HiFi-Stereo-Review-1978-11.pdf - World Radio History

25

SteNOVErMBE Review®CAN JAZZ BE ELECTRIFIED? ALBERTSON TALKS TO HANCOCK

NEVILLE MARRINER: NEW CONDUCTOR FOR THE MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA

POP CROSSOVERS: IS COUNTRY MUSIC GOING TO THE DOGS?

1)ULIAN HERS CH TESTS TWENTY MEDIUM -PRICE AIVIPLIFIE

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The bigdifference

between thiscassette deck

and Pioneer's newCTF1000

isn't sound.

The Piemeer 1-1000:$000

For years, Nakamichi has enjoyeda reputation for building the world'sfinest cassette deck.

Now Pioneer is introducingsomething Nakamichi won't enjoyat all: the Pioneer CT -F1000.A cassette deck that offers all thefeatures and performance of Nakamichi'sbest cassette deck, at less than half the price

PIONEER VS. NAKAMICHI:THE HEAD TO HEAD COMPETITION.

we dare you to hear any noise at all,C let alone any difference.)And finally, where the CT -F1000

delivers a frequencyeresponse of 30 to 17,000

hertz, the Nakamichideck goes from 35 to

20,000 hertz. (We offer a little more at thebottom; they offer a little more at the top.Either way, the specifications are closeenough to be called virtually identical.)

The $1,650* Nakamichi 100011 and the A FEW PIONEER ADVANTAGES

$600* Pioneer CT -F1000 are both honest THAT AREN'T MONETARY.

three headed cassette decks that let you To prevent you from making distortedmonitor right off the tape as you record. tapes, the CT -F1000 has a peak limiter that

Both have separate Dolby systems for the Nakamichi machine lacks.the playback and recording heads. So when Our tape heads are made out of ayou're making a recording with the Dolby special single crystal ferrite material that'son, you can monitor it exactly the same way, been proven to last longer than the

Both have two motors to insure Nakamichi's permalloy varietyaccurate tape speed. And our Dolby system can be

Both feature solenoid logic controls calibrated by hand while the Nakamichithat let you go from fast forward to reverse, 100011 requires a screwdriver.or from play to record without punching the Admittedly, the Nakamichi 100011stop button, and without jamming the tape. does feature a fancy azimuth control for

And both are filled with convenient aligning your heads before every recordingitems like automatic memories for going session. But we've developed a moreback to a selected spot on a tape, multiplex accurate way to mount the heads in the firstfilters for making cleaner FM recordings, place. So you can spend your time recording,separate bias and equalization switches for instead of aligning.getting the most out of different kinds of A FEW CONCESSIONS TO NAKAMICHI.tape, and even a pitch control adjustmentthat lets you match the pitch of a cassette to Obviously, at almost $1,000 more, thethe tuning of your guitar or piano. Nakamichi 10001I must offer some

advantages over the CT -F1000.A $1,000 GAP IN PRICE; NO GAP And we'd be remiss if we didn't point

IN SOUND. out that their VU meters extend slightlyWhen we built the CT -F1000, however, higher than ours.

we did more than match the Nakamichi's And that they have extra input forrenowned features. We also matched its premixed program sources.renowned performance. And although their signal to noise ratio

Both machines boast totally inaudible is hardly different than ours, the Nakamichitotal harmonic distortion levels of less than 100011 does feature an extra Nakamichi-1.5%. invented noise reduction system.

Both have all but conquered the Considering the slimness of theseproblem of wow and flutter. (An identical advantages, the choice is clear-cut:0.05% for each machine.) You can buy a Nakamichi 1000Iland

Both offer similarly impressive signal get an incredibly expensive cassette deck.to noise ratios: 64 decibels Pioneer, 65 Or you can buy a CT -F1000. And getdecibels Nakamichi. (At these levels PIONEER® one that's simply incredible.

We bring it back alive.©1978 U.S.Pioneer Electronics Inc., 85 Oxford Drive, Moonachie, N.J.07074. *Manufacturer's suggested retail price. Handles optional at extra cost.

CIRCLE NO. 1 ON READER SERVICE CARD

No matter what system you ownthere's an Empire Phono Cartridge

designed to attain optimum performance.Detail, brilliance, depth.This is the promise of each Empire Phono Cartridge and although there are many Empire models, each designed to meet specificturntable performance characteristics, every Empire cartridge contains the following features:

Features Details Benefits

Unique Fixed Unidirectional Three-Magnet Structure

Every Empire cartridge uses 3 high energy ferritemagnets in the cartridge body to provide a high levelof unidirectional flux.

Higher and more linear output signal,immunity to bi -directional magneticdistortion, and improved hum andmicrophonic rejection .

Molded Four -Pole MagneticAssembly

Every Empire cartridge employs a four -pole mag-netic assembly that is precisely aligned and lockedin place by a high pressure injection molding pro-cess... providing a uniform and orthogonal magneticfield.

Improved crosstalk and reduced distor-tion that is insensitive to tracking force.

Tubular moving Iron Design By using a tubular high magnetic saturation ironarmature we obtain an optimum ratio of output levelto effective tip mass.

Improved tracking ability and widenedfrequency response.

Four Coil Hum Bucking AssemblyPlus Electromagnetic Shielding

Using custom designed computer controlled ma-chines, a precision drawn copper wire (thinner thanhuman hair and longer than a football field) is woundonto a symmetrical 4 bobbin structure. By using 2coils per channel a symmetrical electrical circuit isformed.

Improved rejection of hum and straynoise fields.

Aluminum Alloy Cantilever The Empire computer designed tubular cantileverprovides optimum coupling of the diamond tip to themoving magnetic system resulting in minimumeffective stylus tip mass.

Superb low level tracking, reduced track -ing distortion... plus enhanced widebandseparation characteristics.

Precision Ground OrientedDiamond Tips

Empire diamonds are precision ground, polishedand inspected in house, using sophisticated tele-vision cameras and powerful microscopes to ensureaccurate angular orientation.

Reduced tracing phase distortion, to -gether with reduced wear of both therecord and the diamond tip.

For the full story on Empire cartridges we suggest you "test -listen" to one at your local Empire dealer,and for information on our full line of cartridges, write for our brochure "How to Get the Most Out of YourRecords": Empire Scientific Corp., Garden City, N.Y 11530


HI erliSTEREoREVIEW

Review®NOVEMBER 1978 VOLUME 41 NUMBER 5

rfie 'EquipmentNEW PRODUCTS

Roundup of the latest audio equipment and accessories

AUDIO QUESTIONS AND ANSWERSPower Response, "Professional" Gear, Extension Speakers, Equalization

AUDIO BASICSAddressing the Public

TAPE TALKDouble Dolby, Head Lubricants, Tape Squeal, Understanding EQ

AUDIO NEWSAn Audiophile Rhine Journey

TECHNICAL TALKTesting Loudspeakers-Part 4

EQUIPMENT TEST REPORTSTwenty Medium -price Amplifiers

-V* ctlusic

LARRY KLEIN

22

34

.... RALPH HODGES 38

CRAIG STARK 44

RALPH HODGES 53

JULIAN D. HIRSCH 54

JULIAN D. HIRSCH 55

NEVILLE MARRINERAn interview with the new conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra CLAIR W. VAN AUSDALL 92

IS COUNTRY GOING TO THE DOGS?In some musical quarters, "cross" and "over" are two very dirty words NOEL COPPAGE 98

HERBIE HANCOCKA little dialogue on art and commerce, jazz and funk CHRIS ALBERTSON 106

BEST RECORDINGS OF THE MONTHOrchestral: Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 25 and "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" . . . .

Piano: Ashkenazy's Chopin, Jacobs' Debussy . . . . Country Rock: The Dirt Band Returns . .Vocal: Debby Boone's "Midstream". . . . Broadway: The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" 113CLASSICAL DISCS AND TAPES 118

Barenboim's Schubert ERIC SALZMAN 119Bernstein Collected JAMES GOODFRIEND 138Callas Ransomed from the Pirates GEORGE JELLINEK 144

CLASSICAL ROTOGRAVURE WILLIAM LIVINGSTONE 146POPULAR DISCS AND TAPES 148Mathis & Williams, Inc PHYL GARLAND 149Genya Ravan: a Long Way from Lodz CHRIS ALBERTSON 154Irene Kral

PETER REILLY 158Odd Couple: Cassidy & Ladd PETER REILLY 164Requiem for The Who STEVE SI MELS 172"Runaways," Son of "Hair" PAUL KRESH 178"Ain't Misbehavin' " JOEL VANCE 180Keith Jarrett: Running Out of Superlatives CHRIS ALBERTSON 182

WecitgularsBULLETIN 5EDITORIALLY SPEAKING WILLIAM ANDERSON 8LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 12INSTALLATION OF THE MONTH RICHARD SARBIN 80GOING ON RECORD

JAMES GOODFRIEND 84THE POP BEAT PAULETTE WEISS 88ADVERTISERS' INDEX 187

COVER: Design by Borys Patchowsky; photo by Bruce Pendleton.

COPYRIGHT 1978 BY ZIFF-DAVIS PUBLISHING COMPANY. All rights reserved. Stereo Review, November 1978, Volume 41, Number 5. Publishedmonthly by Ziff -Davis Publishing Company; Editorial and Executive Officesat One Park Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016, Telephone: 212 725-3500. Philip B.Korsant, President; Furman Hebb, Executive Vice President; Selwyn Taubman, Treasurer; PhilipSine, Secretary. Also publishers of Boating, Car and Driv-er, Cycle, Flying, Popular Electronics, Popular Photography, Psychology Today, Skiing, Stereo Directory, and Tape Recorder Annual. One-year subscrip-tion rate for U.S. and possessions, $9.98; Canada, $10.98. All other countries, one-year subscription rate $14.98, cash orders only, payable in U.S. currency.Second-class postage paid at New York, N.Y. and at additional mailing offices. Authorizedas second-class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, Can-ada, and for payment of postage in cash. SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE: Forms 3579 and all subscription correspondence should be addressed to Stereo Re-view, Circulation Department, P.O. Box 2771, Boulder, Colorado 80323. Please allow at least eight weeks for change of address. Include your old address aswell as new-enclosing if possible an address label from a recent issue. Material in thispublication may not be reproduced in any form without permission.Requests for permission should be directed to Jerry Schneider, Rights and Permissions, Ziff-Davis Publishing Co., One Park Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016.

Zerostat-N3w only $20.True elec-.rostalic neutralization without

cartridges to replace, cords to plug inor radioact viiy.

Better function at a lower price.

fonf Orfaitibi Miss

Stereo Review

11111111'1N THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION in recording is, it would appear, already

well under way. Digital Sound Products Inc. is a new company formedto produce "the highest -quality digital recordings possible withthe present state of the art," and a crew is already at work inWatford Town Hall in England producing four recordings with theLondon Symphony under the baton of Morton Gould (his own LatinAmerican Symphonette is among them). Also scheduled: an organ-recital disc to be recorded at All Saints Church in Tooting.

THE FAD FOR PICTURE DISCS AND COLOR DISCS shows no signs oftapering off. The picture disc of the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper" album,issued in a limited edition of only 150,000 units, is alreadyselling for ten dollars above its $15.98 list price at New York'sKing Karol. Other hot collectibles include the Stones' Miss Youdisco single in shocking pink (for which Atlantic Records issueda button bearing the legend "I Have a Big Pink Twelve Inch") andBruce Springsteen's "Darkness on the Edge of Town" with the Boss'face pressed right under the grooves.

VIDEO HARDWARE: The Electronic Industries Association hasannounced U.S. sales of 185,830 home video tape recorders in thefirst 34 weeks of 1978. According to Jack K. Sauter, marketingvice president for RCA consumer electronics, "Surveys now showa potential market base for video -cassette recorders of 7 per centof U.S. households." Expecting the market to increase substantiallyin the second half of 1978, RCA expanded its line of SelectaVisionproducts and is now offering its first color TV cameras for homeuse at prices of $850 and $1,275.

VIDEO SOFTWARE: Since the record companies were asleep at theswitch when the home video revolution began, there is still verylittle made -for -the -medium prerecorded program material, and moviesform the bulk of what is available on video cassettes. Reel ImagesInc. offers a wide variety of fairly recent films, horror films,nostalgic favorites, and musicals (Elvis, the Beatles, Toscanini).For a catalog send $1 to Reel Images Inc., Department R.P. 125,456 Monroe Turnpike, Monroe, Conn. 06468. More than 150 featurefilms rated G to X are available from the International Video MovieClub. There is a $25 membership fee, and prices are $39.95 for familyfilms and $49.95 for "adult" films (Hanky Panky, Naughty Co-Eds,Congressional Playgirls). Write Veronica Smalec, Entertainment VideoReleasing, Inc., One East 57th Street, New York, N.Y. 10022.

MUSICAL TELECASTS OF SPECIAL INTEREST on the Public BroadcastingService this month include Verdi's Macbeth on November 1. Producedby the BBC and WNET for Exxon's Great Performances series, the operawill be sung in Italian by Norman Bailey, Patricia Johnson, NicolaiGhiaurov, and Neil Shicoff. On November 15, Great Performances willpresent Britain's Royal Ballet in Sir Frederick Ashton's A Month inthe Country, based on Turgenev's drama and danced to music by Chopin.Smetana's The Bartered Bride will be presented in Texaco's Live fromthe Met series on November 21. It will be sung in English by TeresaStratas, Nicolai Gedda, Jon Vickers and Martti Talvela. Load videotape; check local listings.

November 1978

/CIRCLE NO. 95 ON READER SERVICE CARD

Stereo Review

BULLETIN 3M'S FIRST FOUR DIGITAL AUDIO MASTERING SYSTEMS will be delivered

this year to A&M Records, Record Plant, Sound 80, and Warner Brothers

Records. The digital system is the result of almost six years of

research and development by 3M and a two-year joint project with

the BBC. Claims for the system include virtually noise -free anddistortion -free masters, a S/N ratio of better than 90 dB, and auniform frequency response to 20,000 Hz. It consists of a 32 -track

pre -mix recorder and a two- or four -track mastering recorder. When

a prototype was unveiled last November in New York, 3M indicatedthat the system would sell for "under $150,000," but in May thecompany announced that it would be available, at least at first,through a rental arrangement so that 3M could better shareresponsibility for the introduction of the new digital technology.

THE CHICAGO SYMPHONY claims the most extensive radio -broadcast

series of any American orchestra. Sponsored by Standard Oil(Indiana), concerts of the 1978-1979 season will be carried by morethan 300 stations in the United States and Canada. For time andstation write Jess Brodnax, WFMT, 500 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago,

Ill. 60711.

AUTO STEREO of all kinds has achieved the wide -spread useforetold by the most optimistic prophets a few years ago. Accordingto an independent market study, this year for the first time salesof equipment for presently owned cars surpassed those for new ones,although new -vehicle stereo sales have continued to rise rapidly.The boom is expected to continue through 1983, when total salesare expected to be over 13.5 million installations per year.

RECENT ALBUMS CERTIFIED PLATINUM BY THE RIAA include Boston's"Don't Look Back" (Epic), Carly Simon's "Boys in the Trees"(Elektra), Abba's "The Album" (Atlantic), Teddy Pendergrass'"Life Is a Song Worth Singing" (CBS Philadelphia/International),Joe Walsh's "But Seriously, Folks" (Asylum), Meat Loaf's "BatOut of Hell" (Epic/Cleveland International), the Commodores'"Natural High" (Motown), and Barbra Streisand's "Songbird"(Columbia). Platinum certification means sales of one millioncopies. When Meat Loaf explained tc sportscaster Phil Rizzutothat after platinum comes double platinum, Rizzuto asked, "Whatdoes double platinum mean?" Mr. Loaf answered, "More money."

THE SURVIVING ORIGINAL MEMBERS OF THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BANDwill regroup for an album and a tour, probably by the beginningof next year. The reunion rumors, which had been rife in Southernrock circles, were confirmed when the band played a surprise setat Capricorn Records' annual Barbecue late in August, assistedby newer members Chuck Leavall and Lamar Williams, neither ofwhom is expected to participate further.

PERFORMANCES OF THE SAN FRANCISCO OPERA, broadcast live in nineWestern cities on Friday nights from September 15 through November

24, will be re -broadcast by National Public Radio in other citiesthroughout the country with a one -month delay. Check your local

NPR station for dates and time.

November 1978

IF BAND MUTINGWOE ON

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OFF

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.1) KENWC)00Hatt-1"hI ELT UTICO t1NY.II

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KENWOODpc wrprTEP 00-T r twAA-IPO .4000,003 MOO" Ka -1100

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NOP CAJAL. nowPST OPFTIPLV

The1980 Kenwoods.No. We're not kidding. By 1980, the kind of

performance these new Kenwoods deliver will beconsidered commonplace. Here's a summary:

1. The KA-7100 is an integrated DC amplifier withdual power supplies delivering 60 watts per channel,minimum RMS at 8 ohms from 20-20k Hz, with nomore than 0.02% total harmonic distortion. Not onlyis that the lowest THD of any integrated amp, theKA-7100 is the lowest priced DC integrated amp onthe market. ($315!`)

2. The KT -7500 marks the next plateau for FMtuners. For optimum reception under any conditionit has two independent IF bands: the narrow bandvirtually eliminating interference when stations areclose together, the wide band for lower distortionand maximizing stereo separation. In addition, we'vedeveloped new circuitry which eliminates the high

frequency beat distortion (that is, swishing noises)thought to be inherent in stereo FM broadcast. Evenwe're impressed that it costs only $310

This combination of separate amp and tunernot only gives you performance unheard of in otherseparate components, it gives you performancethat will remain elusive in receivers for quite a while.

The Kenwood KA-7100 and KT -7500. Solidevidence that the breakthroughs occurred ahead ofschedule, and available to you now for a trulyremarkable price. $625'.' for the pair.

"Nationally advertised value. Actual prices are established byKenwood dealers. Handles optional.

KENWOODFor the Kenwood Dealer nearest you, see your Yellow Pages,or write Kenwood, PO. Box 6213, Carson, CA 90749.

Editorially Speaking

LOOK WHAT THEY'VE DONE TO OUR SONG

ALPHONSE KARR was a nineteenth-centuryFrench novelist, critic, editor, and wit.

Like practically everybody else, you haveperhaps been finding useful applications forone of his more memorable aphorisms-plusca change, plus c'est la meme chose-eversince you first ran across it. An aphorism neednot be universally true to be useful, of course,and what works very well in the general casequite often fails in the particular one. I was alittle startled nonetheless to discover Karr'sRule broken not once but twice in this issue ofSTEREO Review: it would appear, at least asfar as country music and jazz are concerned,that the more things change, the more they donot remain the same.

It cannot have escaped the notice of verymany observers of the pop scene that coun-try -music stars have lately become more andmore visible in the entertainment firmament.Quite aside from the ubiquitous award shows

(does everybody have one?), they now appearwith astonishing regularity as guests and per-formers on TV talk shows, as the subjects of"specials," and a few have even had theirown series (Mack Davis and Glen Campbellmay have been elbowed off the tube by thedoctor, cop, and jiggly shows, but Hee Hawwill likely go on forever). Even more surpris-ing is the appearance of such as Waylon Jen-nings, Willie Nelson, and (speaking of jiggly)Dolly Parton on the covers of news maga-zines. That we seem not at all surprised to findthem there says something about our currentattitude toward country music (can you imag-ine such c -&-w old-timers as Jimmie Rodgers,Hank Williams, or Patsy Cline in the samespot?). What it says, principally, is that coun-try music has changed, that an already hugegeneric market has broadened to includemany of those whose ideas of a good musicaltime range all the way from Lawrence Welk

to Tony Orlando. What it does not say is thatcountry music has become either of these-byand large it is still identifiably "country,"country sanitized and urbanized, country with(to borrow Noel Coppage's apt phrase) indoorplumbing.

However crazy the artists, their recordcompanies, and their new public may beabout all this, "crossover" is, to many fans of"pure" country, merely another word for"sellout," a crass surrender to a new genera-tion of carpetbaggers, a backsliding from thecommunion of the faithful (they don't call theGrand Ole Opry the Mother Church of Coun-try Music for nothing).

You might think from all the hullabaloo andoutrage that what is at stake is an ancient tra-dition hallowed by a stately passage down theechoing corridors of time, but not so: countrymusic as a genre was "invented" in the mid-dle to late Twenties by Jimmie Rodgers (the"father of country music" died in 1933). Thatmakes it just about the same age as jazz, alsolargely "invented" in the Twenties-and alsoundergoing, just now, another attack of grow-ing pains. I say another attack because coun-try and jazz have both changed a great dealover their fifty-year spans; the distance be-tween, say, Dixieland and bop is at least asgreat as that between the Carter Family andBuck Owens. Jazz purists are nonetheless up-set about their music these days in the sameway country purists are about theirs: the"new" jazz, whether of the funk, jazz-rock,or (horrors!) disco variety, is seen as an in-stance of Gresham's Law at work in the aes-thetic arena, the weaker, simpler art threaten-ing to drive the stronger, more complex oneout of circulation. Not, I think, to worry. Allpure, difficult art can always use new friends,but lasting conversions are not made over-night. A generation raised on Rick Wakemanand Bob Dylan is not going to discover BillEvans and George Jones by itself. The lattertwo are strong waters, and even the most ath-letic of palates will need a little practice withcrossover Ripple to prepare for them.

Stereo ReviewPUBLISHEREDGAR W. HOPPEREDITORWILLIAM ANDERSONMANAGING EDITORWILLIAM LIVINGSTONEEDITORIAL COORDINATORLOUISE GOOCH BOUNDASART DIRECTORBORYS PATCHOWSKYTECHNICAL DIRECTORLARRY KLEINTECHNICAL EDITORRALPH HODGESMUSIC EDITORJAMES GOODFRIENDPOPULAR MUSIC EDITORPAULETTE WEISSSPECIAL PROJECTS EDITORSTEVE SIMELSASSISTANT MUSIC EDITORVIVIENNE WINTERRY GOODMANPRODUCTION EDITORJOHN HARRISONASSISTANT EDITOR, RESEARCHRICHARD SARBINCOPY EDITORDAVID STEINEDITORIAL ASSISTANTBARBARA AIKEN

CONTRIBUTING EDITORSCHRIS ALBERTSON PAUL KRESHNOEL COPPAGE STODDARD LINCOLNRICHARD FREED J MARKS-HIGHWATER

ROBERT N. GREENEDAVID HALLROY HEMMINGJULIAN D. HIRSCHGEORGE JELLINEKIGOR KIPNISIRVING KOLODIN

LINCOLN PERRYPETER REILLYCHARLES RODRIGUESERIC SALZMANCRAIG STARKJOEL VANCE

LONDON EDITORHENRY PLEASANTSADVERTISING DIRECTORJAMES J. SULLIVANADVERTISING SERVICE MANAGERLINDA BLUMEXECUTIVE ASSISTANTPEGI McENEANEY

Editorial and Executive OfficesZiff -Davis Publishing CompanyOne Park Avenue, New York, New York 10016212 725-3500National Advertising Manager: Richard J. HalpernEastern Advertising Representative: Charles L. P. Watson

Midwestern Office: The Pettis Group4761 West Touhy Ave., Lincolnwood, Illinois 60646312 679-1100Arnold S. Hoffman

Western Office9025 Wilshire BoulevardBeverly Hills, California 90211213 273-8050; 272-1161Western Advertising Manager: Unda Bartlett

Japan: James Yagiop Palace Aoyama, 8-25, Mlnami Aoyama6-Chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo, JapanTelephone: 407-1930/6821, 582-2851Circulation OfficeP.O. Box 2771, Boulder, Colorado 80323

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS must be accompanied byreturn postage and will be handled with reasonable care;however, publisher assumes no responsibility for the re-turn or safety of art work, photography, or manuscripts.

Member Audit Bureau of Circulations

ABC)

ZIFF-DAVIS PUBLISHING COMPANYPhilip B. Korsant, PresidentFurman Hebb, Executive Vice PresidentJohn R. Emery, Sr. Vice President, FinancePhillip T. Heffernan, Sr. Vice PresidentEdward D. Muhlfeid, Sr. Vice PresidentPhilip Sine, Sr. Vice President, SecretaryLawrence Sporn, Sr. Vice President, Circulation and MarketingArthur W. Butzow, Vice President, ProductionGeorge E. Morrissey, Vice PresidentSydney H. Rogers, Vice PresidentSidney Holtz, Vice PresidentAlbert S. Train, Vice PresidentPaul H. Chock, Vice PresidentEdgar W. Hopper, Vice PresidentRobert N. Sayler, Jr., Vice PresidentSelwyn Taubman, TreasurerW. Bradford Briggs, Vice Chairman

ZIFF CORPORATIONWilliam Ziff, ChairmanI. Martin Pompadur, PresidentHershel B. Sarbin, Executive Vice President

8 STEREO REVIEW

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Four years ago, B I C invented thebelt -driven record changer. In twoyears, it was the most popularturntable in America.

Success achieved so quickly is noteasy to repeat. But in all modesty,we're about to do it again.

Consider:1. Nine totally new BI C turntables.One is a single play manual, four aresingle play fully automatics and fourare record changers.2.. V.I.A. It stands for Variable

Isolation Adjustment, the firstturntable suspension that can beuser -adjusted to dampen acousticfeedback and room vibrationfrequencies in nearly every listeningenvironment. It's a 13.1.0 exclusiveand all the new B-1 C turntableshave it.3. Triple -isolated chassis. On allB I .0 models, platter and tone armare mounted on a sub -chassis,isolated between base and top plateby optimized isomer shock mounts.

Coupled with V.I.A., this systemintercepts more extraneous vibrationfrequencies than any we know of.4. The controlled -mass straight tonearm was computer designed for lowmass, strength, and minimal trackingerror. Sapphire bearings reducefriction to insignificance.5. Stroboscopic variable pitchcontrol is standard on the fivelower -priced models.6. Micro -processor digital drive is themost accurate drive system to be had

at any price. A digital computercontinuously monitors platter speedand corrects variations by means ofan AC servo system. Pitch can bevaried by 3% up or down and lockedin. It's standard on the four top BI Cmodels as well as . . .

a vacuum fluorescent digital displaythat reads out measured platterspeed to .03% accuracy and updatesitself every two seconds, and . .

a digital stop watch for timingselections to tape. This is another

micro -processor display funclion.7. A carbon fibre tone arm isstandard on two B1 C models,optional on four others.8. A micro -processor non -contactingvelocity trip systeminitiates end -of -record cycle withoutmoving parts. Standard on B C'stwo top models, it's part of a two -motor drive system.9. $99.95 to $319.95. Anyone willrind a 13.1-C turntable with the rightreatures Et the right price.

CIRCLE NO. 12 ON READER SEF VICE CARD

Theie's more to tell, but only ourcatalogue has room. We'll happilysend you a Ire?: copy.

Seven of B. ..0's new turntables arethe world's bes: for the money_ Twoare the wor d's best, period.

Before you even consider anotherturntable, seeyour BIC dealer orwrite: 3.1CIAVNET, Westbury, NewYork 1:590.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Antennas I enjoyed John McVeigh's article on an-tennas in the September issue. As an apart-ment dweller, I have experimented with anumber of indoor antennas, and by trial anderror I discovered an inexpensive but effec-tive hookup that combines two suggestions. Ibought some inexpensive "rabbit ears" with afilter control and connected the master TV an-tenna to the bolts that held the rabbit ears.Then I connected the original leads from therabbit ears to my tuner. This setup yields alarge selection of stations, and the filter con-trol affects the quality and strength of the sig-nal. A dissatisfied audiophile can always re-connect the rabbit ears.

MALCOLM FRAZERLaurel, Md.

John McVeigh replies: In some situations,connecting an apartment building's masterTV antenna to rabbit ears for FM receptionwill cause multipath distortion. FM signalscan be attenuated more safely by inserting atunable FM trap (such as the Jerrold Electron-ics Model RFT-300) in the transmission line.

The suggegtion about use of a signal split -ter in the article on antennas has increased myenjoyment not only of FM but also of VHFTV. My mind must have been sleepy before Iread the article, for I had a splitter in thehouse but never connected it.

ROBERT GOLDSTEINCorona, N.Y.

Rodrigues on Bruckner Why don't you give Charles Rodriguesmore work to do? That review of his onBruckner in the September issue said it all.

OTHMAR HERBSTChicago, Ill.

Buddy Holly I would like to thank STEREO REVIEW andSteve Simels for the excellent review of theBuddy Holly Story soundtrack album in theSeptember issue. Immediately after reading

12

the article, I went out and bought "TwentyGolden Greats" by Buddy Holly and theCrickets. Now I can hardly wait to see themovie. Yes, Buddy Holly lives! Keep up thegood work, Steve.

JACK C. OWENSGadsden, Ala.

Video Softwear The question of the shortage of video soft-ware raised in the "Editorially Speaking" inSeptember seems to me not as difficult tosolve as William Anderson makes out. Theimportant thing is to get started, and I have acouple of musical suggestions.

1. Since common sense indicates that whatshould be done first is that which has the long-est potential shelf life, what better than theclassical warhorses already stabled in the rec-ord catalog? They could be harnessed not toshots of hundred -man symphony orchestrassawing away, but to travelogs. Why doesn'tRCA (or somebody) work through its mastertapes and bring out a Musical Travelog Se-ries-a lot of sound -spectacular Sibelius toaccompany a tour of Finland, Smetana's MOVlast for Czechoslovakia, Villa -Lobos for theAmazon Basin, maybe even Ferde Grofe'sGrand Canyon Suite or Copland's Appalachi-an Spring with appropriate travel footage?Films could be secured from the tourist de-partments of the countries concerned, fromprivate individuals, or from the National Geo-graphic Society.

2. Who owns the rights to Fantasia? Thefilm should be reset to the relevant music inbrand-new, state-of-the-art recordings. Itwould make the video -demonstration cassette(or disc) of all time, a selling tool beyond thewildest imaginings of the industry.

It perhaps goes without saying that the au-dio on all these would be designed to playthrough quality hi-fi installations.

HERB KAUFMANNew York, N.Y.

Zubin Mehta Re Kolodin on Mehta, September 1978: Ihave observed Zubin Mehta on and off the po-

dium and believe him to be an extraordinaryartist with far more personal dimension thanone finds in the majority of gifted specialists.His periodic gaffes or excursions into untradi-tional areas are little more than the exercise ofthe artist's mandate-that occasional "Whynot?" New York is fortunate to have him inhis present stage of development. The mutualchallenge will be mutually beneficial, I'msure. As for Los Angeles, the loss was totallyeclipsed by Giulini's arrival.

I. R. STERNNorthridge, Calif.

RFI You mean they got all the way throughthose Congressional hearings on radio -fre-quency interference ("Audio News," Sep-tember) without once having to hear about therescue by radio hams of Nicaraguan earth-quake victims, foundering ships, and downedplanes every other millenium? The questionsthat should be asked are really few and, itseems to me, easily answered if the special -interest lobbyists will only stand aside: (1)How many practicing hams (not just license -holders) are there in the country? (2) Howmany Citizen's Band good -buddy hobbyists?(3) How many hi-fi installations? (4) Is thereany record of (3) ever interfering with the ac-tivities of (1) and (2)?

J. BAKERChapel Hill, N.C.

Ry Cooder With "Jazz" (September "Best of theMonth"), Ry Cooder has achieved what mustbe his ultimate ambition: to become a sidemanon his own album.

STEPHEN HOFFMANLead, S.D.

The $600 Album I was startled to note in the September is-sue Paul Kresh's remark that copies of the1954 release of Menotti's The Saint of Bleeck-er Street had been selling for something like$600 on the rare -record market before the setwas reissued by RCA. Because I possess acopy of that initial set, you can imagine mysurprise on learning that the album was mone-tarily so valuable. I have about 1,400 LP's, ofwhich perhaps more than half have been de-leted from the catalogs (I've been collectingsince the first LP's were released in the lateForties), and I'm sure other collectors canalso point to deletions among their records.There must be other deletions besides the Me-notti that command high prices from buyers.It wasn't long ago, for example, that moviesoundtracks on LP were selling for briskprices, but whether that interest remains can-not be determined by those of us who live out-side the rare -record -buyers' market area.Maybe STEREO REVIEW could survey therare -record scene?

BERNARD A. DUPONTPutnam, Conn.

Paul Kresh, also struck by the $600 figure, isalready at work on a feature about the in -

(Continued on )

STEREO REVIEW

1

-,

ntroducingminimum diffraction loudspeakersby Avid.

In the quest for accuracy, cabinet loudspeakers, regardless of price, stillgenerally suffer from a common failure-they sill sound like loudspeakers,or more precisely their sound obviously comes from a box.

Your brain hears the box.Without going too deeply into psycho -acoustics, cabinet speakers tell us

their sound is emanating from a box because the brain has been conditionedto recognize the characteristics... size, shape, etc.... of any sound source.

What creates the boxy effect? Diffracted or reradiated sound waves, thosethat bounce off the sharp edges of the speaker and grille assembly are theclues interpreted by the brain as "box -like."

No diffraction, no box.The problem is graphically illustrated in the drawings. By eliminating

sharp cabinet edges and grille panel obstructions, you reduce diffractioneffects...which means you eliminate the boxiness of the sound. And that'sexactly what we've done with our new line of Avid Minimum DiffractionLoudspeakers TM

To open the box, we closed the cover.The solution was deceivingly simple.By engineering the drivers, cabinet enclosure and, importantly, the grille

assembly to create a totally integrated acoustic system, we eliminatedcabinet diffraction and the boxy sound quality inherent in typical cabinetloudspeakers.

Our new tweeter and midrange drivers have specially engineeredcoupling devices (we call them Optimum Dispersion Couplers') whichtransmit sound waves with minimum diffraction.

"Solid front" grille panels perfectly mate with each coupler eliminatinggrille panel diffraction. And, the grille panels have rounded edges creatinga smooth, gradual transition from the grille to thecabinet, significantly reducing cabinet edgediffraction- a major cause of boxy sound.

These three simple, but audiblysignificant, features, coupled withAvid's critically acclaimed accuracy,assure you a newlevel of performanceand sense ofreality.

Of course there'sa lot more to theAvid story- likeour new drivers andQ -Span testing.Write us for literatureand a full descrip-tion. We invite yourcomparison.

Unwanted cabinet/grille diffraction effects (B)give listener clue as to the size/shape of soundsource-in this case a box. First arrival signals(A) locate source. while brain uses delayed roomreflections (C) to identity listen,ng environment.

The Problem

.4.4

1

(E) ,,,......

(C)

The careful integration of special engneeredOptimum Dispers:on Couplers."' (1), and solidfront guile panets (2) with rolled edge design (3),significantly reduces the unwanted cabinet dif-fraction effects-a principal contributor toboxy' sound. These design principals are

incorporated in all Avid Minimum DiffractionLoudspeakers'"'

Ar10 Tripps LaneEast ProvidenceR.I. 02914


defatigable collector, the lengths he will go to,and the prices he will pay to get what hewants.

Disco vs. "Live" William Anderson's "Does Disco CauseCancer?" editorial gives his seal of approvalto what he calls "the Next Big Something-disco." He argues that the labels "fad,""mindless noise," and "nothing but a numb-ingly repetitious beat" applied to disco by"dispossessed rockers" might apply equallyto dance manias of the past: "the waltz, theCharleston, jitterbugging, even the twist." Bethat as it may, I have been a professional mu-

sician for thirty-five years (I was a member ofthe Tommy/Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra of 1957,among many other musical experienceQ, andI cannot remember a single dance craze of thepast that was not initiated by and did notevolve to the accompanying sounds of livemusic performed by live musicians.

If we continue to condone and encouragedevelopments in music that reduce opportuni-ties for musicians to play and develop theirskills, the next logical step might be recordsand tapes turned out by some kind of futuris-tic Star Wars group consisting of musicalcomputer -robots programmed to give the pub-lic "what they want." Without the musicianswho make the music, which in turn createsthe reason for the equipment reports, inter -

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views, and reviews in the magazine, how longwould STEREO REVIEW be around?

BUD SAVARISEAshtabula, Ohio

The Editor replies: Without musicians tomake them, how long would records bearound? Even a computer has to be pro-grammed by someone. Mr. Savarise under-estimates the public's appetite for novelty. Ifpunk rock can make it (both live and record-ed), then anything can. The only thing the pub-lic tires of is "the same old thing," and onecan easily imagine that that might lead tounemployment for those musicians unable tochange their styles. I would hazard a guessthat there are as many people (as a percentageof the total population) making their living asperforming musicians as there ever were-butthey're not playing waltzes, palm -court sere-nades, or big -band or small -combo jazz!

William Anderson concludes his Augusteditorial concerning the disco craze by statingthat he ". . . cannot see that this new dancemania is anything but a healthy return tohealthy concerns: a rediscovery of one'sphysical self, and that of one's partner, in thepure, liberating joy of rhythmic movement."That may very well be, but Mr. Anderson'sview is shortsighted. The live musician is be-coming a rare specimen these days, and discocan only make this situation much worse. Thetrend in our society has been toward tech-nology and further away from the natural ele-ment, but I still prefer the live musician whocan capture his/her audience without the helpof a sixteen -track mixer and some unionizedDJ. Meanwhile, I'll take care of my "physicalself" in the gymnasium.

MARK WAGNERBethlehem, Pa.

Is the gym co-ed?

Mireille Mathieu Recently a great many viewers in theStates were treated to "From Paris withLove: An Evening of French Television,"which was broadcast nationally on the PBSnetwork. It painfully reminded me how muchsome of us have longed for one of the singerson that show to make a return to the States, tothose who have ever remained her fans. Hername is Mireille Mathieu, the same who in1967 (at the age of nineteen; I assume she isnow thirty) took America by storm [and won aSTEREO REVIEW "Record of the Year"award]. But Atlantic (shame on you, Atlan-tic!) discontinued her American releases,most of them Barclay tapes. Today one rarelyhears from her, except via imports (Polydorfrom Canada and Ariola from Germany).Now I understand that she has a new contractwith Philips. I sincerely hope that her TV ap-pearance, brief though it was, will move Pho-nogram [which distributes Philips in the U.S.]or Peters International to make her LP'savailable here. Other interested readers mightimplore them to give Mlle. Mathieu anotherchance (Phonogram is at 1 IBM Plaza, Chica-go, III. 60611; Peters is at 619 West 54thStreet, New York, N.Y. 10019).

PHILIP DAVID MORGANSaint James, N.Y.

(Continued on page 18)

14 STEREO REVIEW

Ohm'sLaw 13:

Make loudspeakers with great pride,and they will get great reviews.

Ohm defies the lawsof modern loudspeakerproduction.

We don't mass-produce our speakers inhuge quantities. Most ofthe elements that go intoOhm loudspeakers are sointricate, they must bemade by hand.

The result is pride -of -craftsmanship you canhear.

Audio critics haveheard it. As you're about toread...Complete Buyer's Guideto Stereo/Hifi:

'The Ohm C2 is ahigh efficiency speakerwith ruler -flat response to37 Hz., high power -handlingcapability, very smooth

treble response, and ex-cellent dispersion. Con-sidering the size of thebox, performance, and theprice, the Ohm C2 must bereckoned with as one of thebetter speaker valuesavailable...Ohm speakersare very well made, and werecommend this modelhighly."

Stereo Review:"Our standard live -

room integrated frequencyresponse measurement ofthe Ohm F produced one ofthe flattest extendedcurves we have ever seenfrom a loudspeaker...ltshould be apparent fromthe foregoing that we in-clude the Ohm F among

those few speakers wehave tested that achievesstate-of-the-art perform-ance." (Copyright 1973 bythe Ziff -Davis PublishingCompany. Reprinted fromStereo Review, October,1973, by permission. Allrights reserved.)

Canadian Stereo Guide:'The Ohm E is just an

ordinary speaker to look at.

But when you fire it up, it'ssomething else again.Sound quality within thelimits of its capability waswell defined and well con-trolled, with no indicationof mushiness even at theouter fringes of the spec-trum. The Ohm E speakersystem has an excellentdispersion pattern over itsentire operating frequencyrange..."Complete Buyer's Guideto Stereo/Hifi:

'The Ohm H managesto get prodigious bassresponse out of a small boxwithout sacrificing effi-ciency. The high end ishandled by conventionaldrivers and is everythingone might ask from aspeaker. Dispersion is ex-cellent, and the overallsound quality is exemplary."Stereo Review:

"In the simulated live -vs. -recorded test, the OhmL proved to be a highlyaccurate reproducer ofmusic...lts highs werestrong, and even in our welldamped listening room the

crispness imparted to vocalsibilants and instrumentalsounds such as wirebrushes and trianglescould be plainly heard...The upper mid -range andhigh frequencies werevirtually perfect." (Copy-right 1977 by the Ziff -DavisPublishing Company. Re-printed from Stereo Review,June, 1977, by permission.All rights reserved.)Complete Buyer's Guideto Stereo/Hifi:

'The Ohm F is anextraordinary loudspeaker.The coherent sound pro-duced by this speaker isclear, full, and undistorted.It may well be the finestspeaker on the market, andis certainly without a doubtamong the top few."

For 13 complete reviews,and full specifications,please write us at: OhmAcoustics Corp., 241 TaaffePlace, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11205.

We make loudspeakerscorrectly.


Sansui's unique DCSound quality is what your audio system is all

about. So your new receiver or amplifier should,above all, offer you audibly better music reproduc-tion than what you have now or might buy at a com-parable price. That's why Sansui created its uniqueDC amplifier circuitry, which lets you actually hearand appreciate the difference.

Sansui's DC amplifier section (patent pend-ing) is used in all Sansui DC integrated amplifiersand DC receivers, including the AU -717 and G-5000.Either way, your music reproduction will be cleaner,richer and more true-to-life than you have everheard before.

LOWEST POSSIBLE DISTORTIONSansui receivers and amplifiers have long

been recognized for their distortion -free soundreproduction, virtually eliminating harmonic andintermodulation distortion. Now, Sansui's new DCcircuitry enables us to conquer even subtler imp-erfections, such as transient intermodulation distor-tion (TIM), caused by time delays or "phase shifts."

FASTEST RESPONSESansui's. DC amplifier section is designed

without input, output, or negative feedback loopcapacitors to eliminate low frequency phase distor-tion. And our exclusive dual compensation circuitrygives the high-speed, high -frequency response toachieve most accurate reproduction of the mostdemanding musical transients.

The speed/response capabilities of an=oilier are measured by its rise tl me which,both The G-5000 and AU -717, is a mere 1.4 micro-seconds, corresponding to a frequency responsethat extends from zero Hz (DC) to 200,000Hz.

Slew rate tells you how large a transient burstan amolifier can handle. The G-5000 is rated toswing a signal level by 56 volts per millionth of a sec-ond, and the AU -717 is just a trifle faster: 60V/µsac.

The result of Sansui's unique DC design isaudibly cleaner sound.

HUMAN ENGINEERINGn developing the most sophisticated amplifi-

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Sansui's popularly priced G-5000 uses thesame DC amplifier power design as Sansui's other,more costly models. It also incorporates our specialnew protective circuit that safeguards both yourspeakers and the G-5000 against mishap. Outputis a usefully -powerful 45 watts per channel, minRMS, both channels driven into 8 ohms, from 20 to20,000Hz, with no more than 0.03% total harmonicdistortion.

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AU -717 DC integrated amplifier. Our AU -717 hasbeen acclaimed by the experts for its rare clarity ofsound and for its superb versatility Its DC poweramplifier configuration means super -wide frequencyresponse, wit-) improved transient reproduction fromthe lowest lows to the highest highs. And the mul-titude of precise controls will meet your most sophis-ticated listening and recording needs. At 85 wattsper channel, min RMS, both channels driven into 8ohms, from 10 to 20,000Hz, with no more than 0.015%total harmonic distortion, the AU -717 is an unbeat-able value for every music lover

To hear the dramatically crisp and lifelikedifference the AU -717 and G-5000 make, visit yourfranchised Sansui dealer today.

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In Canada. Electronic E istriYiJtors

Airing Patti Smith Patti Smith has once again, through her in-terview with Steve Simels in the August issue,raised my consciousness. She's a great musi-cian, artist, performer, etc. But she's a littlebit off the mark concerning the radio airplayshe's not getting. I work at an FM rocker (Top40). Like many other such, we're playing Be-cause the Night. We're not playing it becauseof Springsteen or anyone else. It's gettingplayed simply because it's a strong song-hell, it's a masterpiece! Now if Patti is upsetbecause the rest of the "Easter" album isn'tgetting played, she can blame herself. WhenPatti Smith starts handing out radio -station li-censes, then we'll play the rest of "Easter."

Everyone here has listened to it at least fiftytimes, because it is probably the best albumso far this year. But what goes out over the airis heard by a lot of people, people who may beoffended by profanity.

Patti, make you a deal. You pay the fine,get back the listeners who are offended, makesure the station doesn't get thrown off the airby the FCC, and 1'11 play your whole albumon my show. Or better yet-help us get rid ofsome of the restrictions put on us by the gov-ernment. Then we'll work on the people whoare against profanity anywhere. No matterhow far radio has progressed, we're still con-trolled by the public.

Dom DAYTwo Rivers, Wis.

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STATE 7IP

-1

Critics The August review of Richie Furay's"Dance a Little Light" by a certain S.S. wastruly despicable. This S.S. is a knownrock-'n'-roll Nazi. Anybody or any group thatdoes not fit into his preferred category ofhighly decadent and overly amplified musicalstorm troopers is automatically boring to S.S.I know that he is too hip to appreciate the mu-sic of those old flower children who wereamong the first to fuse folk with rock like theSpringfield/Byrds boys. STEREO REVIEWshould prevent this S.S. from reviewing anymore albums of this genre (stick to theStones, Steve; I hope you like their new discohit). And people should ignore record criticswho have a narrow span of musical taste.

JON SALCEDOLansing, Mich.

Is Noel Coppage tone deaf or what? Itwould seem so after his insulting review ofTodd Rundgren's "Hermit of Mink Hollow"in the August issue. Todd is both a fine pro-ducer and a multi -talented musician who; af-ter many criticized and unprofitable years,has released a fine sequel to his classic"Something/Anything?" album. Mr. Cop -page should turn his stereo up; blown eardrums might improve his taste in music."One-man bland" indeed!

LAURENCE TOREHPlymouth, Conn.

I have absolutely nothing whatsoever tosay about STEREO REVIEW'S MUSIC critics.

RICHARD SAFRANDurham, N.C.

Overlooked Chopin In his September review of Nathaniel Ros-en's album of Chopin's cello music, RichardFreed says that the Introduction and Polo-naise Brillante, Op. 3, had not been availableat all for some time. However, our recordingof this piece with Joel Krosnick and CameronGrant has been on the market for the past fiveyears-and still is. The number is Orion ORS7291. For some reason, the Schwann catalogdoes not list this item. However, ORS 7291 islisted by Phonolog and other serious recordcatalogs.

GIVEON CORNFIELDPresident, Orion Master Recordings, Inc.

Malibu, Calif.

Corrections On page 94 of the September issue it waserroneously reported that the new Thetapreamplifier is distributed by Polk Audio. Infact, the distributor of the preamplifier is itsmanufacturer, Theta Electronics Corpora-tion, 6831 Anaheim Road, Long Beach, Calif.90815. We regret the error.

The August feature review of "Edith Piafat Carnegie Hall" from Peters Internationalfailed to indicate that both the two -record setand the cassette recording are in monophonicsound. They are available by mail order fromPeters International at 619 West 54th Street,New York, N.Y. 10019, and the correct codenumber for the cassette is PCC 2014/5 (not2015/5).

CIRCLE NO. 24 ON READER SERVICE CARD18 STEREO REVIEW

Amplification.Improves

expandsfrequencyresponse, andreduces TH and

distortion.

Mid -rangecontrol.In additionlo thetreble and basscontrols, you canadjust the midfrequencies to addextra presenceand richness.

Twin rithmOp Amp meters.Visually monitorthe peak averagepower amplifieroutput of eachchannel in bothwatts and dBW.

nua edvolume controlcalibrated in dB.Makes precisevolume levelselection andexact duplicationof previousvolume settings.

Bi-moelectro-sensorrelay protection.Protects amplifieras well asspeakers from allconceivablemalfunctions,

EISCOTT INTEGRATED AMPLSIER 480A

BY -BASS

FLAY

19/O VAIMASLE

BASS

When you consider separates, you wantall the extras you can get for your monk' v.And no one gives you more than Scott.

Just take our new 480A integratedamplifier. 85 watts per channel min.RMS, at 8 ohms from 20-20,000 Hz withno more than 0.03% THD.

It's the only amplifier in its priceclass that gives you two independentphono preamps. Now you can recordone phono while listening to the other.Or vice versa.

All our amps boast dozens of otheradvantages you simply can't find in com-parably priced units. Our state-of-the-artcircuitry gives you plenty of power withvery low distortion. And our featuresand functions give you full flexibility inproducing the sound you like best.

When you move up to separates,move up to Scott. Where all the extras

s tra

tapemonitoringandrwo-way copycapability.

isten, record,monitor or copy'min rape I, Tape1. Tuner, Aux,

or two phononputs in any

combination.

Capa,t nce anmne-dar ce

Adjuitments.Main _air accurate

2ncy-espouse byadjusting (-)rvarious phonocartridgereq in -err ents.

totilos 454%likt46444ilisi.44354-444414 4%%4454Vii

41441411111,,1014441l111 4%441,441WWI 44441414, 44411111 ViNMA Vt.;LIU tAXI, VA.14,P,Vk \V%

New Scott 460A Integrated Amplifier70 wetts per channel min. RMS, at 8 ohms from20-20 000 Hz with no more than 0.0485 THD

New Scott 440A Integrated Amplifier55 watts per channel min. RMS, at 8 of- ms from20-20 000 Ho with no more than 0.05% THD

1111111111I

New Scott 420A Integrated Amplifier40 watts per channel min. RMS, at 8 o20-20.001) Flo with no more than 0.00ll

'Shown with optional rack mountCIRCLE NO. 68 ON READER S

BALANCE rFLIER, LOAD ACCsuesew RCN

-r-s4ir

.. selven etaphono equalizpre -amps.Usc hcth phoninputs at the sametime; I-sten to onewhile recordingthe other, or viceversa. Imp°with ti hecompara bpriced amp.

Front PanelAccessory Switch,Control accessoryequipment withthe flick of a switch.

Scott's unique, gold warranty card ..I r dividized with Your tvarranty, model and s.rial n trihers, and expira tioa date. Scott's fullytransferable, thafe-year parts and labor -limitedwarranty is your assurance of lasting pleasure.

arran:y Idmiification Cat

Warranty Number: 32461Model: 4808 Amplifier

Serial Number: 403 8372/626Expiration Date: September 15, 1981

For specifications on our complete line of audiocomponents, ccntact your nearest Scott dealer, orwrite H.H.Scott, Inc. Corporate Headquarters,20-H Commerce Way, Woburn, MA 01301.

co Electro

S OTTThe Name to listen to.

da

Makers of high quality high fidelity equiprne it since 1947.

Introducing home stereo

The Jensen R430 ReceiverJust one of six all -new carstereo receivers fromJensen.

Individual Bass &Treble Controls.

Volume.

Unique Cassette Door/Tuner Dial.Accepts entire cassettefirmly into unit; large, easy -to -read tuner scale.

Automatic Tape Alarm.Reminds you to removecassette to prevent damageto pinch roller and capstan(a major cause of wow andflutter). Program lightsflash, speakers beep whenignition is turned off.

Power Amplifier.Separate power ampinstalls in trunk. Providesup to 60 watts of TotalSystem Power.

RECEIVE.

Bi-Amplification. Cassette FastDivides and sends correct Forward/Rewind.frequencies and powerlevels to respective driversthrough four separateamps (2 for highs and 2for lows).

At long last...Jensen introducesthe Stereo Receiver for your car.Indash.

Monitor -quality FM broadcastswith superior sensitivity and pitn-point selectivity...from an FNmultiplex section designed to thesame exacting specifications as yourfavorite home receiver.

Loudness.Recaptures all the bass thatcan disappear at low volumelevels.

The Jensen CarAt the very heart of Jensen's

Stereo Receiver can be found fourindependent, direct -coupledamplifier sections-two for eachchannel-delivering ample amountsof clean power over an incrediblywide dynamic range.

Several models even boast theelectronic sophistication of Hamplifi-cation. This advanced circuitryprograms each of the receiveramplifiers to individually drive high

and low frequencies of each stereochannel-minimizing distortion andincreasing peak power levels. For animpact, detail and transparency younever thought your car speakerscapable of.

And just listen to the revelationof wide range signals stored in yourfavorite tapes...and encoded FMstereo broadcasts...through the

receivers foryour car.

100 104 108 MHz!Ifilfilllllilit!i1q v

CPOSETTE J STERE

Dolby" Noise Reduction.Processes out tape hiss onDolby -encoded tapes;improves dynamic range ofDolby -encoded FMbroadcasts.

Muting.Eliminates inter -stationnoise when changingstations.

TUNING

0 FADER 0 BALANCE

FM/AM.Feather -touch electronicswitching.

Stereo Receivers.uncanny quiet background of aDolby® Noise Reduction System.

Feather -touch electronicswitching puts the Jensen Receiverthrough its sophisticated paces:Loudness, switchable Interstation

Muting, Tuner On/Off, Dolby, andLocal/Distant reception. Indepen-dent bass and treble controls offercomplete tone curve flexibility. Anda unique tape alarm even reminds

you to eject an engaged tape whenthe ignition is turned off.

These are some of the featuresthat have created a distinct newcategory: Car Stereo Receiver.Three models with Cassette andthree with Eight -Track. All worthyof the Jensen name.

Anything less just wouldn't do.Not from the design laboratories

FaderAdjusts sound level betweenfront and back sneakers.

