedy, is perfect.
"The Committee" will upset some people, probably those who wrote nasty letters to CBS knocking the Smothers Brothers. The rest of us pinkos can sit back and have a great time.
Records: Hits
By WILL HARDESTY
The Sons of Champlin are one of the oldest bunches of San Francisco musicians still around. They now live together, along with their women, children, pets, cars, and dreams in the San Geronimo Valley near San Francisco. There they are free to do their own thing in a way which is only possible in seclusion. They do arts and crafts and meditate and appreciate nature. They say they have really gotten themselves together and are into a giant, peaceful oneness thing.
And just about the time they had thoroughly sorted themselves out of the chaos of the modern commercial world, that world decided it needed them.
So, an agent of Capitol Records convinced them to come into the City for negotiations. They came, and it is reported, promptly blew the minds of the Capitol lawyers by rejecting the contract because they couldn't understand it. After the contract was re-written into English from legalese, The Sons cut their two-record album which is now out. It is called "Loosen Up Naturally" (SWBB-200, stereo).
This is a psychadelifan's album—good for both the mind and body. The lyrics are quite representative of The Sons' philosophy, advocating, generally, a retreat from the unreality of the "real world," living naturally, i.e., peacefully and responsively to and with the natural impluses of being a human person, with emphasis on developing the mind through natural and artificial highs. For your body, they provide a nice collection of sounds. There are six of them and they play "big-band" blues-rock. Again, their music is a reflection of natural life—basically solid with a strong beat, punctuated with frequent improvisations and occasional freakouts.
"Jools & Brian" by Julie Driscoll with Brian Auger & The Trinity on CAPITOL (DT-136, stereo) is one of their best albums. It's not hard to see why Jools was picked as Top Girl Singer of the Year or The Trinity called Best New Group of the Year in their native England. The music is jazzy, but not so jazzy it loses a solid melodic line. Julie's voice is excellent, and she uses it well. The Trinity works well together. The whole performance seems to fit together just right to produce a fine album.
The group will soon release a two-record set called "Streetnoise" on ATCO (SD2-701, stereo). The advance one-half of it has some good material on it, but . . . The detriment comes from some singing in which Julie and Auger are just yelling some musical spots which are just noise. The first half of the album doesn't sound as good as "Jools & Brian." The whole album could be pretty good, but the other half of the album will have to make it such.
Linda Ronstadt has gone solo and has her own album out—"Hand Sown ... Home Grown" on CAPITOL (ST-208 stereo).
Her album is very C-W and very good. The back-up is great and she does stuff by Dylan, Randy Newman and John D. Loudermilk. There's an old standard—"Break My Mind"—an old hit—"Silver Threads and Golden Needles"—a might-be-soon classic—"I'll Be Your Baby Tonight"—and some new songs—for example, "We Need a Lot More of Jesus (And a Lot Less Rock and Roll)."
While the Stone Poneys were not a bad group, Linda seemed to be so much stronger than they that they acted like a weight to hold her back and bring her down. Alone she is tremendous.
"El Camino Real" by Lee Dresser on AMOS (AAS-7003, stereo) is a very good album—but not for rock fans. Dresser has a great voice and this album, recorded live, shows his forte—night club entertaining. He has the right amount of drive to captivate a slightly-high audience. His music is modern, but re-arranged enough to be popular with the over-30, under-40 crowd.
May 12 1969 KANSAN 5
Books:
THE PENGUIN BOOK OF ITALIAN SHORT STORIES, edited by Guido Waldman (Penguin, $1.45)—An anthology ranging from the middle ages to the present. Most Italian literature is not generally known to the university student, but such familiar names as Boccaccio, d'Annunzio, Pirandello and Moravia are represented, among many others.
A CITIZEN'S DISSENT, by Mark Lane (Crest, 95 cents)—A continuation of the dialogue that began only a few days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy almost six years ago. Perhaps the most vigorous of the critics of the Warren Report has been Mark Lane, whose story has been told before and who now replies to those who replied to him. We may expect replies from those whom he has blasted in this book. And as long as conspiracy theories exist in the wrold, and as long as the data surrounding the assassination are suppressed, the Mark Lanes will thrive.
