TV Radio Mirror (Jan - Jun 1963)

ON THE RECORD Vocjt Monthly ON RECORD Guide* cately sometimes, is forceful and driving at other times. It responds to all demands. Dancers will want this album, along with jazz buffs and people who just simply enjoy the excitement only a firstclass band can give them. Incidentally, the stereo version is in keeping with Mercury's high-quality sound. It's a goodie! •*Tells It Like It Is!, Oscar Brown Jr. (Columbia) — This album is hardly a true example of Oscar's talent, from the strangely ragged and insensitive backgrounds to, in a few cases, the bad choice of material. Oscar seems to overcome some of the obstacles, but since he was not blessed with the greatest "pipes" in life, he can't get over all of them. But when he succeeds in creating a mood, as in Charles Aenavour's "If I Only Had," you can bet it's a meaningful experience. Mr. Brown also does a good deal of his original material here. This may also be to his disadvantage. (This reviewer's two particular favorites were not written by him.) It's possible his performing ability will out-run his creative talents. And it is no great crime to defer to the Arlens, Gershwins, Ellingtons and Mercers. The liner notes make mention of "Oscar's "down home quality." This, I believe, is where things took the wrong turn. Oscar is the city, the hippy, the light-hearted fraud, who pulls wool over your eyes with his synthetic "down home" excursions. He plays at it, but his style is not of it. He's a social-musical gadfly, and his products can only be called smart. The musical subtleties that Oscar's expression demands are simply not here. He has been miscast. FOLK: GOSPEL MUSIC ••Swing Down, Sweet Chariot, The Gospel Pearls, starring Bessie Griffin (Liberty) — Gospel music, it appears, is making inroads in the commercial music market-place. Well, if I am allowed an opinion, I think that truly commercializing this music — as has T been already shown with folk music — v may bring about a general neutralizaB tion of it. Through compromise, it will lose its rugged and dynamic (and reli 22 gious) characteristics. That said, I move on to the contents of the album. This one does not lack exciting pieces. To the contrary, it's packed with rousers. Unfortunately, some are extremely weak in the material sense. Most of the tunes cannot stand the constant reiteration of these sometimes lengthy renditions. The most beautiful melodies ever created could not stand this kind of a monotony test. And worse yet is the fact that most gospel music, and the best gospel music, is rooted compositionally in a melodically simple, pure and direct statement. Here it shares the same tradition as other folklike expression. There must be moments of relief and shading for full effect. In this album, there are adaptations of some classic church material. Outside of the hand-clapping and vigorous rhythmical excitement, I sadly report that I prefer what is commonly considered the original, structurally and lyrically. (The piece, "Lord, in the New Jerusalem," is here a rather bland reworking of the classic, "Walk in Jerusalem, Just Like John.") The accompanying instrumentalists collectively are a hybrid. Along with what is the standard gospel group of organ, piano, bass and drums (as a matter of fact, it's mostly piano alone or piano and organ in most churches), there are sometimes bongo-drum sounds and guitar licks, plus just plain and crass gimmick-y sounds. Several tracks are impressive: "Lift Him," "Jericho Walls," which is a new version of "Joshua," and "Swing Low." But the tempos on most of the cuts seem a little too fast for an effective swinging feeling to take root. Things are a little unsettled at times. "Bye and Bye" — not to be confused with the old gospel standard — is done with drive but overstays its welcome. It begins to be uninteresting three-quarters through the piece. "The Story of Job" is my favorite. It's a solo voice effort done well. Its form remains interesting throughout its duration. The group is a highly professional group of singers; the accompaniments are played by first-rate players; but the album missed in the planning and edit ing. The superfluous and unorganized can never be effectively entertaining. CLASSICAL ••••Mozart: The Four Concertos for Woodwinds and Orch., Eugene Ormandy cond. The Philadelphia Orchestra (Columbia, separate albums, Vols. I and II) — A famous conductor was recently asked who he felt was the greatest composer that ever lived. "I believe I would have to say Beethoven," he answered. The questioner quickly came back, "What of Mozart?" The conductor simply stated, "Mozart is Mozart, and it would be unfair to any composer if you compared him with Mozart." He is all alone on the highest pinnacle of musical history. A genius of such astounding capabilities that present-day men of the mind have still