Balance.Adjusts sound level betweenright and left speakers.

Tuning.

Tuner.Separate Tuner On/Offretains pre-set volume level,eliminates radio blast whentape is removed.

Local/Distance."L Dcal ' mode offers liter-ferance-free local FMreception; "Distance" modemaximizes sensitivity forbetter long distancerec eption

that invented the loudspeaker Andthe Triaxial And now the JensenReceiver

For a free color catalog write

JENSENSOUND LABORATORIES

Division of Pemcor, Inc.4136 N. United Parkway

Schiller Park, Illinois 60176

®'"Dolby" and "Dolby System" are Trademarks of Dolby Labcratories, Inc."Triax and Triaxial are registered Trademarks identifying the 3 -way car speakers of Jensera Sound Laboratories. Division of Pemcor, Inc.

CIRCLE MO. 43 ON READER SERWICE CARD

f

J(OL latest audio equipment and accessories

JVC EqualizerSwitches intoTape Circuit

0 The JVC Model SEA -20G S.E.A. GraphicEqualizer is a seven -band unit with a specialprovision for switching the equalizer sectioninto the tape -recorder circuits for equalizationof the program before recording, thus permit-ting equalization of tape recordings. The con-trols cover seven different frequencies withcenters ranging from 60 to 15,000 Hz; eachcontrol is adjustable over a range of ±12 dB.A switch is included to defeat the device, anda tape -monitor switch is also provided. Fre-quency response is 20 to 50,000 Hz (+0, -1.5dB) with distortion of 0.06 per cent at 3 voltsoutput.measures 15343 x 101/2 x 4 inches and weighs71/2 pounds. Price: $169.95.

Circle 120 on reader service card

0 The English loudspeaker manufacturerMordaunt-Short Ltd. has arranged U.S. dis-tribution of its Signifer three-way speakersystem. This is an air -suspension design em-ploying a 12 -inch woofer, 5 -inch mid -range,and I -inch dome tweeter. Crossover frequen-

cies are 500 and 4,000 Hz. Nominal frequencyrange is 20 to 20,000 Hz with a specific fre-quency response of 38 to 20,000 Hz ±2 dB.Sensitivity is 4.5 watts for a 96-01B

sound -pressure level at 1 meter in anechoicconditions using pink noise, and harmonicdistortion at this level is less than 1 per cent.Fundamental resonance is 38 Hz, and the sys-tem will accept amplifier powers ranging from25 to 250 watts per channel. The Signifermeasures 31% x 151/4 x 121/4 inches; an option-al stand with casters raises the system 9inches from the floor. Price: $1,400 per pair($1,480 with stands).


High -end CassetteDeck from Eumig

0 Among the features of the new EumigCCD Metropolitan cassette deck is its unusualspeed -control system. Instead of a flywheel,the capstan -drive system has a lightweightdisc on which have been photo -etched some2,500 precisely spaced radii. The disc is fixedto the capstan, and when rotating it createsapproximately 15,000 pulses per second to bedetected by an optical sensor. The generatedpulse rate is compared with a fixed referenceto create an error voltage which is appliedthrough a servo system to the capstan motor.This arrangement results in a wow and flutterrating of 0.05 per cent (weighted rms).

Replacing conventional recording -level me-ters on the CCD is a double lineup of LED's,in various colors, that light up in sequence toindicate recording level. The CCD is a three -head machine with logic -controlled solenoidtransport switching. A remote -control unitduplicating all transport functions is included.Mixing and level controls employ voltage -controlled amplifiers, so that no audio signalspass through the controls themselves. Fre-quency response is 30 to 16,000 Hz ±3 dBwith ferric -oxide tape, improving to 20 to20,000 Hz ±3 dB with ferrichrome or Cr02tape. Signal-to-noise ratio (A weighted) forferrichrome is 72 dB with Dolby noise reduc-tion and 64 dB without. Dimensions areapproximately 17 x 51/2 x 12 inches andweight is 16 pounds. Price: $1,300.


Peak -power IndicatorFrom Lectrotech

Lectrotech, an electronic test -equipmentmanufacturer, has entered the consumer mar-ket with the PPI-400 Peak Power Indicator.The device monitors peak audio power as itappears across the speaker terminals of anypower amplifier, receiver, or musical -instru-ment amplifier. A selector switch matches the0 -dB indication level of the PPI-400 to themaximum power level of the amplifier beingmonitored, and calibration can be made forany continous power output between 2 and1,200 watts per channel. Speaker impedancesfrom 2 to 35 ohms can be accommodated.LED's are used as level indicators. Input

and ac-curacy is within ±0.25 dB; frequency re-sponse is 20 to above 20,000 Hz. The PPI-400weighs 31/2 pounds and measures 14 x 33/4 x 8inches. Price: $129.95. An optional walnutcase (LWC-1) is available at $24.95.


o For those interested in the oldest audioequipment as well as the newest, the AntiquePhonograph Monthly provides articles, illus-trations, and advertisements relevant to thecollecting of phonographs made between 1880and 1930. From the same source comes a se-ries of full -color facsimiles of old phonographcatalogs and similar publications that harkback to a gentler era and may be of interesteven to non -hobbyists. The publisher is AllenKoenigsberg, 650 Ocean Avenue, Brooklyn,N.Y. 11226. Send a stamped, self-addressedenvelope for further information.


22 STEREO REVIEW

What TDKdid for your ears,it now doesfor your eyes.

You know us best for our reputation in audio Init's audiophiles like you who have made TDK

SA the Jest- selling High bas cassette in Ame:icatoiay. Fut here's sotnetning you may not know-. thesame Super Avilyn engineering principle thatret olut _onized audio casse:tes is in TDK s eqaallyrevolut _onary new Super2!!_vilyn video cassetLe,s.

No wonder that TDK Super Avilyn is the first4 -hour capability video cassette to be quality

approved by the people who know: video cassetterecorder engineers And even less wonder

that Super Avilyn makes possikle animage so stur ning, you will feel asthough you a:e sitting in thebroadcast studio.

What's ir_ore, TDK's str:ct cualitycontrol works to give you low wearon delicate video heads, virtual_ynon-existent 3xide shedding, and noproblems tape stretching, evenwith repeatec playback.

That's bause TDK Super Avilynvideo cassettes are an actual compo-nent of the system, not just anaccessory. Our tape is housed in aprecision, jam -resistant mechanism,for years of consistent high qua _ityvideo reproduction. And TDK SuperAvilyn VHS video cassettes arecompatible with all VHS machines,both those with short -play t2 -hour)capability and those with short aidlong -play (4 -hour) options.

TDK Suter Avilyn VHS videocassettes: model VA -T60, for one andtwo-hour recording; model VA-TI2C),for two and four hour recording.If you like things to look as gooc asyou like then_ to sound, take a lick.

TDK Electronics Corp., Gal -denCity, NY 115:__=0. In Canada: SuperiorElectronics Ind., Ltd.

gerTDICThe Machine for your Me-_-,h1.71e.

CIRCLE NO. 83 ON READER SERVICE CARE

Inset': this side into recorder 11111., Dc not tcuch the tape nsicle

SONUSSERIES II.

The original Sonus cartridge estab-lished a new standard in high definitionphonograph reproduction. Yet webelieve there is even further room forimprovement in this often -overlookedarea of high fidelity. So we have takenthe original Sonus cartridges andrefined their designs, taking full advan-tage of the latest in materials andtechniques. Sonus Series II cartridgesare the result of these new designdevelopments.

The new Sonus Gold consists ofthree models with identical bodies andstylus assemblies, differing only in theform of their diamond tips. The newSonus Silver comes in two stylus types,and shares all the qualities of their morecostly counterparts, yet still can offer adramatic improvement in sound repro-duction overall. Both series employ atransducer system characterized byreproduction of exceptional accuracy,clarity and definition. For full detailsand a recommendation of which modelis correct for your particular system,we suggest a visit to the Sonus dealernearest you, or write us.

SONIC RESEARCH, INC., Sugar Hollow Rd.

Danbury, Conn. 06810

High Definition Phono Cartridges

flew Productslatest audio equipment and accessories

"The Stand"For Speakers

Mastercraft Wood Products is marketing,under the general designation "The Stand," avariety of different speaker bases to fit minispeakers, conventional models, and someesoteric designs. These stands are available instandard and de luxe versions, both featuringoil -finish uprights and either black matte -finish (standard models) or oil -finish wood -veneer bases (de luxe models). They also in-clude non -slip, non -scratch speaker mountsas well as provision for speaker -wire conceal-ment. Many of the stands are available in kitform; prices range from $36 to $75.


Plastic Racks forDisc, Tape Storage

GTR Products has a new line of recordand tape racks with walls of smoky plasticand horizontal support members of clearacrylic. Stackable, these racks are available in

appropriate sizes for discs, cassettes, oreight -track cartridges. The record racks(shown) can be had in units holding fifty orone hundred records, and the eight -trackmodules are made for either sixteen or thirty-two tapes. The cassette rack holds twentycased cassettes. Sliding rings on the supportmembers of the disc rack can be used to holdthe records in a partly filled module in place.The smaller record rack measures 1314 x 111/2x 71/2 inches, and the smaller eight -track unitis 111/2 x 71/2 x 53/4 inches. Along with the cas-sette rack (141/2 x 53/4 x 53/4 inches), these sellfor $9.95 each; the larger modules are pricedat $19.95 each.


Maxell'sCassette Cases

Maxell has added to its accessories line aplastic cassette -storage container that will ac-comodate twelve cassettes complete withtheir insert cards and outer boxes. The con-tainers have hinged lids and measure approxi-mately 31/8 x 5 x 101/2 inches. Price: $5.95.


Nikko's LatestPower Amplifier

0 The Alpha III power amplifier from Nik-ko, rated at 80 watts per channel into 8 ohmsfrom 20 to 20,000 Hz, features a direct -cou-pled output stage with MOSFET transistors.Total harmonic distortion is 0.006 per cent, in-termodulation distortion is no more than 0.01per cent, and the signal-to-noise ratio is 115


24 STEREO REVIEW

THE INSIDESTORY ON THE

PERFECTCOUPLES.

INTEGRATED AMPLIFIERSAM -2800: Power output metersw/100 or 3 watt Scale Selector.Low and High/Low LoudnessControl, High & Low FrequencyFilters w/Alternate Levels, AudioMute ( -15 dB or 30 dB), Bass,Midrange and Treble Controls.2 phono inputs, 2 tape inputs.Power Bandwidth (IHF): 7 Hzto 40 kHz/8 ohms. Residual Noise:less than 0.5 mV at 8 ohms.AM -2600: Power output metersw/80 or 3 watt Scale Selector.Low and High/Low LoudnessControls, High & Low FrequencyFilters w/Alternate Levels, AudioMute (-15 dB or -30 dB), 2 tapeinputs, 2 phono inputs. Power Band-width (IHF): 7 Hz to 40 kHz/8ohms. Residual Noise: less than 0.5mV at 8 ohms.

AM -2400: Bass and Treble Controlsw/Two Step Turnover Controls,Audio Mute Control, High & LowFrequency Filters, 2 tape inputs.Power Bandwidth (IHF): 7 Hz to40 kHz/8 ohms. Residual Noise:less than 0.5 mV at 8 ohms.AM -2200: 20 watts per ChannelContinuous Output Power, min.RMS at 8 ohms from 20-20,000 Hzwith no more than 0.5% T.H.D.High & Low Filters, Loudness Con-trol, 2 tape inputs, detent volumecontrol and tape monitor. PowerBandwidth (IHF): 10 Hz to 45kHz/8 ohms. Residual Noise: lessthan 0.8 mV at 8 ohms.All Units: S/N (IHF): Phono -better than 75 dB, Aux- better than95 dB.

STEREO AM/FM TUNERSAT -2600: PLL MPX Circuitry,High Blend Switch, Signal Strength/Deviation and FM Tuning Meters,Output Level Control and AutomaticFrequency Controls, Variable FMMuting. Sensitivity (IHF): 1.7 µV;Capture Ratio: 1.0 dB; StereoSeparation: more than 45 dB(1kHz).AT -2400: PLL MPX Circuitry, FMMute Switch, High Blend Switch,Separate Signal Strength and TuningMeters, Output Level Control andAutomatic Frequency Controls.Sensitivity (IHF): 1.8 tiV; CaptureRatio: 1.0 dB; Stereo Separation:more than 42 dB (1 kHz ).AT -2200: PLL, FM Mute Switch,Separate Signal Strength and TuningMeters, Output Level Control.Sensitivity (IHF): 1.9 µV; CaptureRatio: 1.3 dB; Stereo Separation:more than 40 dB (1 kHz).

AKAI INTRODUCESTHE PERFECT COUPLES.

Choosing a tuner and inte-grated amplifier is a lot like choos-ing a mate. You look for thingslike compatibility, performance,appearance and, of course, fidelity.

Now AKAI makes match-ing component separates foolproofwith a whole new line of ampsand tuners. Paired on the groundsof total compatibility. And pricedto be affordable.

Take the AT -2600 and thebig AM -2800 amp, with a solid 80watts, RMS per channel, 8 ohms,20-20,000 Hz at .08% Total Har-monic Distortion.

Or the AM -2600 amp at60 watts, RMS per channel,8 ohms, 20-20,000 Hz at .1%Total Harmonic Distortion. And

pair it with the AT -2600 tuner.Or the AM -2400 amp at 40

watts, RMS per channel, 8 ohms,20-20,000 Hz at .15% TotalHarmonic Distortion. And theAT -2400 tuner.

No matter which perfectAKAI couple you choose, you getspecs and features not found onall -in -one receivers in the sameprice category. Improvements youcan hear.

Hear them today at yourAKAI dealer. And live in per-fect harmony.

AKAI

ART COLLECTORS:For an 18" x 24" reproduction of this Charles Bragg etching suitable for framing,

send $2 to AKAI, Dept. SR, P O. Box 6010, Compton, CA 90224, ATTN: Couples.

It soundslike musicAn incredibly solid 30 Hzlow end gives you bassresponse not found in anyother speaker of this size.This is clean bass. It isn'tphony. There is no"hump"around 80 Hz to give theimpression of bass whenthere really isn't any What'son your source material iswhat you're going to hearaccurately.

There is no sacrifice at thehigh end eitner. Bothfront and rear -firingtweeters give you theuniform total acousticpower output that takesyou into alive -music"environment.

When you buy your nextpair of speakers, do your-self a favor - audition theInterface:B's. If your criteriais musical accuracy, the'nterface.13's are whatyou'll buy.

EyEIectroice®0 guitar) company

600 Cecil StreetBuchanan. MiclIgan 49107


dB. Damping factor is 80, referred to a loadimpedance of 8 ohms. Twin front -panel LEDdisplays indicate the power output of eachchannel in watts and decibels. Internal protec-tion circuits are provided. The standardbrushed -aluminum front panel is slotted forinstallation in standard 19 -inch racks. An op-tional matte black front panel is available atslight additional cost. Dimensions are 19 x 51/4x 127A inches and weight is just under 30pounds. Price: $479.95.


TranscriptorsTurntable with"Tangent Tracking"

O The new Transcriptors Microtracer turntable-and-arm combination is now available inthe U.S. Bearing a strong family resemblanceto its stainless -steel -and -glass predecessor,the Transcriptors Skeleton, the Microtracer isa unique staight-line-tracking design in whichthe platter moves horizontally beneath thetone arm while the arm itself remains relative-ly motionless. The arm is fixed to the turnta-ble's lid on a jewelled, fluid -damped pivot;any change of the arm's angle from a precise-ly tangential condition breaks an infrared lightbeam, activating a d.c. servo motor that ad-vances the platter along two stainless -steelrails on three aluminum wheels with Teflon -bushed bearings. The arm's effective length is1% inches. Transcriptors claims that, becauseof the arm's very low effective mass, trackingforces as low as 0.2 gram can be used.

In play, the disc rests on nine supportpoints over the 12 -inch aluminum platter,which is rotated by a belt drive through step-down pulleys that provide speeds of 331/3and 45 rpm. Two ganged synchronous motorsare employed, floated on an isolating suspen-sion. Wow is less than 0.05 per cent and flut-ter is not measurable. Controls include a pow-er switch, cueing, and a cueing index that po-sitions the platter. The Microtracer is sup-plied with an Ortofon VMS-20ED Mk II car-tridge but can be adjusted to suit any high -compliance cartridge. The unit measures 211/4.

x 14443 x 63/4 inches with the lid closed, 153/4inches high with the lid open. Weight isapproximately 371/4 pounds. Construction isof glass, aluminum, and stainless steel. Price:$690. The Microtracer is imported by R. AllenWaech Associates, P.O. Box 10357SR, Mil-waukee, Wis. 53210.

Low-cost TunerFrom Kenwood

O Kenwood has introduced the KT -5500, abudget -price AM/FM stereo tuner. It incorpo-rates both signal -strength and center -channelmeters as well as FM interstation-noise mut-ing. Sensitivity is 1.9 microvolts with 50 -dBquieting sensitivity of 4 microvolts for monoand 45 microvolts for stereo. Image -rejectionratio is 50 dB, selectivity measures 60 dB, andcapture ratio is 1 dB. Stereo separation is bet-ter than 45 dB in the mid -range and betterthan 35 dB from 50 to 15,000 Hz. TheKT -5500 measures 15 x 51/2 x 111/2 and weighs10 pounds. Price: $155.


Medium -priceOpen -reel DecksFrom Akai

0 For stereophiles preferring the open -reeltape format, Akai has brought out two newdecks. The GX-4000D (shown) is a quarter -track stereo machine with a four -pole induc-tion motor and Akai's GX glass and crystalferrite heads for recording and playback.


CIRCLE NO. 29 ON READER SERVICE CARD 26 STEREO REVIEW

his ad is approximate. Selling price is determined by the individual dealer. ''Accutrac is a registered trademark of Accutrac Ltd.


H


Front -panel pushbuttons control tape -typeand speed selection (71/2 and 33/4 ips), sound -on -sound, and tape monitor. Transportswitching is mechanical by means of two ro-tating bar knobs. There is a pause control,separate record -level controls for microphoneand line sources, and an output -level controlfor the front -panel headphone jack. Wow andflutter are less than 0.08 per cent rms, and dis-tortion is less than 1 per cent for a 0 -dB re-cording level at 1,000 Hz. Signal-to-noiseratio is better than 57 dB at 71/2 ips, and fre-quency response is 30 to 24,000 Hz ±3 dB.The GX-4000D measures approximately 171/2x 121/2 x 9 inches. Price: $395. The GX-4000DB is the same unit with Dolby circuitryadded to improve the signal-to-noise ratio byup to 10 dB above 5,000 Hz. Price: $475.


ADS UpgradesIts High -endSpeaker Systems

0 ADS has redesigned its L710, L810, andL910 loudspeaker systems. The new units re-tain the original model numbers but with theadditional designation "Series II." Twochanges common to all three systems are re-placement of the 1 -inch tweeter with a 3/4 -inchsoft -dome design (for wider dispersion andsmoother response in its 4,000- to 30,000 -Hzoperating range) and a newly designed 2 -inchsoft -dome mid -range driver.

The middle unit in this new line is the Mod-el L810 Series II, which employs a pair of 8 -inch long -excursion woofers mounted in sepa-rate sealed chambers in addition to the previ-ously mentioned mid- and high -frequencydrivers. These woofers have a free -air reso-nance of 20 Hz and operate from 20 to 550

Hz. Frequency response of the system is 35 to23,000 Hz ±3 dB, and impedance is 6 ohmsnominal, 4 ohms minimum. The recom-mended amplifier -power range for the L810/IIis 20 to 200 watts, and it produces asound -pressure level of 93 dB at a distance of1 meter with a 1 -watt input. Weight of the sys-tem is 461/2 pounds and it measures 251/2 x 141/2x 113/4 inches. Cabinet finish is natural walnutwith a removable black grille. Price: $359.95.


0 Speakers and Associated Sound, Inc., anew company, has announced a line of speak-ers under the "Mr. Johnson" name. Promi-nent among them is the Pentagon, a mid- andhigh -frequency system in the shape of a trun-cated five -sided prism. It incorporates tendrivers-five tweeters and five 5 -inch full -range units-with sound being dispersed in anessentially omni-directional pattern. The sys-tem is intended to be added to existing loud-speakers or used with Mr. Johnson subwoof-ers. One of the latter, the W -HS, resembles ahassock and has a pair of 10 -inch floor -facingwoofers. The other, the W -DR (shown abovewith the Pentagon), is a direct radiator withfour 8 -inch woofers angled out in pairs.

The Pentagon has a frequency range of 75to 20,000 Hz and a power -handling capacityof 200 watts (400 watts peak) at frequenciesabove 300 Hz. Nominal impedance is 8 ohms.It measures 22 x 1334 x 201/2, weighs 30pounds, and is priced at $265. The W -HS cov-ers the range from 30 to 2,000 Hz, is rated at50 watts per channel into 8 ohms, and weighs65 pounds. It measures 26 x 21 x 19 inches andsells for $275. The W -DR covers the samerange as the W -HS and has a power -handling



You Know what Technics quartz -lockeddirect drive does for records.Now listen to what it does for cassettes.

Accura:y good enough for even the most demand ngprofess cnal, that's what Technics quartz -rockeddirect-crive turntables are all about. And that's whyradio stations use then and ciscos abuse them.

Now you can record ycur records as accuratelyas a Technics turntable plays them. With the RS -M85,our new quartz -locked direct -drive cassette deck. Notonly does it have the and of transport accuracy that'shard to beat, it has that kind of price, too. The reasonfor all this accuracy: The perllormance of Technicsdirect driive combined with the precision of ourquartz cscillator.

The RS-M85's servo -controlled system comperesthe moitor rotation wi-h the unwavering frequency ofthe quartz oscillator and instantly applies correctivetorque i" any speed deviations are detected.

To complement that accuracy, Technics RS -M85has a Sendust head \nith a h gh-end frequencyresponse of 18,000 Hz, low distortion andl excellentdynamic range.

Since there's nothing ordinary about the RS-M85's

'performance, there's nothing ordinary about itsmeters. The, RS -M85 features Fluorescent Bar -Graphmeters. Theire completely electronic and thereforenighly accurate,. Response t me is a mere 5µ,S.There's also a peak -check mode plus two selectablebrightness levels.

To all -his sophistication, the RS -M85 adds allthis: A separate coreless DC motor or reel drive.Dolby NR! Fu I IIC logic control in all modes. A low -'noise, high -linearity amplifier section. And a3 -position bias/EQ selector with bias fine adjustment.

Also evadable is Technics RP -070. An optionalfull function inf-ared wireless remote control.

Techs cs R3 -M85. Compare specifications.Compare prices.

FREQ. RIESE (Cr02): 20-18,000 Hz. WOW ANDF_LTTER: 0.335% WRMS. S/N RATIO (DOLBY): 69 dB.PEED DEVIATION: No more than 0.1%.

Techn cs RS -M85. A rare comb nation of audiotechnology A rew standard of and a excellence.

`Colby is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories, Inc

TechnicsProfessional Series

CIRCLE NO 381 ON READER SERVICE CARD

A tape offerthat soundsas good asthe tape.

Buy 3and get one free:

A lot of tape companiescan make you an offer thatsounds like this.

But not tape that soundslike this.

Because our new MaxellUD cassette should be con-sidered among the world'sfinest recording tape.

You see, Maxell cassettesare built to higher standardsthan necessary. They're de-signed to give you recordingsfree of noise, dropouts andtrouble.

So buy three Maxell UD90's, and get a UD 60. Free.

If you think our offersounds great, wait till youhear our tape.

maxe1111111111 11 11111111111111

Avollobe of porbcpoting Maxell dealers.Offer expires December 22. 1978


capacity of 100 watts and an impedance of 8 Reports among them) are currently indexed,ohms. It weighs 55 pounds, measures 18 x 31 along with several annuals; the publishersx 131/2 inches, and is priced at $325. plan to expand the number of magazines cov-

Circle 131 on reader service card ered in the future.Best Buys was originally part of Consumers

Index, appearing as the sight and sound sec-tion of that magazine for five years before be-ing published separately. It is now publishedquarterly in February, May, August, and No-vember by Pierian Press. A one-year sub-scription is $9.80, and single copies are $3.Order from "Best Buy" Guides, P.O. Box1808, Ann Arbor, Mich. 48106.

Denon has added a third moving -coil cartridge, the DL -I 03d (shown) to the alreadyavailable DL -103 and DL-I03s. The new unitis basically similar but has a lighter movingsystem, greater compliance, and overall lowermass. It has a frequency response of 20 to65,000 Hz, with separation better than 28 dB(at I kHz). Compliance is rated at 12 x 10-6cm/dyne (100 Hz), recommended stylus pres-sure is 1.5 grams, and mass is 7.5 grams. TheDL -103d retails for $267.

Another new Denon unit is the DA -307 tonearm, in which the tone -arm tube is decoupledfrom the counterweight with a rubber damp-ing material, the purpose being to eliminateresonance peaks caused by interaction be-tween cartridge and tone arm. Also featuredare gold-plated connections, a noncontactingmagnetic antiskating device, and a light-weight, magnesium -alloy die-cast headshell.Price: $255. Denon has also announced thatits DL -103 cartridge is now available with amatching transformer. The combination pack-age, called the DL -103/T, sells for $200.


Audio -equipmentTest ReportsIndexed

0 Best Buys in Sight and Sound Equipment isa new periodical which indexes descriptions,test reports, and evaluations of home -enter-tainment products. The publication covers au-dio and video as well as photographic and op-tical equipment, listing published reports onproducts in these areas which appear in anumber of magazines. A total of thirty-twoperiodicals (STEREO REVIEW, Popular Elec-tronics, Popular Photography, and Consumer

CI The JVC KD-1636 II cassette deck is aportable stereo unit that can either be used inthe field or connected to a hi-fi system in thehome. It has a monitor speaker built in andcan be operated on long -life "D" cells for upto 12 hours, with 8- to 16 -volt d.c. powersources, or 120 -volt a.c. The deck incorpo-rates JVC's Super ANRS noise -reduction sys-tem, a Sen-Alloy record -playback head, and anovel three -color LED peak indicator thatchanges from white to green to red as the lev-el increases. Also included are separate biasand equalization switches and a headphoneamplifier with its own volume control. Fre-quency response (Cr02 tape) is 30 to 16,000Hz ±3 dB, with a signal-to-noise ratio of 57dB (improved by up to 10 dB above 5,000 Hzwith ANRS on). Wow and flutter are 0.08 percent (weighted rms), and channel separationis 35 dB at 1,000 Hz. The KD-1636 II meas-ures 14% x 4 x 93/4 inches and weighs justunder 101/2 pounds. A shoulder strap is pro-vided. Price: approximately $360.

Circle 133 on reader service card.

NOTICE: All product descriptions and specificationsquoted in these columns are based on materials sup-plied by the manufacturer.

Recent fluctuations in the value of the dollar will havean effect on the price of merchandise imported into thiscountry. Please be aware that the prices quoted in thisissue may be subject to change.


The Eumig CCD.Opto-electronically engineeredfor absolute recording excellence.

WU/WM.11E1U firrruz:::--marrn.,

High Concert Fad..41ty 3. Cassette Deck

Eumig, one of the worlds leaders in electro-mecharlical re-search and development, has introduced a revolutionary newtechnology -to cassette recording. It's the OPTO-ELECTRONICSERVO CAPSTAN DRIVE SYSTEM incorporated in the uniqueEumig CCD. This technology offers so many advantages thatthe Eumig CCD will out -perform every older cassette transpo

Ultra -Precision: The unique Eumig photo discOther decks use old-fashionedbelts and flywheels to controlthe capstan. In the Eumig designthese are replaced by a light-weight disc, photo -etched with2500 radii, spaced preciselyI/50mm apart. When rotated,these radii create 15,000 pulsesper second for instantaneousoptically -sensed speed correc-tions. Wow and flutter is amere 0.05% WRMS, and speed accuracy is ± 1%.

with circuit boards rather

rt.

The Eumig photo disc weighs about 1/70th as much as a typicalflywheel. When combined with an almost inertia -free, corelessdrive molpr, the CCD offers a startup time of less than 0.04seconds, which means you never hear the wowing sound after

-4 a pause in recording. And the CCD boasts the fastest rewindtime in the world-an astonishingly low 40 sec. (C-60).Rugged reliabilityThe Opto-Electronic Servo System is only one among manydramatic advantages of the Eumig CCD. It offers three preci-sion heads of our own design, mounted in a die-cast aluminumcarrier made at our own facilities (as are virtually all parts of theCCD), for greatest precision. The Eumig CCD is engineered

than wires, for utmost -

reliability

Advancedtechnology featuresThe comprehensive featuresthe CCD reflect Eumig's innovativetechnological approach. Two parallel LED displaysallow simultaneous monitoring of bath channel levels. Full sole-noid/MOS logic is operated by feather -touch controls withlogic -programmed LED indicators, and the flexible two -inputmixing facilities use strictly DC controlled circuitry

Perfect recording every timePerfect performance is guaranteed with every type of tape be-cause the Eumig CCD offers virtually flit frequency response to20,000Hz (chrome); Dolby calibration adjustment for differenttape sensitivities; and an -azimuth adjuAment to optimize highfrequency performance with each and every tape.

The Eumig CCD, probably the finest deck in the world, is nowavailable for $1300, including full-funct remote control, atselect audio outlets throughout the country Write to us for thename of the dealer nearest you. Then, listen and compare. Webelieve you'll agree-its incomparable.

Eumig (USA) Inc., Lake Success Business Park, 225 Community Drive,Great Neck, New York 11020, (516) 466-6533


AwYourSpeakersStillA RattleTrap?

We've eliminated one ofthe greatest sources of speakerdistortion. The conventionalpaper cone.

We replaced it with analuminum honeycomb core.Then we coated it with a glassfiber reinforced skin. Andthe result was music to ourears. For the first time, wehad sound reproduction freeof unwanted vibration.

The greatest single im-provement of this design is inthe quality of bass response.It not only extends it, butmakes it more powerful byfreeing it from spuriousvibrations.

This improvement is onlypossible because of the in-credible combination of bothlightness and rigidity of the

honeycomb material. With it,we've achieved a level ofperformance that no conven-tional paper cone can match.

At that point, it wouldhave been easy to quit.Thesound sounded perfect to alot of people. But not to us.So, we coupled our new conewith our patented FN ironring. And there went 20 dB ofmagnetic distortion.

Next we went to work onthe cabinet. We eliminated

the negative effect of sounddiffraction at and around thespeaker frames by mountingthem flush, with the bafflesui face flat to the edge of thecabinet. Finally, we had thesound just where we wanted it.

Then, we surrounded ourspeakers with hand -rubbedwalnut and a black, semi-transparent grille. So, theirlook is now every bit asimpressive as the sound theyproduce.

Our new HoneycombSpeaker Line is thought to bethe most perfect way to repro-duce perfect sound.

It ought to be. We've beendriving toward perfectionfor a long time.

MITSUBISHI'AUDIO SYSTEMS

Mitsubishi's Honeycomb Speakers. MS -10 10" 2 -Way Bookshelf. MS -20 12" 2 -Way Bookshelf. MS -30 12" 3 -Way Bookshelf.For more information write Melco Sales, Inc., Dept. SR. 3030 Fast Victoria Street, Compton, California 90221.


IDEAL FORSHURE

cartridges

One size fitsall Shure

ghunacartrdges

Needle in thehi-fi haystackEven we were astounded at howdifficult it is to find an adequateother -brand replacement stylus foraShure cartridge. We recentlypurchased 241 random styli that werenot manufactured by Shure, but werebeing sold as replacements for ourcartridges. Only ONE of these 241styli could pass the same basicproduction line performance teststhat ALL genuine Shure styli mustpass. But don't simply accept whatwe say here. Send for the documentedtest results we've compiled for you indata booklet # AL548. Insist on agenuine Shure stylus so that yourcartridge will retain its originalperformance capability -and at thesame time protect your records.

Shure Brothers Inc.222 Hartrey Ave., Evanston, IL 60204In Canada: A. C. Simmonds ed Sons Limited

Wi 5 I -I U 1=1 E.

Manufacturers of high fidelity components,microphones, sound systems and related circuitry.CIRCLE NO. 71 ON READER SERVICE CARD

Audio Q. and A.By Larry

Klein

Technical Director Kleinchecking the action of the

slide -rule tuning mechanismof a wall -mounted B & 0receiver on display at theMuseum of Modern Art.

Power Response

Q.I've heard the term "power response"

applied to speakers, and it seems to re-late to a speaker's frequency response ratherthan its power -handling ability. Can you ex-plain this specification?

GEORGE WATSONTuscaloosa, Ala.

A When I first encountered the power -response concept about fifteen years

ago, it immediately cleared up some puzzlingquestions I'd had involving frequency re-sponse measurements. For years manufactur-ers had been providing me with anechoic-chamber measurements that showed theirspeakers to be reasonably flat to perhaps15,000 Hz ("cycles per second" in thosedays). When I listened to the same speakers athome, in many cases I found that the level ofthe high frequencies was audibly far belowthat of the mid frequencies. The discrepan-cies arose simply because the frequency -response curve supplied to me was producedby a chart recorder fed by a microphoneplaced on -axis (directly in front of the speakersystem). And although the high -frequencysound -pressure level put out by the speakerremained fairly constant on -axis, the high -fre-quency energy reaching areas off to the sidesof the system diminished rapidly as the fre-quency of the test signal was increased. Inother words, the total energy (or power re-sponse) produced by the speaker fell off con-siderably at high frequencies even though theon -axis measuring microphone revealed nosuch loss. Of course, a microphone placedanywhere else but directly in front of the sys-tem would have registered the same loss ofhighs that I heard.

When a speaker with narrow high -frequen-cy dispersion such as I've just described is in-stalled in a normal room, it causes a variety ofeffects depending on the specific acoustic cir-cumstances. In general, if the room hasenough hard surfaces to be fairly reflectiveand the listener is distant enough from thespeakers, the sound will become somewhathomogenized and the "beaminess" of thetweeters will not be quite as evident, althoughthe overall high -frequency response will stillbe down. However, in a normally "soft"room, a listener will hear excessive highswhen he is directly in front of the speakers

and inadequate highs when he is off at an an-gle. (Boosting the treble in such cases willonly aggravate the on -axis shrillness.)

Some manufacturers use a reverberantchamber to test a speaker's power response.The irregularly shaped chamber with highlyreflective interior -wall treatment homoge-nizes any sounds generated within it and addsthe on- and off -axis frequency responsestogether to provide a total power response. Ahighly directional speaker will almost alwaysshow a high -end deficiency when measured insuch a test chamber.

"Professional" Gearr Exactly what does the term "profession -LA. al" mean when applied to hi-fi compo-nents, particularly tape recorders?

A. AMELRoseburg, Ore.

A.

definition, the term "professional" is. not really applicable to hi-fi compo-

nents meant for home (thus, "amateur") use.I am afraid, therefore, that it usually doesn'tmean very much except as a way of implyinghigh quality. In regard to tape recorders, thetrue professional open -reel machines aredesigned with such special features as the abil-ity to handle 101/2 -inch reels, real VU meters(that is, they will match the 0 -VU levels andballistics of those used in recording studios),very fast (and smooth) servo -controlled wind-ing and rewinding, balanced -line outputs andinputs, various editing functions, front -panelbias and equalization adjustments, and othersthat are usually lacking in audiophile decks.For turntables, "professional" means havinga high torque, the ability to "back cue" (so aDJ can locate the exact beginning of a selec-tion), and the ability to come up to speed veryrapidly (so a tightly cued selection won't startwith a "wow"). However, aside from suchspecial features for professional use, thebasic difference between professional studiogear and home audio equipment is in rugged-ness-and hence reliability. The professionalpays a premium price for equipment that isspecifically designed not to break down in themiddle of a broadcast or a live taping session.(For an audiophile a breakdown is an incon-venience; for a professional it can be a disas-


34 STEREO REVIEW

facticalling this a"brush"

is like calling this a"radio"

we call it a Dynamic Stabilizer...critics call it a major innovation

True, the device on the front of a V15 Type IV cartridgebears a superficial resemblance to a cleaning brush.

In reality, it is a complex, exquisitely engineeredsubassembly which performs several complex functions

that measurably enhance the quality ofrecord reproduction!

Each one of its 10,000 conductive carbon fibers ispositively grounded to discharge ever-present static

electricity from the surface of your records. This eliminatesstatic clicks and pops, as well as the tracking distortion

produced by the varying electrostatic attraction betweenthe record surface and the tone arm.

What's more, the Dynamic Stabilizer incorporatesShure -developed viscous damping that results in a

uniquely efficient suspension system which maintainsprecise cartridge -to -record distance and uniform tracking

force-even on severely warped records. The stabilizeralso acts as a shock absorber to cushion the stylus in caseyou accidentally drop the tone arm onto the record.

Finally, the tiny carbon fibers are so fine that 10 of themcan fit inside a single groove to sweep free minutedust particles.

This integrated approach to pure sound reproductionextends throughout the design of the V15 Type IV.It sets a new standard of high trackability at ultra-lowtracking forces-even on records that are warped, dusty,and charged with static.

If faithful reproduction of all your recordings is ofparamount importance to you, we invite you to auditionthe V15 Type IV with the Dynamic Stabilizer. Or, write forthe complete story (ask for AL569).

V15 Type IV...the stabilized cartridge

Shure Brothers Inc., 222 Hartrey Ave., Evanston, IL 60204, In Canada: A. C. Simmonds & Sons LimitedManufacturers of high fidelity components, microphones, sound systems and related circuitry.


Tffit's none -second,no - hea edemagnetizer.

You don't need time or technicalexpertise to operate TDK'sexclusive instant head demag-netizer. Just pop it into yourdeck and push "Play' to re-store musical performance lostthrough inevitable head mag-netization. Other detnag-netizers can be less effective,take more time, or actuallymagnetize your heads and aremore difficult to use.- Becauseour HD -01's miniature batterypowers sophisticated circuitrybuilt into a standard cassetteshell, it solves all of theproblems. You will hear theperformance improvement inyour home, portable or autosystem. TDK Electronics Corp.,Garden City, NY 11530.

"TDK.The Machine for your Machine 5'

Audio 0. and A. . .

ter, costly in terms of musicians' time, "deadair," or a ruined tape.)

Incidentally, in a few areas the specifica-tions of a piece of professional gear may actu-ally be inferior to those of a high -quality homeunit. But whatever specs the professional unithas, it is designed to maintain them for yearswhile running perhaps 10 to 12 hours a day.

Extension -speaker SwitchI have a high -power stereo system with aQ 200 -watt -per -channel power amplifier.

Since I would like to have speakers (low -efficiency types) operating on my porch and inmy living room and den, although not neces-sarily simultaneously, I asked a friend who isfamiliar with the technical end of hi-fi to de-sign a switching system for me. He boughtwhat he called a multipole selector switch andwired my three sets of speakers to it in such away that only one pair could be used at a time(since two pairs of the speakers had 4 -ohmimpedances and he felt that my amplifiermight have difficulty driving both sets at once),.Everything worked fine for a while, but thenthe switch became intermittent so that thespeakers would not always play when theywere selected. We changed the switch andagain things worked fine for a while and thenthe same trouble recurred. He is at a loss toexplain the difficulty, and, of course, so am 1.Do you have any suggestions?

DAVID DEVLINBoston, Mass.

A.problem sounds similar to one I ran

into several years ago when trying todesign a relay -operated A -B -C -D speaker -switching setup. Your switch probably failedbecause its contacts are not designed to han-dle the electrical currents put out by high -power audio amplifiers. Consider that with 4 -ohm speakers being driven to, say, 150 wattson peaks (a not improbable figure), more than6 amperes of current are flowing through the

switch contacts. A light -duty switch intendedfor input -selector use will simply not stand upunder that kind of current flow for long.

Although there are some multipole rotaryswitches available that will take heavy cur-rents, they are expensive and may be difficultto find. I would therefore suggest that you useconventional double -pole, double -throw"standard -duty" switches of at least a 10 -amprating. If wired as shown in the sketch below,switch A will select either main or extensionspeakers, and switch B will select either pairof extensions.

Equalized Speakers

Q.It seems to me that there's an increasing

number of speaker systems that employactive equalizers as part of their design. Howdo such speakers compare in performancewith conventional systems?

HERMAN FRIEBERGDetroit, Mich.

A In most human endeavors there are like-ly to be several alternative paths lead-

ing to the same general goal. Some ap-proaches will get you there easier, quicker,cheaper, or more reliably than others-buthuman beings being what they are, there willusually be disagreement as to which paths willand which won't. And if, in addition, there'sno agreement as to the desired goal, there cannever be a consensus as to the best way ofachieving it.

As far as I can tell, there are legitimate the-oretical arguments both for and against de-signing speakers with equalization. And thesearguments, if presented in full, would providemore than enough material to fill this columnseveral times over. My own view, based onlistening experience and our test reports, isthat it is possible to achieve excellent resultseither way. The matter then comes down tothe standard and legitimate questions of size,price, amplifier power requirements, andsound quality of the speaker system-all ofwhich are factors that can and should be con-sidered separately from the pros and cons ofusing electronic equalization.

C

C

TO LEFT MAIN

k TO LEFTEXTENSION 1

INTO LEFTEXTENSION 2

k TO RIGHTEXTENSION 2

k TO RIGHTI EXTENSION 1

}TO RIGHT MAIN


Real to reel means hveperformance recording, and that'swhere the ReVox B77 dramaticallydemonstrates its superiority overother tape recorders. Only the B77has the wide dynamic range andgenerous record headroom youneed to capture withoutcompromise the full detail anddimension of live music.

sounds best onReVox B77Only the B77 delivers the "ruler -flat" frequency response you getfrom Willi Studer's legendary headdesign. Only the B77 combines theconvenience of push-button digitallogic control of tape motion,professional VU meters with built-in peak level indicators, and a self-contadned tape cutter/splicer.

If you're thinking of upgrading yourreal to reel performance, try theReVox B77. It's available in half orquarter track, 3:4-71/2 or 71/2_15IPS. For complete information andlist of demonstrating dealers, circlereader service number or contactus at the address shown below.

R EVOXStuder Revox America, Inc., 1819 Broadway, Nashvillle, Tennessee 37203 / (615) 329-9676 In Canada: Studer Revox Canada, Ltd.

CIRCLE WO. 81 ON READER SERVICE CARD

CHAMBEROF MUSICALHORRORS.

Music is tormented when con-fined in a room. Bad acoustics causethe misery. Walls and furniturescatter harmony. Weaken sounds.And make others scream. As themusical balance stretches outof shape.

Well. Now, there's an end to theagony. Our model 210 stereographic equalizer. Whipping roomacoustics into line. Adjusting andcorrecting every octave. And set-ting the tonal balance free.

Unshackle your music. Equalizeyour room. And see what a pleasantplace it becomes.

MODEL 210STEREO GRAPHIC EQUALIZER

SPECTROACOUSTICS

DEPARTMENT ONO

P.O. BOX 369RICHLAND, WA 99352

TELEPHONE - (509) 375-9608

CANADA:TC ELECTRONICSQUEBEC, CANADA

INTERNATIONAL:FIMC30 GREENHILL RD.WESTWOOD, MASS. 02090

AN AMERICAN MANUFACTUREROF HIGH FIDELITY COMPONENTS

Audio Basics

ADDRESSING THE PUBLIC

To the average audiophile, the term "pro-fessional" applied to audio equipment

seems to have a well-nigh irresistible appeal-though not always, it would appear, for theright reasons. After all, the motor -vehicleequivalent of a "professional" studio -moni-tor loudspeaker system is a truck, and al-though a certain segment of the driving publichas discovered that trucks can be fun, theyare not the right form of transportation for ev-eryone. Furthermore, there are trucks andthen there are trucks. Many a present-day stu-dio monitor system is something like a custo-mized van with an eye -blinding paint job, thewhole designed to appeal more to some cli-ent's taste for visual drama than his concernfor aural fidelity.

But there are professional sound systemsthat are the figurative equivalent of a largetractor -trailer in their intended function ofgetting a heavy-duty job done as efficientlyand unobtrusively as possible. The best ofthem-sound-reinforcement systems built,often with an astonishing sophistication, forlarge -auditorium or critical out-of-door ap-plications such as music concerts-tend to bepainstakingly designed from a high-fidelitystandpoint, because their usefulness rests ontheir ability to "disappear" sonically and per-suade the listener that they are playing no ac-tive role in whatever is being heard. To callsuch a prodigy of sonic engineering a mere"public-address system," as we used to,seems almost insulting.

One such system, neither particularly largenor small by current standards, is a "porta-ble" affair created through the joint efforts ofthe acousticians of KMK Associates, Ltd.and Rosner Custom Sound Inc. to serve thesummer productions of the Metropolitan Op-era and the New York Philharmonic as theytour various parks in the greater New Yorkarea. It is "portable" in the sense that it canbe transported from park to park on two 28 -foot tractor -driven trailers (three more evenlarger trucks are required for the dismantle -able concert shell that forms a stage housingfor the performers). When erected, the soundsystem consists of two 40 -foot -high towersflanking the concert shell, each containing a20 -foot -high speaker system.

The speaker arrays within each tower con-sist of eight I5 -inch woofers in horn -loaded

cabinets, six powerful mid -range compressiondrivers fitted with several types of horns, andtwelve compression tweeters capable ofastonishing outputs. The drivers are all of rel-atively high efficiency, so that the use of amonstrous amplifier for each driver is not nec-essary. The triamplified system provides 80watts for each woofer, 40 watts for each mid-range driver, and 20 watts for each tweeter.Added up, that amounts to 1,120 watts pertower, or a grand total of 2,240 watts. (That,by the way, is by no means a large amount ofpower for such applications these days.)

To this sound system is entrusted the job ofgetting an operatic or symphonic performanceheard in a noisy urban environment by asmany as 150,000 people without their beingoverly conscious that they are hearing asound system rather than the on-stage per-formers. Surprisingly, even the prodigioussound output of a large symphony orchestrasuch as the New York Philharmonic, whichtypically numbers around 110 players for bignineteenth-century works, falls off to virtualinaudibility in an open field as soon as youwalk a few paces away. The concert shellconcentrates and "throws" the sound some-what more effectively, so that the unamplifiedorchestra is judged to have satisfactory loud-

ness at a distance of as much as 50 feet. But inCentral Park the orchestra is called upon toproject about a quarter mile to reach all of itstypically vast audience, and the area of effec-tive sound coverage must spread at least 500feet to either side as it emerges from its originat the concert shell. This amounts to an ap-palling amount of space to be filled with sub-stantial sound levels. The big loudspeaker and



FIDELITYTURNS INTOREAL!

.1, -4:: IOCCEL ocougsrc MINN* VOYMEAZERmon,claw.....ver*g

t

4

10...11. MANI`PM* Otr". amp. 1211.1.10.

naWILL

El*AMPUMON 601.02111 Pier COOTAIR

Lk,

Row

,ms

mowurark

With The ADS10 Digital Time Delay System.,If you are a typical reader of this magazine, you already owna good stereo system and your next component will be a timedelay ambience -reproduction system.

The best two -channel stereo sound is stil a limited illusion, asonic painting on the wall between the stereo speakers. Youdon't have to open your eyes to know that you are hearing areproduction rather than the real thing. Sterea provides a pic:ure-window view of the recording locale, but as tong as the sound isonly projected at listeners from in front, stereo cannot prooucethe feeling of being there in the same acoustic space with themusicians. Better recordings and finer stereo components canimprove the quality of the pictuke-window view but they cannotmake the breakthrough to a convincing sense of `treakty" in thereproduction. The you -are -there illuson in sound, that feeling ofhearing the sound in three ctimensions, can only be achieved byre-creating the enveloping "ambiert" sound field wnich sur-rounds the listener in any .eal acoustic space. Critics andreviewers have agreed that there is nothing 1/4 ou can add to adecent stereo system for $1000 which will improve its perfor-mance as much as a pod time delay ambience system can.

The ambience system you will want to ov1/4n is the ADS 10 - themost sophisticated and the only complete time delay system nowoffered to the publiz. The ADS 10 is a fully optimized, fully inte-grated, third generation digital system containing everything 1/4rtsneed to add to your existng stereo (ambiance circuitry, amphitier,and speakers) -- free oi; the limitations and compromises o:earlier time decay unite. Its component parts work at maximumefficiency with each other, with no money wasted on reOureantparts or unused capacity. The ADS L10 speakers were developedspecifically for this application

Building the amplifiers into the same cs-iassis asthe time delay circuitry, sharing the same

power supply and certnet, allaysus to offer a full 100 Hatt

per channel amp

at the price of a far smaller separate amplifier. Tr:is also simplifiesinstallation in yoar home b' eliminating another 3iece of gearrequiring additional shelf space and interconnecting cables.

As for the ADS -10's time -delay and ambience producing circuitry,we invite you tz.1/4 comps e it with others. We Pelieve you will find itto be the best-soundiN, most natural and .-lusical, most flexibleand most logically designed ambience system available.

The ADS 19 nas nu e flexibility of cont: o: than any other system,but it is simple to operate. Design of tit: controls has beenhuman engineered so that you can easiiy select the size of thehall (focin an in:I-nate club to a catheoral), the depth of the stage,the location a' you. 'seat' and the reverberant qualities of the hallitsel. An irritating problem of earlier time delay systems - theunaa.sural sound of the ambience -enhanced human voice, as inFa tistening, for example - is ....solved in the ADS 10 by aspecial c r uit. Provision is mate for adding ambience to theirpnt channels for 'dry' recoia'ngs, as well as to your own taperecordings. An ambience-er'manced headphone outlet providesthe most natural, most mue1/4.--.7.al headphone listening you'veever i0nown.

Vis'tyot.7 ADS dealer. Brag your favorite records with you and1;s..en to them through tit ADS 10. Experience the differencebetween fidelity and reality. Change the hall. Deepen the stage.;move your 'seat.' Ches:* the features and the performance ofshe ADS 10 against any other time delay system.

You'll discover the ADS 10 Acoustic Dimension Synthesizeris the system for 1/4nich you've been waiting.

For a comprehensive explanation of ambiencereproduction and the ADS 10 Time Delay Sys-tem, request your free copy of the ADS 10Brochure. For full information on thescientific basis, design, installation,features and functions of the ADS 10,we invite you to order the ADS 10Owner's Manual at $5.00 per copy.

ADS. Analog & Digital Systems, Inc., One Progress Way, Wilmington, MA 01887,D Please send me a ct4.--y of the ADS 10 Owner's Manual. $5.00 is enclosed.

Please sent .-ne a copy of the ADS 10 Brochure.KI mrn.

Q. How close canhi-fi get to an

authentic musical experience?

ASlip on new Audio-TechnicaStereophones and

hear for yourself.If you want to find out how good the new Audio-TechnicaStereophones really are, don't just compare them withother headphones. Put them up against the very finestspeaker systems. But don't just listen to the equipment.Listen to the music. And be ready for a surprise!

Judged on the basis of flatness of response, freedomfrom distortion, transient response, sensitivity, andindependence from room acoustics, these new dynamic andelectret condenser models are perceptibly better soundingthan speaker systems costing hundreds of dollars more.

And if you think that great performance can onlycome from heavy, bulky stereophones, get ready for anothersurprise. Our heaviest model is less than 71/2 ozs. and ourlightest is an incredible 43/4 ounces light. Comfort thatlasts an entire opera if you wish.

For all the facts, send for our catalog. But for therevealing truth about stereophone performance, listen andcompare at your nearby Audio-Technica showroom.It will be a great musical experience.

Model ATH-7Our finest Electret Condenserwith LED peak level indicators$149.95

Model ATH-1The moving coil dynamic stereo -phone that weighs just 43/4 oz.$29.95

audio-technicaINNOVATION PRECISION INTEGRITY

amplifier arrays already described are certain-ly not excessive; in fact, they would be quiteinadequate were they not designed accordingto "professional" criteria.

First of all, the loudspeaker arrays are high-ly directional. They project sound in a con-trolled beam rather than omnidirectionally.This makes sense when you consider that lis-teners who have managed to get close to thestage enclosure-and therefore close to thetowers-would be all but deafened by a soundlevel intended to be heard a quarter mileaway. So the loudspeaker arrays have beencleverly designed to aim a swath of sound thatbegins to hit ground level at full intensityabout 50 feet out, just where the sound fromthe unamplified orchestra is beginning to faderapidly. This also gets the available sound en-ergy to where it's needed, rather than wastingit in other directions.

Next, the quality of the sound coming fromthe loudspeakers must be considered. In somerespects the task of achieving uniform fre-quency response is more easily dealt with inan open-air setting than in a closed auditori-um, because there are no wall and ceiling re-flections (and consequent resonances) tofight. Within most of its coverage area thissystem has been successfully equalized to bewithin about 1 dB of its prescribed frequency -response characteristic, which is superb byany standard of high fidelity. But, because ofthe absence of rear and side reflecting sur-faces, the sound will lack the normal hall re-verberation that so enhances the enjoymentof large classical works.

To add something of a concert -hall acous-tic, a reverb unit is inserted into the signalpath. Then, to prevent catastrophic acousticfeedback from breaking out (after all, some ofthe output from the huge loudspeaker arrayswill reach the eight or so on-stage micro-phones and drive them crazy), there is a filterset that will remove, as required, t -octavesegments of the signal going to the speakers.Such narrow "notch -outs" cannot be heard,but they enable the sound system to operateat a much higher level without breaking into aregenerative howl.

