TV Radio Mirror (Jan - Jun 1963)

-K-K-K^C GREAT! 1-K GOOD LISTENIISI VI¥W' mm .m-:mjm. %",^;0ff^\ UHflflfiBBSHHsiM compensate. Instead of using his voices as a complete organ of expression, here he utilizes them as another orchestral family. Although they are featured, they share the limelight with the members of the orchestra. The writing for the voices is entirely of ensemble variety. No soloists. They pace themselves through male or female masses of sound. Mostly, it's as one instrument that they function. The tunes are all standards of long duration that have not worn out their welcome: "Where or When," which conjures memories in me of when such a sound could be a hit record (it could hardly happen now! ) ; "Bali Ha'i," done in a marvelous fashion and filled with the aura of the Islands; "Falling in Love with Love;" "In the Still of the Night;" and a dose of the Latin in the striking "Granada." The album, on the whole, is a tonic. It's a magic carpet to float away on. The cover reads: "Choral Spectacular." To that, I'd add the word : Pleasurable. air. The tunes were written by Bill Monroe, with some help from Tommy Collins and Johnny Horton. The accompanying group includes the great talents of Don Reno and Red Smiley. As you country fans, in particular, can see, this album is loaded from every angle. Rose very comfortably jumps from swingers to ballads. She is never caught napping! Her preacher-like style on "Blue Moon of Kentucky" and "Cotton Fields" is invigorating, without being too strong. "Uncle Pen," another Monroe gem, is treated with subtle humor. All in all, the album is a joy. Good, healthy singing, a romping country band behind, and some of "Bluegrassdom's" finest songs. I'd check this album out, if I were you. FOLK MUSIC ••••The Boys Won't Leave the Girls Alone, The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem (Columbia) — Well, bit of humor out of Scotland's classic "Rothsea-O." Wonderful thing about the Clancy Brothers is they enjoy what they are doing so much that the listener can't help but be pulled in, and it's a great ride when you tune in. Let's have more like this one. It's a great day for the Irish. FOLK MUSIC: GOSPEL •••The Twenty-Fifth Day of December, The Staple Singers (Riverside)— I realize that the Christmas season has passed, but this album is still worthy of attention. Unlike some glittering and tinsel-wrapped Christmas albums, this one will still sound good on the first day of spring. The Staple Family singers, led by Father Roebuck, have captured here more than just Christmas. They have provided us with an enriching spiritual experience. The joyous birth is the fount. One can hear, though, in these pieces — as in "The Virgin Mary Had 'i-KASS POPULAR: COUNTRY ••••Rose Maddox Sings Bluegrass, Rose Maddox (Capitol) — There is nothing more delightful than fine country singin' and playin', and this album is nothing but the finest. Rose Maddox makes mincemeat out of these tunes. She makes them sound like she'd written them. Her voice is real. Nothing's affected. Natural is the word, and well it ought to be. Rose looks back on a bagful of experience, dating back to when she was a girl singing with her brothers on the these Irish "lads have done it again. They've come up with a gem of an album. A collection of Scottish and Irish tunes, all perfectly suited to their direct and pointed style. The chaps excel where there's gusto. Give them a tune chock-full of excitement and they'll draw every drop out of it. In this album, though — as much as I like the "shouters" — it's the more tender interpretation of "Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go?" and the enchanting chirping on the Scottish walking song, "Marie's Wedding." The boys turn in a finely chanted portrait of "Bold O'Donahue" and a choice One Son" — the pending anguish of the Christ Child's later life. (It does strike me strange that only the Gospel literature of Christmas, as opposed to many other types of Christmas literature, has in it a profound sadness as well as joy.) Though the Staple Singers do not entirely embrace the general gospel style, there is in evidence the priceless litany form. This question-and-answer-type form is the rock on which gospel music stands. Two interesting examples of this litany-style music are "Holy Unto The Lord" and "The Saviour Is Born." Mak