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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 1979)
LPs V\U Romi ko Angel Romero performing works by Rodrogo and Moreno Torroba (§) 1978 Capitol Records Angel S-37312 Angel Record’s new release of classical Spanish guitar album, Angel Romero, is an interesting collection of music by Rodrigo and Torroba. For the true lover of clas sical guitar music the album is an excellent buy. For the less serious classical lis tener, two other Rodrigo pieces, the "Concierto de Aranjuez" and the "Fantasia para un Gen tilhombre," (available on London, STS-15199), are finer examples of contemporary Spanish classi cal music for guitar. The first selection is the Eligio de la guitarra by Rodrigo. The first movement of the piece, a sonata for guitar in three move ments, is a fast melody that im mediately emphasizes the Spanish nationality of the com poser. The second movement, “An dantino." is a slower, more quiet theme. The composer says the movement is intended to evoke an old cathedral in Castille. The third movement opens with brisk scales ending in minor chords, and ends with lightning fast passages, requinng great skill by the musician. It is without a The other compositions on the CAR CARE COUPON from You* Fiat SPECIALIST !" 0T& Fiiter CHANGE "I *8°° COMPLETE | USING KENDALL PRODUCTS | ^Fiats - Hondas - Z Cars - Datsuns - Volvos - Water cooled VWsj 10% DISCOUNT ON ACCESSORIES with each purchase of over S100 Accessories include exhaust system steering wheels and road wheels EUROCaR “ts 539 HWY 99 N EUGENE_689-1826 album are based on Spanish folk music. Completing the first side of the album are two pieces by Al beniz based on gypsy music. The music perfectly captures the image Americans have of gyp sies. listening to music around a campfire, wagons in the back ground. The second Albeniz piece, Leyenda. from his Suite Es panola. is the finest selection on the album. The second side, by Torroba, is based loosely on folk music from different regions of Spain. The pieces vary in quality, though none could be called poor or even average. By Jack Condliffe. mm urn *» ftkumnw* John Denver By John Denver < 1978 RCA Records AQLI-3075 John Denver will never com pete with Mick Jagger or Elvis Presley for the "King of Rock title. But on John Denver he shows he can put on rocking shoes too — with the kind of music that can make a middle-aged Nevada show room crowd come to its feet. •Downhill Stuff" and Johnny B. Goode," the two rockers that open each side of the album, are lively but far from possessing the mes sianic message of the best rock n roll. Denver wants his fans to know he won't always just be praising Rocky Mountain solitude, the sun on his shoulders or soar ing eagles. r" SAVE 20-50% ON SKI EQUIPMENT AT BERG’S! Here's your chance to save on the finest ski equipment. Take advantage of these prices now at Berg’s Downhill Shop. SKI EQUIPMENT SPECIALLY MARKED AT END-OF-SEASON PRICES - NOW! Scott Superlite reg $190 Nordica tody Elite reg. $125 Nordica Aipiita reg $59 SAVE, TOO, ON CLOTHING 20-50% OFF! Sweaters jackets outfits childrens clothes all top qualitv But, as usual, he can’t avoid praising women. Five of the 11 cuts on the album are about women, but they’re not solely about his wife, Annie. "Sweet Melinda” is the story of a truck driver living on pills and beer who sings, “ Cept for you, sweet Melinda, my wife/I been ridin’ on empty/Most all of my life.' A more memorable composi tion, one that Denver did not write, is Bryan Bowers’ “Berkeley Woman”. As for the rest of the songs — most are conservative, uninnova tive crosses between country and easy listening except for "Joseph and Joe,” a song with a dreamlike quality and unusual tempo changes. Denver has not written particu larly powerful songs for this album, but with an extraordinary vocalist like Denver, lyrics hardly matter. Two of his compositions could have been written by a child of three. “Life is so Good" and “Songs of ..are simpler than lullabies. Yet, the songs are well done technically. John Denver is not Denver’s best work. However, for anyone who wants to find out who John Denver is, this album will suffice For those who know already what John Denver is about, this album — rockers not withstanding — will add a good deal of new insight into the man and his music. By Dave Steinman We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby By Loretta Lynn (c 1979 MCA Records. Inc. MCA-3073 Loretta Lynn, country girl from a backwoods Kentucky coal mining town, married at age 14, is finally her own woman. So, the title of the album, We've Come A Long Way, Baby, seems appropriate. How much her own woman can Lynn be when all her material is written by other writers? The music is typical Nashville studio work. Which means the musicians are excellent and the songs are unforgettable. I’ve heard the sane licks and progressions on albums by Dolly Parton, Hank Wil liams and Ray Price. Each cut is so similar to its predecessor that none is worth mentioning. Conse quently, the lyrics are more impor tant than the melodies. All 10 songs on the album are about broken love affairs. The lyrics reveal insights about rela tionships that only one who has never loved and lost would find interesting. For anyone who has, the words resemble the homogenous pap turned out by Nashville in the name of commer cialism The once regional music of Loretta Lynn — her voice one time exuded the heart of the Ap palachian country sound — has all but disappeared. I'm still amused by the way she sings "baaybee instead of baby but that's about the only worthwhile sound on the album. If you do buy this album, expect a guitar, pedal steel or harmonica introduction and then Lynn's voice. It walks the country tight rope between sardonic humor and outrageous, not-to-be-believed sadness. With the cost of albums today, it might be wise to pass this one up. Only one of the 10 songs is longer than three minutes. The album is like ice milk. It is palatable but bland. That’s too bad because it rums the fact that Loretta Lynn is taking part in the women's liberation movement. She could be an ex ample to follow. Instead, it seems more likely that, like the women used on Vir ginia Slims Commercials, she is merely a manipulated product of the country music industry's commercial greed and subse quent willingness to put out em barrassing material By Dave Steinman r W Valentines - for $ Everyone! 2nd floor Atrium 10 - 6 Mon - Fri 11:30 - 5:30 Saturday y