DURING several visits to Central Park thispast summer I came to know the sound -rein-forcement system and its capabilities fairlywell. It is not, of course, perfect, but it cangive you a sense of a live performance at adistance at which the performers themselveslook no bigger than pedestrians viewed fromthe top of a New York skyscraper. The qual-ity of sound that reaches a remote listener de-pends on many variables, and not all are un-der the control of the sound -system special-ists. At such distances even the slightestbreath of wind can carry the sound away (aresult of gradient effects), but for the profes-sionals who install such arrays this is merelyanother quantifiable design factor. The factthat the twelve tweeters in each tower operateonly from 9,500 Hz up will give some idea ofthe pains taken to keep quality high.

To those who write asking about careers inaudio, I'd like to suggest that the design andinstallation of such systems is a fascinatingand rewarding business. You can't take theresults home with you, but you are serving thecause of good music and good sound repro-duction in a very direct fashion, and the fieldis an expanding one. As soon as enough peo-ple hear what these specially designed sys-tems can do, every city will want one.

AUDIO-TECHNICA U.S., INC., Dept.118F -2, 33 Shiawassee Avenue, Fairlawn, Ohio 44313

40 Available in Canada from Superior Electronics, Inc. STEREO REVIEW

Motorola introduces thecomplete sound system for your car.

The TC887AX In -Dash Cassette with AM/FMStereo, the EQB 3000 Graphic Equalizer, plus 3 -wayand 2 -way speakers.

This new system from Motorola® gives you 30watts of output and a sound that can sound as good asmany home stereo systems.

The TC887AX has cassette features like auto-matic reverse for continuous play of the cassette with-out removal and reinsertion, locking fast forward toadvance the tape quickly and quietly, locking rewind torewind the tape and repeat a program, and directionindicator lights. Plus push-button tuning, a local/distance switch, balance control for adjusting right andleft channels, a fader control for adjusting the front torear sound level.

The Motorola EQB 3000 Graphic Equalizer hasbeen designed specifically for the varying automotiveenvironment. It compensates adequately for car

acoustic levels, speaker placement and ambient roadnoise. With five frequency bands from 60 Hz to 10,000Hz, and a fader, it enables you to tailor the sound toyour preference.

The Pow-R-HandlerTM Professional Series 3 -wayspeakers have 20 oz. one piece magnets and one inchaluminum voice coil for superior heat dissipation. The2 -ways are co -axial speakers with 10 oz. one piecemagnets.

And this is just one of the many systems you cancreate with Motorola components. Listen to them at adealer near you. And start getting sound in your carthat can be as good as the sound you get at home.

MOTOROLAAuto Sound Systems


To find the dealer nearest you, write: Market Relations Manager, Motorola, Inc., Automotive Products Division, 1299 East Algonquin Road, Schaumburg, Illinois 60196.Motorola is a registered trademark of Motorola Inc.

The new HarmanKardon receivers havepower, features, excellentspecifications.

But so do manyother receivers.

What makes us bet-ter is the way we sound.More musical, with airbetween the instruments.Spacious, with extraordi-nary articulation that allowseach instrument to registerdeep into your musicalconsciousness.

Why does HarmanKardon sound better?

It starts with ultra-wideband frequency re-sponse and remarkably lowTIM (transient intermodula-tion distortion) and SID(slewing induced distor-tion). But these are merelyminimum design parametersfor Harman Kardonengineers.

Of course, it is possi-ble for our engineers tobuild adequate receiverswhere others build them -in the laboratory. But that's,not where you build excep-tional ones. You make themin the listening room.

But not just when thereceiver design has been

completed. Listening atevery stage of developmentis critical.

The fact is that tran-sistors with the same specifi-cations, but from differentmanufacturers, vary in waysthat affect the texture ofmusic. Thai's why HarmanKardon engineers actuallylistened for the musicalcharacter of eveicit compo-

.nent -singly an in combi-nation -that went into theaudio chain of all our newreceivers. Every transistor.Every c apaci tor. Everyresistor.

They listened for thesubtle differences in compo-nent parts that make theimmeasurable difference inthe final product -c hang-ing, refining, in eftec t tuningthe instrument until areceiver emerged thatsounded exactly the waythey wanted it to sound.

In short, it's not justgreat specifications thatmake the difference-it's lis-tening to those things thatothers tend to take forgranted.

Listen to the differ-ence yourself. Visit yourHarman Kardon dealertoday.

Pictured: hk670 receiver 60/60 wattsNot shown: hk340 20/2.0 watts, hk450 30/30 watts,hk560 40/40 watts

11 I 141 1'

e°Y TAPE MONITOR

Iltill11 I

harman/kardonHear all the music.55 Ames CourtPlainview NY 11803


illt IntriSh"A TechnologicalMasterpiece..."

McIntosh C 32

"More Than a Preamplifier"

McIntosh has received peerless ac-

claim from prominent producttesting laboratories anding international recognition! Youcan learn why the "more than apreamplifier" C 32 has been

selected for these unique honors.

Send us your name and addressand we'll send you the completeproduct reviews and data on all

McIntosh products, copies of theinternational awards, and a NorthAmerican FM directory. You willunderstand why McIntosh productresearch and development always

has the appearance and tech-

nological look to the future.

Keep up to date.Send now - - -

McIntosh Laboratory Inc.Box 96 East Side StationBinghamton, NY 13904

Name

Address

City State Zip

If you are in a hurry for your catalog pleasesend the coupon to McIntosh. For non -rushservice send the Reader Service Card to themagazine.


Tape Talk

Double Dolby Explained

Q.What is the "Double Dolby" system now

being promoted in some of the newercassette decks? Is it different from the stand-ard Dolby system?

GENE BRADBURYGreenville, R.I.

AHappily, there's no mystery or advertis-. ing hype here, nor is there any depar-

ture from the standard Dolby -B system thathas been in use for some years.

The great majority of cassette decks use asingle, combination record/playback tapehead and a single pair of Dolby -B noise -reduction circuits-one for the left channel,the other for the right. The same Dolby circuitis switched between "encode" and "decode"functions, just as the same tape headswitched from record to playback.

But an increasing number of today's cas-sette decks are designed with separate recordand playback heads. This allows the user tolisten not only to the signal being fed to thetape but also to an almost instantaneous play-back of the signal just recorded on the tape.During this "simultaneous" record -playbackoperation, if there were only a single pair ofDolby circuits in the deck, they would be tiedup in the encoding (recording) process. An in-stantaneous, comparative playback of such atape would differ markedly in its sonic charac-ter from the input signal, for the "playback"would be of an encoded, not a decoded, sig-nal. The solution is to incorporate two sets ofDolby circuits, one to record, the other toplay back. Thus the name "Double Dolby."

Head Lubricants

Q.been using a head cleaner that con-

. tains a silicone lubricant, but I have be-gun to wonder if the silicone, while reducingfriction, will build up a harmful residue on mytapes. Is it better to use a regular head cleanerwithout silicone?

JOHN SCHMIDTAstoria, N.Y.

AAWhether the residual lubricant from such. cleaners does any good I'll have to

leave to your experience, though my instinctsare against the use of such a product. Quality

44

tapes already contain such lubricants as theirmanufacturers deem appropriate, given theirbinder formulation and coating techniques.Anything more is at best superfluous, and atworst-though the amount involved is mi-nute-it could conceivably migrate to the rub-ber pinch -roller, for example, where it wouldobviously do no good.

Squealing Tapes

Q.Some years ago (beginning in 1959) I

bought a number of prerecorded tapes,and now hack they squeakterribly. I've tried running them through onfast -forward and rewind to make sure theydon't stick, but the squealing problem stillshows up on several different decks. The localaudio shops just tell me that open -reel is out.Can you suggest anything?

RONALD CUMMINGColorado Springs, Colo.

ATapes as old as those you describe were. almost invariably recorded on a cel-

lulose -acetate base material. Acetate -basetapes used a plasticizer to give them flexibili-ty, and unfortunately time, plus repeated tem-perature/humidity cycling with seasonalchanges, tends to dry out the plasticizer, leav-ing the tapes rather stiff and likely to squeal.Back in the days when such tapes were popu-lar (today, both open -reel and cassette tapesinvariably use a polyester base material thatdoesn't have a fugitive plasticizer), some ofthe accessory companies manufactured littlewick -like devices that one could place alongthe tape path to dispense a metered dose of alubricant designed to take the place of theevaporated plasticizer. However, the com-mercial demand for such products has evi-dently shrunk below the point where it is eco-nomic to offer them.

There is no permanent cure for your prob-lem, but an idea I got from 3M may get you asqueal -free play or two from these dried -outtapes, allowing you to copy them onto a moremodern tape stock. Place the affected tape ina metal movie -film can of the appropriatediameter (obtainable at any photo shop),along with a moistened piece of blotting pa-per. Be sure the tape is wound onto its reel atmoderate tension (that is, in a played rather


STEREO REVIEW

The A-800: A TEAC with featuresyou can't live without at a price

you can live with.The TEAC A-800 gives you

one of the best, most affordablecombinations of precision, muscleand good looks around. It's a threehead, two motor, dual capstan,solenoid -operated cassette deckthat lists for less than $800,

The A-800 transport has acomputer heritage... heavy, rock -steady, reliable. The closed -loopdual capstan system isolates the

tapebetweenthe cap-

' TEAC stans toprovide optimum tape -to -headcontact. Result: better frequencyresponse, fewer dropouts. An

ultra -stable motor drives the cap-stans while all transport functionsare operated through fea-ther -touch solenoid switch- r-ing botn on the deck andwith the optional RC -90Remote Control. '

The A-800 uses a comUII II

-

bined record/ playbackhead in which both elements areincorporated into a single hous-ing. What's more, the playbackhead is a unique "Delta" designwhich :ncorporates both mag-netic and non-maanetic fp.rrilematerials which assures mini-mum feedthrough from therecord head and elimina-es low

IAMBI SA-CR° 6113K.

TWO MOTOR /THREE HEAD

frequency contour effects.In acdition to its bnilt-in

Dolby, the A-800 also acceptscn optional dbx Type -II forwider dynamic range and.Lp to 80 dB S/N. This cptionalcbx interface-a TEA2 ex-clusive-lets you imp:-ove

the overall signal-to-noiseperformance by up to 30 cB. It'sOat to be heard to be believed!

First. Becau they last.TEAC Commotion of America7733 Telegrarh RoadMolAobelio Cahloinia 90640

CIRCLE NO 86 ON READER' SERVICE CARD

Today's professional musicians are putting moreinto their music than ever before. A whole newgeneration of recording equipment allows them topack a tape or fill a record's

grooves with musical

shadings and textures and subtleties that simplywent unrecorded a few years ago.pl. is part of that process.In fact,according to a recentnational survey by

Billboard Masazine. JBL is the most widely usedloudspeaker in professional recording studios.There's a reason:

JBL delivers all the music all the time. And it does itwith flawless accuracy and attention to detail thatprofessionals can't afford to be without.

If you want to get all the music out of your recordsand tapes. get the loudspeaker the pros used to putit there: IBL.

You don't have to be a professonal to own IBLloudspeakets.The same sound it, available In a wide variety

of home systems. priced from $175 to 54.800

4,...-PO ,,,fir

A

.1.4.

..... .0"" ,..., A 41. 0; ,.. pl., I...

.1110. ..".".- 4.0"

, 04.P 7...., .1... .".7.

A.0 ,... -e.O.

GET IT ALL.

lames B. La ing Sound Inc.. 8500 Balboa Boulevard. Northridge, California 91329.

Great specificationswon't impress your ears...

Great sound will!

Speaker &lawn:Apolic 8853

According to the 1975 Stereo ReviewStereo Directo,y and Buyers Guido, thereare at least 111 manufacturers of highfidelity speakel. systems. All of whprnwould have you believe that they have pe--fected "The Listening Experience'. Mostof them will -.ry to tell you how thett speak-ers sound by their specification claims.

Frankly, tha-i is impossible. You have tolisten to a speaker to adequately judge itsquality.

At AAL we utilize the finest domesticand international raw drivers. Superbcraftsmanship lis performed by unionworkers. Computer aided design weld'soptimum pelormance. All of this adds upto great sound ...Which is what speakersare all about.

Listen to us!Amerman Acoustic Labs

629 West Cermak Rd.C,nicago, Illinois 60616

AAL I

Tape Talk . .

than a fast -wound condition). Seal the filmcan with cellophane tape so it's airtight, andallow perhaps a day for the tape to absorb themoisture from the blotting paper. This willprobably restore enough suppleness to getyou through a run or two with no more thanan inaudible amount of squealing, if that.

As for your local dealers and their advice, Ishould like to suggest, respectfully, that theyget their heads examined.

Understanding EQf-% Could you explain the difference between

120- and 70 -microsecond equalizationand tell me the relative advantages and disad-vantages of each?

LARRY THORPEColumbia, Mo.

A.understand the differences between

. these equalization characteristics fully,you must see how they fit into the overallplayback -equalization scheme. Equalizationin general is a deliberate modification of thefrequency response of a component-in thiscase, the playback section of a cassette tapedeck. The reason for this modification is tocompensate for departures from flat frequen-cy response that are predictably introducedby the component itself. By offsetting theknown gains or losses at different frequenciesinherent in the component, you "equalize" itsultimate output across the whole of the audiospectrum.

Ignoring minor aberrations at the frequencyextremes, we find that the output from a nor-mal tape playback head presented with equalrecorded signals rises directly with frequen-cy. Double the frequency and you double theplayback output from the tape head. This isknown techncally as a "6 -dB -per -octaveslope," and unless you want to combine inau-dible bass with an impossibly prominent tre-ble, the playback section of your recordermust include a compensating (equalizing) 6 -dB -per -octave slope in the opposite direction_

The complication that brings the 120- and70 -microsecond characteristics into the equal-ization picture is the fact that there are treblelosses involved in recording very high fre-quencies (especially at slow tape speeds) that

exceed any practical amount of compensatorytreble boost that could be supplied during therecording process itself. Thus, the higher fre-quencies recorded on the tape show a definitetreble droop. The solution to this is to stop thebasic bass-boost/treble-cut slope of the play-back equalizer at a carefully chosen treblefrequency, for when we stop cutting the tre-ble electronically, the treble -boosting charac-ter of the tape head reasserts itself, making upfor the treble droop on the recorded tape.

For regular ferric -oxide cassettes, the"carefully chosen" frequency is 1,326.3 Hz,"120 microseconds" in engineering jargon.Since chromium dioxide (and the Cr02-equivalent ferric tapes) have an inherentlystronger high end to begin with, they need lessassistance from the playback head, so theirboost commences at 2,273.6 Hz, or "70 mi-croseconds." (Engineers prefer to speak of"microseconds" instead of frequencies whendiscussing equalizers because the number ofmicroseconds directly indicates the proper re-sistor and capacitor characteristics needed toproduce the desired turnover frequency.)

So far as advantages and disadvantages areconcerned, you can get a good idea by ex-amining the two curves in the accompanyinggraph which shows the relative treble boostproduced by a playback head when used withthe 120 -microsecond (standard) and 70 -

microsecond (Cr02) equalization. Throughoutmuch of the treble range the 120 -microsecondcurve is about 4.5 dB higher than the 70 -microsecond curve. This means that whileeach characteristic produces flat frequencyresponse when used with the type of tape ap-propriate to it, any residual tape hiss pickedup by the head will be boosted by an addition-al 4.5 dB when using 120 -microsecond equali-zation. All else being equal, Cr02-type tapesshould give you less audible tape noise. Fur-ther, as a check of recorder specifications willshow, the rated frequency response in mostcases extends a couple of kilohertz higherwhen you use tapes designed for the 70 -microsecond equalization. On the other hand,at low frequencies Cr02 tapes have tended tohave a lower maximum output level than goodferric formulations. Where the music youwant to tape is characterized both by a veryheavy "sock -it -to -you" bass and by a lack ofvery quiet passages (where hiss would showup)-hard rock is the example that comes tomind-using a good grade of ferric oxide with120 -microsecond equalization might giveslightly better results.

+25

+20fn

+15

W+10

+5

120 IISEC

70 JISEC

0400 700 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K

FREQUENCY IN HZ (CYCLES PER SECOND)

"CIRCLE NO. 3 ON READER SERVICE CARDSPEAKER SYSTEMS STEREO REVIEW

The evolution of the revolution.The new Bos6 901 Series IV Direct/Reflectin4 speaker.Wien Bose introduced the orig-inal 901'R' speaker, high-fidelitycr tics around the world hailed itsrevolutionary approach to soundreproduction."Bose has, in a single giant step,produced one of the finestspeaker systems ever made."(USA)

"The orchestra is there in frontand the atmosphere of the con-cert hall all around." (Belgium)

"Bose contains more technicalinnovations than any otherspeaker of the past 20 years."(Austria)

"...sets new standards for loud-speaker music reproduction."(France)

Now the 901® has evolved. Again.Introducing the Bose 901 SeriesIV Direct Reflecting* speakersystem. With new equalizer con-trols that consider your room aspart of the speaker design. And,a new answer to the problem ofchoosing an amplifier.

It is a known fact that moving aspeaker just a few feet in a roomwill alter its performance. Andthat the variances in a speaker'sperformance from one livingroom to the next can be vast. Thisis a problem all speakers haveregardless of design. Except one.A lew approach to the study oflistening room acoustics and anambitious survey of many actuallistening rooms has resulted innew equalizer controls for theBose 901 IV. These controls allowycu to simultaneously adjustseveral bands of frequencies in aprecise manner to match the per-

_MOSE

formance al the 901 IV to yourroom. In ,a way that cannct bedupl ca-ed even with an expensivegraphic equalizer.

As a result, the 901 Series IVspeakers perform as well in theliving room as in the demonstra-tion room.Were ourengimers -to designa speakerspecificallyfor your liv-ing room, youwould not oetbetter scurdthan you dowhen youproperly adjustthe Equalizercont-ols on theBose 901 Series IV.

And the 901 IV provides a simpleanswer to tie problem of choosingthe power rating of your amplifieror receiver. Choose any amplifieryou wish. The 901 IV providessurp-isingly loud sound with aslittle as 10 watts per channel. Yet itis durable enough for us to removeall powe- limitations on the 901 IV.There is no power limit. Period.*

With these -ew improvements, theBose 901 P./gives you a flexibility

-no other speaker can. You canplace the 901 IV in almost anyroom and get the life -like, spa-cious sounc for which the 901 IV

Directi'Fieflect-ine speaker isfamous. And youcan match it tovirtually anyamplifier.

We think thatonce you hear thenew Bose 901IV Direct Reflect-ing® speaker,you'll agree. Therevolution hasevolved.

_JE117.477'There is :a power lime in commercial applications. For information contact Bose Customer Service.

BIC introduces four speakersystems good enough to matchour remarkable new turntablesand cassette decks.

We've combined linearity with efficiency in a wayto maximize both...and bring you the most accurate andsatisfying music at prices less than you'd expect.

Why linearity?Because it makes for

sound reproduction accuracy.Why efficiency?Because it provides a

wide dynamic range.When you combine the

two, you have life -like soundthat will satisfy even the mostdiscriminating listener.

How did we do it?The patented Venturi

enclosure, which actuallylaunched the high -efficiencyera in speakers, has been sig-nificantly improved. The ducthas been lengthened, retunedand acoustically damped.The result is a highly efficient,clean and tight response overan extended bass range.

We improved the crossovernetwork configuration throughcomputer calculation, with cir-cuitry and component valuesmeticulously selected to avoid time

The new Venturi IIdesign (right) both acts

as an acoustic trans-former, to multiply bass

energy, and as a lowpass filter to enhance

the quality of the deepbass signal. Dampingmaterial (pink) acts to

improve transientresponse. The response

curve (below) showshow accuracy is

maintained from treblepeaks down through

organ pedal notes.

+5

These oscilloscope photos show how theVenturi -coupled path multiplies and

"cleans" the bass output. Above, a 25 Hzwaveform taken directly in front of thewoofer cone. Below, the same inputmeasured at the Venturi duct is many timesgreater, and sinosoidal (nondistorted).

0

5

and phase distort'on.We have chosen components

for their ability to withstand peakvoltages and heavy currentconditions.

We created our "transonic"grille to avoid edge reflections anddiffraction.

We provided total protection tothe speaker system by having a sep-arate fuse for each driver in everyspeaker in the new B.1.0 series.

We have done all of this, and alot more, to attain what we believethe market needs:

Speaker systems good enoughto complement the new 13-1.0 turn-table line and the new 13-1.0 two -

speed cassette deck - both ofwhich received critical acclaimupon their introduction. (Ofcourse, any of our equipment canbe combined with other people'shigh-fidelity components to theadvantage of those components.)

We concentrated on gettingthese new B.1.0 loudspeakers to bestandouts among the 200 or sospeaker brands now being offered.Not standouts by words. Not stand-

outs because of unusualshapes or esoteric materials,which don't necessarily con-tribute to performance qual-ity. But standouts becausethey combine design andcomponentry in such a man-ner as to maximize bothlinearity and effioency - andtherefore reproduce soundthat the most discerning lis-tener would want to hear.

We know that these areonly claims, and even thoughit's B.1.0 making them- B.1.0has been in the business forlonger than just about anyother company offeringhigh-fidelity products - youmust judge for yourself. Theultimate truth of a speaker is

in the listening, not in what iswritten about it.

The new "transonic" grille is acousticallytransparent and allows sound to radiate inall directions. Molded design eliminatesgrille frame, thus avoiding unwanteddeflection of widely dispersed sound.

So please A -B the new 6-1.0speakers against your other favo-rites. We are sure that you will bequite pleasantly surprised at boththe sound and the price.

SPEAKER SYSTEMS[3.1C is a trademark of BI.0 I Avnet, Westbury, N.Y. 11590. lo Canada: C.W. Pointon, Toronto.

CIRCLE NO. 7 ON READER SERVICE CARD (FOR EARLIEST RESPONSE WRITE DIRECT)

Follow the

IMPORTED CANADIAN WHISKY.A BLEN0.80 PROOF.C.ALVERT DIST. CO

Wherever you go, it's reaching newh.eigh:s. What's behind its super success?Super lightness, superb taste. If that'swhat iou're looking for, makethe ascent to Lcrd Calvert Canadian.

nadian Superstar.

Audio flews Views ond Comment

AN AUDIOPHILE RHINE JOURNEY

THINK I remember now. It was at a ChicagoIballroom late (too late) at night, with Lionel

Hampton thundering away and Hitachi's Na-tional Marketing Manager Jerry Henricksshouting at me about the upcoming high-fideli-ty show in Diisseldorf, Germany, and some-thing about a press exhibition of Japanese au-dio components (Hitachi's?) in a German cas-tle on the Rhine. One gets used to hearing al-most anything at such affairs, but there arefantasies even a magazine editor won't swal-low. Still, I must have said something assen-tive, affirmative, or what have you. Why elsewould high August find me in front of the Co-logne/Bonn air terminal, looking for a lift intotown to become Hitachi's three-day guest atits audio "mini -convention"?

My God, this place is expensive! Five min-utes watching the meter in the taxi and I amterrified and want to get out. The hotel roomin Bonn works out to something like $100 anight. As quickly as possible I locate hostHenricks and stick close to his wallet for theduration.

Fortunately, the Hitachi schedule is not ashectic as I'd expected. In fact, the first day isfree time except for cocktails and a sit-downdinner in the hotel, where we get a chance tomeet fellow press people. Aside from a cou-ple of American colleagues, they are Europe-an and largely unknown to me even by reputa-tion, except for Walter Rios from Off Duty.The Swiss press corps astonishes everyone byeating an entire soup -to -nuts dinner-andthen ordering a second round of exactly thesame thing!

NEXT day takes us to Castle Drachenburg, anineteenth-century architectural oddity sur-rounded by a game preserve overlooking theRhine. Why we are here is still not apparent,but we are told that a Hitachi exec has a thingfor castles on the Rhine (don't we all?). Coor-dinators of the exhibition bustle hither andyon, pumping hands and passing out cards. Acarload of bouncy, multilingual Tokyo debsis let loose on us; they pour drinks, changeclothes about five times in the course of theday, dance like dervishes when the band be-gins, and, alas, get securely locked up at theend of the evening. A film screening in thecastle cellar reminds us that Hitachi makes,besides audio equipment, huge industrial tur-bines, experimental nuclear -fusion reactors,bullet trains, and a quite decent beer.

We then tour the rooms of the castle, eachof which is devoted to a different productcategory in the Hitachi high-fidelity line. Thehighlights are the marriage of class -G circuit-ry and MOSFET output transistors in a bigpower amplifier, a PCM processor thatsounds at least as good as everyone else's,and a new three -head cassette deck that injust over twenty seconds automatically setsbias and equalization for any tape used. Themachine first adjusts bias for maximum out-put from the tape at 5,000 Hz (an arbitrarycriterion for bias, the Hitachi spokesman ad-

mits, but one that seems to work out well inpractice for most tapes). Then four tuned os-cillators are brought into play for a responsecheck, the results of which govern the equali-zation adjustment. Looks like a great product-if Hitachi can get its underlying conceptacross to the non -technical consumer. Thereis also an elaborate synthesizer that will faith-fully play any musical composition, no matterhow wretched: that one stores in its memoryby pushing buttons, thereby making perform-ers out of those lacking even a trace of key-board technique. Dinner is German -preparedJapanese food. I fear the Germans have notyet got the hang of it, but the beer (draft Ko-nig-Pilsener) is ambrosial.

IT'S north the next day to Dusseldorf and thebig show, which is a true high-fidelity eventsubstantially larger than the IHF' s recent At-lanta show, to the point of occupying a num-ber of large halls in the exhibition complex.Aside from some bewildering loudspeaker de-signs and some unfamiliar brand names ap-pearing on the otherwise familiar panels ofJapanese -made receivers, there is not a whole

p

lot I haven't seen before. Exceptions are alarge four -channel (!) receiver with SQ anddiscrete facilities, made by Telefunken inWest Germany, and a new Luxman cassettedeck that is announced as being pure -metal -tape ready (chances are this is an early proto-

type, but it is attractive nonetheless, withplenty of sex appeal). Ironically, 3M has notyet begun to promote Metafine in Germany,so the Luxman booth is the only place onesees even a mention of metal tape. Speakerswith meters and other level indicators seem toappeal to the Germans, and they are every-where. Roy Allison is here conducting an all -English presentation, which seems a dubiousidea, but he pronounces himself pleased withthe results nonetheless. Oskar Heil is alsohere for ESS, appearing more animated than Ihave ever seen him. Perhaps he is glad to getback to the German language.

THE Diisseldorf show is in competition withBerlin's Funkausstellung in the same sensethat the new IHF shows are in competitionwith the CES, except that the timing conflictsdo not exist, the shows being held in alternateyears. If there must be an ultimate winner, itlooks like Diisseldorf to me, at least insofar ashigh fidelity is concerned. The exhibits of hi-fimanufacturers are much bigger and more opu-lent here, and there is no risk of their beingovershadowed by a Grundig blockbuster thatsets up a multi -media production occupying awhole hall and grabbing all the attention. Lastyear in Berlin I heard that high fidelity was a"fringe" market in Germany. This year I hearthat high fidelity's growth in Germany hasbeen phenomenal of late, and everyone's go-ing crazy with enthusiasm.

Next day some confusion in our flight timesleaves a few hours to see the cathedral at Co-logne, which looks better from the outsidethan the inside. A beer at the airport takes my

last Deutschmark (if you believe the Lowen-brau from Miller is the same as that brewed inMunich, you'll believe anything), and Luft-hansa's Red Baron carries us off. Wieder-sehen-when and if I can afford it.

-Ralph Hodges

NOVEMBER 1978 53

Technical TalkByJulian D. Hirsch

77'5;111C

Testing Loudspeakers-Part 4 IN the past three issues I've been describingi in some detail how Hirsch -Houck Labora-tories quantitatively tests loudspeakers aswell as spelling out our philosophy of testing.Briefly, I do not believe that measurementswill ever be able to describe the sound of aloudspeaker totally, since (if for no other rea-son) there is no common language linking hu-man perception to the world of acoustic meas-urements. A critical listener can learn to cor-relate-at least to some degree-the shape ofa response curve with the audible sound pro-duced. But even with my background of hun-dreds of speaker tests, I would hesitate to pre-dict the precise sound of a speaker solely froman examination of its measured frequency re-sponse. However, from the sound of a speak-er, I can fairly well predict the shape of its re-sponse curve as it would be measured in mylaboratory.

In the final analyis, then, it all comes downto critical listening. Unlike some "experts," Iam extremely reluctant to claim that my tastein the nuances of reproduced sound is the ulti-mate, or that a speaker I prefer is necessarilyworlds above another one that may not appealto me as strongly.

If we could somehow determine the ac-curacy of a speaker (as opposed to how pleas-ing its sound might be, since that is a purelysubjective judgment), we would have a pow-erful handle on the problem of speaker evalu-ation. In the early days of hi-fi, there were anumber of side -by -side comparisons betweena live music source and the reproduced soundof the same performers; these were made onthe reasonable assumption that facsimile re-production of musical sounds was an indica-tion of accurate reproduction. I recall attend-ing such comparisons in Philadelphia's Or-chestra Hall and New York's Carnegie Hall inwhich home audio components were given thetask of duplicating the sound of solo perform-ers, various groups, and the full PhiladelphiaOrchestra. None of the facsimiles were per-fect, but the comparisons were still most im-pressive as indicators of the capabilities ofthose early components. At around that time,a group of fellow enthusiasts and I did muchthe same thing with the pipe organ in St.Mark's Church at Mt. Kisco, New York. Wecame, I think, a bit closer to success than the

earlier efforts, but the match between the liveand the reproduced sound was still not quiteperfect.

Later, Edgar Villchur used a live -vs. -recorded technique, often with startling suc-cess, to demonstrate the ability of his ARspeakers to match the sound of such small,live sources as guitar soloists and chambergroups. Nearly two decades ago, listenersfound that the AR speakers often provided aperfect imitation of the live source.

Does that mean that they were indeed "per-fect" speakers? With all due respect, notquite. If they were, a lot of speaker designershave since been wasting their time trying toimprove on perfection. Success in imitating alive source in a given environment depends asmuch on special recording and playback tech-niques as on the speakers themselves (assum-ing they are of reasonably good quality), andit really doesn't provide an adequate answerto the question of how the speaker will soundin the home when reproducing music record-ed elsewhere.

ommimmomm MMMMMumsmornmummini.4mmsumwmiewswommalViiiiinariim IsmAsmmmmow.mmmmvmmmu mow

et

a

Still, Villchur found this technique (usingrandom noise instead of music) to be useful intesting the accuracy of the newly developeddome tweeters for his AR -3 system and later(with music) in testing the entire system. Theappeal of the idea was strong, and we decidedto apply it to our own speaker tests. With theassistance of Acoustic Research, a specialtest tape and reference speaker were preparedfor us.

N order to compare a live source with a re-production of the same material, it is neces-sary to have the original performers availablefor the comparison. This is inconvenient, tosay the least, if you want to use live musi-cians. Therefore, the "original" performancewe used is a tape recording of a number ofbrief musical selections. This monophonic re-cording is on track 1 of a 15-ips, half-tracktape. The sound of this track as playedthrough a good quality speaker (in our case, amodified AR -5) served as the reference"live" program for our tests.

The next step was to rerecord the "live"program on track 2 of the half-track tape sothat it could later be played back alternatelywith the "original" sound on track 1. This re-cording had to be made anechoically so as notto impose an additional acoustic environmenton the playback environment. Thus, we rere-corded the sound of the reference speaker-our "live" source-in an anechoic chamber,with the microphone very carefully posi-tioned to insure that the signal recorded ontrack 2 was truly representative of the outputof the reference speaker being fed by track 1.

When we used this in our listening room,the reference speaker was set up as close aspossible to the speaker under test and wasdriven from track 1 of the tape. Its sound was,by definition, the "live" program. Track 2 ofthe tape, the special high -quality anechoic re-cording of the same sound, was used to drivethe test speaker. After careful level matching,we would switch back and forth between thespeakers and listen for any differences.

If the speaker under test were perfectly ac-curate over the frequency range covered bythe test, its sound would be exactly like thatof the reference speaker. If it were less thanperfect in its accuracy, as it usually was, we

54 STEREO REVIEW

would be able to hear some change of tonalcolor when making the switch, and usually wecould identify at least the approximate part ofthe frequency range that was responsible forthe difference.

We have tested literally hundreds of speak-ers with this technique, but we recently decid-ed to discontinue it. This does not mean thatour results in the past were invalid. Our deci-sion is based on a recognition of the advancesin speaker design in the ten years or so thatwe have used this system and of some of theinherent limitations of the technique.

To reproduce the sound of the referencespeaker perfectly, the speaker under testmust not only have a perfectly flat frequencyresponse, but its dispersion characteristicsmust be very similar to those of the referencespeaker. Omnidirectional speakers and thoseusing a substantial amount of reflected soundto achieve their effects can never sound likethe original in this test, because their output ismodified by the room acoustics in a differentway than the forward -radiating sound fromthe "live" reference source.

A growing proportion of new speakers havevery wide dispersion, often involving someuse of reflected energy, and they are therefore

not easily tested with our simulated live -vs. -recorded system. In addition, the forward -facing, conventional speakers are beginningto sound more and more like each other, andso nearly like the reference that it is difficultto evaluate the differences. (Some of the ma-jor differences between speakers are in theirbass responses, but our test is cut off at 200Hz because of limitations in the anechoicchamber used to record the original tape.)

One possible solution would have been toexpand the test greatly, using three referencespeakers (one forward -facing, one radiatinguniformly into a hemisphere, and one omnidi-rectional) and three tapes to go with them.This would have enabled us to match the di-rectional properties of the "live" program tothose of the test speaker and perhaps to ob-tain a closer sound match. The tapes wouldhave had to be made in a very large chamber(or outdoors) to avoid the low -frequency limi-tations of the former system. All of this wouldhave been quite expensive, time-consuming,and cumbersome. One other factor: spacedoes not permit our going into detail, butthere are some valid criticisms to be madeagainst the entire simulated live -vs. -recordedtest procedure.

Our other choice was just to drop this testentirely, and that is what we did. Modernspeakers are so good that a test such as thiswould have to be greatly refined in order to re-veal their inaccuracies clearly. We feel thatwe are able to do this better through the ex-tended frequency -response measurementsmade possible by our new equipment, includ-ing a B&K microphone that is calibrated pre-cisely from 4 Hz to 40 kHz ±0.5 dB.

AT present, our subjective speaker testsconsist merely of listening to and comparingthe speakers just as anyone else would. Weuse an Advent comparator that lets theamplifier gain be trimmed to compensate fordifferences in speaker sensitivity, so thatwhen we switch between speakers the appar-ent volume level does not change. Althoughthis sort of comparison evaluates speakersonly in one particular room, the same can besaid for any listening test. Ultimately, eachuser must judge sound quality for himself,and any reviewer's comments on such mat-ters should be taken as guidance, not gospel.That is the way it is, and despite better testmethods, I suspect that is the way it is goingto be for a long time to come.

Equipment Test ReportsBy Hirsch -Houck Laboratories

Akai AM -2400 64 Philips AH 384 68Harman Kardon A-401 ... 64 Pioneer SA -7500 II 70Hitachi HA -330 64 Realistic SA -2001 70JVC JA -S44 66 Rotel RA -713 70Kenwood KA-5700 66 Sanyo DCA 611 72Lafayette LA -40 66 Scott 440A 72Marantz 1090 68 Sony TA-F5A 74Nikko NA -850 66 Technics SU-7700 72Onkyo A-5 68 Toshiba SB-420 74Optonica SM-1515 68 Yamaha CA -410 II 74

LL of us have had our percep-tions of what things cost andhow much they are worth radi-

cally changed by the distorting lens ofinflation. This is as true of the audiofield as it is of any other, and musiclovers of modest means particularlymay very well find themselves put offwhen confronted by the all -but -astronomical price tags on some ofthe newest, most sophisticated com-ponents. Just how much of the brim-ming cornucopia of sonic delights iswithin easy economic reach of thoseof us with not -so -brimming pocket-books these days? What caliber ofperformance can reasonably be ex-pected at the prices an ordinary buyeris prepared to pay?

To help answer these questions andothers like them, Hirsch -Houck Labsdecided to test a representative groupof integrated amplifiers priced in the$200 to $300 range. Examination ofthe published specifications ofamplifiers in this range, and experi-ence with a few of them we had al-ready tested, suggested that theymight offer the optimum combinationof performance and value.

Even while we were collecting theamplifiers we had decided to test,


NOVEMBER 197855

See why TDKIt's the little things you can't see

that make a big difference in the way it sounds.At first glance different brands oftape look pretty much alike. But ifyou look closely, you'll find there aremany subtle differences. And it isthese differences that make one tapestand out above all others.

Now you might not spend a lot oftime looking closely at tape. But wehave to-that's our business. AtTDK we're committed to constantlyimproving our products. For years,our SA cassette has been the Highbias reference standard for almost allquality cassette deck manufacturers.Yet we've incorporated improvementafter improvement into SA's tapeand mechanism since its introductionas the first non -chrome High biascassette in 1975. These advancesmean better quality sound foryou. TDK makes this possible,by continuous attention tothe little things youcan't see.

The ParticlesThe lifeblood of recordingtape is microscopic magneticparticles that can be arrangedin patterns to store and reproducesound. At best, they are assmall as possible, uniform in size andshape; they are long and narrow (thegreater the ratio of length to width,the better); and they are tightly,uniformly packed together, with nogaps or clumps.

Over 40 years of experience inmagnetic ferrite technology and 25years in developing and manufactur-ing recording tape, bring the TDKSA and AD cassette particleformulations as close to these idealsas current technology will allow.

The TDK SA particle is a cobaltgamma ferric oxide compound madehighly stable by our proprietarycobalt -ion adsorption process. TheSA particle possesses one of thegreatest length/width ratios of anyparticle used in audio cassetterecording: an amazing 11:1. Theselittle wonders are truly "state-of-the-art," and mean higher maximumoutput level (MOL), higher signal-to-noise and lower noise.

The particle in TDK AD is puregamma ferric oxide; it has beendeveloped specifically for use inNormal bias decks-in the home, car,in portables. With a length/widthratio of 10:1, the AD particle candeliver what most conventionalcassettes lack: an extended, hot highend, to capture all the elusive highsin music, from classical crescendoto raging rock and roll. Itis the logical successor to the world'sfirst high fidelity cassette tapeparticle, TDK SD,introduced in1968.

TDK SA tape surface (left) enlarged30,000 times. TDK Super Avilyn parti-cles (right) enlarged 20,000 times.

The CoatingTo best attach the particles to thefilm used for backing, it's necessaryto coat that film evenly, with neither

clumps nor gaps of oxide build-up.So we suspend our particles in aunique new binding, and we'refanatic about the way we do it. TDKengineers and craftsmen wearsurgically clean robes and caps, andwe vacuum the air to eliminate

Tape layers: coating (top); backing.

contaminating foreign matterand disruptive static charges.The high packing densitythat results means that thetape is prepared to handlehigh input level musical peaksgracefully, and withoutdistortion.

The Base FilmWe coat our oxides on broadrolls of supremely flexible,but nearly stretch -proofpolyester film, to make sure

TDK cassettes don't tangle or intro-duce wow and flutter.

The PolishingAfter each roll is coated, it goesthrough a polishing process called"calendering." Any oxide is removed,

sounds better.and the surface is smoothed toreduce tape head wear and oxideshedding. Reduced friction across thetape heads means lower noise.

The EdgeIf you look closely at the edgesof TDK's tape, you'll find thatthey are uniformly straightand parallel to a tolerance of onemicron. That's because we slitour tape by pulling it across anarray of precisely -positioned,surgically -sharp knives. Thatmeans the tape movement isunimpeded; and mis-tracking that could resultin garbled stereo iseliminated.

The Hub/ClampAssembly

TDK has met a majorchallenge which hasalways faced cassette

The InspectionBefore any of our tape is loaded intocassette shells, it must pass a series

of inspections to

The TDK high tolerancetape/leader splice.

anchoring the tapeto the hub without causing

mechanical problems. We usea unique double clamp system wepioneered. It practically eliminateswow and flutter, distortion, drop-outs and other problems related topoor winding. Some manufacturersuse plastic pins jammed into notcheson the edge of the hub. This systemcan lead to uneven winding, whichcauses the edges to feather, the tapeto bulk unevenly, and occasionally,to snap at the anchor.

The CleaningLike most leader tape, ours isdesigned to protect the recordingsurface from stress, and to provide afirm anchor to the hub. Unlike mostleader tape, TDK's cleans yourrecorder heads as it passes by.

The SpliceOur splices are firm, with leader andtape lined up exactly. Our splicingtape is specially designed not tobleed adhesive into the cassettemechanism, which could gum up theworks. © 1978 TDK Electronics Corp.

The TDK doubleclamp system.

see ifit matches up

to our own rigorousstandards. If it doesn't

pass, it's discarded. Wenever compromise on quality.

The Music and the MachineWe go to more trouble than mostcompanies do, when we manufactureour cassettes. We see to all the littledetails, so you can hear more of yourmusic. Our super precision cassettemechanism delivers the tape to yourheads precisely, without introducingfriction, wow and flutter and other

problems in the process. And weback that mechanism, andthe tape within it, withhigh fidelity's original fulllifetime warranty, a measureof the value we have placedin our cassettes, for over10 years.

So next time you buy cassettes,look closely at TDK, and think of allthe little things you can't see thatmake our cassettes just that muchbetter. TDK Electronics Corp.,Garden City, NY 11530. In Canada:Superior Electronics Ind., Ltd.*In the unlikely event that any TDK audio cassette everfails to perform due to a detect in materials orworkmanship, simply return it to your local dealer or toTDK for a free reolacement

The machine for your machine.'CIRCLE NO. 84 ON READER SERVICE CARD

TWENTY MEDIUM - PRICE AMPLIFIERS

N.

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CC. Z..4.0Fs,

and Model No. *-- e) cL20 Hz 1 kHz 20 kHz Auz_Z Phono dB watts dB watts

Harman Kardon A-401 20 @ 0.5 $200 0.063 0.056 0.16 -±-0.0 +1.2, -0.0 1.07 25.6 1.80 30.2

Yamaha CA -410 II 35 @ 0.05 235 0.03 0.01 0.016 +0.2, -0.1 +0.3, -0.7 1.76 52.5 2.06 56.2

Hitachi HA -330 40 @ 0.3 200 0.08 0.025 0.06 +0.2, -0.6 +0.3, -0.6 1.76 60.0 2.56 72.2

Lafayette LA -40 40 @ 0.3 220 0.063 0.038 0.032 +0, -0.3 +0.4, -0.3 2.52 71.4 2.81 76.5

Philips AH 384 40 @ 0.2 250 0.056 0.025 0.032 +0.2, -0.4 ±0.1 1.10 51.5 1.48 56.2

Optonica SM-1515 40 @ 0.19 240 0.03 0.022 0.08 +0.4, -0 +1.4, -0 0.97 50.0 1.48 56.2

Akai AM -2400 40 @ 0.15 200 0.036 0.018 0.10 +0.2, -0.1 +0.9, -0 2.00 63.3 2.30 68.0

Kenwood KA-5700 40 @ 0.04 200 0.036 0.01 0.006 +0, -0.7 +0, -0.8 1.31 54.1 2.17 65.9

Toshiba SB-420 42 @ 0.3 230 0.056 0.016 0.063 +0, -0.5 ±0.3 1.18 55.1 1.26 56.2

Marantz 1090 45 @ 0.1 240 0.063 0.036 0.05 +0, -0.3 +0.4, -0 1.75 67.3 2.05 72.2

Onkyo A-5 45 @ 0.1 250 0.04 0.01 0.016 +0.1, -0.3 ±0.0 1.17 58.9 1.52 63.9

Pioneer SA -7500 II 45 @ 0.1 250 0.02 0.025 0.067 +0, -0.2 +0.8, -0.7 1.05 57.3 1.52 63.9

Rotel RA -713 45 @ 0.1 280 0.05 0.056 0.04 +0.2, -0.1 +0.6, -0.8 0.71 53.1 0.96 56.2

JVC JA -S44 45 @ 0.02 289 0.045 0.006 0.006 +0.0, -0.1 +1.1, -0.8 1.48 63.3 1.52 63.9

Technics SU-7700 50 @ 0.08 280 0.045 0.007 0.036 +0, -0.2 ±0.1 1.21 66.1 1.60 72.2

Scott 440A 55 @ 0.05 330 0.025 0.014 0.04 +0.1, -0.4 +0, -1.0 1.38 75.7 2.13 87.8

Realistic SA -2001 60 @ 0.2 280 0.10 0.07 0.07 +0, -0.6 +0, -1.6 0.83 72.7 0.83 72.7

Nikko NA -850 60 @ 0.08 270 0.038 0.018 0.05 ±-0.1 +1.2, -0.0 0.90 73.8 1.30 80.9

Sanyo DCA 611 60 @ 0.08 250 0.032 0.016 0.08 +0, -1.7 +0, -2.2 1.22 79.4 1.54 85.5

Sony TA-F5A 70 @ 0.04 350 0.1 0.01 0.056 ±0.0 ±0.0 0.13 72.0 0.13 72.0

see text

INTERPRETING THE SPECIFICATIONS: The following comments are presented to help the reader interpret the tabulated test data.

Rated Power into 8 ohms: simply the man- as the frequency of a constant -level input signal Headroom figures are more meaningful than the

ufacturer's published rating for the amplifier. It was varied from 20 to 20,000 Hz. It is expressed published power ratings.is used as a basis for determining some meas- in decibels (dB) referred to the output at 1,000 Dynamic Headroom: an indication of theured ratings, such as the Clipping and Dynamic Hz. The phono response is also corrected for the regulation of the amplifier's power supply (theHeadroom figures. ideal RIAA equalization response. amount by which its voltages change under the

Measured THD at Rated Power: total har- Clipping Headroom: the output of thevarying load imposed by changes in signal level).

monic distortion (THD) measured with a spec- amplifier at 1,000 Hz, with both channels drivenThere are different schools of thought in regardto regulation. Some (such as Sony, as

trum analyzer at input frequencies of 20, 1,000, to the clipping point into 8 -ohm loads. It is ex-and 20,000 Hz. Both channels of the amplifier pressed both in watts and in decibels relative to

exemplified by their TA-F5A amplifier) prefer a

were driven to deliver their rated power to 8 -ohm the manufacturer's rated power output. It is a highly regulated power supply, which gives a

loads. The amplifier was pre -conditioned and measure of the conservatism with which thevery small Dynamic Headroom measurement.

heated by being operated for one hour at one- amplifier is rated by its manufacturer. For exam-Others believe that a Dynamic Headroom of 2 or

dBthird of rated power, in accordance with FTC ple, an amplifier rated at 50 watts that can deliver3

achelps to reproduce musical peaks without

exacting an undue cost in power supply.regulations. (It should be noted that virtually just 50 watts (no reserve margin) has 0 dB clip-every distortion figure we obtained was entirely ping headroom, but if it can actually deliver 60 Input Sensitivity: the input, in millivolts, thatnegligible from a listening standpoint.) watts at 1,000 Hz, its clipping headroom is 0.8 is needed to produce a reference output of 1 watt

dB. For purposes of comparing the true power at maximum amplifier gain settings. It permits a

Frequency Response: the variation in output capabilities of these amplifiers, the Clipping comparison of how much signal voltage the

(Arranged in ascending order of rated power output)

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28 0.58 130, 42 78.2 76.3 53, 120 2 1 No Yes No 1-S, 1-U 13 x 51/4 x 103/4 13.5

30 0.56 140, 84 86.0 80.0 50, 200 2 1 Yes No Yes 2-S, 1-U 171/8 x 51/a, x 131/2 17.2

17.5 0.26 150, 89 72.8 71.0 44, 170 2 1 No Yes Yes 1-S, 2-U 15% x 55/8 x 13 17.2

18 0.27 155, 90 71.0 72.8 45, 175 3 1 No Yes Yes 1-S, 2-U 153/8 x 5% x 13 17.3

30 0.30 120 83.0 75.8 50, 110 2 2 Yes Yes Yes 1-S, 1-U 19 x 51/2. x 14 25

19.5 0.40 235 78.9 76.8 48, 500 2 1 Yes Yes Yes 1-S, 1-U 16 x 53/4 x 10 19.2

21 0.40 160, 113 75.7 74.6 100, 120 2 1 Yes Yes No 1-S, 1-U 171/4. x 55/8 x 13 20

25 0.41 233, 188 82.2 78.5 50, 70 2 1 No Yes Yes 2-S, 1-U 15 x 51/2- x 113/4 16.8

21.5 0.31 420, 262 77.7 75.4 53, 50 2 2 Yes Yes No 2-S, 1-U 173/4 x 51/2 x 143/4 25.3

28.3 0.28 125, 66 84.4 79.8 52, 75 2 2 Yes No No 2-S, 2-U 163/8 x 53/4 x 117/8 20.9

24.8 0.40 180, 162 80.7 77.0 49, 200 1 2 No Yes No 1-S, 2-U 171/2- x 61/4 x 15 25.8

22 0.30 205 83.6 76-.0 49, 150 2 1 No Yes No 2-S, 2-U 15 x 51/2- x 121/a 20.1

22 0.38 135, 100 71.8 66.8 50, 500 2 1 Yes Yes Yes 2-S 17 x 5% x 12 24.2

21.3 0.30 230, 168 77.7 76.4 50, 175 2 1 No Yes Yes 2-S, 1-U 161/2. x 6 x 12% 22

23 0.38 170, 53 80.0 77.0 50, 500 2 1 Yes Yes Yes 1-S, 1-U 171/4 x 53/4 x 131/8 23.8

18 0.25 225, 178 76.0 76.0 46, 300 2 1 Yes No Yes 1-S, 1-U 17 x 51/4 x 113/4 23.5

25 0.15, 0.30,0.68

210 75.3 73.8 50, 600 2 2 Yes Yes Yes 1-S, 1-U 161/a x 5N x 125/8 23.0

20 0.25 250, 157 81.4 78.9 49, 190 2 1 Yes Yes Yes 1-S, 1-U 151/4 x 53/4 x 121/4 19.8

22 0.28 145, 100 77.8 73.5 42, 50 2 2 Yes Yes Yes 2-S, 1-U 161/2. x 57/8 x 133/4 22

19,5 0.265 260, 113 91.0 84.4 50, 175 2 1 Yes Yes Yes 2-S, 1-U 171/8 x 53/4 x 14% 18.1

amplifiers actually require for the same listening lent 1,000 -Hz input level, is shown as the second The resulting voltage is expressed in decibelsvolume. figure in the column (in a few cases, it is larger relative to 1 watt output, which is 2.83 volts

than the 1,000 -Hz overload input, which is then across 8 ohms. Maximum Phono Input: the phono overload used as the rating).

Phono Input Impedance: the "resistance" ispreamplifierwill rarely be driven toalevel, which we have been measuring for many Althoughactually the input impedance measured at 1,000it can hap -years. However, there is an important difference, overload at these high frequencies,

Hz. A resistance is connected in series with thepen. This is believed to be one of the factorsin that this measurement is made at 20,000 Hz signal circuit going into the phono input and ad-asaffecting the sound of a phono system, a causewell as at 1,000 Hz (formerly we used only the justed until the amplifier's output, as viewed on aof the differences sometimes heard between1,000 -Hz frequency). An ideal RIAA-equalized spectrum analyzer, is reduced by half. At thispreamplifier requires a 19.6 dB greater input at amplifiers.

point, the external resistance is equal to the20,000 Hz than at 1,000 Hz for the same output Signal-to-Nloise Ratio (SAN): a measurement amplifer's phono input impedance.(a voltage ratio of 9.55). If its high -frequency of the output of the amplifier across its speaker The capacitance is measured with a specialamplitude capability is limited for any reason, the terminals with no input signal. The gain is set to capacitance meter (the Berkshire CCM) that20,000 Hz waveform will become distorted be- the IHF standard value (0.5 volt at the high level plugs into the phone input. This measurement isfore the input signal has reached 9.55 times the input, or 5 millivolts at a phono input, for a 1 -watt made with the amplifier turned off; it is conceiv-1,000-Hz clipping level. The high -frequency output at 1,000 Hz). The input is loaded with a able that the effective capacitance can bewaveform does not clip, as a rule, but becomes 1,000 -ohm resistor. The output noise is pro- changed when the input circuit is active, but thisgradually distorted. We use the 1 per cent cessed by an A -weighting filter (which reduces effect is not readily measurable. In any event, thesecond -harmonic distortion condition (-40 dB) the effect of low -frequency noise and hum on the values obtained give a clue to any possible in -as a criterion of overload. The corresponding measurement, since they are much less audible compatibility between an amplifier and a specificsignal input, divided by 9.55 to obtain the equiva- than the higher -frequency hiss components). phono cartridge.

What do you get when you put

carbo

foamed concrete here

and rubber here?

ADC is in the businessof building breakthroughs.

First, we brought you theinnovation of the low masscartridge. Then the remarkablecomputerized Accutrac® turn-tables. Next, the State -of -the -ArtLow Mass tonearms.

And now, our engineers havecombined the latest advance-ments of tonearm technology andturntable construction to reducemass and resonance to new lows.

Result: new benchmarks ofhigh performance.

Finally, the integration of acarbon fibre design tonearm. Thefamous LMF Carbon Fibre tone -arm was the model for the tone -arm found on the ADC 1700DD.

In fact, nowyou had to make a separate

investment in an ADC tonearm toachieve this level of performance.

A level of performance neverbefore available on an integratedturntable.

The mass is lowered by thedevelopment of a tapered profile.It is statically balanced with alead -filled decoupled counter-weight, and the headshell ismolded carbon fibre, long knownfor its low mass to high tensilestrength ratio.

Furthermore, the headshellis connected to the arm with goldplated computer terminal pins.And the main bearing cradle ismade of sintered aluminum. Thepivot system utilizes micron pol-ished instrument bearings whichare hand picked and matchedperfectly to both the inner andouter races, for virtually friction-less movement.

