REVIEWS

Blue Rider by Cris Williamson Speed of Light by Holly Near

By Alice

Dazzling Sounds and Colors

Cris Williamson's Blue Rider and Holly Near's Speed of Light, new albums from Olivia and Redwood Records respectively, provide dazzling sounds and some memorable lyrics from two quite independent points of view. Both albums are technically strong yet contain some things which give rise to long thought about the nature of these creative women's art. Since both Cris and Holly are performing in the Cleveland area this fall (Cris' Oberlin concert was September 29; Holly's will be in Ford Auditorium of the Allen Memorial Library on the Case Western Reserve University campus on November 7), a con-., sideration of their newest records is both timely and a means to observe their music from another angle.

One of the big plusses for both new albums is the rich array of color in their instrumental backdrop. Both Cris and Holly have created an environment reflecting the electronic age, not just with amplified acoustic instruments and the usual electric pianos and guitars, but with synthesizers and modified acoustic sounds as well. Cris has leaned farther than Holly into the electronic sphere with a Prophet 5 synthesizer and Mini-Korg to round out a complement of keyboards (Fender Fhodes, Wurlitzer, and acoustic piano), acoustic and electric guitars, melodica, percussion and standard strings (the Bay Area Women's String Ensemble).

Holly's instrumental concepts seem to form a wider spectrum of standard instruments, including strings (the San Francisco Women's String Ensemble), reeds (alto, tenor, soprano saxes), brass (trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone), flute and special percussion along with the synthesizer to highlight special moments, but relying on a simpler "constant" of electric and acoustic guitar, electric piano, bass and percussion. Cris' instrumental sound is constantly full, even opulent, throughout her album, while Holly plays with contrasts-sometimes extremes-between full, reduced and even no instrumental backup. Both albums provide fine listening for anyone fascinated with colorful presence. Vocally, both Cris and Holly are in fine form, but again coming at their art with different gifts. Holly's higher, lighter voice and use of a variety of dynamic effects and pitch ranges is a wonderful foil to Cris' generally lower, more full-bodied vocal quality and relatively straightforward presentation. However, for all the delightful easiness of delivery Cris gives to her lyrics there is also, on several occasions (notably in the title song), such mushy enunciation that words become recognizable only with hints from the text printed on the record sleeve. Holly's clarity, on the other hand, leaves no question about the text.

another fine pace changer, with soft metallic sounds, a lovely lyrical line and an immediacy and directness of message that is quite moving. "Night Patrol," for John Lennon, and "Lodestar," dedicated to Judy Collins, are cuts juxtaposed with enormous contrast, pointing up opposite cases of the effects of an artistic "role model" on differing individuals among an adulating public.

Blue Rider is nicely paced, with an interesting mix of messages and musical ingredients. There are, though, a couple of creative shortcomings, not eradicable simply by changing the order of songs, which lie in Cris' own poetic and musical style. They have to do with the unvaried metrical regularity that turns out every song in a two-beat structure, an almost unwavering short-phrased poetic and musical

line with no recourse to subtle extensions or elisions to create interesting thought lengths ("Likę An Island Rising" is the noted exception), and a fairly conventional system of harmonic progressions that fairly beg for a little exploring now and then.

A caveat too for those who would wish to follow the words along with Cris' songs: except that the title song text appears in the upper left corner of the record sleeve and is in fact the first cut on Side 1, any correspondence between the order of the songs on the sleeve and those on the record is utterly imaginary. The record sleeve disorganization may have been the product of ouija-board decisions, or it may be a new do-it-yourself puzzle. It surely taxes the assumption (continued on page 12)

Cris Williamson at Oberlin

By Alice

Cris Williamson, supported by percussionist Vicki Randle and guitarist Tret. Fure, sang her way to a standing ovation at Oberlin College's Finney Chapel on September 29. A crowd of women, men and children filled the lower pews and most of the balcony to enjoy the relaxed chatter and repartee, fine singing and excellent ensemble the three women provided both vocally and instrumentally.

Cris, presiding from the piano throughout most of the evening, led off with a set of oldies but goodies, including "Rock and Roll," selections from "Lumiere" and social commentaries "Grandmother's Land" and "Native Dancer," closing with her

[

The content of Cris' Blue Rider has substantial offerings. I think the strongest is her "Leviathan," an ecologically inspired, heart-twisting tribute to whales, creatures now facing extinction; there is a lovely cello introduction creating a low-range ambience for Cris' voice and a haunting refrain against amplified cello harmonics performing a "whale song" counterpoint. Another strength is "Like An Island Rising," which has the most interesting melodic line and phrase pacing on the album as well. as poignant lyrics. That's not to deny the good solid country rock effect of "Heart to Heart? and the album's title song, which Cris distinguishes with a ⚫

nice rainbow of vocal colors. Percussionist Vicki Randle's "What Good Does It Do Me Now" is

Page

November 1987.0

Suzanne Britt

tribute to water, "Filling Up, Spilling Over". Tret's accompanying role was dropped as she introduced and sang her own "That Side of the Moon is Too Dark". The second set, after intermission, consisted of the entire contents of Cris' new Blue Rider album, including Vicki's own "What Good Does It Do Me Now".

The instrumental resources that were on hand

through the good offices of Vicki and Tret were understandably fewer than one would hear on recorded versions of these songs. In several instances the special effects were missed, even with the added interest that the visual show provided. String sound in general would have given some contrasting softness to a few of the gentler ballads, and particularly the cello part in the recorded version of "Leviathan" is so significant that, haunting as the song is, one wants that other lovely sound..

On the other hand, there wasn't much that Vicki and Tret couldn't do with electric and acoustic guitars, a variety of percussion, and even an electric drum beat for works such as "Heart to Heart," "Blue Rider" and "Lucille," among others. "Heart to Heart," particularly, had a remarkable cutting edge in this performance, a hardness that seemed far more aggressive than the sound-created in its record ed version in Blue Rider. This performance was startlingly effective in its rigidity of tempo, imposed on the performers until the very end by an electrically produced drum beat, an "automatic heart" that permitted no slip-ups on the part of the performers. In a 'superb change of pace, immediately following the hard-hearted "Heart to Heart" was "Like An Island Rising," which focused on smooth vocal blend and soothing integration with a gentle instrumental sound.

As was evident in the "Heart to Heart"/ "Island Rising" sequence, the entire concert was well thought out for pace and variety on the whole; nevertheless, along about the second and third songs of the second set, fatigue was beginning to show in Cris' upper range, which was tapped pretty hard as backup in Vicki's "What Good Does It Do Me Now". By the end of the set Cris was wisely laying out for a line here and there and paced herself well enough to finish with a gentle encore, "Like a Ship in the Harbor," unmarred, quite effective. With nine songs in the first set and all ten of Blue Rider in the second, this was no mean concert. The output was extensive for Cris, particularly, who had the principal vocal burden. Clearly the technique was there to sustain the performers through a longish evening.

Likewise, most of the dialogue filler created by Cris, Tret and Vicki between songs was utterly lost-a shame for those who are delighted with the working style of these fine professional musicians and who would have discovered more of their personality through their informal repartee. Cris is so

(continued on page 12)