January 19, 1970
The N. C. Essay
Page 3
MUSIC PLAYING IN MY HEAD
Since his emergence, in 1965,
on the contemporary folk scene, Eric
Andersen's efforts have been at once
topical and typical. Seemingly al
ways a distant shadow behind Bob Dylan,
Eric has never established a real
identity for himself. His IP's,
from Today Is The Highway through his
latest, Evi-Q Andersen^ exhibit a
pattern which is common of the folk
genre: ethnic (acoustical) white
folk and blues; electric "Folk
rock;" slick orchestrated pop rock;
and pseudo (again slick) country
folk-rock.
What Andersen and other folk
singers fail to grasp is Dylan has
already completed these mutations
with greater stylistic ease and
realization of purpose. And in
doing so, he transcends style and
makes it his. Dylan doesn't have
to be conscious of art, because his
work is art. Eric Andersen doesn't
have that luxury.
The danger in all of this is
that Andersen, in an attempt not to
necessarily copy Bob, but at least
be his equal, is simply out of his
league. At his least self-conscious
best, his songs are good folk
material. At their pretensions
worst, we get embarassing drivel
such as For What Was Gained^ a
maudlin, tasteless anti-war cut
from his Avalanche Lp. In contrast,
he also authored two of the
finest folk songs of the 60's,
Violets of dawn and Thirsty Boots.
But this drastic inconsistency has
been the major problem throughout
Eric's career.
John and Mary could easily be
this year's super-successful American
film. Tlie formula is right. Peter
Yates has directed a sensitive story
of typical New York singles, and
there is enough psychological groping
to extend identification well past
the Hudson and East Rivers.
Dustin Hoffman and Mia Farrow
are well cast as the pick-up lovers.
Because John and Mary is confined -
two characters generally shot on
location - the film becomes a sort
of mood piece. Restless or excited
viewers should save it for another
night. The lonely meanderings and
concentrations of the two strays
might best be appreciated in a
calm or even half-depressed state.
No slight to the acting is intended,
but John and Mary is just a slow
(though not plodding) movie.
Both the characters in John and
Mary are completely different.
Mary is under no particular strain
in the picture; she is, in fact,
extremely sane. She is original;
she is inquisitive; she is very
likeable, which is very much a
change of part from Rosemary's
Baby for Mia. And as far as
The new LP, while more anti-
Dylan than othejrs, still suffers
from the same frustrations of in
consistency. It is the logical
extension of the current folk
movement (recorded in Nashville
with McCoy, Buttery, & Co.) and it
offers Eric at his best and worst.
Two songs are excellent. Lie
With Mej a lonesome love song,
underlines Eric's mature side and
his (occassional) ability to convey
real feelings in song: "Lie with
me/and be my love/ just for now/
stay with me/ all through the night/
and be as close to me/as you can be/
'til morning sets you free/again."
A sadly airy vocal completes the
images of loneliness.
Dustin is concerned, he is not a
young innocent in the picture at
all. He knows what he is doing
when he meets Mary. He may be a
little reticent at the beginning
but, in fact, he is far more
reticent for the next morning when
he is worried about getting rid of
her, which is very far from the
character of Ben in The Graduate^
who is really being led by the nose
the whole time.
Hoffman is nearly perfect in
his white, post-grad apartment. But
he is lonely, and really doesn't
care for the strained life in
crowded "singles" bars. He calls
them "subways with booze". So he
stays home cooking and remembering
the important women in his life,
Ruth the model and Rosalie, the mother.
Then communication arrives in the
form of a cute bar pick-up. Miss
Farrow becomes the new girl-who-
came-to-dinner. "A relationship?
Is that what we're having?" startles
them both a little.
And after a long and typical day
of groping together, apart, and
together again, they finally introduce
(Cont. on page 6)
Go New Deborah may be his
most powerful song. Again the
theme is broken love (a subject he
deals with most successfully).
It is a solid realization of a
situation and the resulting emotion
is successful. One line is beauti
ful: "There's no way for pain or
sorrow/l must leave because I'm
afraid." The unpredictable nature
of the line, as well as its honesty,
make it a fine piece.
Other songs work, but narrowly
escape the pretensions which ruined
other songs. It Wasn't A Lie^ I
. (Cont. on page 6)
fin inTimflTe hall
f oft unukjRL [inusc
On Thursday evening, Jan. 8,
was held. Before the program began
Mr. Listokin opened with some
comments on the music and the value
of performances in the room. He
said that the school needs a hall for
less formal concerts and smaller
gatherings. It also gives students
an excellent performing experience
at different developmental points.
The audience was more intimate and
the informal closeness make it a much
more personal listening experience
for chamber music.
Clarinetists Murray Kaufman,
Linda Ruggero, Roger Quigley, and
Forrest Campbell played a Suite in
Folk Style by Roger Goeb and Paul
Pisk's Quartet for Clarinets.
These works are not arrangements
but originally written for clarinet
quartet. A clarinet quartet is
unusual in itself, and like quar
tets for any same instrument, could
be deadly. But the music was
interesting and the group played well
together. The three movements of
Goeb's suite, a folk song,lullaby
and folk dance were traditional
harmonic style. The listener could
appreciate some of the problems to
be overcome in woodwind phrasing:
the smooth end of a line and entrance
of another clarinet. Pisk's quartet
was closer to the usual type of
modern woodwind music written today.
The movements consisted of a March,
Siciliano, and Landler. The
largest problem in having four of
the same instruments is the near
impossibility of great color changes
within movements, its difficulty in
differentiating character in move
ments since there is no combination
of instruments to vary for effect.
But the group captured the spirit of
the dances.
The program ended with a Quantz
Trio, Sonata in C Minor, performed by
Renee Siebert, flute; Catherine Tait,
violin; and Cynthia Siebert, piano.
The sensitivity of these musicians
and their ability to mold their
individual parts into one directed
flowing idea was beautiful.
MOVI&
R^vmVi
OH N AND MARY
By
GWEN
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