Show MusicColumnists Laurie Anderson’s music is strictly for ‘the brave’ 3 By RICK MARSH correspondent Record Review Let s get this out of the way up front: Laurie Anderson’s music isright not for the squeamish or faint of heart It’s unconventional music that constantly challenges even the most sophisticated listener and makes you work a little harder to get your musical jollies i ' And the lead vocals are well not exactly your standard lead vocals Anderson speaks most of the lyrics creating labryinthine narratives that chronicle the human condition with an unnerving poignancy and deadly sense of humor Those who have already been intro- - 'Home the Brave’ Anderson of Laurie duced to Anderson’s music will know exactly what I mean The rest of you had better get busy and listen to the first cut “Smoke Rings” Ah just listen to those intoxicating Latino rhythms as they intrude upon the swirling synth brigades Then listen as Anderson sucks you into another riveting oration with the help of background singers Dolette McDonald and Janice Pendarvis And it doesn’t matter what Anderson talks about you salivate over every syllable and hang in an altered state with every vocal nuance as she creates indelible little musical movies in your head Never mind that “Late Show” is most“Naked Lunch” author William S Burroughs stuttering the line: “Listen to my heartbeat” You should just be glad that someone's got the guts to try something this conceptual on vinyl Adrian Bclew’s intrepid guitar trades off musical with Richard insanities Landry’s screeching sax to manufacture a dense uncomfortable cushion of unmelodious ly ‘madness And it gets even crazier on “Talk Normal” as Bclew makes his guitar sound like an elephant with a gas attack just sat on his fretboard The lyrics create an uneasy feeling of deja vu as Anderson speaks the lines: “Then I went into the Kitchen And it looked like a tornado had hit And then I realized I was in the wrong house” Sound Familiar? “Radar” is a sonic assault that utilizes the Synclavier’s many voicings and Anderson's voicing to bring you to your knees Those of you who enjoyed Sharkey’s Grant has Newspapers Amy Grant already a successful gospel singer has a new goal in mind — rock ’n’ roll “I want to be part of the art culture of my generation” says Grant 25 For some gospel that could be a struggle singers e GramBut Grant a my winner is at the forefront of the contemporary gospel scene where the Lord’s praises are accompanied by electric guitars drums and electronic keyboards — not exactly the “Rock of Ages” Grant who recorded her first gospel album at 15 has become a familiar name and voice in Christian communities via seven subsequent albums on the Word Records gospel label and concert tours Now through a major label contract with A&M Records she has found a secular audience view Listeners will respond in different ways to this collection The Orchestra plays Gewandhaus with the distinctive German dark brass sound and pale high winds that set off the sturdy string manner If the ensemble has a collecit is one of tive personality solidity and calm None of the United Press International Amy Grant writes and sings her own gospel songs nouncements of rock ’n’ roll in the 1950s Grant says some still shun any music with a rock beat but she has found the tolerance level a lot higher black pop music field “Unguarded” Grant: says is an effort to reach a larger audience without alienating the Christian community “I think some of the songs I do are not idcntifiably Christian Some are I will just continue this way Now it seems if the song doesn't say ‘Jesus’ it's not idcntifiably Christian" “Those people just decided not to buy the records” she says “That's the opinion of that generation There are people in the young church community (who like pop music) Opinions of rock music have changed much in the Christian community since the pulpit de- - “In the last 18 months I came to kind of a fork in the road If a woman charges you for sex she’s By ABIGAIL VAN BUREN I Beethoven’s Nine Symphonies Gewandhaus Orchestra performances conveys a theatrical vision of the music and none even the “Symphony No 5” has a sense of the titantic about it Masur’s conducting conveys idiomatic ease as if this were the language in which the music had been written The playing is more convincing in the mid and later symphonies The best of the work comes in the middle — “Symphonies No In each the Gewandhaus players find a full resonance and sense of conviction to make the interpretation compelling Masur’s tempos are moderate and never call attention to themselves as a means toward virtuosity or as an escape from