The viscous cueingis a gentle 4mm/sec., and the

tempered spring anti -skateadjustment is infinitely variableto 3.5 grams.

The design, the materials andthe details interact to provideincomparable performance for atonearm on an integrated turn-table system.

In fact, the tonearm alone isworth the price of an ADC 1700DD.

Finally, resonance conquered.The technical know-how that

conquered the problems of thetonearm mass, also conquered theproblems of turntable resonance.

The ADC 1700DD reducesresonance to levels so negligiblethey are virtually nonexistent.

The achievement lies in theinnovative construction formulafor the turntable base thatincorporates the latest advance-ments from European engineers.

The base is constructed withtwo dissimilar materials that areresonance -cancelling. First, theouter frame of the base is molded,and then a composition of foamedconcrete is injected to absorb andneutralize resonance and feedback.


Beyond even thisfoamed concrete anti -

resonance breakthrough, the baseis isolated by energy absorbing,resonance -tuned, rubbersuspension feet.

This is as close as technologyhas ever come to defying thephysical laws of resonance.

The motor in the ADC1700DD is also present standardof excellence: Direct Drive QuartzPhase -Locked Loop. The quartzis used in the reference oscillatorof the motor.

An electronic phasecomparator constantly mon-

itors any variance in the speed,making instantaneous correc-tions. Even when out of the Quartz -Locked mode, the optical scanningsystem keeps drift at below 0.2%.

In fact, to check the speed at aglance, we've engineered the1700DD with a pulsed LED strobedisplay for your convenience.

Low -mass. Low -resonanceHigh performance.

What is the result of all thesebreakthroughs? Pure pleasure

The pleasure of enjoying yourfavorite music with less distor-tion and coloration than you mayhave ever experienced before.Now you can truly appreciate theintegrity of the original recording.

Our engineers havereduced record wear and

music distortion to a point whererumble is - 70dB Din B, and Wowand flutter less than .03% WRMS.

In the history of audio tech-nology, significant breakthroughshave been made over the past fouryears with the development ofQuartz Lock Direct Drive, carbonfibre tonearms, foamed concreteanti -resonance construction.And now, ADC is the first to bringthem all together in the 1700DD.We invite you to a demonstrationof this and the other remark-able ADC turntables at yournearest franchised ADC dealer.

Or, if you'd like, write forfurther information to: ADCProfessional Products, a divisionof BSR Consumer Products Group,Route 303, Blauvelt, N.Y. 10913.

Low -mass. Low -resonance.We think you'll be highly interested.Distributed in Canada by BSR (Canada) Ltd., Rexdale, Ont.'Accutrac is a registered trademark of Accutrac Ltd.

prices continued to rise, and some ofthem ended up beyond the $300 limit.However, since these were among theamplifiers we would have includedhad we made such a survey only acouple of months earlier, we saw noreason to exclude them because ofinflation's depredations. And, sincesimilar economic conditions may beexpected to prevail for some time,some of the prices quoted in the charton pages 58-59 may have changed bythe time you read this.

We assembled a group of twentydifferent amplifiers from as manymanufacturers. They ranged in ratedpower output from 20 all the way to70 watts with distortions from 0.5 to0.02 per cent. Aside from these differ-ences in electrical performance andthe fact that a few models had uniqueor distinctive operating features,there was great overall similarity be-tween the amplifiers. There was, infact, a clearly visible "average"amplifier in this test sampling: a ratedoutput of about 45 watts with 0.15 percent distortion.

GIVEN the limitations of both test-ing (and use) time and publishingspace, plus the large number of unitsinvolved, it was not practical to useall our normal test procedures. Wechose to measure key characteristicsonly, following the new IHF StandardIHF-A-202, 1978, in almost every ap-plicable detail. As a result, many ofour test results do not correlate withthe manufacturers' published ratingsand specifications; our comparisonsamong the amplifiers are completelyvalid, however. The only manufactur-er's rating of which we took any cog-

nizance was the FCC -mandated con-tinuous power output and distortion,between 20 and 20,000 Hz, into 8 -ohmloads. (The figures in the chart maynot match those of the manufacturersin regard to distortion at 20 Hz be-cause the bottom limit of our test gen-erator's distortion is about 0.03 percent.) This rating is basic to the clip-ping headroom and the dynamic head-room tests in the IHF standard. Wedid not attempt to measure tone -con-trol or filter responses, since thesewill be set by the user as his ear dic-tates (the manufacturer's ratings forthe filters are given in the text relatingto each amplifier).

In the tabular presentation of ourtest data, we have departed slightlyfrom the IHF standard by giving theclipping and dynamic headroom rat-ings both in decibels (as called for bythe standard) and in actual watts out-put. The wattage figures may serve asa "bridge" between the former rating

General Comparison

Most of the amplifiers in the test group are supplied inblack (or dark -grey) metal cabinets. The Yamaha andJVC cabinets, however, are finished in light grey. TheOptonica and Sony amplifiers have wooden side panels,and the units from Akai, Realistic, and Technics come inwooden cabinets covered with walnut -finish vinyl. Thefront panels and knobs are typically finished in satin alu-minum, varying in color from silver to gold.

Thirteen of the amplifiers have twin output meters ontheir front panels. They are calibrated with varying de-grees of accuracy to read in watts delivered to an 8 -ohmload, and most have roughly logarithmic scales that canindicate power levels of a fraction of a watt. A couplehave switched ranges, and one (Nikko) has continuouslyadjustable meter sensitivity.

system and the new one for thosewho have not yet adjusted to theIHF's "dB" ratings.

Wlimited our listening to con-necting each amplifier, in turn, to atuner and speakers, checking the op-eration and "feel" of its controls atthe same time. Each amplifier was au-ditioned in this way for at least onehour. We did not ear -check the phonoinput, since the variables introducedby phono cartridges would result intoo many random sonic elements.The phono-input impedance columnin the chart provides some guidanceto the input's potential interactionwith various cartridges. If a cartridgereacts well or badly to high or low ca-pacitance, then it will not deliver op-timum performance with some of theamplifiers. (Incidentally, capacitancecan easily be added externally to low-capitance inputs; it cannot be re-duced, however.)

All twenty amplifiers have a front -panel headphonejack (the Harman Kardon A-401 has two). All can drive atleast two pairs of speakers, selected by front -panel con-trols (the Lafayette has three sets of speaker outputs).Most use insulated spring -loaded speaker connectors-just insert the stripped end of the speaker wire into thehole in the connector. Some-Hitachi, JVC, Kenwood,Onkyo, Optonica, Realistic, and Technics-use moreconventional binding -post terminals.

The amplifiers from Marantz, Onkyo, Realistic, Rotel,and Toshiba have separate preamplifier outputs and main(power) amplifier inputs, joined by jumpers or a switch,so that signal -processing accessories can be connected tothe system without using one of the tape-recording input/


The mostpowerful argumentfor our new receiver

is not just power

,

e .swept upby our power.

150 watts per channel minimumRMS at 8 ohms, from 20Hz to 20kHz,with no more than 0.07%Total HarmonicDistortion, is nothing to sneeze at.

But raw power means nothing.What's important is how that power isdelivered. In the case of the STR-V7, it'sbrought to you by Sony in a very classypackage.

You get a combination of featuresand controls that`are impressive ontheir own-but almost unheard of in asingle machine.

To start with, we've built in a Dolbysystem, for decoding Dolbyized FMbroadcasts.

The advantages of our tuner

though, need no decoding. Theyinclude a normal and narrow FM IFbandwidth selector. It makes life simplefor people in areas where their signalsare crowded together elbow to elbow.

In our preamp section, the V7comes equipped with a special phonoEQ circuitry.Thanks to Sony's high IQ, itallows for direct connection of a low -

output, moving -coil cartridge phonosource. Without calling for an externalstep-up transformer or pre-preamp.

When you're gifted with as muchpower as the V7, you need a way tokeep track of it. This receiver keepstabs with two power -output meters,monitoring the power being fed to thespeakers. So overload can't result fromoversight.

And all that power comes from ourdirect coupled DC power amp. And ourpower is stable, thanks to a high -effi-ciency, high r ulation toroidal -coiltransformer.

There's a lot more to the STR-V7than power. This receiver takes the bestthat contemporary technology has tooffer, and offers it in a single machine. -

Other manufacturers may havethe power to bring you power. But onlySony has the power to bring you morethan just power.

SONY©1978 Sony Industries, a division of Sony Corp. of America, 9 West 57, N Y , N.Y_10019. Sony is 9 trademark of Sony Corp.

CIRCLE MO. 75 ON READER SERVICE CARD

AMoutput circuits. Almost all the amplifiers can control twotape decks (the Harman Kardon has only one set of tape -recorder terminals). Most of them have front -panelswitches for dubbing from either tape deck to the other(Philips and Kenwood can go only from recorder 1 to re-corder 2). The Toshiba unit has a front -panel microphonejack with a separate level control that mixes the micro-phone signal with the regular program. Only the Sonylacks a loudness -compensation feature, and the Realisticand Yamaha amplifiers have separate level -setting con-trols that permit their loudness compensation to be usedwith full effectiveness (several others have "audio mut-ing" switches that can be used to reduce the gain so as tooperate the volume control in a more suitable portion ofits range, but that is of course only a partial solution tothe problem).

In recent years, many amplifier controls have been de-signed with mechanical detents that give an effect thatcan range from a positive switchlike setting to a slightly"ratchety" feeling as the knob is turned. The tone con-trols of eighteen amplifiers (all except Harman Kardonand Philips) have definite detented settings (Philips uses adetent at the center only). Most of the volume controlsare also detented, if only to the extent of giving them the"ratchety" feeling mentioned. In the text for each of theamplifiers, its special features will be mentioned and de-scribed. Listing is in order of increasing rated power into8 ohms, then decreasing distortion and alphabetically.

.. -

(1/4 0 la al 10 W 0 la

:::8 V 0 ifi -4:1-, -4.4.

111111111Mall""--

Akai AM -2400

The power and distortion ratings of the Akai AM -2400place it very close to the mean of the twenty amplifierstested. Its power ratings are conservative, as evidencedby the relatively large clipping and dynamic headroommeasurements.

The AM -2400 is one of the few amplifiers in this pricegroup to have switchable tone -control turnover frequen-cies. Pushbuttons next to the tone controls change thebass turnover frequency from 400 to 200 Hz and the tre-ble turnover from 2,500 to 5,000 Hz, as well as bypassingthe tone -control circuits entirely if desired. The -3 -dBresponse frequencies of the filters are given as 30 and10,000 Hz (the slopes are not specified, and can be as-sumed to be 6 dB per octave).

Although the AM -2400, like the other amplifiers, has aspecified nominal 50,000 -ohm phono-input impedance,our measurements showed it to be 100,000 ohms, whichproduced a rise of 2.4 dB at 20,000 Hz when its phono re-sponse was checked through test phono-cartridge coils.


The A-401 enjoys the distinction of being the lowest inprice, smallest, lightest, and lowest in power of theamplifiers tested. In fact, one might reasonably concludethat only its price accounts for its arbitrary inclusion in agroup of amplifiers to which it has so little resemblance.

However, our tests show that the A-401 is rated quiteconservatively, and under normal listening conditions itsdistortion is a small fraction of its rated 0.5 per cent. It isa smooth -handling, good -sounding amplifier with a mini-mum of "frills," and it should appeal to many people whoare less impressed by meters and flashing lights than bygood sound at a reasonable price. Although we had nodifficulty driving low -efficiency speakers to a comfortablelevel with the A-401, this amplifier should be at its bestwith moderately efficient speakers.


Like most of the amplifiers, the Hitachi HA -330 is rat-ed very conservatively. This "40 -watt" amplifier can de-liver 60 watts at the clipping point and more than 70 wattsfor short bursts (its dynamic headroom of 2.56 dB wasone of the highest of the group). The distortion rating of0.3 per cent was never approached in our tests; with bothchannels driven at full power, and fully heated by the pre-conditioning period, the amplifier's total harmonic distor-tion was comfortably under 0.1 per cent at all frequenciesin the audio range, and only 0.025 per cent in the mid-range area.

The low filter is a true infrasonic rumble filter, with a12 -dB -per -octave slope below 20 Hz, and it is meant to beleft on at all times in normal use. The meter scales, cali-brated from 0.1 to 100 watts, are accurate within 20 percent at most power -output levels.



64 STEREO REVIEW

The new Yamaha Separate.

At the very edge of audio technologyis exactly where the new Yamaha A-1Amplification System stands.

Our engineers got there by cutting outexcess circuitry and components throughinnovative configurations that reduced thevery number and possibilities for noise anddistortion to occur. It's as close as you can getto the proverbial straight wire with gain.

For a key example, note the computer-grade DISC switch on the light front panel.Engage it and you virtually direct -couple thephono cartridge to the output power amp.When disengaged, the tonecontrol circuit is insertedbetween the DC phono equal-izer and the DC amplifier.Sleekly positioned behind thebottom front panel, theseprecision tone controls can beused to enhance any signal source.

There's even a built-in MC Head Amp so

you can enjoy the transparent highs andextended frequency response of a moving coilphono cartridge.

In short, precision sound has never beenachieved so cleanly and simply in look andfunction. So go for the cutting edge. Listen tothe new A-1 Amplification System and itscompanion, the new T-1 Tuner, at yourAudio Specialty Dealer.

For his name, check the Yellow Pages, orwrite Yamaha.

Audio Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park. CA 90622

NOVEMBER 197865

00 0

This amplifier is distinctively styled to match JVC'sother audio components. It has a five -band (SEA) equal-izer, operated by vertical sliders that have ±-12-dB rangescentered at 40, 250, 1,000, 5,000, and 15,000 Hz. This isfar more versatile than any two- or three -band tone -con-trol system, and the entire equalizer can be bypassed by afront -panel button.

The volume control is also a vertical slider. The lowfilter has a 6 -dB -per -octave slope below 18 Hz. The TAPE2 input and output jacks are on the front panel, which isconvenient for patching an extra tape deck temporarilyinto a system that normally uses one tape deck. It is, ofcourse, less desirable if two decks are customarily used,since the front jacks are not duplicated in the rear of theamplifier.

The JA -S44 has the lowest distortion rating of any ofthe amplifiers tested. Within the limitations of our testequipment, we confirmed that it easily surpasses its rat-ings (the 20 -Hz THD measurement was limited by residu-al distortion in our signal source). Like most of theamplifier meters, those of the JVC were accurate withinabout 10 to 20 per cent at most readings (they are alsolarger and more legible than most of the others).


Kenwood's KA-5700 has the lowest distortion rating(0.04 per cent) of any of the "40 -watt" amplifiers we test-ed. As it happened, a number of the other amplifierswhose manufacturers gave them much higher distortionratings nevertheless produced very similar readings in ourtests. However, the benefits of Kenwood's low -distortioncircuitry are demonstrated by a distortion of only 0.006per cent at rated power and 20,000 Hz. This was matched

only by the JVC amplifier, with most of the others havingat least ten times as much distortion at that frequency.

The low 70-pF input capacitance of the KA-5700 placesit in a subclass with the Toshiba, Marantz, and Sanyoamplifiers, all of which have less than 100 pF of phono-loading capacitance. Kenwood's low filter has a 6 -dB -per -octave slope, with its -3 -dB response at 18 Hz. Thisamplifier is the smallest and lightest of the group (al-though the Pioneer is almost the same size) except for theHarman Kardon, which is in a class by itself. Like mostof the other amplifiers' meters, Kenwood's have typicalerrors of 10 to 20 per cent over their calibrated range of0.03 to 60 watts


The Lafayette LA -40 is another amplifier whose actualperformance far surpasses its ratings. It has the greatestclipping and dynamic headroom of the twenty amplifierstested, being able to deliver almost twice its rated power(76.5 watts) for a short burst, and a full 71.4 watts of con-tinuous output at 1,000 Hz.

Its low-cut filter is a useful infrasonic filter, cutting offbelow 20 Hz with a 12 -dB -per -octave slope. The meters,calibrated from 0.1 to 100 watts, are accurate within 20per cent at most points. We noted that the meter illumina-tion dims perceptibly when the continuous power outputexceeds about 10 watts per channel.


The Nikko NA -850 has all the conventional featuresfound on the other amplifiers, with the addition of con-tinuously adjustable meter sensitivity. The meters havescales calibrated from -20 to +3 dB, much like those of acassette recorder. There are also two power scales from0.6 to 60 watts and from 0.01 to 1.5 watts, with the upperlimit corresponding to the 0 -dB marking. When the metersensitivity control is set fully counterclockwise, the 0 -dBmark corresponds to 60 watts; at the clockwise limit, 0 dBis 1.5 watts. Calibrations on the front panel permit the


66 STEREO REVIEW

This new tuner, amplifierand turntable are all by LUX.

We'll leave the speakers up to you.The tunar and integrated amplifier

are -rom LUX's new Studio StardardSeries, our rewest and most Tod-estly priced ine cf separates. Their'eat:fres and performance, h3wever,are anythir g but modest.

The T-4 tiler, for example, t -as_U> 's exd Jsive Accutouch tur ingsystem. The knob physically locksat eiery s:at on that exceeds the-nut ng threshold-from 5 to 303µVLUX's closad-loc-c-loop tuningcirJlt le p-e:iselw reference: trthe stations carrier frequency 'orlowest-disiortion reception. Ard thei.f. bancmdt-i is adjustable wide(normal) or narrow-to acccinno-

date station density th-oughout tieF VI band.

The L-5 integrated amplifier has aDC direct -coupled power amp ifiersection w fh frequenc} responseextendinc from 5 Hz tc 100 kHz,+0, -1dt Bass and treble tonecontrols lave switchable turnoverfrequencs, plus total tone de4eaLSibsonia liter in addition to low andhigh -cut f I:ers. And wt en tape decksa -e not in use, a special switch to-tally disconnects them from thea-nplifier, preventing loading whichcauses preamp distor ion.

The PE -272 is LUX's lowest --p -iced turr table. Its servo-c:ontrclled

direr.:-dri%e bush ess DC motor istotally free of the cocging (pulsinc'tthat plagues --fany o:her direct-drremotors. Ala :he s-raght, statically -balanced tor*arrr has a nestedtube :onstruc:ion and irternaldamping that deal very effectivelywith resonance. Anc-ther feature:the vertical p mots extend throughthe arm, mini-iizing ateral play.

Altogether :hese three compo-nents will delver a c ean, virtue lydistortion-fretsig la to /our speak-ers. We'll lee that 'inal decision toyou and your _UX dealer-whosetaste is as hig-f in speakers as inelectronics and fizrtablas.

LUX Audio of America, Ltd.160 Dupont .3 Plainview, New York 11E03 In Canada: ,Nh to Elec:rolics Developmep: Corp., Oster o

LuxmanT-4 Mini. stereo tuner Jtablesensitivity, 11.3 dBf r1.8µV); 50 -dB au etingsensitivity, It" dBf,i(2.8 S/N: 75 dB.Altei nate-c-larnel selectivity, 85 dB ;marrow),40 d3 (wide) 11-113 (at 1 kHz) 0.08% wife).(Luxman T-2. AM/ FM stereo tuner si-tilar to T-4.less.AccutcL andCLL.)

Lowman L 5 integrated amplifier. 63,watts pe-chairnel mri n -urn continuous power into 8ohms, 20-2.3030 Hz, with no more :Fs n 0.03%total harmcric or imermodulationd stortion.Damping factcr: 80 at 1 kHz (8 ohrsa. Phonosignal -to -no se ratio better than .c.2 dB (IHF-A re10 iW input) (_uxm3n L-3, simika tat 35 wattsper channe,2) Hz -Xi kHz, 0.04%14-1/.)

Luxman PD 272. 2 'die-zast alunalru-nplatter wi-h h qh density rrat, 3.96 lbsDetachable h urged cover, adjustableisolating -eet S'epaalta piCn control(:±4` 0), each E peed. RI_ mb better th70 dB (DIN El`,; wow and flt_tter: better tt-an0.03*/c. (WRNS";

0 -dB reading to be set to correspond to almost any inter-mediate power -output level.

The low- and high -cut filters have rated cutoff frequen-cies of 15 and 10,000 Hz, with the slopes unspecified (andtherefore presumed to be 6 dB per octave). The meter cal-ibration errors are 30 to 50 per cent at most intermediatereadings and several hundred per cent at the lowest read-ings, though near the top of the scale the error was onlyabout 10 per cent. The relay protection system of the Nik-ko NA -850 is very effective, cutting the amplifier off in-stantly when it is overdriven.


Marantz 1090

The Marantz 1090 shares a number of control features,as well as its styling, with other Marantz products. It hasthree -band tone controls (bass, mid -range, and treble) us-ing vertical sliders, plus a knob that can bypass the tonecontrols or activate the loudness compensation.

In addition to its 8 -ohm power rating, the Marantz 1090is rated to deliver 57 watts per channel to 4 -ohm loads,from 20 to 20,000 Hz, with less than 0.1 per cent THD.The phono-overload limit, which is a good 125 millivoltsat 1,000 Hz, decreases to the equivalent of only 66 mil-livolts when measured at 20,000 Hz.


Onkyo's Model A-5 is one of the heaviest and largestamplifiers in this price class. Its massiveness, which isquite genuine, is accentuated by the large volume -controlknob. The bar knobs used for the other functions are botheasy to turn and easy to read. The low filter cuts off below10 Hz at a 6 -dB -per -octave rate. The Onkyo A-5 is also

rated to deliver 50 watts per channel to 4 -ohm loads, be-tween 20 and 20,000 Hz, with no more than 0.1 per centTHD.


Optonica's SM-1515, though very similar in most of itsfeatures to the other amplifiers, has distinctive and func-tional styling that sets it apart. Many amplifier controlslack clear index marks and panel markings that identifytheir settings and functions at a glance. Optonica usesgracefully tapered metal pointer knobs whose shape notonly simplifies their operation but leaves no doubt abouttheir positions even when viewed at a distance.

This is one of the two amplifiers in the group (the Scott440A being the other) whose phono response at 20,000 Hzis not affected measurably by the presence of a high -inductance phono-cartridge winding in the signal path. Inthe SM-1515, this response is combined with a rather highphono-overload limit which is fully maintained through-out the audio spectrum (the 1,000 -Hz overload is actuallyslightly lower than the figures obtained at 20 and 20,000Hz). Our measurements suggest that the overall high -fre-quency and transient performance of the SM-1515 phonopreamplifier is closer to the ideal than that of most of theother amplifiers in the group; however, it did have a rela-tively high phono-input capacitance -500 pF.

The output meters, calibrated from 0.01 to 70 watts, aresomewhat less accurate than most, with errors of 40 to 50per cent near the upper end of the meter range. The highand low filters, with 6 -dB -per -octave slopes, had their-3 -dB response frequencies at 7,000 and 30 Hz.


The Philips AH 384 is the largest and heaviest of theamplifiers tested, although it is only about average in its


68 STEREO REVIEW

Empire introduces arevolutionary cleaningmethod that peels offevery trace of dust, dirtand oil from deep downin your record's grooves.

A gentle sponge applica-tor spreads Disco Film overevery inch of your record'ssurface.

It penetrates, surroundsand adheres to all the accumu-lated debris that can weardown diamonds and vinyl alike.

Once it dries into a flexi-ble film you just peel it off.

Hold it up to the light andyou can actually see all thegunk that was hiding in yourrecord's grooves.

Play the record and you'llimmediately hear how muchbetter it sounds without the

"clicks" and "pops" dirt cancause.

Disco Film cleans so thor-oughly that your records willbe cleaner than when you firstbought them. And it is safe touse. The water soluble con-tents of Disco Film will not ir-ritate records or skin in anyway.

So don't put off bettersound any longer. Peel off rec-ord dirt now with Disco Film.

Another record care prod-uct from the company thatcares about your records,Audio Groome by Empire.

You get results infour easy steps:

. Remove the cap from theDisco Film container and placeyour record on top of it. It isdesigned to support your rec-ords without allowing thegrooves to touch any surfacethat would dirty them. Onefinger on the label holds therecord in place.

Empire's newDisco -Film cleans

your records like new.And here are the

pictures to prove it.

Before500X magnification of a dirty record groove.

After500X magnification of the same record groove after

using Disco Film.

2. Squeeze out a generous por-tion onto the record and usethe sponge applicator to gentlywork it into the grooves. Startfrom just outside the record'slabel and spread the gel to-wards the edge until the play-ing surface is covered. Flip itover and repeat the process.

3. When completely dry, about45-60 minutes depending on itsthickness, place a strip of cello-phane tape from the record'slabel to beyond the record'sedge.

4. Using your fingernail, prythe outer edge of the film tohelp start its peeling. Then pullthe tape slowly towards thecenter of the record until youhave removed all of the DiscoFilm (any excess film can beremoved with an additionalpiece of tape).Write for your free brochureon all the fine record care prod-ucts by Audio Groome.

EIVPIFEEmpire Scientific Corp., Dept.

AG, Garden City, N.Y. 11530


PlA[B200..power rating (the same chassis and panel are used onsome higher -power Philips amplifiers). Two different dis-tortion ratings are listed for this amplifier: a Philips bro-chure gives it as 0.05 per cent and the instruction bookletgives 0.2 per cent. We assumed the latter figure to be cor-rect, although the amplifier also met the more stringentratings.

The filters of the AH 384 have 6 -dB -per -octave slopes,with nominal cutoff frequencies of 70 and 10,000 Hz. Themeters are calibrated in decibels from -20 to +5 dB, butnowhere is the 0 -dB reference given. According to ourmeasurements, it is about 13 watts output into 8 ohms.

The Philips AH 384 is notable for being one of the fewamplifiers in this group (with Optonica, Pioneer, and Re-alistic) whose phono preamplifier maintains its full over-load rating from 20 to 20,000 Hz. In other words, whenthe overload signal level at 20 or 20,000 Hz is convertedto the equivalent input at 1,000 Hz (according to theRIAA equalization response), the result is approximatelythe same as the actual measured value at 1,000 Hz. (The20 -kHz overload level given in the table [maximum phonoinput column] is also converted to the 1 -kHz equivalent.)


At the top of the new Radio Shack amplifier lineup isthe Realistic SA -2001. It carries a substantial power rat-ing of 60 watts per channel at 0.2 per cent THD, and ourtests indicate that its power -supply regulation is extreme-ly stiff. As a result, its clipping and dynamic headroomratings are identical at 0.83 dB, corresponding to a poweroutput of about 73 watts.

The SA -2001 has a very complete array of control fea-tures, including switchable tone -control -turnover fre-quencies (125 or 400 Hz for the bass and 3,000 or 7,000Hz for the treble). It also has three different phono-inputsensitivities, selected by a switch in the rear of theamplifier. The phono-overload limit at 1,000 Hz was actu-ally lower than the values at 20 or 20,000 Hz, which isquite unusual. In the least -sensitive switch position, theSA -2001 can handle phono inputs of as much as 440 mil-livolts, anywhere in the audio range, without distortion,placing this amplifier squarely at the head of the group inthis respect. Even in the middle switch position, whichgives a phono sensitivity roughly similar to that of theother amplifiers, its dynamic range is among the best inthe group. However, the phono-input capacitance of thisamplifier is among the highest in the group, and it varies

with the sensitivity setting. We recommend using thehighest sensitivity, which gives a 500-pF capacitance-still on the high side, but no more so than that of severalother amplifiers. The phono-overload limit is about 110millivolts in this condition, which is perfectly acceptable.

The panel, knobs, and other controls of the RealisticSA -2001 are finished in a frosty satin aluminum, quitedifferent from the bright finish used on most amplifiers.The two level meters are at the bottom of the panel; theyare calibrated from 0.1 to 10 watts and from 1 to 100watts, with the range selected by a pushbutton. Typicalmeter error is about 20 per cent.


The very compact Pioneer SA -7500 II ranks near thetop of its power group in almost every respect, includingS/N, distortion, and phono-overload rating. Unlike thecase with most of these amplifiers, the phono rating is es-tablished in the Pioneer by the 1,000 -Hz overload limit of205 millivolts. At 20,000 Hz, the equivalent overload in-put is about the same.

The SA -7500 II has a low-cut filter that cuts off at 15 Hzwith a 6 -dB -per -octave slope. Like several of the amplifi-ers in its power class, it is also rated for 4 -ohm operation,delivering 50 watts with 0.1 per cent THD from 20 to20,000 Hz.


Although the Rotel RA -713 is rated similarly to severalother amplifiers in this group (45 watts at 0.1 per centTHD), it has appreciably lower clipping and dynamicheadroom ratings than most of the others. This does notin any way diminish its performance within its rated lim-


70 STEREO REVIEW

The Realistic SCT-30 tells it like it i

Why 3 heads are better than 2.Why 2 capstans are better than 1.

Why double Dolby* is better than single.3 Heads.

Two independent recordand play heads eliminatethe compromises of onecombined r/p head, andthe head assembly isintegrated to eliminateazimuth error. The result:cleaner sound. The thirdhead lets you monitor

your recording an instantafter it's made, without in-terrupting the program.SCT-30 has 3 heads!

2 Capstans.Dual capstans (instead ofthe usual 1) reduce wowand flutter to an inaudible0.06% WRMS or less,and extend the audio fre-quency response. SCT-30has dual capstans!

Double Dolby.You know the singleDolby system cuts noiseand adds dynamic range.But let "s examine doubleDolby. You get Dolby onboth record and monitor soyou know exactly whatyour tape will sound like.

You get a decoder for re-cording superb Dolby FMstereo. And you getsimultaneous listening en-joyment of the decodedbroadcast on receiverswith tape monitoring. TheRealistic SCT-30 has dou-ble Dolby! About $380.

P.S. - Supertape®Gold.To go with 3 heads, 2capstans and doubleDolby, you need a cas-sette tape that will en-hance - not degrade -performance. That's whywe design aed manufac-

ture Supertape Gold inour own Fort Worth fac-tory. Like SCT-30, it's aplaymate you can believein at a price you canafford.

Why Realistic®?Because Radio Shack hasdelivered quality audio atsensible prices since 1921,its Realistic tape and re-corder line can point toover 5,000,000 customersas living proof of theseclaims. Add after -saleservice that isn't lipservice. Add in-house en-gineering and manufac-turing of much of theRealistic line. And addthe convenience ofneighborhood shoppingwhere you get "soundtalk" from a specialist.That's Realistic!

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The nationwide supermarket of soundT mRadio Shack is a Division of Tandy Corporation. Fort Worth, TX -,610.2. Over 7000 locations in tine countries.

its, but means only that its actual clipping power outputand short-term peak output are somewhat less than thoseof its direct competitors. This is apparently the result ofvery stiff power -supply regulation (the supply voltages ofthe RA -713 do not change very much with varying signallevels).

The SIN measurements of the RA -7l3 are not as im-pressive as those of some others, but in use it is as quietas any of the amplifiers. This is easily explained: the pro-gram source, in almost every case, will have more noisein it than will be added by any of the amplifiers in thisgroup. The phono capacitance of 500 pF is relativelyhigh, and the RA -713 should be used with a phono car-tridge whose response is not degraded by a high loadcapacitance.

The filters of the RA -713 have 12 -dB -per -octave slopeswith cutoff frequencies of 20 and 20,000 Hz. Unlike mostsuch filters, they are apparently designed not to removeaudible hiss or rumble, but to remove noise outside theaudible frequency range that could cause intermodulationor other overload effects. The meters, calibrated from0.05 to 50 watts, have an error of 10 to 20 per cent of theirreadings over that range.


This new amplifier from Sanyo has easy -to -use barknobs for most of its switching functions. It also has lowand high filters with unspecified characteristics. Themode switch provides for normal and reverse stereo aswell as mono from either input through both outputs. Thiswas once a common feature in stereo amplifiers and re-ceivers, but only the Sanyo among the present group hasit. There is a triple tone -control system with a separatemid -range control. In addition to the two sets of tape-recording and monitoring terminals, there is a stereo jackon the front panel marked RECORD OUT 2. This carries theselected program to a third tape deck plugged into thejack (this is for recording only; there is no monitoringprovision).

The meters on the DCA 611 have the usual 10 to 20 percent error at most readings. However, this holds true onlyin the middle frequency range, such as at the 1,000 Hz weuse for most test measurements. At lower or higher fre-quencies, the meter response falls off markedly, to thepoint where a full -power 20 -Hz signal produces only amoderate pointer deflection. The scales are calibratedfrom 0.02 to 60 watts.


The Scott 440A is part of a new amplifier line from thatcompany. Its styling is somewhat less "European" thantheir models of the recent past, yet it differs distinctlyfrom that of most other Japanese -made amplifiers (like al-most all of the amplifiers in this group, the Scott 440A ismade in Japan). The dynamic headroom of 2.13 dB,slightly higher than the average of the group, enables the55 -watt rated Scott to deliver musical peaks of almost 88watts before clipping. Although the 20,000 -Hz phonooverload limit of the 440A is somewhat lower than its1,000 -Hz overload level, it meets the amplifier's ratedoverload specification.

The markings for the input -selector knob are highly leg-ible (as, indeed, are all the other panel markings of theamplifier), and they are augmented by colored lightsabove the knob that show which input source has been se-lected. The 440A has a three -band tone -control systemwith a mid -range control as well as the usual bass and tre-ble controls. Its high -cut filter has a 6 -dB -per -octaveslope and cuts off at 8,000 Hz. The meter calibrations areexceptionally accurate at low readings, with an error ofonly 10 per cent from 0.001 to 1 watt, but the error in-creases to nearly 40 per cent at the 10 -watt mark. There isone more calibration point, at 100 watts, but the amplifierwill not reach that level. The meters, therefore, are usefuland accurate indicators at normal listening levels (in themilliwatt and low watt range) but are of little value whenthe amplifier's limits are approached.


The Technics SU-7700 is one of the few amplifiers inits price range -to come with a walnut -finish wooden cabi-net. It makes effective use of pushbuttons, leverswitches, and knobs to provide an excellent combinationof operating "feel" and legibility in its operating controls.

Although the 1,000 -Hz phono-overload input of 170millivolts easily surpasses the amplifier's 150 -millivolt


72 STEREO REVIEW

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rating, its 20,000 -Hz overload (referred to the equivalent1,000 -Hz level) is only 53 millivolts. This is one of thelowest phono-limit measurements in the group (only theHarman Kardon, at 42 millivolts, is lower). Whether ornot it is significant, it at least suggests a relative lack ofhigh -frequency transient response in the phono-preamplifier section. The phono-input capacitance of 500pF is also relatively high.

On the other hand, the frequency response of theSU-7700, checked through either the high-level or phonoinputs, is about as flat as our instruments can measure.The low filter has a 12 -dB -per -octave slope beginning at30 Hz, but the high filter cuts off above 8,000 Hz with a 6 -dB -per -octave slope. The meters of the SU-7700 aresomewhat more accurate than the others, reading within10 per cent of the true power output into 8 -ohm loadsover almost their full range of 0.03 to 60 watts. This rangeis covered in two segments, with a pushbutton to changethe meter sensitivity by a factor of ten.


The Toshiba SB-420 is one of the larger amplifiers ofthe group, and some of its performance measurementsand control features also set it apart from the others. Forexample, it is one of the "flattest" in its overall frequencyresponse, through either the high-level or the phono in-puts. It also has the highest IHF-rated phono-overloadrating of any of the amplifiers having comparable inputsensitivity.

The filters of the SB-420 have 6 -dB -per -octave slopes,with their -3 -dB frequencies being 20 and 8,000 Hz. Thisis one of the few amplifiers to have selectable tone -con-trol turnover frequencies (400 or 200 Hz for the bass, and2,500 or 5,000 Hz for the treble) plus a tone -bypass fea-ture. The front -panel controls are highly legible and havea good tactile response owing to the use of long -handledlever switches and bar knobs where appropriate.

The Toshiba amplifier has a three -position "muting"switch that reduces the audio gain by 10 or 20 dB. A by-product of this feature is the ability to operate the volumecontrol at a higher than normal setting; this makes theloudness compensation more pleasing in many cases. TheSB-420 also has a microphone input with a separate mix-ing gain -control knob. Unlike those of most amplifierswith microphone mixing facilities, the microphone signalsfrom the SB-420 can be recorded on a tape deck by usinga separate pair of mic mix recording outputs (these sig-nals do not appear at the normal tape outputs). The To-shiba is also one of the few amplifiers to carry a FTC

power rating for 4 -ohm loads: 50 watts per channel from20 to 20,000 Hz with less than 0.3 per cent THD.


Yamaha was the first manufacturer we know of to es-tablish a policy of carrying the same level of basic perfor-mance through all price levels in the product line. Thelow -price (and relatively low -power) CA -410 II is an ex-cellent illustration of this policy. Although it is rated at amodest 35 watts, it can deliver more than 50 watts to 8-

ohm loads under most conditions. It also has a 4 -ohm rat-ing of 40 watts with 0.1 per cent distortion.

The Yamaha CA -410 II has separate controls for select-ing the tape-recording and listening -signal sources, plusone of the few really effective loudness compensators wehave seen. These features are also found on Yamaha'smore expensive amplifiers and receivers. The level me-ters are calibrated from 0.01 to 50 watts and are accuratewithin 10 to 20 per cent at most readings. The high -cutfilter cuts off at 8,000 Hz with a slope of 6 dB per octave.

The 1,200 picofarad (pF) phono-input capacitance ofthe CA -410 II is the highest we measured among theseamplifiers. This amplifier should be used with phono car-tridges whose performance is not seriously affected by ahigh load capacitance.


This amplifier, like the Harman Kardon A-401, has lit-tle in common with many of the amplifiers in the testgroup. Its 70 -watt power rating is substantially higherthan the others, and its price is somewhat higher. How-ever, it is of special interest because of its switching -typepulse power supply, which dispenses with the usual large,60 -Hz power transformer and bulky filter capacitors. In-stead, the 120 -volt a.c. input is rectified directly and usedto power an oscillator that generates a high -power square -


74 STEREO REVIEW

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Awave signal at about 20,000 Hz. This is stepped up by arelatively small ferrite -core transformer and rectified toproduce the amplifier's d.c. operating voltages. Onlysmall filter capacitors are required at this high operatingfrequency. A regulating system maintains the amplifier'soperating voltages constant within 1 per cent over a widerange of input -voltage and load changes.

The Sony TA-F5A has generally conventional, thoughrefined, amplifier circuits. Its filters have 6 -dB -per -octaveslopes with cutoff frequencies of 15 and 9,000 Hz. Theamplifier is no larger than many of the 40- or 45 -wattamplifiers tested, and its 18 -pound weight places it amongthe lightest of the group. This is a tangible benefit of thepulse -type power supply.

The extremely tight regulation of the power supplygives the TA-F5A its unique property: a clipping and dy-namic headroom of only 0.13 dB. Since the power -supplyvoltages do not change with signal level, the amplifier de-livers the same power output on a continuous basis as itdoes on short bursts. This gives rise to the strange situa-tion that many of the so-called "55 -watt" or "60 -watt"amplifiers can actually deliver more momentary powerunder real listening conditions than this 70 -watt amplifier.

We had difficulty measuring the full -power distortion at20 Hz, which requires a 200 -second scan time on ourspectrum analyzer. After a number of attempts, we con-cluded that the distortion was changing appreciably dur-

When we undertook this project,we did not really expect to find anygreat differences among such similarproducts in such a highly competitivemarket. In general, the twentyamplifiers we tested do all that isclaimed for them-and more. Over-all, their refinement of performanceand operation is most impressive. Itwould be difficult to single out any ofthe units as being markedly superiorto their competitors. One might haveits lowest distortion at 1,000 Hz whileanother would be lower at 20,000 Hz,and a third at 20 Hz. Similarly, thereare minor differences in response flat-ness, S/N, and other characteristics,most of which are not likely to be au-dible under normal conditions.

We did, however, find some realdifferences among these amplifiers,principally in their phono-preamplifi-er sections. For most amplifiers, thephono-overload level is specified bythe manufacturer (when it is specifiedat all) at a frequency of 1,000 Hz. Ourmeasurements at that frequency sug-gest that none of these amplifierscould be overloaded by any present-day phono cartridge playing any com-mercial recording-in the mid -range.However, the new IHF amplifier

ing the measurement interval, making the results ques-tionable. Most of our readings were in the range of 0.1 percent. At higher frequencies, where shorter analysis timescould be used, the measured distortion was much lower.

On the "plus" side of the ledger, the Sony TA-F5A hasa perfectly "flat" frequency response. There was noteven 0.1 dB of output variation through either the high-level or the phono input over the 20- to 20,000 -Hz range.The SIN of this amplifier is also far better than that of theothers (and they are all very good). The noise level wastoo low to measure through the high-level inputs (it wasbetter than 91 dB below 1 watt), and it was barely measur-able through the phono input.

The power supply is very well shielded, and no trace ofthe switching frequency or its harmonics could be detect-ed in the outputs down to more than 90 dB below ratedpower. The meters are quite accurate at low readings(0.01 to 0.1 watt) but the error increases to 20 or 30 percent as the maximum reading is approached (the scale iscalibrated to 100 watts).

The input selectors are light -touch pushbuttons withlights in their centers to show which source has been se-lected. The other controls are conventional knobs with aflat portion to provide a clear tactile and visual indicationof the control setting. The volume -control knob is quitelarge, and it has a comfortable detent action. The power -transistor heat sinks extend from the rear of the amplifier,and four "feet" in the corners of the rear panel permit theamplifier to be stood on its back.

Commentary


standard calls for phono-overloadmeasurements to be made at otherfrequencies in the audio range aswell, and converted to an equivalent1,000 -Hz level. In most cases, wefound that the phono preamplifiersfell well short of matching their mid-

range performance when the phonooverload was measured at 20,000 Hz.At that frequency, waveforms will"round" rather than "clip," and weused the spectrum analyzer to deter-mine the level at which the distortion


76 STEREO REVIEW

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P' MEMrose to 1 per cent (-40 dB). This levelis completely unambiguous when thesignal is monitored on the analyzerscreen. Since the 20,000 -Hz responseof an RIAA-equalized amplifier is19.6 dB below its 1,000 -Hz response,we divided the measured overloadvoltage by 9.55 (the equivalent volt-age ratio) to obtain the IHF rating.

Somewhat to our surprise, onlyfour of the twenty amplifiers did aswell at 20,000 Hz as at 1,000 Hz. Of-ten the decrease in level was moder-ate (20 to 30 per cent), but in somecases it was only a small fraction ofthe 1,000 -Hz reading. It is certainlyconceivable that some combinationsof record and cartridge could over-load some of these amplifiers at thehighest frequencies. One thing seemscertain, however: a phono preamplifi-er that does not exhibit this effect isless likely to be overloaded than onewhich does.

Even more disturbing (and surpris-ing) was the range of input -capaci-tance values we measured on theseamplifiers. Four of them were under100 pF (one as low as 50 pF), but fiveof them had a capacitance of 500 pFor greater (one as high as 1,200 pF). It

NEW TEST METHODS

Hirsch -Houck Laboratories isnow using the Institute of High Fidel-ity's new Standard Methods ofMeasurement for Audio Amplifiers(IHF-A-202 1978). For conveniencein making comparisons with previ-ously tested products, we will corre-late the new measurement results,when appropriate, with measure-ments made using our previous tech-niques. Copies of the new standardare available for $7 from the Instituteof High Fidelity, Dept. AS, 489 FifthAvenue, New York, N.Y. 10017.

is a little difficult to understand howthese amplifiers perform as well asthey do with some cartridges, sincemost record players will add another100 to 200 pF to the circuit. A fewcartridges operate well with a 500-pFload, but 700 to 1,400 does seemexcessive!

A possible justification for thesehigh input -capacitance values is theirpotential benefit in reducing RFI (ra-dio -frequency interference). We canthink of no other reason why a manu-facturer would place such a large ca-pacitance in the phono input, given itspossible deleterious effect on car-tridge performance.

SummaryOur tests show very little signifi-

cant difference between most of theseamplifiers. The true power -output ca-pabilities of the units can be seen inthe clipping headroom and dynamicheadroom columns of the table of testdata. In spite of the apparently greatspread of power outputs, in respect toclipping headroom it should be notedthat the most powerful amplifier (theSanyo DCA 611) delivers only 2 dBmore output than the lowest -poweramplifier (the Optonica SM-1515).(We exclude the Harman KardonA-401 from this comparison since it isreally in a different category.)

Probably the most reasonable wayto make a choice from among theseamplifiers would be on the basis oftheir features, styling, and price. Forsomeone who enjoys modifying thefrequency response of a system, oneof the units with a mid -range tonecontrol (or, better yet, the JVC withits five -band equalizer) would beworth considering. If you rarely usetone controls, this is of no impor-tance. A few amplifiers have two pho-no inputs (marked Lo in the table) orthree high-level inputs (Hi) compared

with the typical single phono inputand two high-level inputs. If added in-put flexibility is important; yourchoice is easier.

Although meters are a very promi-nent feature of many of these amplifi-ers, do not be unduly influenced bytheir presence or absence. They areof little real value in indicating thetrue power output of an amplifier oreven in showing when overload is oc-curring or is imminent. They can beconsidered a cosmetic feature, likethe styling of the panel and the knobs.

When it comes to appearance,tastes differ widely, and we make norecommendations in this respect. Tous, there was nothing compellingly at-tractive (or repulsive!) about the ap-pearance of any of the amplifiers.

The consumer whose plight wewere concerned with in the openingparagraph of this article is really mostfortunate. Just about any of theseamplifiers will provide superb perfor-mance, free of noise and distortion,with all the system flexibility manywill ever need-and all in a compact,attractive, reliable, and inexpensivepackage.


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It's the Realtime Quartz Chronograph. A timepiecethat masterfully joins the genius of micro -circuitry; rugged-ness and styling. And it's available to you by mail throughthe Sharper Image, for only $69.

So much data. Squeezed so thin.Slimmer than 7mm, only 2.9 ounces, the Realtime

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In watch mode, it continually displays the hour and theminute, and every second flashes by. Inlarge, crisp, liquid crystal digits. (Withoutyou pressing buttons. )ItsUmon Carbide bat-teries last a year or more and can be easilychanged by your local jeweler. Separatebatteries for night light and time give youextra dependability.

Accuracy is calibrated to within 55seconds a year.

Press the side button to command themonth, date, and day of week. Easy to read,even in bright sunlight. It's Americanmade chip is programmed to adjust for theend of the month, with resetting neededonly once every four years.

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mand from the righthand face button :nointerruption of watch operation).

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Realtime is in fact water resistantto 3 Atmospheres of pressure, and canbe safely immersed in water to 80 feet.

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Installation of the month By Richard Sarbin

WITH considerable thought yet minimalexpenditure, Don Camryn of Niagara

Falls, New York, has designed and construct-ed a housing that successfully combines videoand audio equipment to create a convenienthome -entertainment complex. The compactinstallation, in an efficient utilization of avail-able space, projects through the living -roomwall into a large walk-in closet that providesthe necessary rear access to the componentsand their connections.

The installation has three sections, all builtfrom 1 -inch -thick, Formica -covered flake -board. The sturdy, L-shaped base sectionhas a desk -height countertop with cutouts intowhich are set an RCA SelectaVision video-cassette recorder (right) and a TechnicsSL -1300 Mark II turntable equipped with anAudio-Technica Signet TK5E cartridge (left).In a niche just above the turntable is a Realis-tic stereo mike mixer which Mr. Camryn usesprimarily as a phono/tape mixer. The series ofwhite buttons mounted on the apron of theshort arm of the L (at right in photo) are Jer-

rold electronic channel selectors; these makeit unnecessary to use the mechanical selectoron the video deck. A comfortable swivel chair(not shown) facing the console puts the opera-tor within easy reach of all controls and moni-toring devices.

The two upper sections of the console areangled slightly for greater visibility of thecomponents. Within the four compartmentsare (clockwise from top left) a TechnicsRS-676US cassette deck, a JVC 5444 four -channel receiver, an RCA I2 -inch black -and -white TV monitor, and a flush -mounted Tech-nics RS-276US cassette deck. The compo-nents are set into black, satin -finish Formicapanels that handsomely complement thechrome finishes and internal lighting of theequipment. Both audio and video programsources are selected by means of eight color -coded, illuminated pushbuttons at the left ofthe RCA monitor. The control center also in-cludes a home -built digital readout for video -channel selection and a timer module that per-mits recording TV programs while the opera-

tor is away from home or occupied elsewhere.The system feeds front -channel audio sig-

nals to a pair of Bose 901 Series II loudspeak-ers while a pair of homemade ceiling -mountedspeakers provide rear -channel sound. TV pro-grams are projected through an Advent Vid-eoBeam Model 750 onto a large screen; theaudio portion is fed into both speaker pairs,thus creating a type of "surround" sonics thatmakes disaster films and live shows all themore dramatic. Camryn also uses his systemto make tapes of sound effects and mixes ofconversation and music that serve as back-ground for skits that he stages for friends.

ADOCTOR of chiropractic, Camryn admitsthat he frequently tears himself away from hisvideo and audio tape equipment and listensmore conventionally to LP records-mostlytraditional and big -band jazz, country-and-western, and original movie soundtracks.And, thanks to the recent purchase of a Pio-neer KP-800 FM/cassette car stereo, he is asentertained while on the road as he is at home.

80 STEREO REVIEW

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The Pop Beat

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO .

HAVE you found yourself wondering aboutLena Zavaroni lately as you worked

your way through your morning Wheaties?Are you curious to know the whereabouts ofthe Shirelles? Of Bill Haley and the Comets?Tiny Tim? If so, you're ready to play theWhatever Happened To game, the idea ofwhich is to track down someone once famouswho has faded from public view. Unearthinga particularly obscure figure will get you extrapoints, as will discovering an especially in-congruous (or decidedly poetic) fate. It can beplayed alone or with any number of friendsbefore, during, or after breakfast.

I've been playing a pop -music version ofthis game off and on since midsummer, whenseveral things drove me into remembrance ofthings past. The first was seeing EmittRhodes' name on a new recording. Emitt wasnever what you'd call one of your superstars.As a matter of fact, in some rock circles backin the late Sixties and early Seventies he wasdismissed as a "wimp." Too great a resem-blance to Paul McCartney in both voice andface (coupled with poor record -company sup-port) probably contributed to his fast fade.But he was visible for a while, and I liked him.He had a flair for attractive, sprightly melo-dies and a voice as pleasant as McCartney's,if a bit more nasal. Furthermore, he was ascute as a newt. Performers with less talentthan Rhodes have made the Big Time, butEmitt simply disappeared, and until recently Ihad assumed that, as likely as not, he hadwound up working in a dry-cleaning plant inScranton. But then this record appeared-"Thistles" (Elektra 6E-132)-that creditedRhodes as producer. It was comforting tolearn that he hadn't entirely given up his mu-sic career but had simply traded the spotlightfor a behind -the -scene role.

The news of Jackie Wilson's fate, on theother hand, was extremely discomforting.Wilson was a big r -&-b star in the Fifties andSixties. His voice, as smooth and rich as sa-ble, had an extraordinary range, and in liveperformance his acrobatics-splits, spins,and kicks-made Elvis' hip -shaking seem al-most effete. Wilson's career flourished untilthe mid -Sixties, when he was obscured by theBritish Invasion. He came to the forefrontagain in 1966 with the hit song Whispers andin 1967 with Higher and Higher (most recently

revived by Dolly Parton). But by the Seven-ties the star glow was gone for good, and Wil-son was reduced to the status of a nostalgiaact performing in Dick Clark's oldies revue.

An article by Bill Pollak in the Village Voicerevealed to me the unpleasant side of this nos-talgia game, providing a very sad answer tothe question "Whatever happened to JackieWilson?" In October 1975, Wilson sufferedbrain damage after a heart attack felled himon stage in a New Jersey club. He has spentthe years since in hospitals and nursinghomes, unable to walk or talk and deeply indebt. The financial and legal ugliness thatdogs this forgotten man is appalling. As Pol-lak's article indicates, using the title of Wil-son's earliest smash, it looks like LonelyTeardrops for him from now on.

LENA: Where is she now?

Many performers' careers are similar toWilson's, but without the tragic ending. Hav-ing fallen behind in the Big Pop Swim, someartists stay afloat in the smaller pond of thenostalgia circuit. Another of the things thatstarted me looking backward this summer wasa feature article in the New York Times Mag-azine. Titled Vaudeville Strikes Back, the arti-cle disclosed the present whereabouts of en-tertainers whose names alone summon up vi-sions of used -to -be: the Shirelles, the Drift-ers, Danny and the Juniors, Tiny Tim, and

Eddie Fisher. Yes, they still swoon out in Du-buque when Eddie Fisher, now fifty, sings OhMy Papa. And twenty years later, with onlyone of the group's four original members re-placed, Danny and the Juniors still knockthem dead with At the Hop and Rock and RollIs Here to Stay. The Shirelles, now a little toomature to be called a "girl group"; the Drift-ers, with only one original member left; andTiny Tim, now fatter but still unctuous andscraggly haired-and still carrying that littleukulele in a greasy shopping bag-all travel inone bus and perform in Roy Radin's Vaude-ville '78.

Like Richard Nader's famous rock-and-rollrevival shows, Radin's really reeks of thepast. Some of the coiffures may be blow-driednow, and there are more wrinkles and plump-er figures, but the sound is still the same, andthe crowds seem to like it. Like it? Theyscream for it!

Rick Nelson's unfortunate experience withthe nostalgia circuit has been chronicled in hissong Garden Party. In a Nader extravaganzaat Madison Square Garden, instead of playinghis Fifties' hits, Nelson performed new mate-rial-good new material. The crowd wouldhave none of it and booed him off the stage.They had come to hear Ricky Nelson, not thisstranger with the modern hair and modernsound.