EUROPEAN FASCISM, edited by S. J. Woolf (Vintage, $2.45)—A series of essays on a political phenomenon that by no means perished when war ended in Europe in 1945. A number of learned gentlemen discuss fascism in its historical context and its place in contemporary Europe. Bibliographies and chronological tables are included. It is important to note that the discussion is not necessarily concentrated on those nations of Europe where fascism was most prominent in World War II but that other nations are considered as well.
CRITICS OF SOCIETY: RADICAL THOUGHT IN NORTH AMERICA, by T. B. Bottomore (Vintage, $1.45)In this time of campus ferment almost any book about radicalism in American history will find readers, especially as some historians reinterpret the past in radical terms. Bottomore seeks to find relationships between present movements and those of the past. It is a comparatively slight essay but a thoughtful one.
DEATH IN LIFE: SURVIVORS OF HIROSHIMA, by Robert Jay Lifton (Vintage, $2.95)—A book of considerable significance, Lifton having interviewed 75 persons affected by the atomic bomb explosion of August 1945 and then interpreting and analyzing the findings. The approach is not ideological but is psychological and scientific. Such works, however, inevitably have ideological impact comparable to that occasioned by John Hersey's brilliant "Hiroshima" of more than 20 years ago.
THE LEVITTOWNERS, by Herbert J. Gans (Vintage, $2.95)—A sociological examination of suburban life, far more detailed and scholarly than the pop works of a dozen years ago by Packard and others. It also is different from some examinations in that Gans does not suggest that the whole of suburban life is barren; he finds much meritorious and socially-culturally constructive in our new way of living.
THE AMERICAN NOVEL SINCE WORLD WAR II, edited by Marcus Klein (Premier, $1.25)—This is a paperback original that has writings of great interest and importance. The editor has assembled essays by some authoritative people: Philip Rahv on naturalism; John Aldridge on the search for values; Saul Bellow on recent types of fiction; Lawrence Lipton and Paul Goodman on underground writings; Iving Howe on mass society; Ihab Hassan on the novel of outrage; Burton Feldman on black humor; Leslie Fiedler on "the higher sentimentality," and John Barth on the "literature of exhaustion."
THE BALLOON MAN, by Charlotte Armstrong (Crest, 75 cents); HUNTER'S GREEN, by Phyllis A. Whitney (Crest, 75 cents)—Though the genres are different these two may be treated together, for in different ways both writers deal with damsels in distress. Charlotte Armstrong writes novels of horror, set in contemporary settings, involved and exciting. Such is "The Balloon Man." Phyllis Whitney is one of the best with treatments of the Gothic tale. Old mansions, an atmosphere of terror, mysterious heroes (can she really trust her husband?). Both worth a few hours.
CONFESSIONS OF A DISLOYAL EUROPEAN, by Jan Myrdal (Vintage, $1.65)—Autobiographical vignettes by a writer concerned with man and his relation to other men and to life. Revolution and rebellion are the themes. Myrdal is a Swede who knows both English and Swedish, and has traveled in and written books about Asia, radio plays, and a book called "Report from a Chinese Village" that brought hisim special attention.
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Kansan Arts Calendar
Todav
2:30 p.m.-Symposium of Contemporary American Music-Student Compositions Recital-Swarthout Recital Hall 4 p.m.-Poetry Reading-Ken Irby, U. of California at Berkeley-Forum Room, Union 8 p.m.-Symposium of Cont. Am. Music-Chamber Choir and Wind Ensemble-Swarthout Recital Hall and University Theatre
8 p.m.-Lecture-Prof. J. T.
Shaw—'The Prose of
Pushkin''-Pine Room, Union
Tuesday
2:30 p.m.-Symposium of Cont. Am. Music-Lecture, Vincent Persichetti-"The Materials of the American Composer"-Swarthout Recital Hall
7:30 p.m.-Latin American Film Series—"No Exit"-Dyche Auditorium
8 p.m.-Symposium of Cont. Am. Music-University Symphony-University Theatre
Wednesday
7 & 9 p.m.—Classical Films“Don Juan” and “Adventures of Don Juan”—Dyche Auditorium
8 p.m. — Percussion Ensemble—Swarthout Recital Hall
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