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i Page 4 The Carolina Journal, February 5, 1969 * * « * * Tj:fr7MrXr/H£/yT\ ‘‘Under Milk Wood . ’VTi.t. ‘ W- 3U *♦*♦**♦♦**★**★*♦♦♦*♦**♦♦*■* ****^** R.P. Havens, 1983 Richie Havens is. He is 1 am. To quote the liner notes from his Verve Forecast release RICHARD P. HAVENS, 1983, I am can remember the beginning. He knew then all his friends in hiding, he created it all.” Havens goes on to tell a brief history of I am... “1 am woke up one night .... His brother had seen Satan in the room and introduced I am to him ... Age 3, 3-1 yr Zodiacal period from the blinding light, now manifesting Macon St.... God blessed us through Kenny Fletcher’s knife wounded heart, at the hand of twelve neighborhood conspiritors, all younger than he. H® yr periods on earth. He left us in the universal neighborhood in the middle of a wedding reception right in front of his mother, while going to the corner for some cigarettes 1 atn knows that it was all his friends in hiding that sad that Black was peekaboo and white was I see you.” And so the potential listener gets his first glance into the mind and heart of R. P. Havens - artist. To quote the liner notes again - , ^ “For those who cannot hear it ... they can read it in the liner notes. - Bill Blachly. . . i- “For those who hear it ... they can hear it m the liner notes. - Mark Roth.” j *o d- u-n. But what about the music on this two-record set. Ricnie Havens plays guitar, bass, ondioline, striker, rhythm guitar, and tamboura. He also sings, hums, claps his hands, tells jokes, and demonstrates a damn dever hense of sumor in some of his intros. The ineluctable modality of the audible is demonstrated by Havens in its most pleasant manifestation t^at kind of music does he play? Well, I already said that he is a composer...well, 1 meant to...so you can probably guess that he plays and sings some of his own son^. For instance; O.K. “Stop Pulling and Pushing Me is hard-rock with a lot of electric stuff and loud drums. The words are the only really important part. “For Haven’s Sake is slower - nearly morbid with its “where are you’ and an organ m the background. It’s also seven minutes long. What More Can 1 Say John?” is about the war in Viet-whateyerthenarne- ofthatplaceis.Who else’s songs does Havens sing? Nobody really important - just Lennon-McCartney (who s he.), Dylan (not the milkwood one), and Donovan l^itch (who sjcahv » strange young man). “Just Above My Hobby Horse s Head is another Havens composition m which he plays the hand clap Mark Roth accompanies on the Nikormat FTN, Chase plays the hammer (?). Its about people and th arbitrary definitions - I think, (speaking instruments, Richie is listed as playing vocal choir in WMCIS Johnt” I don’t understand.) „ . , Richie’s rendition of “Strawberry Fields Forever is better than the original, not that he changes much. Richie just sings better than the Beatles. He doesn’t do quite as w®*} “She’s Leaving Home.” He does do a fine J°b on Y Madonna.” Accompanied by a rhythrmc conga he pulls all the potential notes out of the scale and weaves thern around the Beatles well-known tune. Richie claps his hands ap , too. “A Uttle Help From My Friends” is the best track on the disc, entertainment-wise if not technically. I won t tel you about the intro, but its worth the price of the alburn^ “Wear Your Love Uke Heaven” is from Donovan s recent juvenile period, but it borders on the niystical, I Pity the Poor Imigrant” is from Dylan’s early folksy period, but the lyrics stand on their own ‘comment-on^ur-times ness. Richie’s own best effort of composition to date is Indian Rope Man,” an electrically augmented ballad about contemporary society and its componant parts - contemporary peoples. Leonard Cohen’s ‘Priests centers on the same theme and is well done by Havens and Erix Oxindine. Richie closes out with his own arrangement ot the traditional “Run ShakerRun/Do You Feel Good? About the versionof “A Little Help From My Friends - to quote Richie - “1 get hung up here sometimes. It s so happy. Do dee do do, do dee do dee do do.... Snow There are nearly as many rock groups now as there are songs, and each time a new album comes out, one can expect a new group name to add to the list that the “groupies” keep up with so faithfully. One of the newest groups is called Snow, and their album, oddly enough, is SNOW. This group has something - good material. Some ot (Continued on page 5) By R. T. Smith Dylan Thomas’ UNDER MILK WOOD is, says Raymond Williams, “a simple time-sequence description of Llaregyb (a small Welsh fishing village).” The play was first composed by Thomas to be read over the radio, but was later performed on stage with much success. UNDER MILK WOOD has, to say the least, been a controversial work since its first appearance in 1953. Many critics have pointed out the great debt of Thomas to the “Circe” episode of James Joyce’s ULYSSES, and they have not hesitated to demonstrate how Thomas’ play suffers by the comparison. David Holbrook (Cambridge) points out that Thomas’ work lacks “the controlled voice of the true understanding,” points out the lack of artistic compassion, and concludes that, “UNDER MILK WOOD would not have had its popular success were it not essentially unreal and untender, and full of seamy hints, obscenities.” Holbrook points out that Llaregyb “bears no relationship to modern Wales, either in village or town - no such relistic relationship as Joyce’s Dublin bears to Dublin.” The play is carried by the sounds of words, Thomas has woven an intricate pattern of voices speaking words that carry a pleasing sound - sometimes without