FOR some time now pop audiences have beencurious about what a lot of them missed: thebump -and -grind beginnings of rock. We knowpractically everything about Elvis by now,we've learned quite a bit about Buddy Hollyfrom his biographical film, and from Ameri-can Hot Wax we've picked up the half -factsof Alan Freed's "martyrdom." But whateverhappened to Bill Haley and the Comets,whose Rock Around the Clock fueled thethundering lift-off of rock-'n'-roll?

A fellow journalist recently made me a giftof rare information from an interview he'sjust done with Haley, who lives in obscurityin Mexico City nine months of the year. Heused to do some rock revivals, but he hasn'tperformed for several years now. A bandclaiming to be the Comets is still touring, butHaley insists that no one in it belonged to theoriginal group. He's considering going on theroad again and has hinted at talk -show ap-pearances and a book on the Fifties, completewith early Elvis anecdotes no one has heardbefore.

A few performers, such as Paul Anka andDiana Ross, have managed the transitionfrom a youthful career to a suitable adult oneright before our eyes, but it isn't easy. We'rehard on our stars, particularly in pop music.We don't like to see them age, yet they can'tstay exactly the same. When our jestersamuse us, we reward them generously, butwhen they begin to bore us, like a capriciousmonarch we banish them to obscurity.

To help those who are interested in playingthe Whatever Happened To game, here's alist of the routes pop artists travel when theydrop out of sight:

(1) Die, go mad, become chronically ill.(2) Retreat into an ordinary or a spiritual

life.(3) Get a behind -the -scenes job.(4) Join the nostalgia circuit.(5) Enter an entirely new profession.By the way, if you discover whatever hap-

pened to Lena Zavaroni, please let me know.It's beginning to bug me.

88 STEREO REVIEW

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NEVILLE MARRINERA virtuoso conductor continues to accept new musical challenges

By Clair W Van Ausdall

NEVILLE MARRINER, perhaps themost recorded conductor in his-tory and already one of the fore-

most English conductors of our day,has been named the new music directorof the Minnesota Orchestra beginningin September 1979. Not even this pres-tigious appointment, however, dimi-nishes his well-known candor and ir-reverent wit, the target of which is of-ten himself and his own musical image.

"Conductors?" he mused recently,when reminded that he began his musi-cal career as a violinist. "Originally Itried to avoid them, but when I joined asymphony orchestra there was no wayof doing that. You didn't necessarilyhave to look at them, but you could notget around the fact that they were actu-ally there. I had no idea, I must say,that I would become one of them. . . one of those offensive peoplewho stand up in front and impose theirwill on the other musicians."

Only a conductor with Marriner'sworld-wide reputation for striking justthe right balance between scholarshipand spontaneity in his music -makingcould joke so affectionately about hisprofession. Actually, up to now hisreputation and his name have been bet-ter known in the United States than hisface. He is probably the only front-rank conductor today whose fame wasbuilt by his recordings and the prizesand awards they garnered. What iseven more remarkable, the conductor'sbaton was thrust into his hand almostby accident. Had it not been for the latePierre Monteux's enthusiastic prod-ding, Marriner might have remainedthe violinist he started out to be.

He was born in 1924 in Lincoln, Eng-land. His first violin lessons were givenhim by his father, who had bought abook for that purpose. Then localteachers took over his musical educa-tion. Eventually, having won a seriesof scholarships, he entered London'sRoyal College of Music.

World War II interrupted his studies.

After demobilization he studied violinin Paris with the great Rene Benedetti,returned to England to teach at Eton(where he discovered to his chagrinthat "public schools are not cradles ofthe arts"), then accepted a professor-ship at the Royal College of Music (theoffer of which, he said, made him feel"like an old man"), and finally decidedto remain in London as a free-lance vi-olinist. He joined a string quartet, thena string trio, then a chamber orchestra.He played in a miscellany of excellentensembles. It was, however, his workwith Thurston Dart, in a group calledthe Jacobean Ensemble, that causedthe greatest musical stir.

"... It was, I shouldthink, the worstorchestra in Londonby far, absolutelythe worst."

Dart had earlier made his living as amathematician, but his heart was inmusic, and he was then already a rec-ognized authority on the performanceof Baroque music. For Bach and Han-del he advocated brisk tempos, unsen-timentalized ornamentation, and im-maculate articulation-this in a daywhen overblown romantic interpreta-tions were the standard even for therelatively few performances therewere.

In Marriner, Dart found a ready dis-ciple. A few years after the two hadmet they established an ensemble toput Dart's performance theories intopractice. Very soon the group engagedthe affections of an unsuspectedly largeand demonstrative audience in con-

certs, on records, and in broadcasts.The rediscovery of Baroque music andits true beauty was at hand, and Dartand Marriner were among those leadingthe way.

Their performances on record havenever been surpassed for stylistic clari-ty and vigor. Today Marriner gratefullyacknowledges the influence Dart hadon him: "Stylistically I owe him such alot. When you played with him, what-ever you did seemed right and authen-tic. He gave us courage."

In 1956, at the age of thirty-two,Marriner joined the London SymphonyOrchestra, which in those days had-itwas generally agreed-lost some of itshistorical luster. "It was, I shouldthink," says Marriner with his usualcandor, "the worst orchestra in Lon-don by far, absolutely the worst. Theywere casting around for new people.Quite a number of leading playersjoined at that time, though at first wewere no help at all; hardly a concertwent by without some frightful sort ofmess. But we learned quickly, and sud-denly we became the top orchestra inLondon. It was very exhilarating to seethe group dragging itself up by thebootlaces."

Marriner took the position of princi-pal second violin. "Very quickly," hesays, "I discovered that it was hard,physically hard. There were some greatmoments, admittedly, but I realizedthat I didn't want to spend the rest ofmy life fiddling away like that."

The next year brought him deliver-ance.. A group of London's finest stringplayers who, Marriner says, were so-cial as well as musical friends, decidedto form a chamber ensemble. Theyneeded a place to rehearse, and one ofthe city's historic churches, St. Martin -in -the -Fields, extended the hospitalityof its undercroft (a crypt or basement).In return, the group played an introduc-tory season of concerts there. Thename they eventually gave them-selves-the Academy of St. Martin -in -

4 Photo: Ken Veeder/Angel Records 93

MARRINER...

the-Fields-perpetuated the link withthe church. Why "Academy"?"Well," says Marriner, "we really hadno wish to be an 'orchestra' or even a`chamber ensemble'-that phrase al-ways seems to put people off in droves.The vicar of the church finally thoughtof 'academy' in the sense of a club orsociety, and we stuck it in."

In its earliest days the Academy hadno specific conductor. They followedseventeenth and eighteenth centurypractice: Marriner was concertmasterand "led" the group from his chair. Inretrospect, however, he seems to havebeen destined both by background andability to conduct the Academy. Hisprofound interest and skill in ensembleplaying reminds one of Bruno Walter'sphilosophy-"In order to be a goodconductor one must above all knowhow to perform chamber music well."And the Marriner "ability" was obvi-ous to, among others, Pierre Monteux,then conductor of the London Sym-phony Orchestra and an early admirerof Marriner and the Academy. Once,joking with Marriner about using a ba-ton, he asked, "Why don't you standon your feet and conduct like a man?"That friendly riposte, coupled with theAcademy's increasingly complex rep-ertoire, led to Marriner's assuming theconductorship. Monteux's influencecontinued to be felt, and after theAcademy had got off to its successfulstart, Marriner studied with him, bothin London and in the United States.

Marriner always stresses the highquality and independence of the origi-nal Academy members. He likes to re-count a recording -session incident thattook place in the early days of theAcademy's history. "It was probablythe first time I had actually stood upand conducted. The music started, andthen it stopped after about two bars,and on the tape you can hear a sort ofmuttered conversation in the back-ground. Then it starts again and breaksdown, and then it starts again and itgoes on for about six bars and breaksdown, and then the oboe player, RogerLord, is heard to say, `Nev, if you'regoing to stand up and conduct, can youstand somewhere where we can seeyou . . . or else somewhere where wecan't.' I think this has always been theAcademy's attitude: either you've gotto stand up or you've got to get out ofthe way and let them get on with itthemselves."

Marriner's association with theAcademy has produced an astonishingnumber of fine recordings. The firstones were subsidized by Louise Dyer,an Australian sheep -farmer and philan-thropist, who founded a music -publish-ing house and a small phonograph -record label, L'Oiseau-Lyre, to issuesuch unusual and high -quality perfor-mances as theirs. "We used to say thatwhenever Louise made a record, shehad to kill another sheep," Marrinersays. "But if it hadn't been for her Iwouldn't be where I am today." It wasalso Mrs. Dyer who insisted they keepthe mellifluous name, Academy of St.Martin -in -the -Fields, though concertsare now held in the church very infre-

"A whole concert ofthose composers whosound like ice-creammakers-Manfredini,Albinoni, Tartini...."

quently and recording sessions not atall because of the traffic noises in Tra-falgar Square where it is located.

So impressive was Marriner'sachievement with the Academy, whichrapidly grew into the world's best-known and most highly respectedchamber ensemble, that in 1969 the LosAngeles Chamber Orchestra, just beingorganized, invited him to become theirconductor. Marriner, to whom the invi-tation came "out of a clear sky," wasdelighted. For the first time he hadbeen asked to accept a permanent postas a conductor rather than as a violin-ist. "It was wonderful. All I had topack was a baton."

The Los Angeles invitation pleasedhim on another count, he admits. Thetwo people he most wanted to meet inall the world at that time were JaschaHeifetz and Goldie Hawn. He musthave made his wish known in print, be-cause both of them attended the firstconcert of the Los Angeles ChamberOrchestra and his dream was realized.

Critics praised him right from thestart, for example Martin Bernheimerof the Los Angeles Times, who wrote:"Mr. Marriner has welded his forcesinto a stylish musical unity. They seemto play for the love of it. There is nomistaking their zest and scrupulous at-tention to detail." In no time their con-certs were being sold out.

Marriner is amazed by the playingof his new American instrumentalists."They're so virtuosic! They can playanything. And they maintain an in-tensely emotional temperature, differ-ent from English players. Their soundreally fizzes!"

Since then, Marriner's Americanreputation has grown rapidly. Today he .

is in great demand, a demand fosteredby reviews like one in the New YorkTimes following his performance withthe New York Philharmonic, whichwas headlined "Neville Marriner Is aVirtuoso Conductor" and which wenton to praise his precise beat, his lack ofmannerisms, his musicality-"none ofthe meaningless arm -pumping that sooften passes for conducting."

Re -engagements fill his calendar: theNew York Philharmonic, the BostonSymphony, the orchestras of Washing-ton, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francis-co, Tokyo, Vancouver, London (theBBC Symphony and the New Philhar-monia), Bonn, Paris, Helsinki, Ham-burg, Berlin, Vienna, Buffalo. Andsoon there will be first-time appear-ances in Stockholm, Australia, Amster-dam, and Cleveland.

Following closely on his three-yearassociation with London's South BankSummer Festival, he assumes in 1979the musical directorship of the Mead-ow Brook Music Festival at OaklandUniversity in Rochester, Michigan, thesummer home of the Detroit Sympho-ny. Also in September of 1979 his di-rectorship of the Minnesota Orchestrabegins, and in 1981 he takes on princi-pal conductorship of the Stuttgart Ra-dio Symphony in Germany as well.One of the attractions of the latter postis the orchestra's tradition of allowingan average of six rehearsals per concertrather than the more usual three orfour. He also intends to maintain hisvery close relationship with the Or-chestre National of Paris, with whichhe has a kind of "permanent guest con-ductor" status. (Continued on page 96)

94 STEREO REVIEW

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95

MARRINER...

Opera is a new enthusiasm. Marrinerwas invited to conduct his first when hewas fifty, but he refused it on the half -humorous ground that he was too old."You should start training for operaconducting when you're fifteen andwilling to sweep out the theater if nec-essary, just to be there." But when theoffer was repeated and enhanced, heagreed. Singers, he finds, are not astireless in rehearsal as instrumentalists,and the melding of so many disparateelements presents challenges, but"when it all actually works, it's irre-sistible." In 1979 he conducts a Mar-riage of Figaro at Aix-en-Provence.The only thing that prevents him from

roque and the Classical period. Is thishis favorite music? "If it means ex-cluding everything else, by no means,"he says. "People have been known todie of an overdose of Vivaldi. A wholeconcert of those composers who soundlike ice-cream makers-Manfredini,Albinoni, Tartini-it's like being in asewing -machine factory after a while."Mozart stands high on his list of favor-ites, of course, because the Academy isthe perfect size for Mozart sympho-nies, but he does Beethoven, Mendels-sohn, Bizet, Respighi, and Bartok withequal verve and stylistic distinction."You don't need opinions to make a re-cording," he says. "What you needare convictions."

Though Marriner's accelerating pro-fessional schedule means that he mustlive all over the hemisphere, he looksforward to the time he can spend withhis wife Molly and their two children.In addition to an apartment in London,

choir loft: he likes horse racing somuch, for example, that he even car-ries a special credit card which allowshim to bet on his favorites no matterwhere he is conducting or rehearsing.Known for the delicacy of his musicalphrasing and his attention to detail, henevertheless is attracted to a great dealof Romantic and contemporary musicand the voluptuous sound of a large or-chestra. "I like luxurious textures," isthe way he puts it. He looks forward tohis work with the Minnesota Orches-tra. For him it will not be forsaking theBaroque boundaries within which hehas established himself as a conductorpar excellence of the chamber reper-toire. Rather, it is a return to the sym-phonic days of his London SymphonyOrchestra tenure and to all the reper-toire he first learned there under asuccession of great conductors. "Be-sides," he says jokingly, "they say youhaven't really grown up, musically, un-

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Neville Marrinerrehearsing the Academy

of St. Martin -in -the -Fields

doing more is time. "For an opera youneed about six weeks continuously,and I don't think I have even twoweeks together between now and about1981."

Already one of the most recordedconductors in history, with a list ofmore than two hundred albums behindhim, he has just signed a new contractwith Philips that will add anothertwenty records a year for the next tenyears to his discography, not to men-tion the additional albums he is con-tractually allowed to make for other la-bels. Some he will record with theAcademy, choosing from the repertoirewith which he has up to now been soclosely identified-music of the Ba-

they have two cottages, one in Dorset,the other in Lyme Regis, famed as thelocale for both Jane Austen's Persua-sion and, more recently, John Fowles'The French Lieutenant's Woman. Hegardens when he can. The trouble withhaving to be in, say, Helsinki in Aprilof 1981, as he will be, is that this iswhen the daffodils should be coming upin his flower beds.

Someone has said he looks like anEnglish choirboy, and the quick, clearspeaking voice, with which he is articu-late on a wide range of subjects, hasabout it a kind of schoolroom inno-cence. On the other hand, certain ofMarriner's interests are far removedfrom the world of the schoolroom or

til you go through the baptism of fire ofbeing music director of an Americanorchestra. So here I go."

MARRINER looks at his packedschedule with a certain regret and acertain satisfaction. On the one handhe hates to be so busy that he has tomiss the birthday celebration of his sonor daughter, making instead "a ratherfeeble telephone call" from halfwayaround the world. On the other, helikes to know that he is going to be hardat work, apparently forever. "After allthose years of opening my day -bookand seeing acres of Nothing," he sayswith a smile, "it's nice to open it nowand see acres of Everything!"

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Noel Coppage reports from Nashville:

Things have reached the point where, in some musical quarters,"cross" and "over" are two brand-new dirty words

DEAR BILL:

You sent me to N ishville-remem-ber?-to see if I co find out whatwas going on down t here where theydefine, sometimes by default, whatcountry music is and will be. You sentme to Nashville, whet they may rightnow be in the process of determiningwhether there is to be any country mu-sic as a separate, staunch entity as op-posed to another vague styling of pop.This was after we had both watched acouple of country -music shows on na-tional television in which everyoneconcerned went Hollywood, as BrotherDave Gardner would have put it, withthe gusto of a hound dog, shows dottedwith the pseudo-urbanes like Eddy Ar-nold (who, methinks, doth protest toomuch the smell of mule manure),shows awash in the strings of conserva-

tive orchestration to the point whereyou really had to do some fanciful lis-tening to catch a single country twang.You sent me to Nashville, where Toot-sie, friend -in -need and stalwart pro-prietress of Tootsie's Orchid Loungeacross from the Grand Ole Opry ghostchurch, the Ryman Auditorium, is deadof cancer. To Nashville, where if youask certain people for directions,they'll say, "You go down to the nextcrossover-uh, I mean, cross-walk. . . ." The point I want to drivehome here, Bill, is you sent me toNashville-you didn't send me toGeorgia to be driven by Bert Lance'shouse in Calhoun and to wind up play-ing harmonica in a band fronted byJosh Graves in a bluegrass festival. Thetruth is, Bill, I may have let participa-tory journalism get a little out of hand.But I did get a new slant on how people

view labels, country and others, and-to borrow one of Josh's soft one-lin-ers-they tell me I had a good time.

OH, and I did get to Nashville a cou-ple of times. Found it largely confus-ing. I went to a portion of the Fan Fairand was overwhelmed by the flurry ofnew names and new faces on the stage,slightly depressed by the vaguely Ea-gles -like slickness in so many of theirstyles, and made a trifle apprehensiveby the realization that the age gap be-tween the performers and the audienceis widening. I talked with some peoplebehind the scenes at some of the recordcompanies and was told that young per-formers whose goal is pop stardomnow see country as a good place tostart. That figures, of course; it is oneof the incidental, unintended influencesof the success of Waylon and Willie

NOVEMBER 1978 99

"... we are seeing ourfirst batch of countrymusic performers who wereraised on television."

8z

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F

and the boys from Austin, with theirtons of hip young followers who nor-mally listen to rock. It also jibed withmy glancing observations at the FanFair, where young hippie types likeDon Schlitz (who wrote The Gambler,which got considerable air play as re-corded by himself and as recorded byBobby Bare) came out one after anoth-er and did the singer -songwriter thing-which songwriter Sonny Throckmorton(soon to be singer -songwriter SonnyThrockmorton; he's working on an al-bum), who wrote Middle Age Crazy forJerry Lee Lewis, thinks is about tocome into its own in country music.

He may be right; they were havingwriters' nights at the Exit/In, withsome pretty mediocre singing and somerather far-out lyrics going (as they nowsay in Nashville) down. A guy namedZilch Fletcher, for example, did suchstuff as a sing -along Boogers in YourNose and a philosophical tune calledLove After Death. And then the under-ground community, what there is of itin Nashville, was celebrating, in a mod-est way, one Paul Craft, who wroteDrop Kick Me Jesus for Bobby Bare,Keep Me from Blowing Away, recordedby Linda Ronstadt, Midnight Flyer forthe Eagles, and (I suppose for him-self-he does sing) Linda LovelaceCome Sit on My Face. So I tried not toget caught up in sorting out the newnames-distracted though I was bysome of them: how does Ottice Yawngrab you? I jotted down mental noteson a few whose singing and/or writingimpressed me, such as Janie Fricke,whose high, wild, black -sounding voicecuts through everything. But then she'snot exactly a new name (it's hard togeneralize down in Nashville just now,Bill, in case I'm not leaving enoughdrift); she's been a background singerin a lot of recordings, including thoseby Vern Gosdin that have shot out thetop of the country charts lately. Speak-ing of Vern Gosdin and of label -integri-ty and of how hard it is to generalize,he's another of those unknown veter-ans who suddenly blossomed inside thehard-core country market but remainsrelatively unknown outside of it.

YET, I did get the feeling, for whatit's worth, that not only are we seeingthe country -as -stepping -stone -to -pop -stardom situation develop, not only arewe seeing the singer -songwriter phe-nomenon happen in country as it oncedid in pop, but we are also seeing ourfirst batch of country -music performerswho were raised on television. Peoplewhose roots lie at least partly in HowdyDoody and the Mickey Mouse Club.People who grew up with a medium -influenced view of a sort of homoge-

8 100

nized America, a pop America, if youwill. That's what the tube projects, re-lentlessly, and you can hear it in themusic of several of these newcomers,country boys and girls with pop -America roots.

But, as I say, it's hard to generalize.There's Conway Twitty, who ironicallystarted out as a rock star, giving MusicCity News a blast on keeping country"pure": "I have fans every night comeup and say, 'Thank God you're not go-ing pop on us.' " Conway says the so-called country radio stations are play-ing these schmaltzy crossover attemptsso much and hard country so little thatthe fans are turning them off. "Andlately the record companies are just asguilty as the radio stations," he says."They keep shovin' stuff at the radiostations they want to cross over, andthere's going to be a lot of people gethurt over it . . . already some recordcompanies are in trouble over it."

And there's Vernon Oxford, singer -songwriter of The Redneck NationalAnthem, among other ditties, who getsalmost no air play because he is toocountry for the country stations-butwho has the largest fan club of any-body in country music and who has bada couple of tunes high on the chartswithout air play.

BUT I was going to tell you. about thenew slant I got on how people viewwhat is country and what is otherwisewhen I was on the other side of thefootlights. I went along on this Georgiatour for the ride-I really did-thinkingmaybe I could put Nashville in betterperspective by taking a look at Atlanta,once the unquestioned princess of cit-ies in the Southeast. But of coursewhat I really wanted to do was play onthe same stage with Josh, a legend onthe dobro (actually he now plays a simi-lar kind of resophonic guitar made byJones) and a legend in bluegrass, beingthe third -most -important member ofFlatt and Scruggs for fifteen years,then a key mat, in Flatt's NashvilleGrass, then a 'zey man in the EarlScruggs Revue before going out on hisown about five y -ars ago.

I had been sitting around learningthings from Charlie McCoy records fora chance like this, which came at an all-night jam session after Josh was soft-ened up by having played three setsand drunk a few beers. So I wound upbeing treated like a musician-which isdifferent from being treated like a writ-er-the next night at a large honky tonkcalled Country Green in the Atlantasuburbs and the following few days atthis bluegrass festival in Western Geor-gia. (The drive by Bert Lance's place


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A :VILLES.

"We must have doneLuckenbach, Texas,by popular request,ten times."

came before that, on the way down;Josh has friends everywhere, and onenamed Tom, who lives in Calhoun,took us by Bert's on the way to theVFW for a beer. "You won't hearmany people in Calhoun say nothin'bad about Bert Lance," Tom told us.)

Since it's bluegrass that Josh is a leg-end in, and since this was by no stretchof the imagination a bluegrass bandwe'd assembled in a most impromptuway, I'd say I played better at theCountry Green but learned more at thebluegrass festival-more about the la-bels people put on music, anyway. Wehad an electric guitar, an electric bass,Josh's dobro, and my harp. The guitarand bass were from the Joey DavisBand, which plays progressive coun-try, Austin music, in the persons ofJoey Davis himself, a singer, songwrit-er, guitarist, and philosopher ("Youcan pick your nose and you can pickyour friends, but you can't wipe yourfriends on the couch"), and John, ahot, former rock, bassist with an un-pronounceable last name who consentsto being called Slappy.

We were apprehensive, to put itmildly, about how these non -bluegrassinstruments would go over at a blue-grass festival, but we soon realizedthings there were a lot looser than we'ddared hope, that the change of style,change of pace, was welcome. Wemust have done Luckenbach, Texas,by popular request, ten times. Nowthat taught me something about the so-called hard country audience's resili-ence with regard to labels-and it con-trasted nicely with the first thing Ilearned on this subject, which is thathard-core bluegrass fans consider blue-grass one thing and country quiteanother. I mean I didn't exactly learnthis-I already knew it intellectually-Ihad it driven home, you might say,emotionally, and it's always better tofeel the truth of something than tomerely deduce it.

I gathered from talking to some ofthe pickers in the bluegrass bands thatthere is some debate raging among theyounger of those about how progres-sive an approach to try on their audi-ences. Some of the younger ones clear-ly feel hemmed in by the rigid structureof bluegrass; some expressed a desireto do "more country stuff," and in theafter-hours jam sessions at such anaffair, they do it-but they also expressa shyness about doing it before a blue-grass audience. And yet, there wewere. Well, for one thing, there wasJosh, who had the equipment and repu-tation and name to lead an audienceinto something "different" (Josh's lat-est album, as this is written, is mostlyblues) where maybe a local band could

102

not lead the same audience; and, foranother thing, we came out with non -bluegrass instruments in the first place,tilting expectations out of whack.

And so, on a larger scale, it may gowith the larger labels of country andpop. I still don't believe I know manythings for sure, Bill; I still have faith inonly a few platitudes: power corrupts,evil is really ignorance, and beware ofextremes. But it's hard to know, untilyou've sampled a few batches of it,whether something is extreme or not.Eddie Rabbitt's soft pop -like stylings ofsuch songs as You Don't Love Me Any-more-is that sort of thing extreme? IsVernon Oxford's redneckism extreme?Is the average country -music radio sta-tion's blandness extreme? (I gave a lis-ten to WSIX-FM every time I was driv-ing around Nashville; it plays what itcalls "the cream of country," and youknow how soft cream is-I kept hopingthey'd play a certain jazz singer's"country" records so I could conjurewith the idea of Charlie Rich, the non-dairy creamer . . . but they were toobusy playing Kenny Rogers' latestsure-fire crossover.

You also sent me to Nashville thecity, Bill, and that's an even larger andmore confusing subject. I picked up,on the one hand, a free tabloid calledTake One, "The Alternative Magazinefor Middle Tennessee," which nowand then looks down a semi -hip nose atthe red -neck music industry. A chapnamed Robert Kent, on the inside, wasmaking a tongue-in-cheek proposal thatNashville forget about building a newfootball stadium, forget about renovat-ing downtown Church Street one moretime, forget about building a gospelmusic hall of fame (about which morein a minute), and concentrate insteadon building a wrestling hall of fame."Legends, handsome young men, per-oxide blond demi-gods, and over -zeal-ous elderly women are among the manyelements composing the electricity gen-erated by both country music and wres-tling," he says. He says wrestling datesback to Greece and the first Olympics,and Nashville does, after all, call itselfthe Athens of the South.

NASHVILLE also calls itself, accord-ing to the ultra -establishment Nash-ville! magazine, a city in a "favorablemarketing position." From readingaround in that kind of view of Nash-ville, one learns that, according to aUniversity of Nebraska survey thatmay or may not be dated, Nashvillecomes out number one among the tentop Southern cities in industry -attract-ing criteria (poor Atlanta, its antebel-lum look replaced by new plastic sky -


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"... some people inNashville think gospelis going to beThe Next Big Thing.

EE

3

U

scrapers, its tax and crime rates edginginto the "unfavorable" range, ranksdead last-even if its people do, on aper capita basis, put more money intothe bank than any other Southern city'speople). One also learns that the mov-ers and shakers in Nashville are look-ing to jack up the convention trade.Dolly Carlisle writes in Nashville!:"For all practical purposes, the travelmarket here is saturated. According toa recent survey of the nation's tourbrokers, Nashville is already listedamong the top ten most popular desti-nations in the U.S. What could possi-bly magnify this existing situation?"

THE music -related tourism, especial-ly if one counts the amusement park,Opryland, as part of it, accounts formost of that travel saturation. Maybemusic -related interests can't magnifyit, but some figure they can add to itwith a proposal to build a gospel musichall of fame across from the CountryMusic Hall of Fame (which has finallygot around to putting Willie Nelson'sstar on its walkway). That's right, Bill,some people in Nashville think gospelis going to be The Next Big Thing.

I think they mean on a long-term ba-sis, and I know they mean a broaddefinition of gospel-producers saythere's now very little difference in theway gospel and country or rock albumsare produced; Willie Nelson hit it righton the button with his honky-tonk in-strumentation on all those Baptisthymns in "The Troublemaker." Theproducer who has produced the most(white) gospel albums, believe it or not,is named Chris Christian. It used to bethat practically all the white -gospel al-bum sales were "trunk sales," salesout of the trunk of the performers' ve-hicle during the performance. Veryinefficient. Black gospel, which is theonly kind of music one company,Nashboro Records, deals in, has beenselling its records through distributorsfor a long time. And Nashboro's presi-dent, Bud Howell, has been quoted assaying, "Black gospel alone outsellspure country music." I'm not surewhat he means by pure, but I assumehe means the Vernon Oxford kind,the not -a -snowball -in -hell's -chance -of -crossing -over kind.

Anyway, the Gospel Music Associa-tion, formed in 1969, has set a nationalgoal to raise $1.5 million to build thisparticular hall of fame, and TennesseeErnie Ford (speaking of pseudo-urbanes), who has sold more records inthe big, loose gospel category than any-one else has, has been named honorarynational chairman of the fund drive.

So what does it all mean, this favor-able market positioning, this emer-

104

gence of the singer -songwriter, thissoftening -and -hardening attitude aboutcrossovers, this plethora of youngstersplaying music for their elders, thisbanking on the Lord to help those whohelp themselves? Damned if I know,Bill. I expect Nashville to go on like itis for a while, which is to say graduallychanging. One of these days, the entireaudience as well as all the performerswill have roots in the pop America ofthe tube. The melting -pot theory isalive and kicking in Nashville, and ifyou think television didn't have a lot todo with that, you're in disagreementwith a number of "artists" clamoringto get on it. They have seen Hee Hawand it works. In true country -musicstyle, they know their audience, andthey know their audience watches thetube. "There's been a lot of themthat've done it without a record," BobLuman, who hasn't exactly done it yet,told Music City News. "They've had alot of talent and were exposed in theright places . . . Roy Clark, for in-stance. He never had a number onerecord until he started doing televi-sion. . . . You've got to have it. It re-ally is controlled in New York andL.A. Television is the name of thegame, and that's where I'm heading."

MEANWHILE, you can still hear MoeBandy on the radio, singing about bull-dogging steers or whatever, and youcan still catch an occasional outra-geously country country song, like thelament of the would-be star's wife,"I'm tired of playing second fiddle toan old guitar," or (speaking of televi-sion) Tammy Wynette's I'd Like to SeeJesus on the Midnight Special. Thismatter of how "country" country mu-sic is is a matter of degree. It takes timeto move something as big as the Nash-ville music scene a whole degree, but itis moving. If it moves too quickly, thehard -country reaction will set in, but Ithink that would be a short-term phe-nomenon, like the current wave of El-vis imitators scouring the nation. Thisyen for television exposure has Nash-ville wired into New York and Los An-geles, which doesn't conflict with thelust for more convention trade or anyother big thing the "other" Nashvillewants, so I think things are going to getmore and more corporate -lookingdown there.

It's a brave new world, Bill, but for-tunately nobody in Nashville seemseither smart enough or crazy enough toplunge us into it all at once.

As ever,

71(iee 6/0paffe_

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r-D

mnEKEA little dialogue onthe subjects of art

and commerce, jazzand funk, acoustic

and synthetic,critics and audiencesfrom the standpoints

of thirty-one yearsas a performing

musician-and thirty-one as a listener

By Chris Albertson

Herbie Hancockat the Vocoder

106 STEREO REVIEW

IT is served as a main course by a NewYork City radio station professing tohave an all -jazz policy, advertised

and promoted as jazz by companieswho record it, placed on the jazz chartsof the major music -trade publications,and even reviewed under the jazz head-ing in this magazine, but to me so-called fusion jazz, funk jazz, crossovermusic, or whatever the hypesters arecalling it this month is not jazz at all. Itcontains jazz elements, as do rock anddisco music, but would we call a boogieperformance by Horowitz classicalmusic? Should we categorize StanleyClarke's "Modern Man," DonaldByrd's "Caricatures," or Herbie Han -cock's "Sunlight" as jazz albumsmerely because these men began theircareers as jazz players?

Regular readers of STEREO REVIEWmay have noted that I tend to be severein my criticism of funk -pop albums byjazz musicians. That is not because Iam an incorrigible purist who feels jazzis the only way to go, but rather be-cause I feel cheated when I hear artistsof extraordinary ability deliberatelybringing their music down to a simplis-tic level.

Some of the outstanding jazz musi-cians who have defected to the land offunk -pop appear to realize that, by do-ing so, they have betrayed the fans andcritics who helped them attain theirinitial recognition in the music busi-ness. And their feelings of guilt may becompounded by the fact that they con-tinue to be categorized as jazz musi-cians and regularly have to face inter-viewers like me who take a dim view oftheir current output. This puts them onthe defensive and often produces someastonishing rationales: "Although I en-joyed the music of, say, 'Sextant,' Iwould see many people leave the clubwith a heavier weight on their shoul-ders than when they came in," saysHerbie Hancock in a quote from a re-cent Columbia Records publicity re-lease. "I was, in effect, just creatinganother problem for them."

I was not aware that undiluted jazzhad ever been seen as posing some kindof mental hazard, but the writer of thispromotional piece took it from there:"And so Herbie Hancock began a newsearch. He had to thread his waythrough the tremendous body of craftthat he had accumulated. He listened tothe music that the rest of the world waslistening to and began to recognize thepart of himself, his musical self, thatwas reacting to Sly Stone and JamesBrown. He was not alone in thissearch, people everywhere were think-ing about thinking less and beingmore."

All that sounds to me a little like ask-

ing Alexander Solzhenitsyn to writegreeting -card verse, Michelangelo An-tonioni to direct soap operas, and JuliaChild to endorse Burger King. How-ever, curious to find out why a musi-cian who had spent a good part of hislife perfecting his craft would lower hisestablished high level of artistry to theone settled for on such albums as"Man -Child" and "Secrets," I ar-ranged to interview Herbie Hancock."I'll act as referee," said Columbia'sjazz -promotion man, Peter Keepnews,only half in jest, but no mediator wasneeded. Hancock, aware of my views,seemed as anxious to discuss his cur-rent direction with me as I was to findout why he had taken it, and I supposehe interviewed me as much as I inter-viewed him. He was in New York topromote his latest album, "Sunlight,"

2E

caustic) Herbie

and by the bed in his hotel room washis latest toy, a complex electronic gad-get called the Vocoder VSM 201, whichhas enabled him to make his singingdebut. More about that later. Hancockfired off the first question:

I want to ask you why you don't likeme doing this thing.

Because I admire you as a jazz artist,and I consider your funk music a degra-dation of the high level you haveachieved in the past.

But are you sure you know the rea-sons I'm doing this music?

No, but that's one reason I'm here.

Great, because I hate to see peopleassume that I'm doing something forthis reason, or that reason, becausethose are the only reasons they cancome up with. Anyway, what I'm look-ing for in my life is the freedom to dothe music that I want to do when I wantto do it; not just for my own personalpleasure, because I can do that at

home, but if I'm playing music for oth-er people-on records, live, or onTV-then I must consider if it will beof value to the people listening to it.But I want the freedom to be able tochoose that myself, which I think Ihave a right to, and it doesn't help meto have that kind of freedom if I get re-views that say "he should be doingthis, and not that." I don't mind a re-viewer saying "I personally wouldprefer him to play this and that," but ifhe says "he should be doing this andthat," then I think the reviewer is kindof stepping out of his bounds.

How should your funk albums be re-viewed? Isn't it perhaps a mistake to re-gard them from a jazz viewpoint?

That's a very big mistake. Theyshould be judged on their own merits.If I were a reviewer, I would first askmyself how I could create the most val-ue with my review, for the artist andfor the people who are going to hear themusic; when you discourage the artist,or the public, you actually create anti -value, but in order to encourage an art-ist you don't want to write somethingthat is not true, so you look for thegood points. Then, if you feel the per-formance contains elements thatshould be improved upon, or elimi-nated, you write that. If a person usedto the jazz sounds of the Thirties wereto review a record by, say, Cecil Tay-lor, which doesn't have any specificmeter or pulse, he would have a hardtime judging it by his own standards.

How should a reviewer approach"Sunlight?"

Well, people ask me, "What's on`Sunlight' that hasn't been on your oth-er albums?" Because I don't just wantto repeat what I've done before, youknow. Okay, the vocals are there, and,if you want my opinion, I like the vo-cals, I like the phrasing. It's in tune,but you can't give me credit for that,because the pitch is taken from the syn-thesizer, and that's got to play the tune.The phrasing is what I would haveheard a singer use to the music, so Iplay it on the synthesizer, but I use myown voice. The musical content has aform that is very comfortable for im-provising, and when I say "comfort-able" I don't mean that it's not a chal-lenge. Take the first song, I Thought ItWas You: it's a sort of a disco thing,you can hear the disco thing with thebeat, but the chord movement is basi-cally simple. There are three symmetri-cal chord centers-it just turned outthat way-and the chords move quick-ly through a few different keys. Thiswas originally meant to be an instru-mental album, so I played a piano solo

NOVEMBER 1978 107

". ... my challenge is tokeep it simple and stillmake it sound fresh.That's hard to do."

on top of these chord progressions, oneof the best solos I ever played-I couldhear the influence of Keith Jarrett,from a melodic standpoint-but thatwas before I got the Vocoder, the de-vice that allows me to sing, so we add-ed the vocal, and the piano solo endedup in the background.

How was "Sunlight" a challenge?As far as improvising is concerned, a

musician makes his own challenge.Look what Coltrane did with Impres-sions-that's two chords-or Chasin'the Trane-that was just one chord,and there's nothing simpler than onechord. That's simpler than the three -chord rock-and-roll songs people talkabout. My challenge in this song, and ina lot of songs I've been doing since the"Headhunters" album, has been toplay within the framework of the musicas it is, and one of the isa certain type of simplicity that is moreimportant in this music than it was inthe music I played in the Sixties.

You keep referring to "this kind ofmusic." What is this kind of music?

Well, that's hard to describe. It haselements of jazz, funk, and popularmusic in it. You know, the big traditionof popular music from Frank Sinatra-that whole thing. I think those are basi-cally the elements.

Will "Sunlight" and the secondV.S.O.P. album be equally valid tenyears from now?

It's hard to say, but suppose theyweren't, suppose . . . oh, I think Iknow what you are leading up to, yoususpect that the V.S.O.P. might bemore valid.

Yes, isn't "Sunlight" a more trendysort of album?

I wouldn't use the word "trendy,"because that has the connotation of be-ing less valid. I don't make the assump-tion that something which is valid fortwo hundred years is any more validthan something that only proved validfor five years.

Don't the two albums serve differentfunctions?

That depends on what you feel thefunction should be.

Do you think "Sunlight" is an albumpeople can and will dance to?

I think they can dance to it.

But not so the V.S.O.P. album?No.

THE HERRIE HANCOCK GROUP: left to right, Kenneth Nash,Wah Wah Watson, Paul Jackson, Herbie Hancock, Jones Levi, and Benny Maupin.

So that does make them different.As far as that is concerned, yes.

Isn't dance music more ephemeralthan jazz?

Oh, I see what you mean. I'm notsure of that, though.

Are you saying that "Sunlight" willage as well as the V.S.O.P. album?Won't it sound more old-fashioned tenyears from now?

Perhaps you're right, that could bevery true. Are you trying to explain"trendy" the way you were meaningit?

Yes.I think of something trendy as being

a fad, and that has a negative connota-tion-not because it's short-lived, butbecause there's insincerity involved.

You mean a fad is usually a hype ofsome sort.

Yeah, yeah. That it's not the creationof value, real value, except in a busi-ness sense. It only benefits the personcollecting the money. I've never doneany music that's like that. I have neverdone any music just for the purpose ofputting money in my pocket. I've beenvery fortunate because I've never hadto do that. I've been able to surviveplaying the music that I want to play,and not just something that will putmoney in my pocket. That happens tobe a by-product. I know a lot of peoplehave a difficult time; they play the mu-sic they want to, but it's not feedingthem. That's unfortunate.

In other words, you really enjoy play-ing funk music as much as you have en-joyed playing anything else.

Oh yeah, it's a rough challenge. It'sreally hard, a big challenge to me. Itwould, in certain way's, be easier forme to get more involved, to treat themusic in a more complex way, becauseI'm used to doing that when playingjazz of the Sixties. It opens up a lotmore room for exploration, but mychallenge is to keep it simple and stillmake it sound fresh. That's hard to do.It's the same in your field. Let's sayyou're an intellectual and that you havea large vocabulary which you use inwriting for an esoteric publication.Then you decide-you decide, nobodytells you-that what you have ex-pressed so far has been specificallyaimed at a certain group, and you de-cide for yourself that you would like toexpress it for some other people, too.So you don't utilize that huge vocabu-lary, you find a less complicated way ofexpressing yourself. It's a challenge,and that's exactly what I'm doing.


108 STEREO REVIEW

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MEMNnKIME"Chick said, 'Hey, man,why don't you sing it?'I said, 'Are you kidding?My voice goes out of tune.I can't sing!-

Now, if you don't like the publication,if it's not to your taste, but you take onthe job anyway, then you are beinginsincere.

What you are really saying is thatyou like the kind of music you are play-ing these days, the funk music, and thatthe wider audience and larger incomeare incidental.

Yeah, the larger income is incidental,but the wider audience has some con-sideration, not the major considera-tion. The major consideration is that Ilike it.

Reading the instrumentation listedfor your new album, "Sunlight," I wasreminded of a box of cookies.

Really? How so?

Well, there were the natural ingredi-ents, soprano saxophone, bass, guitar,and so on, and-under your name-there were the chemicals: "E Mu Poly-phonic Synthesizer, Oberheim Poly-phonic Synthesizer, Yamaha CP-30,Hohner D6 Clavinet, Rhodes ElectricPiano, ARP 2600, Mini Moog, ARPString Ensemble, Yamaha PolyphonicSynthesizer. Sequential Circuits Pro-pheta Synthesizer, Sennheiser VocoderVSM 201."

Oh, [laughs] I see what you mean. Ihad never thought of it that way. I havethe impression that you don't like elec-tronic instruments.

I'm not against them per se, but thathighly individual tone that marked theplaying of Coleman Hawkins, BenWebster, or John Coltrane-don't youthink that playing a saxophone througha synthesizer robs the performance ofan important human quality?

That's your feeling?Yes.

I don't feel that way, and I have beenlistening to music for a long time. I

started playing piano when I was sev-en, so I've got thirty-one years of ex-perience as a player. So that is youropinion, and that doesn't make it thetruth.

Certainly not, even with thirty-oneyears' experience as a listener. But let'sget back to your album and those vo-cals. Why vocals?

I never before had vocals on any ofmy records, and within the past coupleof years I started thinking why nothave some vocals-why not? I had ac-tually been looking for a vocalist forthis album, and I don't know that muchabout vocalists, I never paid much at-tention to them, or to vocals-I don'tknow words to songs or anything. Any-way, every time I thought of the fewvocalists I knew, their sound was eithertoo jazz, funk, or church oriented, andI wanted something that had all thoseelements in it. Then I came across theVocoder. It interested me-I tried itand liked the way it sounded, so that'swhy I put in the vocals.

Did you ever try singing without theVocoder?

Oh, no! I know what my voicesounds like, so I didn't even try. Iplayed the title song, Sunlight, forChick [Corea] when we were on tour,and I sang for him the words I had writ-ten. He. said "Hey, man, why don'tyou sing it?" I said, "Are you kidding?My voice goes out of tune, I can'tsing!" He told me he knew my voicewent out of tune, but that one cansometimes forgive such things when acomposer sings his own songs. Any-way, I didn't even consider it, but thenthe Vocoder came along-it can make asinger out of anyone-and I really likethe way it came out. The other experi-ment I tried was utilizing acoustic in-

struments in combination with the syn-thesizers so that the synthesizers ex-panded or fattened the sound. Insteadof three or four trumpets and fourtrombones, I used two trumpets andtwo trombones, and I fattened thesound with the synthesizer. With thestring sounds I used three violins andtwo cellos, and made them sound big-ger with the synthesizer. It all workedvery well. Also, a lot of the flutesounds are actually the synthesizers-Ican't tell the difference. It sounds tome like real flutes.

IF all that sounds terrible, so to medoes the album. Perhaps Oberheim,Yamaha, Rhodes, or Sennheiser willsome day come up with a plug-in Her-bie Hancock. I hope they do it soon sothat the real, live Hancock, after fiveyears of funk, can return, full-time, tothe instrument and music he plays best.In the meantime, we can look forwardto a couple of promising albums-oneon Columbia, the other on Polydor-featuring Hancock and Chick Coreaplaying duets on acoustic pianos. Be-cause they have reached a wider audi-ence with their funk music, Hancockand Corea now sell-according to a Co-lumbia Records spokesman-a guaran-teed minimum of 100,000 copies per al-bum, regardless of the content. So per-haps a larger income is not the only"by-product." All that funk and non-sense we stodgy old critics so abhorhas the effect of selling jazz records tooto people who as yet don't know thedifference but may, in time, get toknow; I'll go along with that.

CHICK COREA AND HERBIE HANCOCK: four hands on acoustic keys.

110 STEREO REVIEW

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STEREO REVIEW'S SELECTION OF RECORDINGS OF SPECIAL MERIT

BEST OF THE MONTH

Conductor-solloistBernstein: EnormousAuthority in Mozart's

C Major Concerto

IFROMthe beginning of his career,

Leonard Bernstein has recorded aspianist as well as conductor-in soloworks, song accompaniments, cham-ber music, and concertos-but his key-board activity has not been very fre-quent. His best-selling recording as pi-anist is undoubtedly the Rhapsody inBlue, but the most rewarding are thoseof concertos by Mozart and Ravel; it ismore than likely that Bernstein is more

successful in the dual role of soloistand conductor in Mozart concertosthan any other musician who has un-dertaken it, and one only wishes hewere more active in this particulararea. His pre -stereo pairing of the Con-certos No. 15, in B -flat (K. 450), andNo. 17, in G Major (K. 453), for Co-lumbia has not been available for sometime, and since its retirement there hasbeen only the remake (a splendid one)of K. 450 with the Vienna Philharmonicon London (CS -6499). Now Bernsteinhas recorded another Mozart concerto,the later and greater No. 25, in C Major(K. 503), this time with the Israel Phil-harmonic, again for Columbia, and it isone of the very finest things this ex-traordinary musician has given us inany category of his vast discography-

perhaps one of the finest things in theMozart discography, too.

The concerto numbered K. 503 isone of Mozart's grandest-grand in thesense of having substance and dimen-sion rather than being merely virtuosic(although none of his concertos ismerely virtuosic)-and it receives avery grand -scale performance fromBernstein-at once expansive and alivewith tension, serious and witty, expres-sive and subtle, delicate and dramatic.The symphonic stature of the work isof course realized to the full, and thesolo part is played with a sense of right-ness in terms of phrasing, style, and to-tal integration of its parts that is simplybeyond praise. Few of the keyboardstars who have "specialized" in Mo-zart have displayed such exquisite

NOVEMBER 1978 113

touch or regard for appropriate color asBernstein, with enormous authorityand utterly without self-consciousness,does here.

Columbia does not bother to identifythe cadenza Bernstein plays in the firstmovement: it is his own, and a remark-able one it is. There are no florid ges-tures, and no trivial ones either. Thecadenza begins with a repeated empha-sis of the four -note figure which, as Pe-ter Eliot Stone points out in his annota-tion, so resembles the opening of Bee-thoven's Fifth Symphony, and this isreiterated several times before there iseven a hint of the remainder of Mo-zart's theme. Then, by way of stressingthe seriousness of the work, Bernsteintakes us back, as it were, through itsopening statement, to a reminiscenceof the opening of the previous Mozartconcerto-the C Minor, K. 491. This isas striking as it is unexpected, but itdoesn't jar; it simply commands our at-tention, and it all works marvelouslywell-a cadenza, one might say, de-signed for the concerto itself ratherthan for the soloist.

Since the first movement alone inthis imposing performance runs to sev-enteen minutes, there is no question ofaccommodating the entire concerto ona single side. The very generous filleron side two is a similarly distinguishedperformance of the Serenade in G,Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, played by thestrings of the New York Philharmonic.How long this may have been in the canI don't know; it doesn't sound brand-new, but the sound is quite handsomeenough and the performance is surely awinner. There is nothing at all cutesy or

THE DIRT BAND (from leftto right): Jeff Hanna,

Jimmie Fadden, Al Garth,Merel Bregante, Richard

Hathaway, John McEuen.It's soup now.

114

condescending in Bernstein's ap-proach, which, like the music itself, isstraightforwardly early -Romantic, af-fectionate without excess, and a modelof tastefulness and clarity.

-Richard Freed

MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 25, in C Ma-jor (K. 503). Leonard Bernstein (piano): Is-rael Philharmonic Orchestra; Leonard Bern-stein cond. Serenade No. 13, in G Major,("Eine Kleine Nachtmusik," K. 525). NewYork Philharmonic, Leonard Bernsteincond. COLUMBIA M 34574 $7.98.

The Dirt Band:After Years of Trying,It Looks Like They'veFinally Got It

LISTENINGto the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

through the years has been some-thing like popping my head into thekitchen now and then to ask "Is it soupyet?" They kept tinkering with theirown, basically acoustic slant on aSound . . and never, it seemed tome, quite got it without help from spe-cial guest stars such as Doc Watson,Mother Maybelle Carter, and RoyAcuff, who helped make such a rousingsuccess of the band's "Will the CircleBe Unbroken" back in 1972.

After their Russian tour last year, I

suppose I assumed they'd disband, but,lo and behold, they're not only stillwith us but have made some high -qual-ity additions, turning out a rich yetlight -riddled little album called (toshow they're not as nitty or as gritty asthey once were) "The Dirt Band."

Reed man and violinist Al Garth,who has been involved in some electri-fying moments on various other peo-ple's albums, is a member of the groupnow, and he shows that yes, he canwork with Jimmie Fadden's harp style(which is getting cleaner now that Mer-el Bregante is playing drums so Faddendoesn't have to). The additions (ofGarth, especially) give the fills and im-provisatory moments a much richersound, but an even more important fac-tor may be the way Jeff Hanna stepsforward and fronts the band. He seemsto be singing and playing the guitar witha new assurance, and his delivery issmooth and clean. Hanna is the focalpoint the band has been needing, andhis control extends even to the produc-tion of this disc.

The other encouraging thing aboutthe new album is the quality of thetunes, many of them Dirt Band origi-nals and all of them pleasant, and theirplacement in the album gives it a bal-anced feel. I think it may be soup now.

-Noel Coppage

THE DIRT BAND. The Dirt Band (vocalsand instrumentals); instrumental accom-paniment. In for the Night; Wild Nights; Fora Little While; Lights; Escaping Reality;Whoa Babe; White Russia; Can't Stop Lov-ing Me Now; On the Loose; Angel. UNITEDARTISTS UA-LA854-H $7.98, ® UA-EA854-H $7.98, © UA-CA854-H $7.98.

Vladimir AshkenazyGives Us Some ofThe Greatest ChopinPerformances on Record

LNDON has just released VolumeThree of Vladimir Ashkenazy's on-

going traversal of the solo keyboardrepertoire of Chopin. I have not heardthe first two volumes in the series, butif the quality of performance and re-cording of the third are representative,there seems to be little doubt that theycan stand up to the very best of theirkind-past, present, or future.

Ashkenazy's way with the firstmovement of the B Minor Sonata isdisciplined and solidly virile, and in themarvelously nimble scherzo heachieves a truly gossamer sonic tex-ture. But it is to the wonderful slowmovement that Ashkenazy brings thefull arsenal of his interpretive powers:Chopin's elegiac song is communicatedwith absolutely stunning eloquence. Fi-nally, the amalgam of fierceness, pian-istic splendor, and intellectual controlforged in the fiery presto for me putsthis reading unquestionably among thehandful of really great recorded perfor-mances of this music.

On side two, Ashkenazy's handlingof the almost miraculously ornamentedvariations of the Berceuse is only thehighest of many high points reached inthis group of mighty "small" pieces.The mazurka sequence-in an elegiacvein working toward elemental

dance-is superbly effective, as is thecontrast achieved in the two nocturnes,the first emotion -laden, the secondethereally serene. Needless to say, theLondon recording staff has contributedits very best clear, full-bodied pianosound. -David Hall

CHOPIN: Piano Sonata No. 3, in B Minor,Op. 58. Berceuse in D -flat Major, Op. 57.Mazurkas, Op. 59: No. 1, in A Minor; No. 2,in A -flat Major; No. 3, in F -sharp Minor.Nocturnes, Op. 55: No. 1, in F Minor; No. 2,in E -flat Major. Vladimir Ashkenazy (pi-ano). LONDON CS 7030 $7.98, © 5-7030$7.98.

Debby Boone: theMost Interesting NewStraight -On, Girl -typeGirl Who Really Sings

PA-rn SMITH, that Seventies, Ameri-can street version of Ivy Compton -

Burnett, recently allowed in thesepages as how she's been learning a lotfrom Debby Boone of late. Seems Pat -ti's decided to bone up on Debby's TVperformances of You Light Up My Lifeso as to be as "totally focused" and tohave as much "concentrated commit-ment" to a song as Debby has.

Well, so much for Living Legendsand how they get that way, and on tothe delightful spontaneity of Debby

VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY:Stunning eloquence,pianistic splendor,intellectual control-and some of London'sclearest, most full-bodiedpiano sound.

Boone herself in her new Warner Bros.release, "Midstream." In it, Debby so-lidifies her position as the most interest-ing new straight -on, MOR, girl -type girlwho really sings since the days whenRosemary Clooney had the nation byits ear with her recording of Hey,There. That same pop generation alsohad dear l'iI Sparkle Plenty herself,Doris Day, a born -to -win type if everthere was one. (Day has now, ofcourse, faded away through soft -focusto no focus at all, but have you heardClooney's latest recordings?) In thisgeneration, Olivia Newton -John is toDebby Boone what Day was toClooney-foam rubber and icewater asopposed to flesh and blood

Side one here was produced byBrooks Arthur and side two by JoeBrooks, the man responsible for YouLight Up My Life-and, the whisperswent, the Svengali behind the successof that particular hit. Forget it. Boonesounds just as good, just as able to hitemotional magnetic north easily, truth-fully, and exactly whether the materialbe Neil Sedaka's What Became of MyWorld or the sophisticated ironies ofPeter Allen and Carole Bayer Sager'sI'd Rather Leave While I'm in Love. Infact, her best track from a commercialstandpoint is probably God Knows, byFrannie Golde, Allee Willis, and PeterNoone, produced by Brooks Arthur.