the sense of flow implied in the slowest sections In the “Symphony No 9” Masur seems bent on making a statement that avoids heroics The brass outbursts the astonishing harmonic ideas the dissonance are all understated That tendenmovecy diminishes the slow ment which glides by without effect immense its making The soloists — Anna Annelics Burmcister Peter Schreier and Theo Adam — are heard in relationship with each other rather than as individuals with important statements and the chorus is mannerly When the full forces cry “Freude!” it is as if there were a question mark after the word Round dancers plan spring festival with people who have done gospel in the past Until people understood the fork there was quaking and misunderstanding One direction of the fork as an artist and musician is saying that one's work must be a support to the church community used in the service Strictly evangelical spiritually encouraging but Christian The other I lane of the fork play rock ’n’ roll I am a Christian I will profess my faith in God to anyone who w ill listen” He’s hung up over girlfriend ‘working’ Press the The too Record Review Newspaper In the life of every conductor comes a moment when he must perform all the Beethoven symphonies Those nine symphonies spaced through the length of the composer’s relatively long life defined the expanding scope of romanticism as a musical philosophy Each struck a new note and asked new questions about established practice Each raised problems for performers and created unanswerable questions about style and intent Despite generations of performances often called “definitive” no firm answers have been provided in any of them to guide future musicians Recordings provide clues to the answers — and the questions — and preserve the vision of each conductor who has challenged the repertoire anew Latest to be released is a collection of the symphonies and four overtures recorded by The Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig conducted by Kurt Masur (Philips 416 ) The moment in Masut’s life when these performances had to be performed came in 1972-7Why the disks are released so long afterward is not clear Presumably he will have reached the point of needing to record them all again to clarify his point of By DANA JACKSON I this one mu- By DANIEL WEBSTER new goal Universe Hardly anyone in music walks close to the edge anymore The thing that makes Laurie Anderson’s sic work is that she constantly walks edge without a safety net Home Of Brave? Sure And absolutely fearless Masur conducts Beethoven’s nine Gospel’s “When I signed with A&M” recalls Grant “I was told ‘Just grow as an artist Be true to your creative instincts Let us market you’ ” The arrangement proved profitable Her records once found only in religious bookstores are in major department stores And her pop single “Love Will Find a Way" reached No 7 last year on Billboard’s adult contemporary chart and No 29 on the pop market’s Hot 100 singles chart Grant’s newest album “Unguarded” targets that crossover market The overall sound is similar to the musical style of the Doobie Brothers or solo pop artist Michael McDonald Fine muuse is made of sicians keyboard and synthesized string arrangements hearty male backup voices and Grant's own forceful vocals that sweeten on the ballads Those who don't pay much attention to lyrics certainly wouldn’t identify songs on “Unguarded” as Christian music Those who listen carefully will find Grant delivering advice on staying out of harm's way The love songs are convegeneral niently ambiguous: enough to be about God or a relationship — not unlike the way some gospel became soulful love songs in the adventures on Anderson’s last album “Mr Heartbreak" will be delighted to know that the old guy’s exploits continue on this record By using a voice emulator Anderson becomes another character and by employing David Van Tiegham's crisp drum punctuations and Belew’s maniacally yawning guitar effects she drives this one past the point of no return Dear Abby SynrlrcalG DEAR ABBY: I have a problem I don’t diknow how to deal with I’m a vorced man who docs a lot of traveling for a small business I own One night I saw an ad in the newspaper for called a “dating service" I was lonely so the number and the service sent a pretty lady to my room She said for SI 00 an hour she would do anything I wanted to do so we went to bed After seeing her off and on for seven months I have fallen in love with her When I told her how I felt she said she loved me too Then we talked about marriage She’s 35 son in divorced and has a boarding school She said if we gel married she wants to