Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 10, 1970)
Records ’ Joni Mitchell. Ladies of the Canyon, Reprise RS6376. Joni Mitchell's third album is personal, sophisticated and pro (fessional and at times a little boring. While each song on the album is well written, the total impres sion is sameness. Of the dozen different selections, eight are in the same tempo, slow. For those unfamiliar with Miss Mitchell’s style, her voice, while it lacks the lyrical roundness of Joan Baez or the gusty power of Laura Nyro, has a light but solid quality. At times she sings al most out of her range, and an almost-country style yodel is oc casionally thrown in. Her ar ticulation is perfect. All the ly rics are printed on the album cover, but they are hardly neces sary. Personal album Most certainly the album is per sonal, and is an expression of Joni Mitchell’s personality. All the songs were written and arrang ed by her. The lyrics are con - cerned for the most part with personal and inter-personal senti ments. She even plays her own piano and guitar accompany - ments. And Miss Mitchell is certainly professional. She very adeptly uses other accompanying instru ments and additional vocal sup port without coming off as an over-produced Los Angeles rec ord company mish-mash. In the song, “For Free,” cello is integrated with guitar and a short but very good clarinet lick played by Paul Horn. At other times, flutes and baritone sax are also used. Joni’s piano playing reminds one of Nyro especially in the song, “The Arrangement.” Coincident ly, the piano accompaniment to “Rainy Night House,” resembles the “Let It Be,”—“Bridge Over Troubled Waters,” style in vogue presently. Engaging songs The songs themselves, all of them, are quite complex and engaging. That is when they are considered separately, one at a time. It is their total effect that is deadening. The opening song is a haunting, but cheery tune, “Morning Mor gantown,” written in a minor mode. A light picking style of gui tar is used as accompaniment. Mitchell’s almost yodel is heard near the end of the song. The rest of the side is practically a sea of slowness, with but one really out standing song, “The Arrange^ ment.” The title song, “Ladies of the Canyon,” picks up the tempo some, but isn’t enough to change the general impression of all the songs being the same. This slow-sameness syndrome continues for the first three songs on the second side. Finally a sal vation comes in the last three songs. Beginning with the pro ecology song “Big Yellow Taxi,” the album again becomes inter esting. The tune is happy, airy and unlike anything else on th? album. At the end of tha song Joni reaches for a low not a which she doesn’t quite hit. She laughs unpretentiously, adding a spark of spontaneity that the album needed. Following •'Taxi" is Joni Mit chell’s version of “Woodstock." She wrote the song and in her rendition, the spirit of Neo-Eden is presented much better than in Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s rock style. The final song is “The Circle Game.” A group of sing ers called “The Lookout Moun tain United Downstairs Choir” join Mitchell leaving the song a community come-together feeling. The last quarter of the album plus the two outstanding songs, "Morning Morgantown,” and "The Arrangement,” makes the album very worthwhile and enjoyable. Understand, all the songs are excellent and enjoyable. It is just a little hard to take more than one or two at a sitting. They could lull one to sleep. —Matt McCormack lSesofthe CANYON Northwest poet reading today at University Marvin Bell, the last of three young poets to give readings in the 1969-70 Northwest Poetry Circuit, will give a reading of his work at the University today. Scheduled for 4 p.m., Bell’s appear ance is part of a tour of ten north west colleges and universities. The Northwest Poetry Circuit is an organization formed under the aegis of the Academy of American Poets. Each academic year reading engagements for three young established but rela tively unknown poets are ar ranged and administered at northwest colleges and univer sities by the Continuing Educa tion Division of the Oregon State System of Higher Education. Bell, who is currently poetry editor of The Iowa Review, has given readings of his work at colleges and universities across the country. His poetry has been published in numerous literary reviews and magazines, and in thirteen anthologies, including The Major Young Poets, Ameri ca’s War Poetry, and Where is Vietnam? He has published four books of his own works, and in 1969 received the Lamont Award given by the Academy of Amer ican Poets for his book, A Prob able Volume of Dreams. Olympic film shown tonight “Olympia: Festival of the Peo ple,” will be shown at 7 and 9 tonight, under the sponsorship of the German department. “Olympia,” the second of Leni Riefenstahl’s documentaries, and in the style of his “Triumph of the Will,” is about the 1936 Olym pics, in which Jesse Owens took part for the United States. Olympia has been acclaimed as a textbook on the uses of photog raphy, editing and mus;c in film. It :s the most expensive film ever made of t ij Olvmnics, and was released i.i 1937 after a yea? of td ting. The two showings are in 150 Science, admiss'on is 75 cents. Bartel designated new English head Roland Bartel was named new head of the English department of the University in an announce ment Wednesday by Charles Dun can, dean of faculties. Bartel, who has been acting department head for the past two years, has been teaching in the English department since 1951. A specialist in English Ro manticism, Bartel has written two books and several articles on the subject. Bartel was formerly assistant dean of the College of Liberal Arts and later acting associate dean, a post he resigned in 1964. . . . .. NEW AMERICAN CINEMA II Films of Unusual Interest Saturday 7:30 & 9:30 150 Science 4 THE In Concert at McArthur Court Friday, April 17 - 8:00 p.m. Tickets—$1.50, $2, $3, $3.50 On Sale April 2 at: EMU, Mattox Pipe Shop, Blok III, Viscount Records Another ASUO Social Division In" Gig