On side two she sings five JoeBrooks songs, the best being It WasSuch a Good Day, and also WhenYou're Loved by Richard and RobertSherman from (hold on!) The Magic ofLassie. That's one she could havepassed along to Dad or one of her sis-

NOVEMBER 1978 115

DERE '1r BrJONE Chancter and feeling

PA .14COB 3: cam. and clarity

aII

ters, but she does the best she can withit. And the best of what Debby Boonecan do with any song is considerable.Even if at the moment she's being pro-moted-and regarded in some quar-ters-as a new brand of AmericanDream Shampoo, there's a lot of realcharacter and feeling in her singing,and, most important, the beginnings ofa unique vocal style. -Peter Reilly

DEBBY BOONE: Midstream. Debby Boone(vocals); orchestra and vocal accompani-ment. God Knows; What Becomes of MyWorld; Another Goodbye; Don't You LoveMe Anymore; Oh, No, Not My Baby; I'dRather Leave While I'm in Love; WhenYou're Loved; California; When It's Over;Come Share My Love; It Was Such a GoodDay; If Ever I See You Again. WARNERBROS. BSK 3130 $7.98, ® M8-3130 $7.98, ©M5-3130 $7.98.

Debussy Preludes byPaul Jacobs: At OnceSensual and Intellectual,Personal and Virtuosic

PAUL JACOBS, long known for hiscontemporary music performances

and, in recent years, well established asthe pianist of the New York Philhar-monic, has recently been making a wid-er name for himself through the medi-um of recordings. His very successfulset of the complete Debussy Etudes forNonesuch has now been followed bythe complete Preludes.

These works, much closer to thepopular, "impressionist" Debussythan the Etudes, are usually tackled bypianists whose primary affinities liewith the nineteenth century-in otherwords, Debussy understood as the spir-itual heir of Chopin and Liszt. Surpris-ingly, Jacobs does not entirely discardthat tradition, for these interpretationsare both personal and virtuosic. But hehas obviously made a deep study ofthese works and, in the scholarly mod-ern manner, even tracked down De-bussy's own corrections and changesand incorporated them.

His feeling for the music is as sensu-al as it is intellectual; the playing is im-mensely elegant, quirky, full of soundand fantasy, and, though a bit lackingin longer line, always enthralling. Thepiano sound itself-Jacobs' playing iscomplemented by the fact that his in-strument is a superbly recorded Bosen-

116 STEREO REVIEW

dorfer-is an extraordinary combina-tion of color and clarity. A splendid dy-namic range, crisp articulation, andtelling nuances of interpretation are thekey elements here, and harmonic bal-ance is always artistically achieved aswell-no muddy blurring anywhere. Inshort, these are performances withcharacter, of an almost pre-Raphaelitesensitivity, in gorgeous sound.

-Eric Salzman

DEBUSSY: Preludes for Piano, Books 1 and2. Paul Jacobs (piano). NONESUCHHB-73031 two discs $3.96.

Carol Hall and theOriginal Broadway CastOffer the Best LittleWhorehouse on Records

EVEN before the show moved uptownto Manhattan's 46th Street Theatre

from its off-Broadway opening, every-body in New York seemed to be urgingeverybody else to go see The Best Lit-tle Whorehouse in Texas. This cheerfulmusical spoof takes place at a vener-able roadside establishment called theChicken Ranch-because some cus-tomer once tried to pay for serviceswith a chicken. As in the 1890's, whenthe Ranch opened, watermelons areserved to the clients and a ceiling fanturns in every room, but now a jukeboxinstead of a piano plays in the parlorand the once -standard charge of threeold-fashioned American dollars hasgone up to about what a ticket costs fora show on Broadway. What with Tom-my Tune's knockout choreography,Carol Hall's witty, hummable songs,and the gamey talk and high spirits thatflow right up to the unexpectedlydownbeat end, the premises (run byCarlin Glynn as the chic madam, MissMona) provide the setting for an eve-ning of solid entertainment.

The original -cast recording retainsmuch of the show's infectious charac-ter. The countrified score (country mu-sic was never quite as knowing as this,I think) comes right up and offers you afriendly lick on the nose from the open-ing number, in which the girls promiseto treat every customer "real nice-and you come back now, hear?" Thisamiability lasts right through to the tri-umph of the local bluenoses at the end,when a vigilante group called theWatch Dogs closes down the Chicken

Ranch, and it's going to be a drearyChristmas for girls of good will.

Just hearing Delores Hall as theblack maid at the Ranch sing Twenty-four Hours of Lovin' is worth the priceof the album. Then there's Glynn,cheerfully explaining the services hergirls offer and the strict house rulesthey work under in A Li'l Ole BittyPissant Country Place. And Jay Garneras the equivocating governor of the

pimps," and "no one messes with mygirls." It's a classy establishmentwhere even the clean-cut members of awinning college football team can safe-ly spend their Thanksgiving holiday;their entrance is marked by a wildlymacho number called The Aggie Song.In sum, everything about The Best Lit-tle Whorehouse is so sassy and agree-able that one wishes the record wouldgo on even longer than it does-a feel -

Delores Hall sings Twenty-four Hour=s of Lovin' as theghost of Marshal McCloud hovers in the background

Lone Star State-who thinks the Arabsand Jews should settle their differencesin the Middle East in a Christian man-ner-avoiding reporters' questions in awily number called The Sidestep. Hen-derson Forsythe as the open-mindedsheriff doesn't get a chance to steal therecord the way he does the show, but atleast we have Good Old Girl as a tokenof his hilarious presence. At the Chick-en Ranch, as Miss Mona explains, "no -thin' dirty" goes on, there are "no

ing not prompted nowadays by toomany musical -"comedy" albums.

-Paul Kresh

THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE INTEXAS (Careg Hall). Original -cast record-ing. Clint Allmon, Pamela Blair, LisaBrown, Gerry Burkhardt, Jay Bursky, TomCashin, Henderson Forsythe, Carlin Glynn,Delores Hall, and others (vocals). RioGrande Band, Craig Chambers cond. MCAMCA -3049 $6.98, © MCAT -3049 $7.98, @MCAC-3049 $7.98.

NOVEMBER 1978 117

CLASSICAL DISCS A\D TAPESReviewed by RICHARD FREED DAVID HALL GEORGE JELLINEK PAUL KRESH

STODDARD LINCOLN ERIC SALZMAN

BARTOK: Roumanian Folk Dances (seeSAINT-SAENS)

BECKER: The Abongo (see COWELL)

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITBERLIOZ: Harold in Italy, Op. 16. Josef Suk(viola); Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Die-trich Fischer-Dieskau cond. SUPRAPHON 410 2005 $7.98 (from Qualiton Records, Ltd.,65-37 Austin Street, Rego Park, N.Y. 11374).

Performance: SpectacularRecording:Ditto

This extraordinary record puts Supraphonright up there with the major European com-panies and establishes Dietrich Fischer-Dies-kau as a genuine conducting personality. Andthen there is the viola playing of Josef Suk,who plays Berlioz's music with a wonderfullyrobust tone and a strong personality. Fischer-Dieskau inspires heroic feats of orchestralbrilliance from the excellent Czech musi-cians. There is a bardic feeling throughout,and the Romantic qualities of melancholy, ec-stasy, turmoil, and melodic vision are set offin vivid relief. The approach is narrative anddramatic, with a finale that is thrilling in itscontrolled impetuosity. The Pilgrim's Marchis fast by the usual measure, and the oboesand horns have the old-fashioned Germantone now to be heard mostly in Eastern Euro-

Explanation of symbols:0 = reel-to-reel stereo tape® = eight -track stereo cartridge© = stereo cassette

= quadraphonic disc= reel-to-reel quadraphonic tape= eight -track quadraphonic tape

Monophonic recordings are indicatedby the symbol M

The first listing is the one reviewed;other formats, if available, follow it.

pean orchestras, but these are not necessarilydrawbacks at all. In fact, like Suk's tone qual-ity, they add character. The recording is im-pressive enough in two channels; in four -channel SQ playback it is spectacular. E.S.

BOITO: Sinfonia in A Minor (see PUCCINI)

BRAHMS: Four Serious Songs, Op. 121 (seeMOUSSORGSKY)

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITBRAHMS: Quintet for Piano and Strings in FMinor, Op. 34. Sviatoslav Richter (piano);Borodin Quartet. WESTMINSTER GOLDWG-8356 $3.98.

Performance: TreasurableRecording: Not bad now

This classic performance of the Brahms PianoQuintet, -recorded in Moscow by Melodiya in1959, has circulated here on various labelsfrom time to time, and each reappearance hasbeen frustrating because the inadequacy ofthe sound made it impossible to enjoy the per-formance to the full. Westminster/ABC'sLanky Linstrot has worked wonders in thislatest remastering, and the strings are in thepicture now. The sound is still hardly exem-plary, even by 1959 standards, but as refur-bished here it is more than adequate to enableany listener to revel in the sweep and gran-deur of this treasurable performance, so alivewith tension and conviction and the sort ofgive-and-take that builds a chamber -musicperformance into an Event. R.F.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITBRAHMS: Serenade No. 1, in D Major, Op.11. Symphony of the Air, Leopold Stokowskicond. VARESE SARABANDE VC 81050 $7.98.

Performance: ExuberantRecording: Very good

The curiously named Varese Sarabande com-pany, formed by three young men in Los An-geles who are serious about sound and inter-ested in "non -basic" repertoire, has brought

us some interesting music from Japan (on su-perb JVC pressings) and some reissues fromboth the Remington and American Decca cat-alogs. Nothing from the last source was moreeminently worthy of resurrection than this su-perb realization of Brahms' first work for or-chestra. Stokowski had a fine feeling for thework-his version is at once more animatedand more warmhearted than either of the twomore recent recordings-and the Symphonyof the Air in this 1961 performance soundsvery much like the NBC Symphony it hadbeen a half -dozen years earlier. The sound,quite good to begin with, has been opened outto a richer, fuller bloom (if still a little fiery inthe string climaxes) in Dub Taylor's remaster-ing, Martin Bookspan's annotation is pre-served from the original issue, and the press-ing itself is unusually clean. In all, downrightirresistible. R .F .

BRAHMS: Three Duets, Op. 20; Four Duets,Op. 61; Five Duets, Op. 66; Wiegenlied, Op.49, No. 4. HANDEL: Beato in Ver Cbi Pub.Renee Grant -Williams (soprano); DorothyBarnhouse (mezzo-soprano); Alden Gilchrist(piano). 1750 ARCH S-1761 $6.98.

Performance: GoodRecording: Good

Writing for vocal ensembles (duets and quar-tets) with piano accompaniment was aBrahms specialty, perhaps a natural out-growth of his activity as a choral director.This thoughtfully assembled collection offersthe three sets of duets for soprano and alto-all rarely heard material. (The four duets foralto and baritone, Op. 28, have been recordedby Dame Janet Baker and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Angel S-36712.) The early Op. 20still shows the composer under the Schu-mann-Mendelssohn influence; in the two latergroups we find more characteristicallyBrahmsian harmonies and a heightened skillin developing the two voices independentlyrather than on parallel lines. Brahms' interestin German folk poetry and song was also animportant influence in this phase of his out-put, as manifested in Die Schwestern (Op. 61)and Jligerlied and Hut du Dich (Op. 66).

118 STEREO REVIEW

Judith Blegen and Frederica von Stadehave recorded five of the twelve duets here(Columbia M-33307), and they sing with morevocal gloss and virtuosity. But Renee Grant -Williams and Dorothy Barnhouse, both sea-soned artists active in opera and recitals onthe West Coast, sing charmingly, clearly, and,what is most essential, with pure intonationthroughout. They also show considerable skillin the Handel duet, which calls for sustainedphrasing and intertwining bel canto lines.

G.J.

BRITTEN: Peter Grimes, Op. 33: Four SeaInterludes; Passacaglia. VAUGHAN WIL-LIAMS: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Ta-Ifs. Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandycond. RCA ARL1-2744 $7.98, © ARK1-2744$7.98.

Performance: Sure -handedRecording: Lush

Eugene Ormandy and his orchestra deliversure -handed renditions of Britten's marvel-ously atmospheric and emotional music fromPeter Grimes, and RCA's recorded sound isgorgeous. Likewise, Vaughan Williams' glori-ous Tallis Fantasia could have been made toorder for the Philadelphia strings, and theymake the most of it. The quiet antiphonal sec-tions come across most effectively (despitesome traffic rumble in the background). But inthe Britten the Philadelphians miss the senseof urgency achieved by Andre Previn and theLondon Symphony in their equally impres-sive -sounding Angel recording. And in theVaughan Williams they face stiff competitionfrom the formidable Sir Adrian Bouit's Angelrecording, which is encoded for four -channelplayback. D. H .

CHAUSSON: Poeme de /'Amour et de la Mer,Op. 19. DUPARC: Phidyle; La Vie Anterieure;Le Manoir de Rosemonde; Au Pays Ob Se Faita Guerre; L'Invitation au Voyage. Janet Ba-ker (mezzo-soprano); London Symphony Or-chestra, Andre Previn cond. ANGEL S-37401 $7.98.

Performance: Very good, but . . .

Recording: Very good

As always, Dame Janet Baker shows nothingless than total commitment in her perfor-mances of these too -seldom -heard works, andthere are more than a few moments of exqui-site beauty on this well -recorded disc, withespecially effective interaction between sing-er and conductor. And yet, for all the dramat-ic conviction, for all the vocal and orchestralopulence, I had a nagging sense of somethingmissing. In the Duparc songs I tended to ex-plain this away in terms of the orchestra's be-ing a less idiomatic participant than the pianooriginally specified for accompaniment, but acomparison of this performance'of the Chaus-son work with the one by Victoria de los An-geles (Angel S-36897, with Jean-Pierre Jac-quillat conducting) suggested that Baker her-self is the "less idiomatic participant"-thatshe is simply not as much at home in thismaterial as she is in the songs of Schubert andBrahms, and that she may be less than com-fortable singing in French (though I did nothave that impression with her earlier record-ings of two of these same Duparc songs withGerald Moore). There is no other collection ofthese Duparc songs now available, with eitherpiano or orchestral accompaniment, that is asattractive as this new one, despite its short-

comings, but for the Chausson the choicewould have to be De los Angeles. R.F.

CHOPIN: Piano Sonata No. 3, in It Minor, Op.58; Berceuse in D -Hat Major, Op. 57; Mazur-kas, Op. 59, Nos. 1, 2, and 3; Nocturnes, Op.55, Nos. 1 and 2 (see Best of the Month, page115)

CHOPIN: Scherzos: No. 1, in B Minor, Op. 20;No. 2, in B -Hat Minor, Op. 31; No. 3, in C -sharp Minor, Op. 39; No. 4, in E Major, Op.54. Impromptus: No. 1, in A -flat Major, Op.29; No. 2, in F -sharp Major, Op. 36; No. 3, inG -flat Major, Op. 51. Fantaisie-Impromptu inC -sharp Minor, Op. 66. Roberto Szidon (pi-ano). DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 2536 378$8.98, © 3336 378 $8.98.

Performance: GlitteryRecording: On the bright side

It is clear from the ferocious opening bars ofthe B Minor Scherzo that Roberto Szidon cando anything he wants to on the piano-andthat he is determined to prove it, even to the

point of out-Horowitzing Horowitz. The re-sults are certainly spectacular on first hearing,but the excessive contrasts in all departments,including certain aspects of tempo, pall on earand mind alike after a while. It is the famousC -sharp Minor Scherzo that suffers most fromthis approach, with the end sections being toofast and the central chorale pulled about likeso much taffy.

Matters improve in the relatively serene EMajor Scherzo and the four impromptus,which, by their very nature, compel a meas-ure of restraint and demand close attention tolyrical content and texture. On the whole,however, Szidon's Chopin is nervously exag-gerated, and the impact is accentuated byeither a very brightly voiced instrument or anexcessive mid -range pre -emphasis in the tape-to -disc transfer. The piano's lower rangecomes through excellently, though. D.H.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITCHOPIN: Twenty-four Preludes, Op. 28. IvanMoravec (piano). SUPRAPHON I 11 2139 $7.98

`Barenboim's SchubertDANIEL BARENBOIM iS a multifaceted mu-

sician, and I am certainly an advocate ofmultifacetedness. Nevertheless, despite hisgrowing fame as a conductor, it was as a bril-liant young pianist that he started his career,and it is as a brilliant, and still youthful, pian-ist that he appears before us on a new Deut-sche Grammophon recording of Schubert pi-ano music.

Barenboim plays the Moments Musicauxwith a wonderful delicacy and a spirit thatevokes a poetic world at once precise and fan-tastic. It is a rare thing to catch the simplicityof this music and to maintain it on such a fineedge without the least touch of fussiness,condescension, or artificiality. The album'ssecond side comprises lesser -known music,but it is hardly of less interest in terms ofeither content or interpretation. The Allegret-to in C Minor is an "album piece," an occa-sional work written for a friend's music al-bum. It is late Schubert of the utmost sim-

plicity-and of major importance. The ValsesNobles, a dozen out of some three hundredSchubert waltzes, contain some of the mostwonderful dance music ever written. And thetwo early scherzos that complete the albumare also quite dancy-No. I in particular-though they seem to have been connectedwith sonata projects. Barenboim's playing ofthem has, in any case, plenty of dance lilt. Butit is in the poetry of the Moments Musicaux-poised between Classicism and the freshestearly Romanticism-that his sensitive, articu-lated pianism is at its best. The sound of therecording is clear throughout, but it is notquite as beautiful as the playing deserves.

-Eric Salzman

SCHUBERT: Six Moments Musicaux, Op. 94(D. 780); Allegretto in C Minor (D. 915); TwoScherzos (D. 593); Twelve Valses Nobles, Op.77 (D. 969). Daniel Barenboim (piano). DEUT-SCHE GRAMMOPHON 2530 996 $8.98.

NOVEMBER 1978119

(from Qualiton Records, Ltd., 65-37 AustinStreet, Rego Park, N.Y. 11374).

Performance: PoeticRecording: Good

It is good to have new Moravec recordingscoming fairly regularly now from Supraphon.The Mozart, Schumann, and Franck concert-ed works have been most welcome, and if thisdisc excites any less enthusiasm it is only be-cause Moravec's earlier recording of the Pre-ludes (Connoisseur Society CS -1366) left littleneed for a remake. Naturally, an artist of Mo-ravec's sensitivity adds depth to his interpre-tations over the years, and one may feel aneven higher level of poetry is reached now insuch a piece as the D -flat Major Prelude (No.15); one may feel also that the drama tends tobe too understated in the final D Minor,whose appassionato marking, however, iswell realized in terms of inner tension if notthe sort of grand flourish one is accustomedto. Degrees of difference between this and theearlier Moravec presentation, though, areslight where encountered, and the Supraphonsound, though no better than Connoisseur's,is very good in its own right. No separatingbands between pieces, but the surfaces arevery quiet. R. F.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITCOWELL: Quartet Romantic. RIEGGER:Wind Quintet. R. C. SEEGER: Three Songs.Beverly Morgan (mezzo-soprano, in Seegeronly); members of Speculum Musicae, PaulDunkel cond. BECKER: The Abongo. New

Jersey Percussion Ensemble at William Pater-son College, Raymond DesRoches cond.NEW WORLD NW 285 $8.98.

Performance: All goodRecording: Special

Henry Cowell's Quartet Romantic (for two flutes, violin, and viola) was written between1915 and 1917, but don't let the title and datesfool you; this is very much a work of the mod-ern age. It was, in fact, so far ahead of its timethat a realization of the score has only recent-ly become possible. As in one or two of hisother works of the time, Cowell here pursuedan idea about the interrelation of harmonyand rhythm-that both are based on math-ematical ratios-which has lately reappearedin the works of Stockhausen. The quartet isconsequently so complex-each part is com-pletely independent rhythmically, yet theymust all fit together-that Cowell himself con-sidered it unplayable. But, thanks to prere-corded "click tracks" heard through head-phones, the superb young performers of Spe-culum Musicae have been able to put togethera performance that is not merely competentbut actually attractive and musical. As a re-sult, the work emerges as one of the majorpioneering efforts by one of our major, butstill neglected, creative figures.

At least two of the other works on this al-bum might also be called "pioneering." JohnJ. Becker, today hardly more than a name inthe reference books, was another of Cowell'sgeneration of American eccentrics and in-novators. The Abongo, written in 1933, is anearly all -percussion piece intended to refer to

African tradition. It is neo-primitive, intrigu-ing, heavy-footed, and nothing if not persist-ent. Ruth Crawford Seeger was one of themost notable figures of this period of ferment.Together with her husband, Charles Seeger,she made the transition from avant-gardism tofolk music (her stepson Pete and her own chil-dren, Mike and Peggy, were, of course, pio-neer folkies). The impressive settings of threeCarl Sandburg poems recorded here datefrom her avant-garde period and their expres-sive content is extraordinary.

Wallingford Riegger's Wind Quintet is a bitcloser to the main run of modern music. It iswell written and has lots of dynamic vigor.Like everything else on this album, it is per-formed with great elan, and, as usual, NewWorld Records has provided a sheaf of notes,texts, and references. E.S.

DEBUSSY: Preludes for Piano, Books I and 2(see Best of the Month, page 116)

DEBUSSY: String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 10.RAVEL: String Quartet in F Major. OrfordQuartet. LONDON STS -15440 $3.98.

Performance: Brisk Debussy,supple Ravel

Recording: Close-up

This appears to be the recording debut-interms of U.S. release, at least-of the Toron-to -based Orford Quartet (a group of youngishperformers, to judge from the cover photo-graph and the liner information that they wonfirst prize at the Stockholm InternationalCompetition as recently as 1974). They play

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with great assurance, suggesting they havebeen together long enough to develop a trulyunified style as well as a good understandingof the material. Their polished Debussy andRavel performances would make anyone hap-py enough in the recital room, but on records,with so many similar pairings to choose from,one may be very selective. In particular, theQuartetto Italiano (Philips 835 361LY) and theParrenin Quartet (Connoisseur SocietyCS -2103), both with long associations withthese works (including previous recordings),dig in a little deeper and bring out a bit moreof the music's essence. The Orford's Debussyseems rather on the brisk side, as if, in suchmoments as the climax of the slow move-ment, the musicians were inhibited by the fearof being overexpressive; they are more ex-pansive and more persuasive in the Ravel.Both sides are well recorded, though with anextremely close-up focus that occasionallytends to exaggerate certain effects (the piz-zicati in the second movement of the Ravelsound gargantuan). A good buy at the price,but the Parrenin and Quartetto Italians ver-sions are worth the difference. R.F.

DOHNANYI: Quintet in C Minor for Pianoand Strings, Op. 1; Serenade in C Major forViolin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 10. New LondonQuintet. HNH 4072 $7.98.

Performance: Adequate to goodRecording: Very good

DOHNANYI: Rhapsody in C Major, Op. 11,No. 3; Passacaglia, Op. 6; Variations on a Hun-garian Folk Song, Op. 29; Three Singular

Pieces, Op. 44. Howard Shelley (piano). HNH4055 $7.98.

Performance: Low-keyRecording: Very good

Ernst von Dolinanyi died in 1960 at the age ofeighty-two; his centenary passed last yearwithout notice. He may not have been amongthe most original of composers, but he was aconsummate musician: his own works are in-variably well crafted, tuneful, appealinglycolored, and well proportioned, and other as-pects of his musicianship might well be pre-served in the form of a reissue of his famousrecording, as both soloist and conductor, ofMozart's Piano Concerto in G Major (K. 453)with the Budapest Philharmonic. It was goodto have the lovable orchestral Suite in F -sharpMinor put into circulation again two years ago(Milton Katims conducting, Turnabout TV -S34623), and it.is a nice surprise to be offeredthese additional chamber and solo piecesnow. It is downright astounding that so attrac-tive a work as the Serenade for String Trio isonly now receiving its first stereo recording,and I wish I could be more enthusiastic aboutthis performance by New London Quintetmembers Norman Freeman (violin), KennethEssex (viola), and Peter Willison (cello). Itstrikes me as no more than adequate-actual-ly rather spiritless in spots-and certainly notin the same league as the classic Heifetz/Primrose/Feuermann version (still availableon RCA 0 LVT-1017) or the more sumptu-ously recorded Pougnet/Riddle/Pini (alsomono, but good enough for us to hope West-minster might reissue it). But the Piano Quin-

tet, a lesser but extremely amiable workwhich hasn't been around for years, fares bet-ter: with pianist Frank Wibaut and violinistRolf Wilson added to the perfornung person-nel the group conies to life and gives a charm-ing performance.

Dohnanyi's piano music used to, circulate abit more than it does now, especially the rhap-sodies. I can't pretend to find anything verystriking in any of the pieces played by How-ard Shelley, but they are all attractive enoughand certainly well made, and there is enoughcontrast to add up to a good program. TheThree Singular Pieces (Burletta, Nocturne-Cats on the Roof, Perpetuum Mobile), com-posed in Florida as late as 1951, are intriguing,whimsical little pieces that are sure to be newto most listeners. Shelley's playing is assured,if somewhat understated. It has a certain air ofintimacy about it which does not seem theleast bit contrived, but rather suggests that heis playing music he knows and loves well forhis own pleasure, and for ours too, if we hap-pen to be listening. R.F.

DUPA RC: Five Songs (see CHAUSSON)

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITDVORAK: Piano Trio No. 3, in F Minor, Op.65. Suk Trio. DENort/PCM OX -7122 -ND $14(from selected audio dealers).

Performance: OutstandingRecording: Outstanding

This is not the much admired recording thathas circulated for the last ten or twelve years

CALLASThe Legend on Angel Records.

Bellini: Norma. (3 LPs) SCL-3615;Hits. S-35666

Bellini: I Puritani. (3 LPs) CL -3502Bizet: Carmen. (3 LPs) SCLX-3650;

Hits. S-36312Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor.

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Angel

on Supraphon SUAST-50817, but a new one,made just a year and a half ago as a co -pro-duction of the Czechoslovak company andNippon Columbia, in a series in which eachfirm records the same session with its ownpersonnel and equipment. Supraphon is issu-ing these recordings in SQ quadraphony, theJapanese in two -channel stereo using Denon'sPCM (pulse -code modulation) digital process,which, to my ear, yields results virtually un-paralleled in dynamic range, freedom fromdistortion, and overall realism. The Suk Triohas been remaking much of its discographyfor this series-the Schubert B -flat Trio, theBeethoven Archduke, the Tchaikovsky A Mi-nor, and the complete cycle of Dvoiak trios ofwhich the present disc represents the secondof three installments (the Opp. 21 and 26 triosare on Denon OX -7114 -ND). The new perfor-mance is every bit as splendid as the earlierone-charged with passionate conviction andthe affection born of lifelong intimacy withthe material (the heart that isn't melted by thesoaring sweetness of Josef Suk's violin in theslow movement must have stopped beatinglong ago)-and it is easily the best -soundingrecording of this work yet offered to the pub-lic. The price is steep, and the annotative in-sert is in Japanese only (except for the blurbson the performers and the PCM process), butthe impeccable pressing is as impressive asthe performance and the recording. R.F.

FALLA: Spanish Dance No. I (see SAINT-SAENS)

FRESCOBALDI: Toccata Decima; Cento Par-tite sopra Passacagli; Canzona Terza; ToccataNona; Capriccio sopra la Bassa Fiamenga; Toc-cata Nona; Canzon Terza detta La Crivelli;Partite No. 14 sopra L'Aria della Romanesca.Bob van Asperen (harpsichord). TELEFUNK-EN 6.42174 AW $8.98.

Performance: Frescobaldi with soulRecording: Very good

Frescobaldi is one of those music -history big-gies whose work has not survived very well inperformance. His importance is uncontested.He was organist at St. Peter's, Rome, in theearly seventeenth century, and people flockedthere to hear the music-something, alas, thathas not occurred much since. Like his con-temporary Bernini, Frescobaldi was a seminalfigure for Baroque art. His personal, intense,fantasy music comes out of the late Renais-sance (the style known in art history as "man-nerism") and looks forward to J. S. Bach. Butwhereas the music of Bach and the high Ba-roque is tightly structured, Frescobaldi's isdecidedly rhapsodic. His canvases were largeand within them he worked with a lot of free-dom, a big range, and very spontaneous feel-ings. The rules were not yet fixed, the formshad not jelled into standard patterns, and theharmonies and tonalities are open and oftenrather daring. It is a performer's style, not farremoved from improvisation, and the greatfame of this music in its own day was in largepart due to the composer's own performingwizardry. Nothing dies more quickly than aperforming style undocumented except by an-cient scores; the written notes simply do nottell enough of the story. And so Frescobaldiwas long ago laid to rest in the honorable lim-bo of the library shelf.

Modern attempts to revive Frescobaldi'smusic necessarily involve a great deal of per-sonal vision and daring. Bob van Asperen is a

Dutch harpsichordist with enough soul to putinto these works to give them life. His arerhapsodic interpretations with character and afine sense of the drama of early Baroque art. Isuspect that the best solution to the puzzle ofFrescobaldi-a better balance between strict-ness and freedom-has yet to be found, butuntil then Van Asperen's performances cer-tainly shed a great deal of light on a fascinat-ing dark corner of European music. E. S .

GEMINIANI: Concerti Grossi, Op. 3, Nos.14. Jaap Schroder (violin); Academy of An-cient Music, Christopher Hogwood cond.L'OISEAU-LYRE DSLO 526 $7.98.

Performance: ShallowRecording:Thin

Almost more than any other concerti grossi,Geminiani's Op. 3 brings to mind Quantz'sadmonition to observe "a majestic ritornello"which should be "more serious than jocular."When I put on the Academy of Ancient Mu-sic's recording of these wonderful pieces, myfirst reaction was to rush to my turntable toturn the speed down from 45 to 33 rpm. But itwas already set at 33. The musicians achievesuch an effect not only by excessively fasttempos but also through exaggerated doubledotting and an all-pervading detache. Theyplay old instruments and provide a swellingand dying on every possible note. This is ob-viously an "authentic" performance. Thefunny thing is that, as the record went on, Igot used to it. The musicians, after all, play intune, and the ensemble is fine. They are cer-tainly consistent in everything they do andcreate an integrity of their own. Even so,there is a heavy air of dutifulness about thisperformance that is disturbing. S.L.

GERSHWIN/WILD: Grand Fantasy on Airsfrom "Porgy and Bess"; Seven VirtuosoEtudes on Popular Songs. Earl Wild (piano).QUINTESSENCE PMC-7060 $3.98.

Performance: Dazzling, but overdoneRecording: Very good

With his diamond -sharp tone and supplefmgerwork, pianist Earl Wild is surely one ofour national treasures. When it comes toGershwin, I would rather hear Wild at the pi-ano in the Concerto in F or Rhapsody in Bluethan anybody else (with the possible excep-tion of Jesus Maria Sanroma in his prime).Wild not only chooses the right tempos, keepsthe action briskly moving, and makes his in-strument speak in a kind of musical NewYorkese, but he adds a touch of grandeur thattranscends the music's street -level origins andsets it glittering in penthouse white tie andtails. I looked forward, therefore, with excep-tional eagerness to hearing his Grand Fantasyon Airs from Porgy and Bess, but it is a bit ofa letdown. Wild has done all sorts of cleverthings in his transcription-a fugetta to in-troduce I Got Plenty of Nothin', juxtaposi-tions of orchestral and vocal excerpts to cre-ate an elaborate pianistic tapestry-but there-in lies the trouble. The resulting musical pic-ture is simply too ingenious, too gussied up,too highly colored, too decorated with rills,trills, and folderol. The same kind of treat-ment mars the Seven Virtuoso Etudes on Pop-ular Songs, all of which were set quite satis-factorily for piano by Gershwin himself. Theplaying, however, is dazzling. P.K.



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an, post-Bartolcian style that suggests his laterinterests but in a very different context. It is astrong, somewhat inconsistent piece of con-siderable inspiration and power.

The two orchestral recordings were madelive during concert performances (and includesome lukewarm, utterly unnecessary ap-plause). The others are quite good studiojobs. E.S.

LISZT: Prometheus; Les Preludes; Festklange.London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solticond. LONDON CS 7084 $7.98, © CS5 7084$7.95.

Performance: BrilliantRecording: Full-bodied, but ...

Only the lack of what I consider to be effec-tive stereo depth illusion, especially in LesPreludes, keeps me from putting this disc intothe "Special Merit" category, for Sir GeorgSolti elicits from his players the kind of crack-ling performances that these Liszt symphonicpoems need to become convincing to twen-tieth-century ears. Prometheus combinessplendidly defiant gestures, intensely lyricelements, and an effective bit of fugato, but Imust say that I find Festklange rather emptyof substance and overly long. Les Preludes,when accorded a reading on the order of thelegendary Mengelberg's-which this oneclosely approaches-can still stir the blood

London's recording here boasts a superblyfull-bodied low register; the bass drum in theclosing pages of Les Preludes is especiallytelling, as are the high -register cymbals. Whatis lacking, however, is the sense of lateralspace and depth that can do so much to openup the middle -register textures of Liszt'sscoring. The Solti/Orchestre de Paris record-ing of Liszt's Tasso, Mephisto Waltz, andFrom the Cradle to the Grave is outstanding inthis respect. Here I get the feeling of manymicrophones closely placed, so that the soundemerging from the speakers seems to be from

GRIEG: Five Songs; Den Bergtekne, Op. 32(see R. STRAUSS)

HANDEL: Beato in Ver Chi Pith (seeBRAHMS)

KREISLER: Recitativo and Scherzo Capriccio,Op. 6 (see SAINT-SAKNS)

LIGETI: Double Concerto for Flute, Oboe,and Orchestra; San Francisco Polyphony. Gu-nilla von Bahr (flute); Torleif Lannerholm(oboe); Swedish Radio Orchestra, Elgar Ho-warth cond. String Quartet No. 1 ("Metamor-phoses Nocturnes"). Voces Intimae Quartet.Continuum. Eva Nordwall (harpsichord). BBLP -53 $8.98 (from Qualiton Records, Ltd.,65-37 Austin Street, Rego Park, N.Y. 11374).

Performance: Composer -supervisedRecording: Good to excellent

Gyorgy Ligeti was born in Hungary in 1923,left his native country in 1956, and has sinceestablished himself as one of the leading Eu-ropean avant-gardists. His post -1956 style ischaracterized by a technique of composing insound densities and colors, a music of chang-ing sound clusters that is represented here bythe short but busy Continuum for harpsi-chord. Since the early 1970's, he has widenedhis scope quite a bit to include contrasting ele-ments-more in the manner of (so to speak)"real" music. Examples are the Double Con-certo of 1971-1972 and San Francisco Poly-phony (1973-1974), a work that hovers be-tween the ultimate order of the tone clusterand random disorder in a manner that is veryexpressionistic in effect. It is curious, but onesenses something like real passion lurking justbeneath the strange and alienating surface ofthis music. It is effective stuff, although, likemuch cluster and pulse music of recent vin-tage, it has little depth and does not wear well.

The early String Quartet No.1 was writtenbefore Ligeti's emigration in a very Hungari-

IVESINSURED

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the conductor's rather than the audience'sperspective. However, chacun a son gout.

In any event the performances are justsplendid, and I hope that Solti will completehis disc traversal of the Liszt tone poems. It'sdoubtful that his recorded performances ofthem will be surpassed in our time. D.H.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITMAHLER: Symphony No. 4, in G Major.Frederica von Stade (mezzo-soprano); Vien-na Philharmonic, Claudio Abbado cond.DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 2530 966 $8.98, ©3300 966 $8.98.

Performance: MovingRecording: Outstanding

Vienna was, of course, the last place to ap-preciate the genius of Gustav Mahler. True, inthe early days there were such VienneseMahler disciples as Bruno Walter, but theViennese always preferred Bruckner andeven minor native sons to their difficult HerrGeneralmusikdirektor. In a sense, it wasLeonard Bernstein who finally brought Mah-ler to a full measure of acceptance in his na-tive city, and it is fitting that Abbado, whostarted out as something of a Bernstein pro-tege, should continue the good work. Al-though this is not as extravagant as a Bern-stein reading, it is a performance of great dy-namic and expressive range. The Fourth isMahler's most joyous work-and, in someways, his most "Viennese" (that is, his mostSchubertian). The Viennese musicians are onhome ground, and the sound is consistentlywonderful without ever being lost in a welterof details. Abbado has captured the long lineswith a sureness, delicacy, and glow of feelingthat is most moving, and Frederica von Stadeadds just the right note of vocal simplicity tothe folk -song finale. The ease and appeal of aperformance like this suggest a whole newlevel of popularity-and not just in Vienna-for a composer once considered difficult and/or esoteric. E.S.

MENDELSSOHN: Symphonies: No. 1, in CMinor, Op. 11; No. 2, in B -Hat Major, Op. 52("Hymn of Praise"); No. 3, in A Minor, Op. 56("Scotch"); No. 4, in A Major, Op. 90 ("Ital-ian"); No. 5, in D Minor, Op. 107 ("Reforma-tion"). Celestina Casapietra, Adele Stolte (so-pranos); Peter Schreier (tenor); Leipzig RadioChorus; Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra,Kurt Masur CORd. VANGUARD/CARDINALVCS 10133/6 four discs $15.98.

Performance: Carefully detailedRecording: Good to excellent

Kurt Mazur, leading the orchestra with whichMendelssohn himself was so closely associat-ed, goes to great pains here to minimize thepompous aspects of such occasional music asthe Reformation Symphony and the Hymn ofPraise symphony -cantata (composed for theGutenberg quadricentennial festival in Leip-zig) and to make the most of the textural deli-cacy of Mendelssohn's instrumentation andclarity of line. Indeed, the comparativelymodest body of violin tone heard in the famil-iar Italian and Scotch Symphonies suggeststhat Masur was seeking to approximate thesonority and balance of the orchestra as itmust have been in Mendelssohn's day. Cer-tainly the Gewandhaus Orchestra winds havea chance to display their very considerable


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agility and finesse, most notably in the devel-opment sections of the Italian Symphony'send movements.

The First Symphony, a product of thefifteen -year -old Mendelssohn, is a real charm-er with echoes of Weber, Schubert, and Mo-zart. It is good to hear the Reformation divest-ed of some of its Teutonic pomp, yet there isno loss of festive atmosphere at the end. TheHymn of Praise has its fine moments, mostlyin some of the brilliant writing of the openingorchestral section and in its slow movement,and some not so fine ones in the more obvi-ously ceremonial choral episodes. Masurbrings out what is best in the music, com-manding splendid singing from the LeipzigRadio Chorus and having in soloists CelestinaCasapietra and Peter Schreier musicians ofstar quality. Both bring the utmost dramatictension and sustained lyrical line to their soloand duet assignments. But, despite the finessethat Masur and his players bring to the twomost popular of the symphonies, I must con-fess a preference for the grander scale of Her-bert von Karajan's Scotch and Leonard Bern -stein's Italian. The sound of the Eurodisc tap-ing is somewhat variable, effective in the FirstSymphony and the Hymn of Praise but just amite anemic elsewhere. Nevertheless, at thelow price this Vanguard set represents excel-lent value. D.H.

MERCADANTE: Sinfonia on Themes of Ross-ini's Stabat Mater (see PUCCINI)

MOUSSORGSKY: Songs and Dances of Death.BRAHMS: Four Serious Songs, Op. 121. ErikSaed6n (baritone); Hans Nilsson (piano). BBLP -70 $8.98.


Death is the protagonist in these gloomy cy-cles: an imminent menace in the Moussorgskysongs, the unavoidable certainty and liberat-ing force in the Brahms cycle. Listening to thetwo will not cheer you up, but the pairing islogical. Some years ago, George London re-corded both cycles (now on Columbia SpecialProducts AMS 6734). His was a more sonor-ous and generally more solemn rendition thanErik Saeden's more inward one. Saeden, adistinguished member of the Stockholm Op-era for more than a quarter of a century, is aseasoned interpreter. His vocal resources aremodest nowadays, and here he favors a lighttone and wisely graduated dynamics. Hemeets the challenges of the music skillfully,with only occasional hints of effort, thoughsome of the climaxes (Moussorgsky's Warri-or and the fourth Brahms song in particular)clearly call for more passion as well as agreater volume of sound. The interpretationsare nonetheless artistic, but competition is ex-tremely stiff in the Moussorgsky, whereChristoff and Vishnevskaya (with orchestra)and Arkhipova (with piano) lead the field. Inthe Brahms songs, the recording by Alexan-der Kipnis (Seraphim 60076) continues to bethe touchstone. Fischer-Dieskau's version(his third) is not available on a single disc, butthere is an admirable alternative by MaureenForrester on London STS -15113. G.J.

MOZART: Betulia Liberata (K. 118). Claes H.Ahnsjo (tenor), Ozia; Birgit Finnila (contral-to), Giuditta; Kari Lovaas (soprano), Amital;Siegfried Vogel (bass), Achior; Kate Gam-berucci (soprano), Cabri; Ursula Reinhardt -

128

Kiss (soprano), Carmi; Berlin Radio Chorus;Berlin Chamber Orchestra, Vittorio Negricond. PHILIPS 6703 087 three discs $26.94.

Performance: LethargicRecording: Good

One by one we are getting recordings of all ofMozart's early dramatic and nearly dramaticworks. Betulia Liberata must be classified as"nearly" . . and not so near at that. Likethe recently recorded Mitridate, it is a fruit ofMozart's Italian tour of 1770-1771. The text isa version of the story of Judith and Holo-fernes written by the famous Metastasio as adramatic oratorio. Unfortunately, Metastasiodisplays almost no interest in either Judith orHolofernes (he does not even appear) andconcentrates instead on theological disputesand the conversion of a certain Achior, Princeof the Ammonites. This material must havestruck the average eighteenth -century sophis-ticate about the same way it strikes us today.At any rate, the other composers of the day,who generally loved Metastasio, avoided Be-tulia Liberata like the plague, and Mozart'sversion seems not to have been performed atall until modern times.

Nevertheless, at the age of fifteen Mozartwas no mean vocal composer, and this scorehas its beauties. The most striking number isthe finale for alto and chorus based on plain-song. Whenever a dramatic excuse presentsitself-Achior's description of Holofernes,Carmi's description of the Assyrian terror,the aria Judith sings as she goes out to seduceand assassinate Holofernes-Mozart is fullyequal to the task. But there is nothing trulylyric or reflective in the text-only sappy reli-gious meditations, and even Mozart could notrise to these occasions.

Nor do the performers here. The cast in-cludes some excellent singers who have spe-cialized in early Mozart, and Negri is wellknown as a Mozart conductor; nevertheless, the performance never takes off. E.S.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITMOZART: Mass in C Minor (K. 427). ValerieMasterson, Christiane Baumann (sopranos);Martin Klietmann (tenor); Michel Brodard(bass); Symphonic Chorus and Orchestra ofthe Gulbenkian Foundation of Lisbon, MichelCorboz cond. ERATO STU 71100 $9.98 (fromEuroclass Record Distributors, Ltd., 155

Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y.10013).

Performance: ExcellentRecording:Clear, attractive

Mozart's great C Minor Mass is supposed tohave been written on the occasion of his mar-riage to Constanza Weber, but for some rea-son it was never completed. Even so, it standsas one of the monuments of the Classical peri-od. Calouste Gulbenkian was an Armenian oilbillionaire who lived in England but endoweda foundation in Lisbon that supports a varietyof musical activities of international scopeand quality-as evidenced by this excellentrecording and performance. This is a strong,dynamic reading with an energetic forwardmotion that never flags. The solo singing isnotably strong-one of the sopranos, presum-ably Valerie Masterson (there is no way to tellfor sure), is particularly impressive-and therecording is clear and vivid. E.S.


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THAT'S IMAGINAHON.THAT'S PLYMOUTH.CIRCLE NO. 23 ON READER SERVICE CARD

MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 25, in C Ma-jor; Serenade No. 13, in G Major (see Best ofthe Month, page 113)

PAINE: Mass in D. Carmen Balthrop (so-prano); Joy Blackett (contralto); Vinson Cole(tenor); John Cheek (bass); St. Louis Sym-phony Chorus and Orchestra, Gunther Schul-ler cond. NEW WORLD NW 262/3 two discs$15.96.

Performance: DedicatedRecording: Reasonably good

Viewed in historical perspective (which theelaborate notes accompanying this ambitiousproduction facilitate doing), the Mass in D byJohn Knowles Paine (1838-1906) seems a con-siderable achievement, an almost -master-piece, if you will, not of "American music"but of music composed by an American. TheMass was begun in 1859, when Paine, then inhis early twenties, was still studying in Ger-many, and it was completed in the U.S. dur-ing the Civil War. Its more somber pages al-most compel one to think of it as a "Mass inTime of War." It is a young man's music, andit is far fresher in quality and harmonic re-source than what Paine wrote in later yearsafter he had achieved eminence as the found-er of Harvard's music department.

Paine set the entire text of the Roman Cath-olic Mass-a strange choice for one reared ina New England Protestant environment-andscored it for the Classical forces of solo quar-tet, chorus, symphony orchestra, and organ.In terms of coloration, these forces are em-ployed with genuine imagination, especially

the woodwinds and organ. There are plenty ofderivative elements-the overuse of persist-ent rhythmic figures suggests Schumann, thebass aria "Et in sanctum spiritum" and the"Et vitam venturi" fugue recall Handel andHaydn, respectively-but there are plenty oforiginal passages that would do credit to anycomposer at any time, of any nationality. Ex-amples are the opening Kyrie, a somber andpowerful sonata movement with highly effec-tive use of fugato; the beautiful contralto soloin the "Qui tollis" section of the Gloria; andthe majestic introduction to the concludingfugue of the Gloria.

I confess to finding the opening of the Cre-do rather stuffily Victorian, but the intenselyricism of the "Et incarnatus est" sopranosolo could melt the stoniest heart. A mosteffective dramatic touch is the major resolu-tion on "sepultus est" at the end of the Cru-cifixus, which is otherwise of a stygian gloom.There is some splendid neo-Renaissance lyri-cal polyphony in the Confiteor, which is acappella, and in the organ -accompanied Sanc-tus. The hushed "Dona nobis pacem" thatconcludes the Mass is very moving. Onecould perhaps complain about some excessivestring/wind doubling here and there, but re-member when the work was composed:Brahms' German Requiem had yet to beheard and Verdi's Requiem was still someyears off; Haydn, possibly Beethoven, cer-tainly Mendelssohn and Spohr, Bach learnedin the organ loft-these were Paine's chiefmodels. When the Mass was heard for thefirst time in the U.S.-in 1868, a year afterPaine conducted the world premiere in Ber-

lin-the New England and Boston conser-vatories of music had just been founded, andthe Harvard department was still two years inthe future. So for an American composer tocarry off a long, elaborate choral -orchestralwork of this scope was indeed no mean feat.

Conductor Gunther Schuller, the splendidteam of vocal soloists, the excellently trainedSt. Louis Symphony Chorus, and the veryable St. Louis Symphony Orchestra all de-serve the very highest praise for a truly dedi-cated performance. I only wish that the re-cording had been better. The New World discisn't bad; it just isn't as good as it could havebeen. The soloists and chorus fare better thanthe orchestra, and the balances are fine in ev-ery respect. But the orchestra sounds some-what muffled: the big climaxes never reallyopen up, and there is never the sense of a siz-able orchestral body (though the pickup of in-dividual sections, the winds especially, isbeautifully handled). I suspect too many mi-crophones, too close up. Nonetheless, the al-bum documents an early landmark in the high -art music of America. D. H.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITPROKOFIEV: Sonata No. 7, in B -Hat Major,Op. 83; Sonata No. 9, in C Major, Op. 103.Tedd Joselson (piano). RCA ARL1-2753$7.98, © ARK1-2753 $7.98.

Performance: Gently elegantRecording: Sounds good

One by one, Prokofiev's piano sonatas aregetting out. The Ninth, his last completed pi -

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ano composition (there is an incomplete Sona-ta No. 10), is one of those late -period worksthat searches out the utmost simplicity and di-rectness of expression. Successfully too, Ithink: the music is beautiful and moving.

One way to get an unfamiliar sonata record-ed is to pair it with a familiar one. In Pro-kofiev's case that has to be No. 7, certainlyone of the most popular piano sonatas of thetwentieth century. Tedd Joselson, who is re-cording all the Prokofiev sonatas, plays thismusic with restraint and elegance. The neo-Classicism of No. 9 is right up his alley. ButNo. 7, usually treated as a thud -and -blunderitem, is also really quite appealing in this gent-ler, suaver treatment. The re-evaluation ofProkofiev as a neo-Classicist is quite to thepoint, and the recording sounds good. E. S.

PUCCINI: Preludio Sinfonico; Capriccio Sin-fonico. Edgar: Preludio. MERCADANTE! Sin-fonia on Themes of Rossini's Stabat Mater.VERDI: La Battaglia di Legnano: Overture.BOITO: Sinfonia in A Minor. Monte CarloOpera Orchestra, Claudio Scimone cond.ERATO STU 71040 $8.98 (from Euroclass Dis-tributors, Ltd., 155 Avenue of the Americas,New York, N.Y. 10013).


Here is an endlessly fascinating disc-for meat least-with not a single piece of significantor distinctive music among its contents. Bestof the lot, not surprisingly, is the Verdi over-ture, in the composer's characteristic vein forthat revolutionary period (1849). Mer-

cadante's Sinfonia, a potpourri of choice mel-odies from Rossini's Stabat Mater, representsan intrepid attempt to find suitable orchestralguises for stubbornly vocal music that resistssuch efforts. Boito's Sinfonia is also an oper-atic overture, and it displays intimate knowl-edge of Verdi's Luisa Miller. It is full: ofcatchy melodies that make you hum alongwithout the benefit of previous acquaint-ance-but it was written by a sixteen -year -oldwho was still far from the probingly originalspirit he was to become. Most intriguing arethe Puccini excerpts. The Edgar Preludio wasintended ftir a Madrid performance conduct-ed by Mancinelli, and it is not published aspart of the complete score. Its opening soundslike a sketch for the Roman dawn in Tosca'sfinal act. The other two are from Puccini'sstudent years. The lyrical Preludio Sinfonia,with its luscious scoring, foreshadows Edgar.The Capriccio is a bit disjointed, but it willelectrify listeners by springing on them the fa-miliar opening measures of La Boheme withsubsequent orchestral elaborations.

Claudio Scimone conducts affectionatelyand zestfully, and the orchestra matches thecompetence but incomplete refinement off thematerial. Don't look for substance here; lookfor fun, and you won't be disappointed. G.J.

RAVEL: String Quartet in F Major (see DE-BUSSY)

REIGGER: Wind Quintet (see COWELL)

ROOT: The Haymakers, Part 2. Erma Rose(piano); North Texas State University Grand

Chorus, Frank McKinley cond. NEW WORLDNW 234 $8.98.

Performance: EnergeticRecording Good

Primitive American art of the visual varietyfetches fabulous prices these days, but fewpeople are yet aware of an equivalent musicalart. With the revival of early American musicin full swing, however, it is not surprising thatsomeone has rediscovered George F. Root.Root, born in Massachusetts in 1820, was thesuccessor to a long line of New England sing-ing teachers and composer -educators thatstretched from the seventeenth century toWilliam Billings m the eighteenth and LowellMason in the nineteenth. Root consideredhimself as much an educator as a composer,and his own works were all written for verypractical purposes. In 1856, Lowell Mason'sson commissioned a secular cantata fromRoot for the Mason Brothers publishinghouse. The subject chosen was haymaking,and Root-who had been brought up on afarm-wrote both words and music. The Hay-makers, subtitled "An Operatic Cantata,"was performed in 1860, apparently with rudi-mentary staging. It had a great success andwas frequently performed in the next fewyears, but the Civil War put an end to suchfripperies and afterwards European operadefinitely triumplried in the U.S. over the awk-ward native attempts.

Is it possible to describe Root's master-piece without seeming to damn it with faintpraise? It is naive in outlook and execution,primitive harmonically and contrapuntally,

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and not especially distinguished melodically.And yet it is a work of the greatest charm.Not the least part of that charm is its com-pletely winning sincerity. And, most impor-tant, Root knew the voice and how to make itwork for him. His choral writing is more thancharming; it is, with the simplest of means, re-ally ingenious. From the opening "Goodmorning" to the traditional echo chorus, thehaying, the storm, the laughing brook, and"Harvest Home," Root sketches everythingwith simplicity, a beguiling cleverness, andjoie de vivre. The naiveté is, of course, noproblem at all, but simply part of the charm.

This recording is not of the entire work butonly of Part 2, with a couple of interpolationsfrom earlier sections. The choral singing isfirst-class; the soloists are not particularly im-pressive but are perhaps closer to the spiritthan most operatic or concert stars wouldhave been. As usual, New World Records hasprovided a full text and generous notes. Therecording should spark not only listener inter-est but also a revival of the work as a naturalfor schools and choral societies-the verykinds of musical organizations for which TheHaymakers was written. E.S.

SAINT-SAENS: Symphony No. 3, in C Minor("Organ"). Leonard Raver (organ); NewYork Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein cond.COLUMBIA M 34573 $7.98, ® MT 34573$7.98, © MA 34573 $7.98.