regard to their meanings. Thomas is, at times, a rather shallow poet. Dr. Catherine Nicholson, director of UNC-C’s Theater Workshop, shouldered the burden of Thomas’ inferior workmanship and presented a uniquely charming version of this controversial “play for voices” on the stage. Last wekend the play was back on the campus “by popular demand.” On a stairstep stage, dressed in turtleneck and leotard costumes, the backed by suggestive cloth scenery, the players of UNDER MILK WOOD did a creditable job with a poor excuse for drama or poetry. The scenery was flexible enough to allow the players to interpret their various roles (and they each had several) without any mood interference by the vertical cloths. The various postures and physical attitudes adopted by the players were usually quite effective, and the speech pace, with a few exceptions, seemed to be a product of artistic concern and drill. There were mistakes; some of them unavoidable, some of them avoidable, but the play, as a unit, came across as an entertaining package, despite a few technical flaws. Thomas’ play seems to me to be a quite mean and critical presentation of human life, to echo Holbrook’s ‘ lack of compassion” criticism, so perhaps the narrative form was not presented in the mood in which the play was written. Katherine Williams, first reader, and David Zimmerman, second reader, often adjusted their voices to convey this cynical thought, but I felt that they seemed to sympathize with their characters a bit too often, while Thomas was laughing at them. Miss Williams’ eye movements were one of the most interesting aspects of the play, and her accent was well regulated and not overdone. Some of the other characters’ accents were not so well adopted. It is indeed unfortunate that Mr. Zimmerman had to take on a distinct role of a villager while reading the part of an omnipotent narrator; but it is also quite fortunate. His reading of Lord Cutglass in his clock-infested room was the best characterization in this version of MILK WOOD. Another standout was Debby Lofty, whose Mrs. Dai Bread Two is the personification of Thomas attitude toward sex as the universal panacea. Linda Craven was a gem-of-a-pelican as she portrayed Mrs. Organ Morgan; she also did a reputable job of interpretation of Gossamer Beynon and Myfany Price. Allon Thompson’s gravelly voice was a joy to listen to, but quite often one could not distinguish one of his characters from another. Dan Cook lent an air of casualness to the production with his portrayals of Nogoods and lazy loafers, but his attempt at an accent sometimes clouded a speech that would not have suffered with a little more projection. William (Bill) Sloan’s characterization of Mr. Pugh was priceless, whether it was Thomas’ effort or Sloan’s or a combination; the weasely would-be poisoner was at least intriguing. Captain Cat, Sinbad Sailors, and Jack Black often seemed to be quite similiar, but at times the diferentiation among them was as clear as the town-hall bell that Captain Napping Cat” pulls. Steve Fedora often stumbled over words and phrases, (Continued on page S) W.l.T. and WILL Another semester is arrived, and everyone has another chance at the academie side oj university life. There are always a few carry-overs from one semester to another, and one of these carry-overs is W.l.T. That cache of criticism and cynicism, humor, and harmony is back - more dynamic and devious than ever - with evaluations of your favorite plays, flics and IPs. So lean back and enjoy the entertainment section of THE CAROLINA JOURNAL. Musically and cinematically, W.l. T. is what’s happening! Joining W.l. T. this semester will be a new advisor jar your enjoyment and enlightenment WILL. WILL joins THE JOURNAL staff after an intensive study of Dionysian pleasures in a small and inconspicuous monastary in an uncharted region of - England. WILLs manifest destiny in this day of absurdity is to elucidate the thoughts of William Shakespeare to the contemporary reader. An unguided sou can stumble into the works of the great playwright through the back door and trip through the dark for ever. Rernember: "bard” spelled backwards yields "drab,” and The Master a anything but that, if he is approached from the right angle (unless ninety degrees is too hot for you). Also remember, where there’s a will, there’s a way. My first offering to Thoth will be short and sweet: Have mory than thou showest. Speak less than thou knowest.’ King Lear 1. four. 133 This advice is double-barreled. The first line was obviously written in anticipation of the present mini-skirt fad. Dead William liked to gape at a comely lass as much as the next fellow, but he added “How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds makes ill deeds done. King John IV. two. 219 His second line from “Lear was obviously aimed at modern politicians. With their limited knowledge, they must remain silent, if they follow the bard’s advice. Speaking of. current morality, Shakespeare lent not a still tongue to the ancient art of prostitution: To the patrons of prostitutes, perhaps: “You pay a great deal for what’s given freely.” The Winter’s Tale. I. one. 18 The administration refers to the ridiculously long registration lines with a quote from “All’s Well That Ends Well”: “All’s well that ends well.” IV. four. 35 But they must keep the following verse in mind if they are to maintain any rein over the students at all: “Delays have dangerous ends.’ King Henry VI, Part 1 111. three. 33 Youth hath not patience. Wake up, administrators, before thy dream lethargy becometh a nightmare!
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