continue working for a while as she has a lot ol debts to pay she also said that her work would not interfere with our marriage as she would work only during the daytime Meantime she still charges $100 an hour and says that after we are married I won’t have to pay her What arc your views on this? — HUNG IT IN HOUSTON DEAR HUNG UP: Regardless of how you a prostitute and you are her customer about each other if she’s charging you for sex she’s a prostitute and you're one ol her customers And if you marry her and her “working" during the daytime you should have your head examined feel DEAR ABBY: I used to dream of being a But somehow that dream has doctor changed Now I want to become a registered nurse perhaps specializing in pediatric nursing My parents are not very happy about my decision It’s my future If I can only make them understand that I will not be happy studying medicine My heart is set on taking care of people in a way that nurses do I am a high school senior and must make some decisions about my career Can you help me? I am a male if that makes a difference — RN OR M I)? DEAR RN: It makes no difference whatsoever Follow your heart the world needs more nurses with your dedication and enthusiasm Tell your parents what you have expressed stj well in your letter to me DEAR ABBY: My son (I'll call him Johnny) is being married next month Three years ago he fathered a son out of wedlock (I’ll call the boy Billy) It was no love affair — he grew up with this girl They were just pals After a big party one night this thing just happened ’Johnny offered to marry her but she refused He pays child support but he rarely secs Billy or Billy’s mother Not many people know about this but my husband and I consider Billy our grandson and we see him and his mother often and do what we can for them Now the problem: Billy’s mother wants him to attend his father’s wedding Johnny doesn’t care one way or the other but the bride doesn't want the child there She knows all about him and has even seen him a few times Billy's mother is demanding that the boy attend his father's wedding I don't think this is the place for him How can I get the mother of our lovclv grandson to change her mind? MONTANA GRANNY DEAR GRANNY: Tell her that this is the bride’s day ind it’s her wish that the child not attend the wedding And if you have any influence with your son please stress the importance of supporting his bride tn her decision 4mWiU4Ai Singer-keyboardiKnight fiiddor A few onstration programs Saturday j The dances will begin at 7 tonight and 8 pm Saturday Admission is $750 per couple Workshops will be conducted Saturday at 10 am and 1:30 pm Prices are $5 a couple The package price for the weekend is $22 per couple Visitors wishing to simply observe the festivities may attend without charge Details are available from or Carl Jerry Stam at Peterson at offers philosophy st more things musically and Newspapers words with Chris Jas- per Jasper 34 is the for Isley Jasper Isley — the trio that split from the Isley Brothers in 1984 On the split: Though Jasper and Marvin and Ernie Isley were part of the Isley Brothers since 1969 — and played on hits like “It’s Your Thing" “That Lady” and “Harvest for the World" — they left the three older brothers because “there was a resistance to change We just felt we could do a lot An Evening of voca- lly" On creativity: Jasper said the split has indeed freed the trio to try new musical directions On success: Both Isley Jasper Isley albums — “Broadway’s Closer to Sunset Boulevard” and “Caravan of Love" — have been well received “I’m really thankful that’s the case Anytime you go out on your own you do feel w ithin yourself a hope that you’re accepted" On the future: Jasper said the trio is preparing to record its third album which will be finished during the summer Solo Piano with GEORGE WINSTON ll ll III M ill NTT SYMPHONY HALL Thursday April 24 8pm Join George Winston in support of Utahns Against Hunger Please tmrg a can of food to the concert as your donation There wil be coiecroo receptacles at the entrance an Tickets $14 $13 $12 available at Capitol Theatre Bo ZCMiDa'ati outlets Cosmic Aeroplane and Smokev s Records For inlormalion and phone orders cal 538 2253 afraid 1 V 04 The Utah Round Dance Association will present its 15th annual Sego Lily Spring Festival at Weber State College Union Building ballroom tonight and Saturday The festival is open to the public Guest cuers will be Jim and Bonnie Bahr from Denver The Bahrs will conduct a demonstration program during the intermission at the Friday evening dance The Bahrs’ dancing group the Jims Dandies will conduct dem — iih a |