Performance: SplendidRecording: Excellent

Camille Saint-Saens; the Renaissance man ofmid -nineteenth century music who dabbled inscience, wrote essays, and drew caricatureswhen he wasn't composing or writing causticletters to French newspapers, actually wrotefive symphonies, though only three are num-bered. They have all been recorded, but it isthe mammoth Third, or Organ Symphony,that the public has taken to its heart. Saint-Saens, whose music often makes up in spec-tacularity what it lacks in profundity, wantedhis symphony to "benefit by the progress ofmodern instrumentation"-and benefit it did.No other piece of the period has quite thesame orchestral opulence. The composer him-self had been an organist for twenty-fouryears and knew how to exploit the rich re-sources of that instrument. When the firsttheme of the first movement emerges again inthe finale in throbbing organ tones with fullorchestral accompaniment, it's a heady ex-perience indeed. Perhaps that is why there arenow fifteen recorded performances of thesymphony listed in Schwann. If, by chance,there isn't a Saint-Saens Third already in yourcollection, this mighty new one under Bern-stein rivals any on discs to date and could beyour number -one candidate. The New YorkPhilharmonic is in excellent fettle, and Leon-ard Raver coaxes immense, magnificentchords from the great organ of the MethuenMemorial Music Hall. There may not be ascrap of real feeling behind the entire enter-prise, and for all I know the organ passagescould have been recorded separately anddubbed in later or the whole thing put togetherwith splicing tape, but it sounds wonderful!

P. K.

SAINT-SAENS: Violin Sonata No. 1, in D Mi-nor, Op. 75; Violin Sonata No. 2, in E -Hat Ma-jor, Op. 102. Robert Murray (violin); Jane Ab-


132CIRCLE NO. 17 ON READER SERVICE CARD

STEREO REVIEW

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bott (piano). MUSICAL HERITAGE SOCIETYMHS 3785 $4.95 (plus 950 shipping charge,from Musical Heritage Society, 14 Park Road,Tinton Falls, N.J. 07724).

Performance: EngagingRecording: Good

SAINT-SAENS: Violin Sonata No. 1, in D Mi-nor, Op. 75. SZYMANOWSKI: Notturno e Ta-rantella. BARTOK: Roumanian Folk Dances.ICRELSLER: Recitative and Scherzo Capriccio,Op. 6. FALLA (am Kreisler): La Vida Breve:Spanish Dance No. 1. Leopold La Fosse (vi-olin); John Simms (piano). ORION ORS 77277$7.98.

Performance: High-poweredRecording: Good

If Saint-Saens' First Violin Sonata is not ex-actly overexposed (Heifetz thought enough ofit to record it twice, but it does not turn upmuch otherwise, either on records or in therecital room), the Second is virtually unex-posed: this new MHS release would appear tobe the first recording of Op. 102 to be issuedin this country. It is an arresting work, andboth it and the more familiar Op. 75 are givenengaging, sympathetic performances by Rob-ert Murray and Jane Abbott.

Leopold La Fosse and John Simms strikemore sparks in their performance of the D Mi-nor Sonata, and the Orion recording has a bitmore presence than the MHS. La Fosse'stone is invariably handsome, and his high-powered approach is particularly appropriateto the shorter pieces on side two; Szymanow-ski's eerie Notturno e Tarantella and the well-known Bart6k sequence come off especiallywell, and there is plenty of flair in the Kreisler

ally informative, call for commendation too.Between these two records, though, I wouldprobably choose the MHS, simply because itoffers the only opportunity to hear the E -flatSonata, while all the music La Fosse per-forms with such fire may be had elsewherefrom such violinists as Heifetz, Wilkomirska,and Perlman. R . F.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITSCHUBERT: Octet in F Major, Op. 166 (D.803). Academy of St. Martin -in -the -FieldsChamber Ensemble. PHILIPS 9500 400 $8.98.

Performance: Utterly SchubertianRecording: Exceptional

This lovable masterwork has been very fortu-nate in its recordings, and this newest versionis definitely one of the very finest. It is surelythe finest yet in terms of sound quality: thePhilips engineers have achieved ideal balanceamong the instruments and have captured themost natural -sounding image of each of them.Aside from the sonic advantage, it becomesone of the most delicious of frustrations to tryto sort out significant differences between thisextremely beautiful performance and the noless beautiful ones recorded by the Melos En-semble (Angel S-36529) and the New ViennaOctet (London STS -15436). Timothy Pay, theclarinetist in the Philips performance, may beless well known than the Melos Ensemble'sGervase de Peyer, but his playing is just asdistinguished here, and the contribution of hishorn -playing associate Timothy Brown, setoff so effectively in the fine recording, hasthat'burnished-gold quality one wants in this


134 CIRCLE NO. 55 ON READER SERVICE CARD STEREO REVIEW

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work especially. The degree of integration isall one would expect from this source, and thepervasive, utterly Schubertian bloom isbeyond even such expectations.

The most conspicuous difference betweenthis performance and the other two cited herehas nothing to do with the level of the playingor the sound: both of the other teams play allthe repeats in the variations of the fourthmovement, while the Academy of St. Martin -in -the -Fields Chamber Ensemble (this groupis going to have to find a less cumbersomehandle!) does not. Personally, I feel no impa-tience when the repeats are taken and nosense of deprivation when they are not, butthis may be a factor to be considered by thosewho feel more strongly about it one way orthe other. R.F.

SCHUBERT: String Quartet No. 9, in G Mi-nor; Introduction and Variations on "IhrBliimlein Alle" for Flute and Piano, Op. 160;Octet in F Major, Op. 166; Der Hirt auf demFelsen, Op. 119 (see Going on Record, page 84)

SCHUMANN: Quartet for Piano and Strings inE -Hat Major, Op. 47; Marchenerzahlungen,Op. 132; Spanisches Liebeslieder, Op. 138 (seeGoing on Record, page 84)

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITSCHUMANN: Songs. Myrthen Liederkreis,Op. 25; Lieder und Gesange, Op. 27; Drei Ge-dichte, Op. 30; Drei Gesange, Op. 31; Ausdem Liederbuch eines Malers, Op. 36; AusRiickerts Liebesfruhling, Op. 37; Liederkreis,Op. 39; Fun! Lieder, Op. 40; Romanzen undBalladen, Op. 45. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau(baritone); Christoph Eschenbach (piano).DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 2709 074 threediscs $26.94.

Performance: Masterly, but unevenRecording: Very good

Robert Schumann wrote 138 songs in the year1840 alone, and this latest product of DietrichFischer-Dieskau's tireless and encyclopedicactivity contains nearly half of them. Few ofthese are new to the baritone's repertoire: anumber of them are on previous DeutscheGrammophon releases 139 109 and 139 236,with Jorg Demus as accompanist, while theLiederkreis, Op. 39, with Gerald Moore, is onAngel S-36266. To complicate matters evenfurther, the eighteen songs from Myrthen con-tained in the present volume are already in thecatalog on DG 2530 543, a single disc. Sorry tobe so statistical, but we are dealing here notwith a "recording artist" but rather with aone-man industry.

Among the songs new to me in this set areseveral great discoveries: FlUgel! Flugel! urnzu Fliegen (Op. 37) is major Schumann, soar-ing and powerful. Of the five settings of HansChristian Andersen's grim and disturbing po-ems (Op. 40), Der Soldat and Der Spielmannare standouts. The six settings of Robert Rei-nick (Op. 36) are a more mixed lot, but two(Standchen and Nicht Schoneres) cannot misswith their Schubertian charm.

Fischer-Dieskau is never less than a majorartist, conveying understanding, tenderness,and compassion as perhaps no one else can.Listen to his Die Lotosblume and Was Willdie Einsame Triine (Op. 25), Die Rote Hanne(Op. 31), and all five songs of Op. 27, and youwill experience interpretive mastery on thehighest level. Even when certain aspects of

"No, not that! Anything but the stereo!"

that mastery are open to challenge, we bow tothe intellect and seriousness of purpose be-hind it. But interpretive maturity and wisdomcannot always compensate for failing vocalresources. A comparison between this Lie-derkreis, Op. 39, and the earlier (1965) Angelversion clearly confirms the superiority of thelatter. Today his voice is simply not as re-sponsive to his interpretive faculties as it oncewas, his top notes are effortful, and the need-ed musical solutions are replaced by overin-terpretation: unnecessary parlando effects,fussy mannerisms, exaggerated dynamic con-trasts in which ravishing pianissimos are oftenfollowed by harsh and blustering fortes.

A few scattered instances of rhythmic im-precision aside, Christoph Eschenbach pro-vides sensitive and virtuosic collaboration inwhich he is aided by sonorous piano repro-duction. This is an important release, a realfind for those who want to build a lieder li-brary. But do not replace the Fischer-Dieskauof the 1960's with later vintages. Vocally,those were the years! G.J.

R. C. SEEGER: Three Songs (see COWELL)

SMETANA: The Two Widows. Nada §ormova(soprano), Karolina; Marcela Machotkova(soprano), Aneika; Jiii Zahradnieek (tenor),Ladislav; Jaroslav Horaeek (bass), Mumlal;Zdenek Svehla (tenor), Tonik; Daniela Sou -nova (soprano), Lidunka. Prague NationalTheater Chorus and Orchestra, FrantiKekJilek cond. SUPRAPHON 112 2041/3 three discs$23.94 (from Qualiton Records, Ltd., 65-37Austin Street, Rego Park, N.Y. 11374).

Performance: ZestfulRecording: Good average

The Two Widows (1874) was the fifth of Be-diich Smetana's eight operas, and it signaled

the composer's return, after the serious his-torical works Dalibor (1867) and Libuie(1872), to the lighthearted genre he had so tri-umphantly mastered in The Bartered Bride(1866). Unlike the ebullient peasants of TheBartered Bride, though, the main charactersof The Two Widows are well-to-do, fairly so-phisticated people who converse in an intelli-gent and occasionally witty manner. This ismore of a drawing -room comedy than a comicopera; it is entertaining and may produce anoccasional smile, but there is really nothing tolaugh about.

The story is slight. There are two cousins,both young widows: Karolina, full of joie devivre, takes life as it comes, while Aneika re-gards widowhood as a permanent state-or soit seems. Eventually a determined and re-sourceful suitor, Ladislav, convinces Aneikato follow the dictates of her heart. There areeffective arias for all the principals and skill-ful ensembles when the dramatic situation re-quires. At certain junctures the music evokesthe brisk and bouncy Slavic spirit of The Bar-tered Bride, and it has plenty of sparkle in thefinely wrought orchestral setting.

I am not familiar with the singers on this re-cording, but they are evidently thoroughlyconversant with the opera (which, accordingto the detailed and multilingual annotations,has been a repertoire staple in Prague since1923, with only spotty success before then).Tenor Jiii Zahradnieek has an agreeable toneand makes a charming Ladislay. The two wid-ows are well contrasted: Nada §ormova has atouch of acid in her tones and a considerableamount of vibrato, but she creates a very live-ly Karolina, while Marcela Machotkova, withsubtler and better controlled resources,makes a suitably demure Aneika. G.J.


NOVEMBER 1978 137

TAKING upon itself a share in the responsi-bility for celebrating the sixtieth birthday

(August 25, 1978) of America's first great con-ductor -composer, Deutsche Grammophonhas issued a new set of recordings of LeonardBernstein's three symphonies plus his Chi-chester Psalms. The performances are all con-ducted by the composer, and the very interna-tional nature of the cast (Israel Philharmonic,Vienna Choir Boys, Montserrat Caballe,Christa Ludwig, Lukas Foss) is explainableby noting that all the recordings were made inconjunction with the Berlin Festival of 1977.That they represent Bernstein's ideal of per-formance would be a fair assumption. That

er of musical comedies. One wonders why.Obviously, it is not from any lack of talent onhis part, nor any lack of craft; something farless tangible is involved, something in thevery personality of the man. There are, I

think, two powerful and opposing forces atwork in this music, forces which relate toBernstein's personality and to his generalview of music, and to our perception of hismusic as well. They are dramatically verbal-ized in Jack Gottlieb's notes to this new re-cording of the Symphony No. 1. The first isGottlieb's bald opening statement: "The threesymphonies of Leonard Bernstein are con-cerned with the loss and retrieval of faith by

`Bernstein Collected

they are performances and recordings of thehighest quality is amply evident. Purely asdocumentation, the set is a considerableachievement, and all those concerned can beproud of their contributions to the whole.

But primary attention must go to a consid-eration of the works themselves, for it is inthe very nature of a project such as this thatsome sort of re-evaluation of the composerand his music should result. Earlier record-ings of all four works exist, but this is the firstrecording of the revised version of the Sym-phony No. 3, and the set as a whole repre-sents Bernstein's current view of his ownmusic.

It would be fair to say that the symphonieshave not all enjoyed a huge success, criticallyor publicly, at least not one commensuratewith Bernstein's enormous renown as a con-ductor nor even with his success as a compos-

man, not so much in God as in himself." Thesecond is Bernstein's statement: "Althougheverything I write seems to have literary ordramatic underpinning, it is, after all, musicthat I am writing." The forces represented byeach of these two thoughts are more or lesspresent in virtually all of Bernstein's concertmusic, and the more I listen to any of it, themore I become convinced that Bernstein ismost successful when he is writing music andleast successful when he is writing about theloss and retrieval of faith.

Jeremiah, his first symphony, was com-posed at a time when people still thought interms of "the great American symphony."Jeremiah is not "the great American sympho-ny" (nor is Roy Harris' Third, nor any of theothers), and it is, so far as I can tell, not amasterpiece. But one cannot listen to it today,as one could not listen to it then (1944), with-

out feeling that here is a real talent. As for theprogrammatic meaning, the intention, asBernstein wrote in 1944, was "not one of lit-eralness but of emotional quality," and thesung text, from the Lamentations, is in He-brew. If the symphony is "concerned" withthe loss and retrieval of faith, it is not undulyapparent to the listener, who is therefore freeto occupy himself with the music.

That concern is a great deal more apparentin the Second Symphony; at least it is if onereads Auden's poem, The Age of Anxiety, onwhich the work is based, or Bernstein's notesabout unconsciously written details that pro-grammatically relate to the poem. And yet, asone listens to this startlingly inventive andvirile work, which uses much of the substanceof popular music without ever descending tothe level of a pop composition, the literal im-portance of the program fades into the dis-tance. The music (in retrospect, it sounds cu-riously Hindemithian but with better basicideas) is quite strong enough to sustain itselfwithout the text. Interestingly, the original"program" called for dropping out the pianosolo in the finale, but in the revised version of1965 (which is the one recorded here) purelymusical values took over from the poeticones, and the piano now participates, even tothe extent of enjoying a brief cadenza beforethe end. Again, the writer of music triumphsover the purveyor of philosophic concerns.

IT is with the Kaddish Symphony that thingsbegin to turn the other way (the later Mass isanother, farther step in the same direction).One cannot separate music from philosophicspeculation in the Kaddish because the scor-ing includes a narrator and his text is in thevernacular. And what a text it is! Written byBernstein himself, it is a kind of verbal, reli-gious strip -tease, embarrassing and unfortu-nate not for its concerns and its blasphemies(they are, after all, the concerns and the blas-phemies of many of us) but for the theatricalairing of them in language that is lacking inboth subtlety and poetry. Something there isin Bernstein-as there was in Carl Orff too-that seems to demand that the most intimatematters be presented in the loudest, most pub-lic way.

And what of the music of the Kaddish?Much of it-when one can pay attention toit-seems very beautiful. The text of the He-brew -Aramaic Kaddish (which is the prayerfor the dead that never mentions the word orthe concept of death) is among the most "set -table" of texts, and Bernstein sets it threetimes, the second of which (featuring here theincredibly beautiful singing of Montserrat Ca -bane) is particularly affecting. (The third set-ting involves a theme all too close to one inAaron Copland's Appalachian Spring, whichbrings up another problem: not that of appro-priation or even of eclecticism, but one thatsimply involves the very specific and differentassociations of that sort of tune for Americanaudiences.) But the problem overall in Kad-dish is that one all too often cannot hear themusic for the words. It is again interestingthat the principal difference between this re-vised version and the original is again in thedirection of music: the narration is cut down.Would Bernstein ever allow it to be cut com-pletely and let the music stand on its own,

138 STEREO REVIEW

suggesting the religious concerns and doubtsrather than making them explicit?

Problems of this sort'do not beset the Chi-chester Psalms, which are settings of the orig-inal Hebrew. The work is generally less self-conscious, less theatrical, more musical thanothers of Bernstein's recent concert works,and, if it did not have Bernstein's name on it,it could be easily accepted as a worthy ifsomewhat dry contribution to the sacred -music repertoire. But, knowing its source, oneis conscious of the absence, seemingly theavoidance, of the sort of glorious, long -limbed melody that Bernstein can write andhas written in such works as Candide. Thereis a straining for seriousness, for austerity,for profundity that one wishes he would for-go. I for one would be deliriously happy tohear such melodies as those for Make OurGarden Grow, Oh Happy We, or Somewherein symphonic or choral context any timeLeonard Bernstein wanted to put them there.

AFEW specifics of these performances mustbe mentioned. Caballes singing, as previous-ly indicated, is glorious, her cantillation stylecompletely convincing, and her breath con-trol, well ... breathtaking. Christa Ludwig isalso in superb form and mightily affecting inJeremiah. The Vienna Choir Boys and theJeunesse Choir are unfailingly musical, butHebrew is not one of the languages they'reaccustomed to and in fast passages their dic-tion is such that one is hard-pressed to distin-guish a word. Lukas Foss of course plays thevery devil out of the piano part in The Age ofAnxiety, though his performance, and the or-chestra's, is a mite less frenetic (in the frenet-ic passages) than in the old original recordingwith the New York Philharmonic. Apart fromthat interpretive cavil, there is no fault to befound with the Israel Philharmonic's playing.They sound like a major international orches-tra, which, at this time, they must be. OfMichael Wager's contribution as narrator, Ifind it so difficult to divorce what he is sayingfrom how he is saying it that I cannot passjudgment. The recordings are all of excellentquality; the records are available separatelyor boxed together. In all, then, this is a majortribute to a major musical figure and intriguingcomposer. I urge even doubters to hear it out,but I urge them also to attend more to the mu-sic than to what it is "about."

-James Goodfriend

BERNSTEIN: Symphony No. 1 ("Jeremiah");Chichester Psalms. Christa Ludwig (mezzo-soprano, in Symphony); soloist from ViennaBoys Choir (in Psalms); Vienna JeunesseChoir (in Psalms); Israel Philharmonic Or-chestra, Leonard Bernstein cond. DEUTSCHEGRAMMOPHON 2530 968 $8.98.

BERNSTEIN: Symphony No. 2 ("The Age ofAnxiety"). Lukas Foss (piano); Israel Philhar-monic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein cond.DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 2530 969 $8.98.

BERNSTEIN: Symphony No. 3 ("Kaddish").Montserrat Caballe (soprano); Michael Wager(speaker); Vienna Choir Boys; Vienna Jeu-nesse Choir; Israel Philharmonic Orchestra,Leonard Bernstein cond. DEUTSCHE GRAM-MOPHON 2530 970 $8.98.

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STRAUSS: Der Kramerspiegel, Op. 66.GRIEG: Ragnhild; Ravin; By a River; ASwan; My Thoughts Are Like a Mighty Moun-tain; Den Bergtekne, Op. 32. Knut Skram(baritone); Eva Knardahl (piano); GoteborgChamber Orchestra, Thomas Schuback cond.Bis LP -49 $8.98 (from Qualiton Records,Ltd., 65-37 Austin Street, Rego Park, N.Y.11374).

Performance: GoodRecording: Very good

Here is a disc of rarities uniting lyrical Griegand satirical Strauss. The five Grieg songs andhis pastoral cantata Den Bergtekne (roughtranslation: The Mountain -Enthralled) re-ceive affectionate and idiomatic perfor-

mances. The singing is competent rather thanrapturous, but, since Grieg songs (except forA Swan) are hard to find on records, the pro-gram is commendable.

Der Kriimerspiegel (rough translation: AMirror for Shopkeepers) is a strange cycle of adozen songs dating from the period (1903)when Strauss was involved in a feud with theGerman music publishers. In these settings ofcleverly malicious poems by Alfred Kerr, hetakes on the whole bunch of them, namingnames (Breitkopf, Lienau, Bote and Bock,etc.), punning, and indulging in quotationsfrom Der Rosenkavalier, Death and Trans-figuration, and Till Eulenspiegel. There aremoments of wit and moments of inspiration,and the music ends with a very pretty piano

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postlude, but the cycle goes on too long for itsown good. (Of course, no publisher was will-ing to accept it in the composer's lifetime.Boosey and Hawkes of London, unnamed inthe text, finally published it in 1959.) The ver-satile baritone Knut Skram gives a committedperformance, which is well accompanied andrecorded in bright and spacious sound. G.J.

STRAVINSKY: Oedipus Rex. Sir Peter Pears(tenor), Oedipus; Kerstin Meyer (contralto),Jocasta; Benjamin Luxon (baritone), Messen-ger; Donald McIntyre (bass), Creon; StaffordDean (bass), Tiresias; Ryland Davies (tenor),Shepherd; Alex McCowan, Narrator. JohnAlldis Choir; London Philharmonic Orches-tra, Sir Georg Solti cond. LONDON OSA-1168$7.98.

Performance: Occasionally overstatedRecording: Good

I found it uncomfortable to listen to this per-formance from the very outset because of thenarration, which begins as if we are going tohear Peter and the Wolf, then refers to thework itself as an "opera-ahratorio" in whichOedipus contends with unsleeping "dayi-ties," etc. Musically, Sir Georg Solti's fram-ing of the work seems more efficient thanmoving, while both Kerstin Meyer and Ben-jamin Luxon seem at odds with Stravinsky'snotion of the "lofty dignity" imposed by hisuse of a Latin text; both singers have a tend-ency to overdramatize rather than understate.The latter, of course, is what Sir Peter Pearsdoes, as eloquently and effectively as he didin the earlier of Stravinsky's own recordingsof the work some twenty-five years ago. Thatversion, recently reissued as Odyssey ®Y-33789, is still far and away the most suc-cessful performance of Oedipus Rex yet re-corded, and no matter that Jean Cocteauspoke his narration in French; the variousEnglish versions are so stuffy, lackluster, orjust plain silly -sounding that the French is farpreferable. Besides, Cocteau's narration is sovivid that one is mesmerized even if onedoesn't understand all the words. Amongstereo versions, Bernstein's (Columbia M33999) is the most effective, with the BostonSymphony Orchestra playing more crisplythan the London Philharmonic does for Solti,all the singers on a uniform level of excel-lence, and more presence in the sound. R.F.

SZYMANOWSKI: Notturno e Tarantella (seeSAINT-SAENS)

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Fantasia on a Themeby Thomas Talks (see BRITTEN)

VERDI: La Battaglia di Legnano: Overture(see PUCCINI)

WAGNER: Opera Arias (see Collections-Die-trich Fischer- Dieskau)

COLLECTIONS

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITBORIS CHRISTOFF: Music from the SlavonicOrthodox Liturgy. Chesnokov: Evening Sac-rifice. Zinoviev: We Hymn Thee. Kochetov:Blessed Is the Man. Hristov: Praise Ye theName of God; Nunc Dimittis. Dinev: The Ju-dicious Villain. Stroumski: The Great Glori-fication. Lyubimov: Blessed Is the Man. Bort-

(Continued on page 142)CIRCLE NO. 25 ON READER SERVICE CARD

140 STEREO REVIEW

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nyanski: Grant, 0 Lord. Boris Christoff(bass); Choir of the Alexander Nevsky Cathe-dral, Sofia, Angel Konstantinov cond. ANGELS-37479 $7.98.

Performance: OutstandingRecording: Excellent

For several years Boris Christoff has been ab-sent from the recording scene. It is a joy tohave him back, and this magnificent disc,which marks the basso's first return to his na-tive Bulgaria in thirty years, shows him at thetop of his form. His mighty voice with itscharacteristic grainy timbre peals with un-diminished power, steady as a rock, smoothlyproduced, fearlessly rising up to a firm F. Hecommands a rich palette of colors and a dy-namic scale ranging from thundering soundsto a subtle mezza voce. This is the oldChristoff, now fifty-nine, surrounded by anoutstanding chorus and captured in splendidlyresonant sound. It's enough to convert a vo-cal connoisseur to Slavonic Orthodoxy. G.J.

DIETRICH FISCHER-DIESKAU: WagnerianAria Recital. Der Fliegende Hollander: DieFrist ist urn. Parsifal: Nein! Lasst ihnunenthiill0; Ja, Wehe! Wehe! Die Walkiire:Wotan's Farewell. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau(baritone); Bavarian Radio Chorus and Sym-phony Orchestra, Rafael Kubelik cond. AN-GEL O S-37487 $7.98.

Performance: IndividualRecording: Good

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is a versatile andaltogether exceptional artist, but he is not,

and never was, a Wagnerian Heldenbariton.His high -placed, lightweight voice commandsneither the power nor the dark sonority re-quired for such roles as Hans Sachs, Wotan,and Telramund. But it can stand up to themore lyrical challenges of Wolfram and Am-fortas with reasonable expectations of suc-cess, and, in fact, Fischer-Dieskau has per-formed these roles with distinction.

On records, however, he has not allowednatural limitations to deter him from inter-preting the Dutchman, Telramund, and HansSachs, and now he has even gotten around toWotan's imposing Farewell, the closing sceneof Die Walkiire. The results of these endeav-ors have always been a mixture of revelationsand frustrations, and so they are in the pres-ent sequence of Wagnerian scenes. Wotanemerges here as an unusually tender father,but his awesome power is barely suggested.To the monologues of Amfortas, the artistbrings rare eloquence and a profoundly mov-ing expression of grief that make the vocallimitations seem unimportant. As for theDutchman, there is plenty of brooding andmystery, but little of the character's ferocity.Declamatory overstress simply cannot makeup for what nature denied this artist after sogenerously blessing him with heart, intellect,and interpretive mastery.

With all this said, however, I can still rec-ommend this disc for the display it offers ofexceptional lyric singing and textual illumina-tion. We must face the fact that the GermanHeldenbariton, the proud race of Van Rooy,Schorr, Berglund, and Schdffler, seems tohave vanished like the Nordic gods. Among

their contemporary impersonators DietrichFischer-Dieskau stands very high, and weshould be thankful for that.

Rafael Kubelik was probably inhibited onthis occasion by a desire not to overpower hissoloist. The orchestral framework is, accord-ingly, effective but somewhat lacking in spa-ciousness and grandeur. G.J.

LEONTYNE PRICE: Prima Donna-Volume4. Mozart: Idomeneo: D'Oreste, d'Ajace.Berlioz: The Damnation of Faust: D'amourl'ardente flamme. Wagner: Tannhauser: Dich,teure Halle. Verdi: Macbeth: La lute langue.J. Strauss Jr.: Die Fledermaus: Czardas. Mas-cagni: Cavalleria Rusticana: Voi lo sapete(with Elizabeth Bainbridge, mezzo-soprano).

Rusalka: Song to the Moon. Cilea:Adriana Lecouvreur: Poveri fiori. Korngold:Die Tote Stadt: Marietta's Lied. Puccini: Tu-randot: In questa reggia (with Daniele Bar-ioni, tenor). Menotti: Amelia Goes to the Ball:While I waste these precious hours. LeontynePrice (soprano); New Philharmonia Orches-tra, Nello Santi cond. RCA ARL1-2529 $7.98,® ARS1-2529 $7.98, © ARKI-2529 $7.98.

Performance: Good to very goodRecording: Good

As in the previous volumes of the LeontynePrice "Prima Donna" series that RCA hasbeen releasing over the past dozen years, thearias here follow a historical -chronological se-quence that makes sense in a certain way, yetproves disconcerting when listeners grippedby Lady Macbeth's ominous soliloquy aresuddenly heartened by Rosalind's Czardas.

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142 STEREO REVIEW

To the best of my knowledge, none of theseoperatic characters is in Miss Price's activerepertoire, but that is hardly relevant. Super-stars of her stature are not required to havelarge repertoires any more; a dozen or soroles suffice to please their world-wide audi-ences. Besides, Adriana Lecouvreur, LadyMacbeth, Marietta (Die Tote Stadt), and Ru-salka could be excellent Price roles. She doesthe respective arias very well here; in fact,her version of Marietta's Lied surpasses allother recent versions.

In general, Miss Price is in good voice. Shehas been conserving her resources wisely inrecent years, accepting relatively few engage-ments and resisting the kind of overstress thatjet planes impose on some of her not entirelyunwilling colleagues. There are some lovelythings on this record. The Berlioz aria maynot lie perfectly in her range, but the openinglines are floated with a delicate legato and themelancholy mood is nicely sustained to theend. "Dich, teure Halle" is not rendered withthe near -martial emphasis usually given it byGerman sopranos but with a more inward ap-proach that is welcome for its rich -toned lyri-cism. Throughout the program, the intonationis consistently pure, the musicianship secure,and the artistic impulses and ringing top notesgenerally recall her best recorded efforts.

I have some reservations, however. Thetop range remains Miss Price's field of glory,but there are rough attacks and strident tonesthat previously were not there. They are par-ticularly damaging to the murderously difficultIdomeneo aria, which is managed creditablybut certainly not with ease. The same is true

Soprano Leontyne Priceautographing records at Sam Goody's

of the Czardas from Die Fledermaus, whichcalls for virtuosic abandon and gets studiedcompetence instead. "Voi lo sapete," lyingtoo low for comfort, is further weakened by adraggy tempo. Here and elsewhere a certaincarelessness with the Italian texts is also no-ticeable. And "In questa reggia" must bemarked a failure on all counts, even past itsnear -disaster opening.

The recorded sound varies but is generally

good; Nello Santi provides good routine ac-companiments, veteran producer RichardMohr affectionate if somewhat overwrittenannotations. G.J.

TWENTIETH CENTURY ENGLISH MUSIC.Britten: Simple Symphony. Rawsthorne: LightMusic for Strings. Chagrin: Five Aquarelles.Warllock: Capriol Suite. Orchestra da Cameradi Roma, Nicolas Flagello cond. PETERS IN-TERNATIONAL PLE 054 $6.98.

Performance: LovelyRecording Excellent

These four lighthearted works are just thething to pull from your collection when youneed a little cheering up. Britten's SimpleSymphony is a succinct and sunny work forstrings, deservedly popular and almost as wellplayed here by the Orchestra da Camera diRoma under Nicolas Flagello as with Brittenhimself conducting on the London label. Its"Boisterous Bourse," "Playful Pizzicato,""Sentimental Sarabande," and "FrolicsomeFinale" are based on themes Britten chosefrom his own childhood compositions. Flagel-lo also keeps the soufflé from falling in AlanRawsthorne's lighter -than -air Light Music forStrings and in Francis Chagrin's Five Aqua-relles, which are mood portraits of childrenranging in temperament from dreamer to mis-chief maker. It is especially good to have theCapriol Suite by Peter Warlock availableagain, particularly in this immaculate rendi-tion. Warlock killed himself at thirty-six dur-ing a bout of severe depression, but you'dnever guess it from this sparkling suite. P.K.

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3:

In Cherubini's Medea

CallasRansomed

fromthe Pirates

D ECORDINGS of the late Maria Callas' stageperformances in Italy, Mexico, New

York, London, and other places have longbeen hot items in the flourishing worldwide"pirate" trade. A recent change in Italian lawlegitimized unauthorized concert recordingsdating back twenty or more years, and a largenumber of them were released in Italy by Fo-nit/Cetra. Whether this also gives the go-ahead for worldwide distribution is for legalminds to ponder. The fact is that Turnabouthas now issued in its historical series sevensets representing Callas in her vocal prime(1949-1955). Thus, for the first time, collec-tors are able to acquire them at attractivetrade prices ($4.98 per disc) instead of payingpiratical ransoms.

The documentary appeal of these record-ings is undeniable. Through them we witnessthe rise and early triumphs of a fascinatingand controversial artist on her way toward be-coming one of the most influential musicalpersonalities of the century, establishing newstandards and re-creating roles in operas thathad been dormant for generations. Of the sev-en operas in the release, three (Nabucco,Macbeth, I Vespri Sicilians) never receivedcomplete studio treatments with Callas, andthere are no commercial recordings of Callaswith conductors Vittorio Gui, Erich Kleiber,and Leonard Bernstein. Then too, of course,everything here has the unvarnished spon-taneity of a stage performance.

But along with these enormous pluses I

must also point to_the minuses. Clandestinelyand amateurishly made, these recordings arefar below today's commercial audio standardsand, with one exception, fall far short of moststudio productions from the 1949-1955 period.Under no circumstances can they be consid-ered true representations of the operas inquestion; they are rather documentations ofthe art of Callas and the conductors and sing-ers involved. With this in mind I feel no needto call attention to individual technical short-comings. Let me just say that they are ency-clopedic in range, involving distortion, poorbalances, brusque editing, surface noise, anda general technical inadequacy.

DISTORTIONS in the powerful choral pas-sages are particularly damaging to Nabucco(Naples, 1949), the earliest recording and, infact, the first available representation of theyoung soprano, who is surrounded by suchveterans as baritone Gino Bechi and bass Lu-ciano Neroni. Despite their seniority, Callasdominates all her scenes by the sheer force ofher magnetism and splendid vocal security.Boldness is the key element in her singing;she sails into her music with a demonic inten-sity that befits the character she portrays andfearlessly zeroes in on the climactic highnotes (several C's and a brilliant E -flat). Theentire performance is dynamically paced byGui, the trumpety high baritone of Gino Bechicomes through effectively, Neroni is not al-ways steady but consistently powerful andauthoritative, and the rest of the cast iscompetent or better.

There is no trace in these recordings of thevocally precarious later Callas. She is in out-standing form in I Vespri Siciliani (Florence,1951), despite a momentary lapse in the Bo-lero, and the indifferent recorded sound cannot


conceal the vast interpretive range shebrought to the dramatically complex role ofElena. Her meaningful ways with recitatives,already amply evident in' Nabucco, are fur-ther documented here. This opera had en-joyed more success in Germany than it did inItaly in the preceding decades, which in partexplains the welcome presence of Erich Klei-ber. Boris Christoff's Procida is magnificentand Enzo Mascherini's Monforte is accept-able, but I cannot say as much for GiorgioKokolios-Bardi's Arrigo.

IN Macbeth (Milan, 1952), Callas already ap-pears as an established star of La Scala.This was her first portrayal of Lady Macbeth,but the mastery she would disclose in hercommercial recording of that lady's threescenes seven years later (Angel 35763) is al-ready in evidence. Only the SleepwalkingScene appears less dramatically illuminatingby comparison, but then her account of it onthe Angel disc is the ultimate. The other vocalcontributions are on a generally high level.Mascherini is not sufficiently responsive toCallas in their great sotto -voce scene afterDuncan's murder, but he has his impressivemoments; Halo Tajo is a thoughtful, distin-guished Banquo, Gino Penno a sturdyMacduff, and Dario Caselli excels in the smallrole of the Doctor. And Victor de Sabata'sleadership is of the kind that deserves moreimpressive sonics.

II Trovatore (Milan, 1953) suffers somewhatfrom the uneven conducting of the usuallyreliable Antonino Votto: he is rigidly me-chanical at times, particularly in the "Mise-rere," yet flexible enough to allow the veteranEbe Stignani to virtually chew up the sceneryin an overwhelming "Condotta el'era in cep -pi." Callas sings her first -act aria with aneffortless flow of instrumental legato, her"D'amor sull'ali rosee" with plaintiveness,consummate phrasing, and accurate fioriture.Her final scene is extraordinarily moving. EbeStignani rekindles old memories with herflaming Azucena, and another veteran, CarloTagliabue, is a fading but still authoritativeLuna; but Gino Penno presents a bullish, un-poetic Manrico, and he transposes "Di quellapira" down a tone and a half!

Because his role is less crucial in Medea(Milan, 1953), Penno does less damage there,but then the whole show is Callas. Her char-acterization of unbridled evil is familiar fromthe later commercial recording, but she is infar better voice here. The volcanic impressionshe makes is aided by Bernstein, who, bymaintaining inexorable momentum, avoidsthe danger of turning this opera into a seriesof stately episodes. The supporting roles arein good hands.

Bernstein is again the conductor for LaSonnambula (Milan, 1955), and a very goodone aside from a tendency to whip up thefinales with an un-Bellinian frenzy. The lyricmoments, however, are eloquent, and Callasand Cesare Valleti (a tenor whose affinity forbel canto matches the soprano's) makes us re-alize that librettist Felice Romani was a poet.Callas is superb in all the grand vocal mo-ments, but the concluding "Ah, non giunge"is less ornately (and therefore more success-fully) achieved in the Angel recording underVotto which followed two years later.

Finally, we have the legendary Lucia diLammermoor (Berlin, 1955) with Herbert vonKarajan conducting a choice Italian cast.Here, for the first time, the sound is a nearmatch for that of studio recordings of the pe-riod, though there are several miking incon-sistencies. Karajan combines total controlwith a flexibility that borders on permissive-ness. Savoring the excellence of his cast, hesupports them with a caressing touch and ca-joles them into giving their best. If it is theCallas kind of Lucia that you prefer-vulner-able but no weakling, suffering but withoutexcessive languor-she is even better herethan in her two Angel recordings poetic, dra-matically moving, vocally (a few instances oftonal harshness aside) refulgent. Giuseppe diStefano is also in prime estate here: one mightwish for tones more sensitively modulated,but his ardor and the sheer beauty of thesound are irresistible. Nicola Zaccaria is anoutstanding Raimondo, and Rolando Panerai,with that admirably sharp and biting diction ofhis, is a memorable Ashton.

THE sets come in utilitarian but handsomeboxes. There are no texts, only brief but in-formative notes by Richard Freed. Whetherthis initial adventure will be followed by fu-ture ones will, I suppose, depend on manyfactors. But I know that admirers of MariaCallas will welcome the release of these treas-ures from bondage. -George Jellinek

VERDI: Nabucco. Maria Callas, Gino Bechi,Luciano Neroni, Gino Sinimberghi, AmaliaPeni; others. Chorus and Orchestra of theTeatro San Carlo, Naples, Vittorio Gui cond.TURNABOUT THS 65137/39 three discs$14.94.

VERDI: I Vespri Siciliani. Maria Callas, BorisChristoff, Giorgio Kokolios-Bardi, Enzo Mas-cherini; others. Chorus and Orchestra of theMagio Musicale Fiorentino, Erich Kleibercond. TURNABOUT THS 65134/36 three discs$14.94.

VERDI: Macbeth. Maria Callas, Enzo Mas-cherini, Italo Tajo, Gino Penno; others. LaScala Orchestra and Chorus, Victor de Sabatacond. TURNABOUT THS 65131/33 three discs$14.94.

VERDI: // Trovatore.Maria Callas, Gino Pen -no, Ebe Stignani, Carlo Tagliabue, GiuseppeModesti; others. La Scala Orchestra and Cho-rus, Antonin Votto cond. TURNABOUT THS65140/41 two discs $9.96.

CHERUBINI: Medea. Maria Callas, GinoPenno, Fedora Barbieri, Maria Luisa Nache,Giuseppe Modesti; others. La Scala Orches-tra and Chorus, Leonard Bernstein cond.TURNABOUT THS 65157/59 three discs$14.94.

BELLINI: La Sonnambula. Maria Callas, Ce-sare Valletti, Giuseppe Modesti, Eugenia Rat -ti; others. La Scala Orchestra and Chorus,Leonard Bernstein cond. TURNABOUT THS65151/53 three discs $14.94.

DONIZETTI: Lucia di Lammermoor. MariaCallas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Rolando Paner-ai, Nicola Zaccaria; others. La Scala Orches-tra and Chorus, Herbert von Karajan cond.TURNABOUT THS 65144/45 two discs $9.96.

NOVEMBER 1978 145

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Composer RICHARD RODGERS, recip-ient of this year's STEREO REVIEW award foroutstanding contributions to the quality ofAmerican musical life, gives as well as receivesand has endowed many awards himself. Thisyear he gave one million dollars to the AmericanAcademy and Institute of Arts and Letters toestablish the Richard Rodgers ProductionAward. The income from the gift will be used

for an annual award to make possible an intro-ductory New York production of a musical playby a composer, librettist, and lyricist not al-ready established in the theater. With his wife,Rodgers is shown (center) presenting the check

to Academy president Jacques Barzun. Mrs.Rodgers said that the gift is "a vote of con-fidence in musical theater and in New York Cityas its fountainhead."

±c

By William Livingstone

E] Following his golden -jubilee concert atAvery Fisher Hall, pianist CLAUDIO ARRAU re-ceived his seventy-fifth birthday gift, the tradi-tional inscribed tray, from Henry Steinway ofSteinway and Sons. According to tradition inHolland, a man achieves wisdom when hereaches fifty and sees the patriarch Abraham.This derives from the Bible verse John 8:57("You are not yet fifty years old. How can you

have seen Abraham?"). Taking no chances onwisdom, the Dutch make sure that a man of fiftysees Abraham by treating him to a cake deco-rated with a likeness of the patriarch. On hisfiftieth birthday, conductor COLIN DAVIS re-ceived this five-foot Abraham cake from BobBouma (left) and Ernst van der Vossen from theDutch headquarters of Phonogram Interna-

tional, for which he records.

C.

The Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra re-ceived a donation of $5,000 from LEONARDBERNSTEIN. Keith Drake (right, above),

chairman of the orchestra's fund-raisingdrive, accepts the check from Mr. Bernstein,who is president of Norman Laboratories, aloudspeaker manufacturer in Norman, Okla.Meanwhile, another LEONARD BERNSTEIN(below) was made an honorary member of theNational Symphony Orchestra by its director,cellist -conductor Mstislav Rostropovich, aspart of the composer -conductor's sixtieth -birthday celebrations at Wolf Trap. For morenews of the latter Bernstein, see Best of theMonth (page 113) and review (page 138).

co

A star of the opera (louse, concertstage, recording studio, and TV talk show,soprano JUDITH BLEGEN sang at the openingconcert of this summer's Mostly Mozart Fes-tival at Lincoln Center conducted by PinchasZukerman. She is shown here holding Mozartdolls from the Center's gift shop and model-ing the shop's best-selling item, the MostlyMozart T-shirt. This fall Miss Blegen recordedher Mozart festival selections-Exsu/tate Jubi-late and L'Amer6 Sar6 Costante-plus a cou-ple of concert arias for Columbia. Zukermanagain conducts and provides violin obbligato.The album is scheduled for January release.

Soprano RENATA SCOTTO got the fallseason off to a big start with the release offour new recordings in September and Oc-tober: Verdi's Nabucco (Angel) and Otello(RCA), plus Puccini's Madama Butterfly andan album of operatic duets with PlacidoDomingo (both Columbia). In addition toopening the Met's television season as Des-demona in Otello on PBS in September. MissScotto has also been a frequent guest on TVtalk shows. When she appeared on DickCavett's show on PBS, Cavett sang a fewnotes for her and asked whether his voice had

operatic potential. "Not for opera," said MissScotto. "For Gilbert and Sullivan maybe-ifyou come to me for a one -hour singing lessonevery day for three years."

On tour in Los Angeles, pianist VLA-DIMIR HOROWITZ took time out betweenconcerts to autograph albums at Tower Rec-ords for more than 3,000 admirers. Here hedisplays a certificate of commendation pre-sented to him by L.A.'s Mayor Tom Bradleyfor fifty years of memorable service to theperforming arts in the U.S. Two October re-leases in RCA's Horowitz Collection seriesbring its total to seven albums. On the newones he plays Chopin, Prokofiev, and Barber.

The American Society of Composers, Au-thors and Publishers is proud of the number ofits members who have won Pulitzer Prizes inmusic. At an ASCAP luncheon in New York inhonor of this year's winner, composer MICHAEL

COLGRASS, guests included (I. to r.) ASCAPpresident Stanley Adams. Colgrass, composerRichard Wernick (winner in 1977), publisher

Warren MacKenzie, and Pulitzer -Prize-winningASCAP composers Ned Rorem (1976) andJacob Druckman (1972). Does the PulitzerPrize still have much effect on a composer'scareer? "Absolutely," says last year's winnerWernick. "It cinched my academic promotion,got me more performances, and-more impor-tant-got me more commissions."

This year's recipients of honorary de-grees of Doctor of Music include composerVIRGIL THOMSON (at Columbia University inNew York City) and tenor LUCIANO PAVAROTTI

(at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh). Thom-son is shown with Columbia's president Wil-liam J. McGill (left), and Pavarotti is flankedby Rev. Henry J. McAnulty (left) and Rev. Ed-ward L. Murray, Duquesne's president andvice presudent, respectively. Dr. Thomson, who

will be eighty-two on November 25, has beensimilarly honored by Roosevelt U., FairfieldU., Missouri U., and N.Y.U., but it was a firstfor Dr. Pavarotti, a mere forty-three on Octo-ber 12 this year. The tenor's fall scheduleincludes the Luciano Pavarotti Tennis Tourna-ment benefiting the San Francisco Opera,where he is singing Cavaradossi in Tosca.

What are Bubbles and the Jock doingin Central Park? Well, after recording Verdi'sRigoletto for Angel this summer in London, so-prano BEVERLY SILLS and baritone SHERRILL

MILNES returned to New York in Septemberand took a ride in the park before beginning fur-

ther Angel sessions for an album of operetta du-

ets. (Miss Sills' Victor Herbert album issued in1975 is among the top ten best sellers in thehistory of the Angel label). Chatting about a title

for the new operetta disc, due this month, MissSills jokingly suggested "Sills and MilnesTogether Again."

The winner of this year's Avery FisherPrize is the young cellist YO -Y0 MA, who wasborn in Paris of Chinese parents. This was thefirst time the prize had been awarded to asingle recipient. Winner Ma is shown here atLincoln Center with Avery Fisher in the hall ofthe same name.

POPULAR DISCS A\ TAPESReviewed by CHRIS ALBERTSON NOEL COPPAGE PHYL GARLAND PAUL KRESH

PETER REILLY STEVE SIMELS JOEL VANCE

JESSE BARISH. Jesse Barish (vocals, guitar,piano, flute); instrumental accompaniment.Count On Me; Feeling for a Song; Power ofLove; Love That's Right; You; Grand Illu-sion; and four others. RCA AFLI-2555 $7.98,0 AFS1-2555 $7.98, © AFK1-2555 $7.98.

Performance: LovesickRecording: Good

Jesse Barish's Count On Me was one of thebetter -sounding songs on the last JeffersonStarship album, and it is clearly the best -sounding song on the first Jesse Barish album.I don't know what I expected, but the rest ismostly a letdown. Barish takes Marty Balin'sthing for sickly sweet, convoluted phraseseven further than Marty takes it, and a melo-dy really has to have some charm to carry thatkind of lyric. Some of the melodies here arenice, but detached; they're having no part ofthese lyrics. Can't say I blame them. N.C.

THE BEACH BOYS: M.I.U. Album. TheBeach Boys (vocals and instrumentals); othermusicians. She's Got Rhythm; Come Go withMe; Peggy Sue; Kona Coast; and eight others.BROTHER/REPRISE MSK 2268 $7.98, 0 M82268 $7.98, © M5 2268 $7.98.

Performance: Beside the pointRecording: Variable

One of the things that annoys me somewhatabout the public pronouncements of most

Explanation of symbols:= reel-to-reel stereo tape= eight -track stereo cartridge= stereo cassette= quadraphonic disc

E = reel-to-reel quadraphonic tape= eight -track quadraphonic tape

Monophonic recordings are indicatedby the symbol

The first listing is the one reviewed;other formats. if available, follow it.

folks with a vested interest in the New Wave(funny how appropriate that term sounds in areview of the Beach Boys) is the odd selectiv-ity of their prejudices. For example, TomRobinson thinks that the Stones should breakup but worships the water Bob Dylan walkson, while Johnny Rotten grovels before NeilYoung's guitar case. Let's have some consist-ency, dammit. If everybody from the Sixtiesis burnt out and irrelevant, then there shouldbe no exceptions.

What has that got to do with the BeachBoys' new album? Not a heck of a lot, actual-ly, although Greg Shaw, who heretofore hassupported the Boys through thick and thin de-spite being one of the New Wave's leading ex-ponents, announced recently that it may betime to admit that they've lost it, at least onthe basis of this record. I know what hemeans, but I think it's a premature judgment."M.I.U." is pretty dire, a collection of out-takes from earlier efforts and half-baked bitsof Brian Wilson childishness, but it exists, af-ter all, for no other reason than to extricatethe Boys from their contract with WarnerBrothers, with whom their relationship overthe years has been stormy at best. If theirdebut album for their new label, however,turns out to be as piffle -ridden as this one,then we should start to worry. In the mean-time, as lugubrious (you won't believe PeggySue) and cringe -making (ditto for My Diane)as most of "M.I.U." is, you have to admireanybody who titles a song Match Point of OurLove. Do you suppose that was meant as aCream parody, or as an indication that Brianharbors a secret passion for Chrissie Evert?

S.S.

BLONDIE: Parallel Lines. Blondie (vocalsand instrumentals). Hanging On the Tele-phone; One Way or Another; Picture This;Fade Away and Radiate; Pretty Baby; 11:59;and six others. CHRYSALIS CHR 1192 $7.98, ®8CH 1192 $7.98, © CCH 1192 $7.98.

Performance: ArchRecording: Fine

It would take a real curmudgeon to activelydislike the music on this album, but by the

same token I can't say that I'm exactly en-thusiastic about it either. Blondie, I'm afraid,is one of those groups that is a lot more fun onpaper than in the actual execution, at least sofar. The band itself plays rather well, but thesongwriting . . well, if your music is a pas-tiche of Sixties Phil Spector and surf stuff,while your lyrics are oh -so -Seventies -coy, theend result can't help but be kind of queasilyself-conscious, cute but basically false. AndDebbie Harry's gum -chewing pose isn't allthat convincing, really; I was there, Jack, andthe bad girls in my high school would haveeaten her for breakfast.

Still, like I said, it's so obviously frivolousthat it seems almost unfair to come down toohard on these kids; they're just having fun.It's worth noting, however, that the only timethey really rock out is on a marvelous oldBuddy Holly tune, I'm Gonna Love You Too,in which the cuteness is appropriate for achange, bubblegum being eternal. Which onlyproves that while Debbie and Co. are un-doubtedly too smart for their own good, eventhey can't write really dumb songs Like TheyUsed To. S.S.

COLIN BLUNSTONE: Never Even Thought.Colin Blunstone (vocals); vocal and instru-mental accompaniment. I'll Never ForgetYou; Who's That Knocking on My Door; Nev-er Even Thought; Do Magnolia Do; Touchand Go; Lovelight; and three others. ROCKETBXL1-2903 $7.98, ® BXS1-2903 $7.98, ©BXK1-2903 $7.98.

Performance: GoodRecording: Fine

Colin Blunstone was lead vocalist for theZombies (She's Not There, Time of the Sea-son, Tell Her No) during the Sixties andsubsequently had some solo hits, but it's beena while since he's made a new record. This al-bum shows him to have become a more flexi-ble singer with the passage of time-thebreathy, laconic, almost effete style of theZombies days has given way to a tougher andmore adventurous attack. The material is mid-dle-of-the-road pop, only slightly above aver-age, the standouts being Who's That Knock -

148 STEREO REVIEW

ing on My Door, a light, bouncy, jazzy item;Never Even Thought, the production numberof the disc, written by Murray Head (whosang the role of Judas in the first recorded ver-sion of Jesus Christ, Superstar and appearedin the well received film Sunday Bloody Sun-day); and the charming and sassy Do Mag-nolia Do with its traces of Nashville pop. I dowish the songs were better, but I can't faultthe production or the sound, for both ofwhich Bill Schnee is responsible; they arefirst-rate. J. V.

DEBBY BOONE: Midstream (see Best of theMonth, page 115)

ELKIE BROOKS: Shooting Star. ElkieBrooks (vocals); vocal and instrumental ac-companiment. Only Love Can Break YourHeart; Since You Went Away; Stay with Me;Putting My Heart on the Line; Shooting Star;and five others. A&M SP -4695 $7.98.

Performance: Needs directionRecording:Good

I liked Elkie Brooks' last album, "Two DaysAway," which was produced by those legend-ary pros Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. In itshe took on updated arrangements of suchLeiber/Stoller classics as Love Potion #9 andSaved and made them shine. Alas, this timeout there's a different producer and a harum-scarum choice of material. Brooks is a goodsinger-at times a very good singer-but sheis very dependent on technique and short oninterpretation unless carefully directed. I lookforward to hearing Elkie Brooks again, butnext time I hope she'll have a better programand a producer who knows how to bring outthe best in her. J.V.

CAPTAIN AND TENNILLE: Dream. DarylDragon (keyboards); Toni Tennille (vocals);vocal and instrumental accompaniment. I'mon My Way; Dixie Hummingbird; If ThereWere Time; Back to the Island; Good Enough;Dream; and five others. A&M SP -4707 $7.98,® AAM 4707 $7.98, © AAM 4707 $7.98.

Performance: Where's the music?Recording: Smooth

An older, conjugal version of the peanut -but-tery Donny and Marie Osmond, the Captain(Daryl Dragon) and (Toni) Tennille oozethrough the grooves of their new album likesome kind of "inventive" cheese party dip inwhich it's a challenge to taste the cheese.(You know, dips like avocado -rum, curry -cashew, or orange -garlic, which sort of wan-der around your palate looking for a place toland.) It's the same with the Darling Duo's ap-proach to their material here. Their slowly -slowly version of the old Johnny, MercerDreams, for instance, and their thickly pastyrun-through of the Greenfield/Sedaka YouNever Done It Like That go down easilyenough at first, but almost immediately after-ward one's ear begins to feel a bit queasy. Da-ryl still rumbles away at the keyboards, creat-ing effects that sound as if he might be aMighty Wurlitzer closet case, and Toni re-tains her enameled vocal smile no matter whatshe's singing. Presumably their fans will con-tinue to gobble it all up, but I'll stick withplain old honest Cheddar, thank you. P.R.

NATALIE COLE: Natalie . . . Live. NatalieCole (vocals); Natalie Cole Rhythm Section;vocal accompaniment; orchestra. Insepara-

(-WathisWHOEVER first came up with the idea of

pairing Johnny Mathis and DenieceWilliams had a flash of true inspiration, be-cause on the basis of what each had done pre-viously, they were not exactly a likely com-bination. Mathis has stayed at the top for thepast twenty years by adhering stolidly to themiddle of the road, periodically releasing al-bums of standards, show tunes, film themes,and other people's hits-predictably pleasantbut hardly exciting. He has not been identifiedwith the soulstream except for his 1973 album"I'm Coming Home" (Columbia KC 32435),which was produced by Thom Bell and eager-ly endorsed by a younger audience. Heseemed then to be moving in a fresh direction,but he quickly relapsed into the slightly ar-thritic mode that had made him a favorite withthe supper -club set. Still, "I'm ComingHome" showed that Johnny Mathis was farmore versatile than his total recorded outputmight have suggested. (One of my favoritesremains his very first album, "Johnny Mathis:A New Sound in Popular Song," on which hewas showcased as a jazz singer with arrange-ments by Gil Evans, John Lewis, Teo Mace-ro, Bob Prince, and Manny Albam. Originallyreleased in the late Fifties, it has happily beenreissued on Columbia Special ProductsP 13089.)

Deniece Williams is apparently the perfectcure for Mathis' stiffness, as was obviousfrom their first collaboration on his previousalbum, "You Light Up My Life" (ColumbiaJC 35459). Though the album as a whole pre-sented a somewhat freer -wheeling Mathisthan we had become used to, he and Williamsstruck a special spark on the two tracks theydid together. The genuinely talented new sing-

er prodded the relaxed old pro, challenginghim to dig into the rhythmic possibilities ofthe songs with a more emphatic approach.Mathis responded admirably, and "That'sWhat Friends Are For," which has the twosinging together throughout, was a naturalnext step.

HE key to their collaboration is that bothMathis and Williams are able craftsmen. Ma-this can evidently sing just about anything hewants to, and well, and Williams is no sloucheither. She bites into the songs with her high,almost metallic -sounding voice, the perfectcomplement to Mathis' suede -finish tones.There are so many delights to be found on"Friends" that it is hard to single out specialtracks, though Johnny "gets down" on Ash-ford and Simpson's You're All I Need to GetBy in a manner that might surprise thosewho've considered him a bit straight for theirtastes. Additional standouts are Heaven MustHave Sent You, I Just Can't Get Over You,and Just the Way You Are. There's no drosson this album, no lackluster moments. S'won-derful all the way. -Phyl Garland

JOHNNY MATHIS AND DENIECE WIL-LIAMS: That's What Friends Are For. JohnnyMathis, Deniece Williams (vocals); vocal andinstrumental accompaniment. You're All INeed to Get By; Until You Come Back to Me;You're a Special Part of My Life; Ready orNot; Me for You, You for Me; Heaven MustHave Sent You; Just the Way You Are; That'sWhat Friends Are For; I Just Can't Get OverYou; Touching Me with Love. COLUMBIA JC35435 $7.98, ® JCA 35435 $7.98, © JCT35435 $7.98.

"Mathis can sing just about anything he wants to . . ."

NOVEMBER 1978 149

BURTON CUMMINGS:one of the bestsingers in rock

ble; Mr. Melody; Party Lights; Cry Baby; BeThankful; Our Love; I'm Catching Hell; andnine others. CAPITOL SKBL-11709 two discs$11.98, 0 8X2B-11709 $11.98, C) 4X2B-11709$11.98.

Performance: DisappointingRecording: Good

Natalie Cole's latest album is a severe disap-pointment. In this collage put together fromappearances at the Latin Casino in New Jer-sey and the Universal Amphitheatre in Cali-fornia, she's a belter and a screamer and morethan a bit of a drag. She hits everything fullvoice, with an arm -waving attack on lyricsthat may be terrific in person but on recordsounds like she's a witness to a three -car colli-sion being interviewed on the six -o'clock eve-ning news. Whatever happened to the charm-ing, seductive, direct young singer she wasonly a few albums ago? The screaming fansand their roars of approval are of no help atall, either to Ms. Cole or to the at-home listen-er. Please, Natalie, no more like this. P.R.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITBURTON CUMMINGS: Dream of a Child.Burton Cummings (vocals, piano); Ian Gardi-ner (bass); Rick Schlosser (drums); Jeff Bax-ter (guitar); other musicians. Break It to ThemGently; Hold On, I'm Comin'; I Will Play aRhapsody; Wait by the Water; When a ManLoves a Woman; Shiny Stockings; and sixothers. PORTRAIT JR 35481 $7.98, ® JRA35481 $7.98, © JRT 35481 $7.98.

Performance: ClassyRecording: Very good

Burton Cummings is simply one of the bestrock singers around, and here's more proofthat most of the Guess Who sounds that reallymattered came from him. On "Dream of aChild" he takes on an assortment of old andnew songs, in old and new styles, and leads aband that has a heavy -hitting sound, like hisvocals. There's every kind of thing here, fromBobby Darin's Wait by the Water (Lillian) atthe urbane end to Takes a Fool to Love a Fool(by old Burton himself) at the country end,

and there's some jazzy stuff and a lot of rockin between. Cummings' voice is a fine amal-gam of power and nuance, the ultimate equip-ment for singing your so-called progressiverock. He's as believable when happy (It AllComes Together) as he is when troubled(Break It to Them Gently), which is rare insomeone who comes, as so many of our rockstars have, from such a fey age, such a feck-less age. Of course, he's not perfect as a song-writer, but here he gets most of the bad writ-ing out of his system in one place (Roll withthe Punches), takes some help from otherwriters, and leads a tight, potent band. Andthen he does what he does best: he sings. N.C.

THE DIRT BAND (see Best of the Month, page114)

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITDAVE EDMUNDS: Tracks on Wax 4. Dave-Edmunds (vocals, guitars); Nick Lowe (vo-cals, bass); other musicians. Trouble Boys;Never Been in Love; Not a Woman, Not aChild; Television; What Looks Best on You;Readers Wives; and five others. SWANSONGSS 8505 $7.98.

Performance: Exhilarating IntelligenceRecording: Excellent

I loved Dave Edmunds as Rock Revival Pu-rist, but Dave Edmunds as the other half of ademented late -Seventies Everly Brothers rou-tine with Nick Lowe is even better, and as aconsequence his new album is easily the besthe's done. Certainly it's the funniest. Consid-er the following, from Lowe's Television:"Don't care if it's good or bad/Stare at it till itdrives me mad/As long as it's on, I'm glad."Or a wonderful Gram Parsons -inspired c -&-wsendup that contains the immortal line,"What looks best on you/Is me." You have tolove stuff like that.

Beyond the obvious yucks, however, areEdmunds' usual virtues: flawless production(listen to the instrumental layering on theBuddy Hollyish Deborah) and enormous vo-cal and instrumental authority. Moreover,with Lowe aboard as a major writing partner,

we get a collection of uniformly knockout dit-ties that work not just as genre pieces but assongs. None of them are particularly revolu-tionary, mind you, but here at last is an iden-tifiable Edmunds voice. Call it RockabillyWhimsey, call it Arthur, call it anything youlike, but I defy even the most jaded to resistthe charms of the sweeter songs or the deftrhythmic punch of the rockers. If there's anyjustice, "Tracks on Wax 4" will broadenDave Edmunds' cult following to a size com-mensurate with his talent. Funny, touching,exhilarating stuff. S.S.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITSTEVE GIBBONS BAND: Down in the Bunk-er: Steve Gibbons Band (vocals and instru-mentals). Down in the Bunker; When You GetOut; Any Way Up; Big J.C.; No Spitting onthe Bus; Mary Ain't Comin' Home; and fiveothers. POLYDOR PD -1-6154 $7.98, 08T1-6154 $7.98, © CT1-6154 $7.98.

Performance: ExcellentRecording: Very good

After more than half a decade in which thelyrics of rock songs have been plunging to-ward the nadir, surely we are about due forthe return of the literate lyric. And this albumindicates that our British brothers may again,as they did in the 1960's, give us back our ownmusic. The Steve Gibbons Band appears to besomething of a cult group, but its material isliterate and often very funny. Eddie Vortex isa dig at flash -and -trash nostalgia rockers;Mary Ain't Comin' Home describes a biracialaffair; and No Spitting on the Bus, in which adriver cautions his passengers that their fe-vered ideologies and tortured psyches mustnot lead them to damage public property, hi-lariously contrasts the outrageous with themundane.

The Steve Gibbons Band doesn't play rockso much as jokes. Their material makes them,in effect, a show band; like all show bandsthey are meticulous in their execution andtailor their arrangements to the intent of thesongs-all of which were written by Gibbonsand all of which are well worth hearing. J. V.

BENNY GOLSON: I'm Always Dancin' to theMusic. Benny Golson (saxophone); vocalsand instrumentals. Blues March (I'm March -in'); Love Is the Key: Georgia on My Mind;Don't Ask My Neighbors; High on Sunshine;and two others. COLUMBIA JC 35359 $7.98, @JCA 35359 $7.98, © JCT 35359 $7.98.

Performance: Easy on ears and feetRecording: Very good

Benny Golson must be a very smart fellow,particularly when it comes to applying the "Ifyou can't beat 'em, join 'em" strategy for mu-sical survival. He successfully made the shiftfrom straight jazz to commercial televisionmusic years ago, and now he has expertlyfused some of his old jazz favorites into anaccessible.music tailored for dancing. Empha-sis is on the beat here, though the tempo isfrequently held at a very relaxing level, idealfor those of us too out -of -shape to keep upwith the hectic disco pace. The old standards,such as Golson's own Blues March and Geor-gia on My Mind, are very attractive in theirnew attire, while less elderly numbers such asDon't Ask My Neighbors seem to blend rightin. The level of musicianship is good through -


150 STEREO REVIEW

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out, particularly the vocal work and Golson'ssaxophone solos. The result is an album wellsuited for both the feet and the ears. P.G.

SAMMY HAGAR: All Night Long. SammyHagar (vocals, guitar); instrumental accom-paniment. Red; Rock 'n' Roll Weekend; MakeIt Last/Reckless; and four others. CAPITOLSMAS-11812 $7.98, 0 8XW-11812 $7.98, ©4XW-11812 $7.98.

Performance: Whoop -de -doRecording: Good

My nine -year -old friend Nicole has this wayof saying "Whoop -de -do" that strikes me asjust about the last word in satiric summing-upof the latest encounter she's had with muchado about nothing, and I wish you could hearher inflection so you'd know precisely how Ifeel about this album. Sammy Hagar belongsright up there, or down there, as the case maybe, with Ted Nugent and Eddie Money. I sup-pose teenyboppers require a certain amountof this sort of thing, and I suppose it would beunsporting of me to point out that they couldlisten to the real Led Zeppelin. Even so, Ithink the live -album format makes Sammy alittle harder to take than necessary; this onehas some of the usual live -album excesses andis marked by a nearly incredible lack of varie-ty. But there's much ado all right, enough adofor anybody. N.C.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITMERLE HAGGARD: I'm Always on a Moun-tain When I Fall. Merle Haggard (vocals,

fiddle); instrumental accompaniment. It'sBeen a Great Afternoon; Love Me When YouCan; The Dream; The Immigrant; and six oth-ers. MCA MCA -2375 $6.98, 0 MCAT -23'75$7.98, © MCAC-2375 $7.98.

Performance: Very goodRecording: Good

This is the third straight good, strong albumfrom Merle Haggard, with a lot of stuff in itthat will keep him the truckers' favorite, a lit-tle Austin -like "progressivism" that mightplease several people, and an exercise in pop-ulism for those of us who want that out ofHaggard in The Immigrant, which starts out"American ranchin' consists of a mansion/Where illegal immigrants do much of the laborby hand." And it just gets wryer and moreironic and angrier. Haggard is, I believe, ply-ing his trade about as honestly as any "suc-cessful" person can these days, and althoughthis album has a few dry spots (all written bysomeone else), it has a certain spirit about ittoo. Hag, when he's good, is good. N.C.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITJOHN HAMMOND: Footwork. John Ham-mond (guitars, harmonica); Roosevelt Sykes(piano). Preaching Blues; Crossroads Blues;Forty-four Rifle Blues; Ask Me Nice; and sixothers. VANGUARD VSD 79400 $7.98.

Performance: ExcellentRecording: Very good

John Hammond is about as good as whiteblues singers get or are likely to get. His style

is (as any classic country -blues style must be)based on the recordings of black artists fromthe Twenties and Thirties, and he consciouslysings black, which is, after all, the only way tosing country blues. And, even more impor-tant, he is a good actor. Superior acting iswhat made Crosby and Presley great singers,and it continues to make Sinatra a great singereven though his voice is no longer the instru-ment it once was. Hammond follows the sameprecepts. When he sings Preaching Blues,Crossroads Blues, and Come On in My Kitch-en, all by the tormented Robert Johnson,Hammond acts a believable character in a sit-uation of pain and loneliness. This, combinedwith his fluent country -blues guitar, makes fora performance in which at times he almostseems to be Johnson. Likewise with BlindWillie McTell's Broke Down Engine: Ham-mond appropriates the elements of McTell'sstyle in order to be closer to him. Two bluesby Roosevelt "The Honeydripper" Sykes, pi-anist and longtime expatriate in France, aremore relaxed, possibly because Sykes himselfis there on piano. Bo Diddley's great Who DoYou Love roars and churns, a reminder thatHammond was one of the very few seriousfolk musicians to sing Diddley and ChuckBerry selections in the early Sixties, when todo so was considered heresy by doctrinairefolkies. Good singing, good acting, and a goodalbum. J. V.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITMICHAEL JOHNSON: The Michael JohnsonAlbum. Michael Johnson (vocals, guitar); vo-

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cal and instrumental accompaniment. SailingWithout a Sail; Foolish; Ridin' in the Sky; 25Words or Less; Gypsy Woman; and five oth-ers. EMI/AMERICA SW -17002 $7.98, 8XW-17002 $7.98, © 4XW-17002 $7.98.

Performance: Quietly excellentRecording: Very good

Here's a really happy surprise. Michael John-son plays superb guitar and sings with a kindof lazy, forthright intimacy that involves thelistener immediately. How very good he is onguitar can be heard in Gypsy Woman, inwhich he uses the instrument as anothervoice, commenting on his own singing. Howgood he is vocally (and in familiar, demandingmaterial) can be heard in his version of Al-most Like Being in Love: he takes FrederickLoewe's melodic Viennese breeze across andthrough the Scottish heather of Alan JayLerner's lyrics and comes up with somethinguniquely his own. Bluer Than Blue has al-ready been a chart hit for him, and it's easy tohear why-he has class and charm in anysong. You may not be sandbagged by the qui-et excellence of Johnson's work, but I'll betyou won't stop listening to him over the wholeten bands of this album. P.R.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITMARGIE JOSEPH: Feeling My Way. MargieJoseph (vocals); vocal and instrumental ac-companiment. I Feel His Love Getting Strong-er; Come On Back to Me Lover; You TurnedMe On to Love; He Came into My Life; Pic-ture of a Clown; Love Takes Tears; and four

MICHAEL JOHNSONConsistent, quiet excellence

others. ATLANTIC SD 19182 $6.98, TP19182 $7.98, © CS 19182 $7.98.

Performance: TemptingRecording: Satisfactory

I've never been able to understand why Mar-gie Joseph hasn't made it bigger than she has,for the bulk of her work is a full cut abovemost of what comes thundering through theairwaves these days. She has achieved a rarebalance of spirit and restraint that enables her

to build pyramids of intensity without letting asong run away with her. As for her voice, shepossesses as fine a natural instrument as manya superstar, and she manipulates it with thekeen sensitivity of a true artisan. The crux ofthe problem might be that she sounds just abit too much like Aretha Franklin, specificallyin terms of vocal timbre and phrasing. Butcareful listening reveals different shadings instyle, and it is notable that Ms. Joseph alwaysavoids the sort of hyperdramatic overkill thatis the Soul Queen's hallmark.

"Feeling My Way" is quite possibly herbest album. It is highlighted by exceptionallyinviting songs, all written by Johnny Bristol,who also served as producer. He has broughtto this effort a distinct gift for melody and afinely tuned rhythmic sense. Some peaks ofdelight here are I Feel His Love GettingStronger, You Turned Me On to Love, andPicture of a Clown. Highly recommended.

P.G.

GREG KIHN BAND: Next of Kihn. Greg Kihn(guitar, vocals); instrumental accompani-ment. Cold Hard Cash; Chinatown; Every-body Else; Understander; Secret Meetings;and three others. BESERK LEY JBZ-0056 $7.98,

PZA 8380-0056(H) $7.98, PZT5380-0056(H) $7.98.

Performance: Straight but solidRecording: Good mix

Greg Kihn's band follows a lot of conven-tions-you can hear echoes of Springsteenand Elvis Costello and Bob Seger and oth-


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NOVEMBER 1978 153

"I HAVE to become a superstar. My motherreally expects this," Genya Ravan told me

almost eight years ago. Well, she hasn't quitereached that status yet, but she's come a longway from Lodz, the Lower East Side, andLondon, three important stops on her route.It all began in Lodz, an industrial city in theheart of Poland, where she was born GenyaZelcovicv "in the mid -Thirties." In 1947 theZelkovicv family moved to the U.S. and set-tled on New York's Lower East Side, a tradi-tionally rough neighborhood that has been anethnic melting pot since the 1890's. There Mr.Zelkovicv opened a candy store, and Genyagrew up in a world of street gangs who

moved, leather -jacketed, through the streetsto the sounds of transistor rock-'n'-roll. Shejoined one of the gangs, the Furies, and re-calls having to hide her leather jacket fromher unsuspecting parents, who now called herGoldie because someone had told them thatthe name Genya might be considered down-right un-American.

So it was Goldie Zelcovicv who, in 1962,jumped onto the stage at Brooklyn's LollipopLounge and sang with Richard Perry's group,the Escorts, and it was Goldie Zelcovicv whoreaped from that impromptu performance herfirst professional job. She recorded four sidesfor Coral as the Escorts' lead singer, and oneof them, Somewhere, hit the charts in Detroit.

"The Detroit disc jockeys," she recalls,"thought using the name Zelkovicv was somekind of joke, and they couldn't believe theireyes when they saw me at record hops-theyhad thought I was black." That was a compli-ment, for Goldie had great admiration forblack singers, particularly Jeanette "Baby"

Washington, and doubly a compliment be-cause it came from Detroit, whose "MotownSound" was about to make a significant im-pact on the entire pop -music industry. Ablack sound was, to use the predictive ver-nacular, where it was about to be at: Goldiewas right on target.

By 1965, the Motown Sound was every-where, matched in popularity only by that ofthe British rock groups who had begun invad-ing the American market with a style that wastheir own but, by admission, had its origin inblack blues. Having left her Escorts, Goldieformed an all -girl group called Goldie and theGingerbreads.

0

"This was when Eric Burdon and the Ani-mals were hitting it big with House of the Ris-ing Sun," she recalls, "and we were appear-ing at the Wagon Wheel, on 45th Street, whentheir manager walked in. 'Bloody hell, a girl'sband,' he said, and he was so impressed thathe suggested we go to England."

It turned out to be a good move for Goldieand the Gingerbreads. They toured with theAnimals, the Yardbirds, and the RollingStones, they were given their first TV expo-sure by the Beatles, and they became a favor-ite entertainment at parties thrown by theday's jet set. They recorded for British Deccaand scored a hit with their first release, Can'tYou Hear My Heart Beat, produced by EricBurdon.

"We were semi -big, and very cooking,"says Genya. "No original tunes, because thatwasn't the thing. I was doing Shout, andthings like that. Atlantic released some of ourthings over here, but they didn't catch on. Myorganist, Margo Lewis, was a bitch; this chick

was just great. Jimmy Smith heard her andflipped out. My drummer looked like SophiaLoren, a very pretty chick, and I still haven'tfound a cat that can be as funky as this chickwas with her foot. My guitarist, too, was in-credible, playing rhythmic patterns I hadn'theard from any cat. I had the group for fiveyears, and it wasn't easy-you know, just be-fore you go on a show you don't want to hearabout somebody's period pains."

After a couple of years in Europe, Goldieand the Gingerbreads returned to the U.S.,where the group eventually broke up. "Wehad reached a dead end. Breakups are oftenlike rehearsals, a real drag. It happens with alot of groups; you reach a point where you'renot growing any more, you're not learning,you're not absorbing. But, believe me, wewere very tight. I loved them. I don't lovethem any more, but I loved them then. It end-ed very badly. It ended like chicks; it didn'tend with wishes of 'good luck,' nothing likethat. I'm sure they don't want to see me, and Idon't want to see them."

While Goldie and the Gingerbreads werestill together, Goldie met a drummer by thename of Les DeMerle, who introduced her tojazz. "Actually, I had been turned on to jazzby King Pleasure. I loved the things he did,but Les took me down to hear Thad Jones andMel Lewis, and all of a sudden I was meetinga lot of jazz people. It was a whole new worldI hadn't known about. All I knew from wasShake It Up Baby, but jazz had a feeling, andI wanted it." It was during the brief periodwith DeMerle's jazz quintet that Goldiechanged her name back to Genya and adoptedthe surname Ravan. "Whoever heard of ajazz singer named Goldie Zelkovicv? It justdidn't sound right; besides, I was workingwith charts for the first time, and I had suchtalented jazz people as Frank Foster and Gar-nett Brown writing charts for me. Frank Fos-ter and I really dug working together. Weused different musicians, and I learned thatwith charts you could change musicians."

GENYA RAVAN'S jazz experience, thoughartistically rewarding, was brief. By 1969 shewas back in the pop world, stirring up excite-ment in clubs, on TV, and in such rock pal-aces as the Fillmores East and West, backedby a powerful band called Ten Wheel Drive.Genya and Ten Wheel Drive recorded threealbums for Polydor, all of which made thecompany's best-seller list, but by 1971 per-sonality conflicts had begun to threaten theband, and when Clive Davis-then presidentof Columbia Records-made a bid for Genya,she made the move without hesitation.

Eager to find a replacement for Janis Joplin,who had just died, Davis-or so the storygoes-paid Polydor $100,000 to get Genya outof her contract. If Genya's mother's expecta-tion was to come true, this was surely theevent that would do it; Clive Davis was enjoy-ing a reputation as the recording industry'snumber one star -maker, he was credited withthe superstardom of Janis Joplin, Sly Stone,Donovan, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Chicago,and, to some extent, Miles Davis. Since Gen-ya already had developed an impressive fol-lowing, the switch to Columbia, with its well-oiled distribution and promotion machinery,might just take her over the top. Sad to say, it

154 STEREO REVIEW

did not. In fact, it took her in the oppositedirection.

After an expenditure rumored to have ap-proached $200,000 (including the payment toPolydor), Columbia released one album("Genya Ravan," C 31001), a mixture of rockand jazz -oriented material produced by Mi-chael Zager and Aram Schefrin of Ten WheelDrive and containing guest performances byMichael Olatunji, Arnie Lawrence, and JamesMoody. It was easily her best album, but saleswere poor by Columbia's standards, andClive Davis inexplicably dropped Genya fromthe label's roster. "It had a devastating effecton me," she recalls. "I mean, spending allthat money and then dropping me just likethat. I just had to go away and get my headtogether."

DURING the next few years, Genya record-ed an album for Dunhill (it was called "TheyLove Me"-she hates it), spent some time inCalifornia, and then returned to New York tobecome a record producer. She producedCryer and Ford's "You Know My Music"and Rosie's "Better Late Than Never" forRCA, the Dead Boys' "Young, Loud andSnotty" for Sire, and demos by Jimmy Miller,the Shirts, and the Miamis. But she reallywanted to produce her own album, and thatopportunity finally came earlier this year.

"Urban Desire"-promoted, and heavilyso, as a "decidedly decadent" album-bringsback the leather -clad Goldie of the LowerEast Side, a gutsy rock -and -roller whosesongs dig deep into a world of motorcycles,hard loving, and street survival. It's raw rockwith a slight polish (no joke intended) that-inconjunction with the frank lyrics-brings theSixties into the Seventies. Her Columbia al-bum proved Genya capable of affecting theclarity and smoothness of Annie Ross, buthere her voice is as down-to-earth as a pair ofwell-worn sneakers. No one will assume sheis black, but the influence clearly remains,showing most prominently on Back in MyArms Again, the 1965 Supremes hit, which isalso the album's initial single.

Because of the direction Genya seemed tobe taking in 1972, "Urban Desire" came assomething of a shock when I first heard it, butshe is obviously more comfortable in this idi-om, and the album sounds better each time Iplay it. There is a lot of good material, one ofmy personal favorites being Aye Co'lorado,Genya's own song about her first affair with aPuerto Rican, which features a guest appear-ance by Lou Reed, and Darling, I Need You,a 1975 song by John Cale, co-founder withReed of the Velvet Underground.

It's good to see the return of Genya Ravan,and to find that she has lost none of the energyand spunk one used to associate with her. Willshe ever pay a visit to Lodz? "I'd love to,"she told me. "Hey, man, that's root city!"

-Chris Albertson

GENYA RAVAN: Urban Desire. Genya Ravan(vocals, percussion, harmonica); the GenyaRavan Band. Jerry's Pigeons; The KnightAin't Long Enough; Do It Just for Me; Shot inthe Heart; Aye Co'lorado; Back in My ArmsAgain; Cornered; The Sweetest One; Darling,I Need You; Messin Around; Shadowboxing.20TH CENTURY -FOX T-562 $7.98.

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CIRCLE NO. 14 ON READER SERVICE CARDNOVEMBER 1978 155

ers-but once in a while listening to this al-bum you get the feeling that out of formulacould come originality (sorf of like the old Dr.Kildare series on the tube, which eventuallygot to be fairly gbod). Kihn's group here doessome solid work, anyway, and there're a lotof catchy tunes that are easy to pick up on.The group has the roughness of folk artistryabout it, and a sort of lurking vitality. This al-bum doesn't knock me out, but it does get meinterested. N.C.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITLORI LIEBERMAN: Letting Go. Lori Lieber-man (vocals); vocal and instrumental accom-paniment. Let Me Down Easy; Letting Go;

You're the One; Boston; Jingle; What I WouldDo; and three others. MILLENNIUM MNLP8005 $6.98.

Performance: Wry and observantRecording: Very good

"Letting Go" is filled with sensitive, oftedeeply felt, but always unself-pitying work byLori Lieberman. She's best in her own mate-rial (she wrote six out of the nine songs here).That's partly because the music lies easilywithin her limited range-she has a narrowbut extremely expressive contralto-and part-ly because she delivers the wry lyrics of suchsongs as Boston, Late Last Night, and LettingGo with a deft, low-key punch that leaves justthe right aftershock. All of her material seems

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CIRCLE NO, 32 ON READER SERVICE CARD

LORI LIEBERMANA pocketful of wry

to reflect the same observant awareness, andthe chunks of experience that she passesalong to us have the tart tang of truth aboutthem.

Best here is Lieberman's own Jingle, appar-ently drawn from her experience of going outto audition for a Burger King jingle at an ad-vertising agency. She gives it the works: "Isang it from my gut, I would have sung itkneeling/Have it your way!" The presidingtrend setter doesn't much care for it. "Well, Isank in my chair and he walked around me an-noyed/And my pride just melted all over hiscorduroy...."On the way out he asks her ifhe can send her some songs he's written,since she's already done a couple of al-bums.... "Have it your way," she replies.She spends the rest of her day trying to dodgefeeling lousy by hitting Doubleday's and someof the other Fifth Avenue stores. The songends as she's back on the bus, with the driversinging out of tune as passengers get on andoff. Jingle is the kind of offbeat material thatnot too many composer/performers attempt.Since Lori Lieberman seems to have a pock-etful of wry, perhaps she might consider awhole album of this kind of truth -tellingsatire. P.R.

KENNY NOLAN: A Song Between Us. KennyNolan (vocals); instrumental accompaniment.A Song Between Us; I'd Love You to Love MeBack; Connect the Dots; But Love Me; YourLove; and five others. POLYDOR PDI-6151$7.98.

Performance: SweetRecording: Very good

Kenny Nolan is another one of those all-around types who write their own words andmusic, do their own arrangements, and havetheir own production unit. He began by writ-ing hit songs for others but recently startedsinging his material himself. It doesn't workout too well. The sentiments in most of hissongs are awfully sweet to begin with, and hishigh voice and rather cloying singing styletend to compound the problem. Still, afterprolonged exposure to Nolan's preciosity,you may start telling yourself, in his words, to"... take one beautiful day at a time/Whyrush into tomorrow?" Such cliches may be allhis lyrics have to offer, but some of the songs


156 STEREO REVIEW

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CIRCLE NO. 90 ON READER SEFV10E CARD

"I great danger in the confusions of ourage, which so often has [mis]understood

the call of art as the call to art; thus the artisticactivity of [our] time, [instead of] positivelyaffecting life, has called more and more of theyoung away from life." It might be Bob Dylantalking about the strumming horde that fol-lowed in his wake. Instead, it is the equallyinfluential (for his time and place, which wasthe Germany of the Weimar Republic) andequally popular poet Rainer Maria Rilkespeaking in 1922 about his own followers whohoped to find in his poetry a Way of Life andthe Ultimate Answer.

Popular music in 1978 is still trying to shakeloose-at least the "serious" and/or "mean-ingful" segment of it-from the shadow ofDylan's work. In the meantime there is still anenormous cottage industry at work churningout carefully primitive ballads that offer opin-ions on everything but real life itself. It is gen-erally meticulously folksy, to the point whereenunciation of the final "g" in any word end-ing in "ing" would immediately label you asone of them, "them" being the fakes, thephonies, and the sell-outs, the despicably suc-cessful Professionals who don't know what'sReally Important.

Co -existing, but hardly thriving, in the com-mercial market are such truly fine artists asIrene Kral. If you want to hear supremelyprofessional performances that are about reallife and real feelings, then listen to her latestChoice album "Gentle Rain." She is witnessto the actual world around her, and she shareswith her audience, by means of inflection,phrasing, and a lovely cloudless voice, awealth of life experience. When she deliversthe slight, mournful vignette that is Luiz Bon -fa and Matt Dubey's title song, Gentle Rain, itis as classically pure and humanly radiant as aRenoir painting. The Duke Ellington/Billy

Strayhorn Something to Live For gets the kindof performance from Kral that it has beenwaiting for since it was written, and her med-ley of Berlin's Remember and All Alone com-bined with Coward's Someday I'll Find Youand I'll See You Again, which finishes off thealbum in the highest possible style and stylish-ness, is the kind of singing it would be a privi-lege to hear in any time.

But, unfortunately-at least as far as salesare concerned-the time happens to be now.And now is the time of the huge entertainmentcomplexes that have audience tastes so cata-loged, so programmed, so demographed, andso just plain figured out that the chance of thisrecord's getting much beyond the window atDoubleday's or on the turntables of a fewconnoisseurs is about as likely as Tony Or-lando's turning up as our representative at theSALT talks. The kingdom from whence Ms.Kral comes-ruled over by the Dowager Em-press Mabel Mercer and blessed with a courtthat probably includes every good Americansinger performing today-has always beenterra incognita as far as the record biz hasbeen concerned. And it seems likely to stay

It doesn't take asmuch living up to asyou might think . . .

that way, no matter how many raves appear inthe media, no matter how many warmly ap-preciative liner notes (such as those, writtenhere by Rex Reed) are affixed to Kral's al-

bums or how much her fans talk her up amongtheir own friends.

The cause is twofold: the degraded musicalculture that we live in, and the relentless pan-dering to it by the people in charge of the rec-ord business. The pesky stuff surrounds uslike a sea of damp Kleenex. If something isbuilt or manufactured or artistically con-ceived to last, if it is a work of possibly endur-ing value, it seems to be immediately judgedstodgy, pretentious, almost surely boring,and, at the extreme, probably dangerous (thatgroup of over -thirty nihilists must never betrusted again!). No, much better to take whatthe market analysts tell us we want. That waywe can look down on it and enjoy it at thesame time. We've grown so used to certaincommercial additives being injected into ourentertainment that we no longer care (or dare)to commit ourselves to our own taste andjudgment. It is we, the Tweedledees, whohave told the Tweedledums of Market Re-search that they can't go too far wrong if theyinclude those surefire ingredients that makethings easier for us. The makers of a Disneyfamily picture are as fully aware that theymust include certain types of scenes in theirproducts at are the makers of X-rated pornfeatures. In any supermarket you'll see thecustomers pass blithely by the fresh -producecounter on their way to the frozen foods. It'seasier. (What does it matter that the pictureon the broccoli -with -hollandaise -sauce boxbears little resemblance to the rubbery sea-weed with library paste that's inside? Or thatthe newest "serious -meaningful" pop singeris shown on his album cover holding a guitarthat he hasn't learned to tune, let alone play,yet?) The recordmakers try to figure us outwith as much care as a con man eyeing anewly rich widow-and most of the time theyfleece us with our squealing consent.

So, it's up to you. You can go out and getthe new Irene Kral album, safe in the knowl-edge that you've bought something as fine andas lasting as an Hermes wallet or a Rolls-Royce car. It doesn't take as much living upto as you might think, and it won't give you aninferiority complex because you don't get ev-ery nuance immediately. What it will do is in-troduce you to a particular kind of excellencethat you might have missed so far. And itmight convince you that excellence is reallythe easiest thing of all to absorb, that UltimateAnswers are probably achieved only on theUltimate Day, and that reality, as expressedby an artist like Irene Kral, is a series ofsmall, deeply felt, daily wonders that add upto something rather grand.

(Shortly after this appreciation of IreneKral's work was completed, the news of herdeath reached me. Mixed in with the sadnessof the event itself was a great deal of personaljoy that she had recorded as much as shehad-and all of it of superb quality-beforeher untimely passing.) -Peter Reilly

IRENE KRAL: Gentle Rain. Irene Kral (vo-cals); Alan Broadbent (piano). The GentleRain; The Underdog; You Are There; Some-thing to Live For; If You Could See Me Now;What's New; Medley-Remember/SomedayI'll Find You/I'll See You Again/All Alone.CHOICE CRS 1020 $6.98.

158 STEREO REVIEW

here, Connect the Dots for instance, are actu-ally rather pretty. P. K.

TONY ORLANDO. Tony Orlando (vocals);vocal and instrumental accompaniment. Savethe Last Dance for Me; That Is Rock & Roll;A Lover's Question; Let the Good Times Roll;Since I Met You Baby; and five others. ELEK--rRA 6E-149 $7.98, ® ET -8149 $7.98, ©TC-5149 $7.98.

Performance: PloddingRecording: Good

Despite some ambitious arrangements and ahelping hand from the dynamic Etta James,Tony Orlando's "comeback" album is a dis-appointment. The opening cut is a bow to dis-co fever called Don't Let Go that pits an im-pressive array of solo instruments againstswinging strings and a solid beat. Orlando'shead-on style would seem to be much moresuited to the one-two, one-two bounce of ICount the Tears and Save the Last Dance forMe, but his plodding, totally undistinguisheddelivery reduces them to the old Tie a YellowRibbon mold. The rest of the album aims forupdated rock-and-roll. The classic Let theGood Times Roll, to which Ms. James con-tributes lots of energy, and Ya Ya are theonly cuts on the whole album with any piz-zazz. But even here Orlando doesn't bringmuch personality to the music-he just sings,and with a voice that seems to have deteri-orated during his latest brief retirement.Whatever happened to Dawn?

-Edward Buxbaum

JOHNNY OTIS: The Original Johnny OtisShow. Johnny Otis (vocals, drums, vibra-phone); Little Esther, Mel Walker, ReddLyte, Jimmy Rushing, the Robins, MarilynScott (vocals); instrumental accompaniment.Harlem Nocturne; My Baby's Business;Round the Clock; Preston Love's Mansion;Beer Bottle Boogie; Uneasy Blues; All NiteLong; Wedding Boogie; and twenty-four oth-ers. SAVOY SJL 2230 two discs $7.98.

Performance: Gems among the pasteRecording: Good restoration

Savoy Records was a small, independent,California label specializing in black music inthe late Forties and early Fifties. JohnnyOtis-who is white, by the way-was on handas artist, songwriter, talent scout, arranger,and occasional vocalist. He grew up in theThirties idolizing the big swing bands, but bythe late Forties when the big -band era wasdead he made a precipitate and lucky switchto rhythm-and-blues, turning out several hits.His last big single was Willie and the HandJive on Capitol Records in the Fifties.

The Savoy catalog was purchased by AristaRecords, and various double -disc reissuesfrom the Savoy vaults have appeared fromtime to time. The thirty-two selections in thisOtis package range from brilliant to so-so.The first four cuts, made when Otis was lead-ing a neo-swing orchestra with access to theCount Basie arrangement book and Basie'svocalist Jimmy Rushing, are very exciting-especially Preston Love's Mansion, in whichtrombonist Henry Coker takes a solo that thefellows who made it into the history bookswouldn't be ashamed of. Otis' talent discov-eries included Mel Walker, a cautious but en-gaging vocalist whose duets with Little Estherresulted in big hits of the time, and the mys-terious Marilyn Scott from the Carolinas,

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whom Otis found and lost after recording theexciting Beer Bottle Boogie and UneasyBlues. Walker, Little Esther, and "Preacher"Lee Graves have great fun with WeddingBoogie. Otis' fondness for and first loyalty tothe swing music of his youth is evident notonly in his use of brass but also in his vocal onAll Nite Long, an adaption of Fats Waller'srecording of The Joint Is Jumpin'. In thespoken coda, after the cops have come tobreak up the party, Otis uses the Waller line,"Don't give your right name."

Now, having mentioned some of the de-lights of this collection, I must also reportthat, considering the number of the selec-tions, they are few and far between. PeteWelding, who wrote the detailed liner notes(in which Otis is quoted at length), acceptsOtis' own contention that he found artisticsatisfaction in his T -&-b success beyond whathe might have found as a swing -band leader.That may be so, but there is a dulling monoto-ny to most of these recordings. They werecommercial ditties knocked out fast andcheap to take advantage of a newly discov-ered audience, and they sound it. Worse, theysound dated. But there are some fine mo-ments nonetheless. J.V.

.DOLLY PARTON: Heartbreaker. Dolly Par-ton (vocals); instrumental accompaniment. IReally Got the Feeling; It's Too Late to LoveMe Now; With You Gone; Baby I'm Burnin';and six others. RCA AFL) -2797 $7.98, CDAFS1-2797 $7.98, © AFK1-2797 $7.98.

Performance: Image change complete?Recording: Very good

I said to a friend, "The best thing about thismay be that Dolly Parton doesn't wear one ofthose two -sizes -too -small jump suits in thecover photo," and the friend said, "Does thatmake it a collector's item?" Maybe. I don'tthink the content would, although it is perfect-ly clear that Dolly can cut the mustard amongpop singers -and she is definitely among popsingers with this album. It's almost a throw-back to the girl -singer -and -orchestra shtick ofthe Fifties, but of course it sounds up to date(just as the Seventies, another throwback tothe Fifties, sound up to date). Anyway,there's very little of Dolly Parton, CountrySinger (or even Former Country Singer), to beheard here. There's a lot of the Dolly Partonwho told some TV talk -show host, "I want tobe a superstar, it's as simple as that," and alot of the Dolly Parton who is interviewed inPlayboy and Playgirl, a lot of the woman -of -the -world Dolly Parton. And she's not bad, ofcourse, as woman -of -the -world singers go;the lighthearted quality of her voice goes wellin this new environment, and she has that dis-tinctive sound and such an easy time with thesubtleties of pitch. I doubt if any other singercould show you as good a time with these par-ticular tunes. But then comes the inevitable"So what?" It's awfully hard to find any poig-nancy if you stop speculating about Dolly'schanging her image and just listen to the rec-ord. Some singer -songwriters aren't impor-tant enough to be obligated to be poignant,but Dolly Parton is. Obligated, that is, to theminority who listen rather than absorb. Thisalbum seems to me to serve the majority wellenough, being up -beat, cute, and facile, but itgives its obligation to the minority only a lickand a promise. N.C.


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CAROLE BAYER SAGER: ... Too. CaroleBayer Sager (vocals); Marvin Hamlisch (pi-ano); Bruce Roberts, Melissa Manchester (pi-ano, vocals); Russ Kunkel, Jim Gordon(drums); Lee Ritenour, Steve Lukather (gui-tars); Alice Cooper (vocals); other musicians.Peace in My Heart; You're Interesting; Shad-ows; One Star Shining; It Doesn't Add Up;and five others. ELEKTRA 6E-151 $6.98, 0ET8-151 $7.98, © TC5-151 $7.98.

Performance: TepidRecording: Good

It would be nice if I could be nicer about thisalbum. Carole Bayer Sager has collaboratedas a lyricist with just about everyone in themusic business at one time or another, andshe's written some really good things. You'reInteresting, a song that she's done with PeterAllen and has included here, is one of them.But her wavery, tentative delivery makes thealmost four minutes she takes to sing it seeminterminable. She pulls in Marvin Hamlischon piano to accompany her in a flashy DonCosta arrangement of To Make You SmileAgain, but the result is as tepid as Englishbeer. Sager has the contacts, prestige, andpower to make recordings like this indefinite-ly, but it seems rather pointless. P. R.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITTHE SHIRTS. The Shirts (vocals and instru-mentals). Reduced to a Whisper; Tell Me YourPlans; Empty Ever After; Teenage Crutch;10th Floor Clown; The Story Goes; and fiveothers. CAPITOL SW -11791 $7.98, 08XW-11791 $7.98, © 4XW-11791 $7.98.

Performance. NiftyRecording: Fine

As far as I'm concerned, the Shirts were farand away the stars of the "Live at CBGB's"album; they were the least doctrinaire partici-pants (they couldn't care less about punkideology), they had interesting ideas aboutsongwriting, and though as instrumentaliststhey were obviously influenced by decidedlynon -New Wave sources (Steve Howe of Yes,for example), they had as much energy anddrive as any of the hard-core punkers. Theywere also blessed with a lead singer. the utter-ly adorable Annie Golden, who had greatmoves and a powerful (if occasionally out ofcontrol) voice that was difficult to reconcilewith the fact that she appeared to weigh aboutthirty pounds.

It's taken a long time for the Shirts to land arecord deal compared with the unseemlyhaste with which many of their colleagueswere hustled into the studio, a sad situationthat they attribute in part to a Manhattaniteprejudice against their native borough ofBrooklyn (they may be right). But, if any-thing, the wait probably did them some good,giving them time to tighten up a bit. and I amhappy to report that their debut album is un-usually promising. Oh sure, this is still ayoung band with some growing to do; a lot oftheir songs, especially such ballads as Tell MeYour Plans, try to cram too many deliberatelyclever time and chord changes into too small amusical frame. But even those, miraculously,don't lose the furious momentum and rock-and-roll kick that make the Shirts so endear-ing on stage. When they learn to relax a bit,they should really be something. In the mean-time, the bandl already takes an intelligent


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Odd Couple: Cassidy G-PcLaddl

LYRICIST Alan Jay Lerner, who ought toknow whereof he speaks, recently wrote:

"We live in a disposable age where what isnew today is junk tomorrow. In popular mu-sic, what is junk tomorrow is also junk to-day." What he means, I'm sure, is not thatthe age itself is disposable, but that its cultureis. Anyway, I could have danced all night withjoy when I read those words and the plaincommon sense they represent. Most particu-larly because I'd just been confronted withtwo new releases, Shaun Cassidy's "UnderWraps" and "Cheryl Ladd," by the TV star-let of that name, that bear the same relation tomusic that frozen pizza does to food. Both al-bums are junk-expensive, carefully pack-aged, and unabrasive to the ear-and, likefrozen pizza, they contain nothing to nourishthe soul.

Shaun Cassidy's popularity has little to dowith the way he sings. He is a teenage sexsymbol following in the footsteps of such asBobby Sherman and his half-brother DavidCassidy, and the promotion of him is as in-tense, as calculated, and as cynical ("Milkhim dry now; who knows who these crazykids are gonna latch onto next . . . .") as itwould be for a new hair -spray. And ShaunCassidy's records have little to do with music.They are simply easy tokens of his charismat-ic presence to throw around teenybopperhouseholds. I'm sure he could sell just asmany records by sitting in front of a micro-phone and telling his fans what he did thatday, how many cheeseburgers he ate, howmany records he listened to, and what kind ofgirl he most likes to date. But the commercialsystem has dubbed him a "singer," and there-fore he makes records.

And those records sell-do they ever! And,because few people have Alan Jay Lerner'scourage or common sense, and because someof us in the media have, sheep -like, ever sincethe invention of the Demographic YouthBulge in the Sixties, avoided telling it as wehear it for fear of being labeled part of the

gross, untrustworthy, over -thirty Establish-ment, records such as "Under Wraps" notonly get made but reviewed. They're re-viewed respectfully, because of the sales theyrepresent, in the trade journals; exalted as"popular phenomena" by the hip weekliesdesperately afraid of offending the Kids lestthey take it out on advertising revenue; andtreated everywhere else with a patronizing,sentimental fondness, dating back to the daysof Gidget Goes to an Orgy, that seems basedon a conviction that everything teenagers dois somehow "cute." Well, to hell with all that.Shaun Cassidy can't sing, he can barely man-age to mouth the simplest lyric, and he comesacross in this album more as a case of perma-nently arrested musical development than asin any way "cute."

CHERYL LADD, on the other hand, is sodamned cute that one's first impulse is tosqueeze her like a tube of toothpaste orFrench anchovy glop. Her reality quotient is,in truth, on just about that level. She's the girlwho replaced Farrah Fawcett -Majors on the

Nothing in it triesfor excellence onany level . . .

5world's most inane TV show, and she's notwasting any time carving out a piece of popnotoriety for herself. Her new record, junkincarnate and enshrined, seems to be just oneof the several fronts she's moving on rightnow. She claims to have spent part of her ear-ly professional career as a singer. Just wherethat might have been boggles the mind, sinceon this recording she sounds like a Playboy

Bunny doing "impressions" of soul singersfrom Bessie Smith through Janis Joplin. It willcome as something of a surprise to her fans,I'm sure, that on these tracks she has a folk/street/black accent that would do credit toMuddy Waters. It is, like Bob Dylan's trans-mogrification into an Okie from Milwaukeethe minute he hit a recording studio, one ofthose show -biz marvels that sometimes givesone a little tinge of suspicion about a perform-er's sincerity. Ms. Ladd's album may or maynot sell (her audience is perhaps a little coolerin responding to her allure than Cassidy'sprisoners of love are in succumbing to his),but, along with those of her "singing" TV co-horts, it doesn't really deserve review be-cause nothing in it tries for excellence on anylevel.

THE sadness I feel about the unadulteratedhype these albums represent is twofold:one, that the public sits still for this kind ofthing; and, two, that as a reviewer I've beenlazily content to take a sort of madness -of -the -crowd, that's -show -biz attitude towardit. Mr. Lerner's brave words have helped meto see the light, and I promise that in future Iwon't hesitate to tell you when a new piece ofjunk hits the pile. -Peter Reilly

SHAUN CASSIDY: Under Wraps. Shaun Cas-sidy (vocals); orchestra. Hard Love; TaxiDancer; Lie to Me; One More Night of YourLove; It's Like Heaven; Our Night; She'sRight; Midnight Sun; Right Before YourSkies. WARNER BROS. BSK 3222 $6.98, ® M83222 $7.97, © M5 3222 $7.97.

CHERYL LADD. Cheryl Ladd (vocals); or-chestra. Think It Over; Walking in the Rain;Skinnydippin'; I Know I'll Never Love ThisWay Again; Lady Gray; Good Good Lovin';You Turn Me Around; I'll Come Runnin';Here Is a Song; The Rose Nobody Knows.CAPITOL SW -11808 $6.98, ® 8XW-11808$7.98, © 4XW-11808 $7.98.

164 STEREO REVIEW

1M NI NM NM IN NI MI IN - OM RN MI MEmiddle course between the complexity (steril-ity?) of the art rockers and the passion (mis-placed aggression?) of the punks. Believable,assured, unselfconscious, the Shirts are, inother words, something like the best of bothworlds. Long may they drip dry. S.S.

CANDI STATON: House of Love. Candi Sta-ton (vocals); vocal and instrumental accom-paniment. Victim; Yesterday Evening; I Won-der Will I Ever Get Over It; I'm Gonna MakeYou Love Me; and three others. WARNERBROS. BSK 3207 $6.98, 0 M8 3207 $7.98, 0MS 3207 $7.98.

Performance: EngagingRecording: Very good

In the past, Candi Staton did not make astrong impression on me. Though her recordswere well done for the most part, she seemedto be one of the numerous competent but un-spectacular soul singers scuttling about in thewake of the real heavies. But her new albumoffers a great deal to solidify her previouslynebulous image. Much of the material here islightly rocking, traditional r -&-b reminiscentof the engaging fare that gushed out, likeblack gold, from Memphis a decade ago. In-deed, there are moments on Victim, So Blue,and I Wonder Will I Ever Get Over It whenshe sounds a bit like a female Al Green, butwithout his affectations. This hint of the pastlends a nostalgic touch to her rendition of theevergreen I'm Gonna Make You Love Me,while Yesterday Evening is more contempo-rary in tone, with a better than average melod-ic line and imagination apparent in the lyricsand arrangement.

The most exciting goody tucked into thissurprisingly good set is the final track, a deep-ly emotional, unadulterated gospel reading ofthe Thomas Dorsey classic Take My Hand,Precious Lord. Here Staton sets aside all theflashy embellishments of show biz and simplylets her roots hang out to a piano accompani-ment that rings true to the styles of the blackchurch. It is ample evidence that she is a sing-er as capable of interpreting the moods ofSunday morning as of Saturday night. Shouldshe ever decide to reverse the migration fromgospel to pop that has marked the careers ofso many artists of her genre, she might wellset in motion a tidal wave of response. P.G.

JESSE WINCHESTER: A Touch on the RainySide. Jesse Winchester (vocals, guitar, key-boards); instrumental accompaniment. ATouch on the Rainy Side; A Showman's Life;Sassy; Candida; High Ball; Holly; and fourothers. BEARSVILLE BRK 6984 $7.98, 0 M86984 $7.97, © MS 6984 $7.97.

Performance: OverproducedRecording: Very good

Jesse Winchester wasn't a one -issue folk art-ist when he was a draft exile in Montreal andnot allowed to tour the States (as he has sincedone) or to record in Nashville (as he did inthis case), but his music then had an edge on itthat's clearly missing here. He's still capableof being elegantly and eloquently laconic, andhe can still write a mighty pretty little melody,but his older albums seem to have a muchgreater sense of purpose and responsibilitybehind them than this one does. This oneseems to aspire to be another of those airy,pleasant, undistinguished albums so commonto the late Seventies. Jesse Winchester, final-ly able to use those sharp Nashville studio

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NOVEMBER 1978

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musicians in one of their favorite settings, theold -house informality of Quadrafonic Stu-dios, could have done a lot of things more in-teresting than this too -smooth, semi -cushy,almost -orchestrated collection of so -what ob-servations. I don't object to the smoothnessand mellowness of his singing, though, andthe melodies are pretty, even for a time that'sbeen concentrating on prettying up the melo-dies. But the lyrics are mostly backgroundmusic, and I don't think writing those is howJesse Winchester ought to spend his time -orthat listening to them encased in big, gas -guz-zler arrangements is how I ought to spendmine. N.C.

JOHNNY WINTER: White, Hot & Blue. John-ny Winter (vocals, guitar); Edgar Winter (pi-ano); Bobby Torello (drums); I. P. Sweat(bass); Pat Ramsey (harmonica); Pat Rush(guitar). Walkin' by Myself; Slidin' In; DivingDuck; One Step at a Time; Nickel Blues; andfour others. BLUE SKY JZ 35475 $7.98, @JZA 35475 $7.98, © JZT 35475 $7.98.

Performance: Carried awayRecording: Good

Johnny Winter's recent association with mas-ter bluesman Muddy Waters has promptedhim to go back and play hardnosed blues,raise hell, and have fun the way he did beforehe was hailed as a major rock star a decadeago. Winter's enthusiasm for the freedom ofblues playing as opposed to the orthodox trap-pings of rock is evident on this new album,and, while he may not be the guitarist the me-dia claimed he was in 1968, he is a capable andexperienced musician.

But enthusiasm is sometimes a problemwith these performances. Winter gets so car-ried away with the energy and excitement ofstomp -and -holler blues that he winds up play-ing standard guitar solos and indiscriminatelygrowling his way through the vocals. Part ofthe greatness, of blues as a musical form; is itspotential for subtlety, and Winters almostmisses that entirely -except for a fine, re-strained reading of Jimmy Reed's Honest I

Do, the best cut on the disc. The most disor-ganized cut is Winter's own Nickel Blues, inwhich neither he nor brother Edgar on pianoappear to be listening to each other (boy, theyreally must have been loose on this one). Butthere's a great funny line in the lyrics: "GuessI'll pack my bags, throw a nickel in the air/If itcomes down tails, I'm gonna get mine outtahere." J.V.

LORNA WRIGHT: Circle of Love. LornaWright (vocals); vocal and instrumental ac-companiment. Night Music; Love Is Forever;Get a Little Crazy; Magic in Your Eyes; YouHave Me; You Can't Find Yesterday; and fiveothers. ROCKET BXL1-2902 $7.98, 0BXSI-2902 $7.98, © BXK1-2902 $7.98.

Performance: PromisingRecording: Good

Lorna Wright is the sister of Gary Wright(originally of Spooky Tooth) and has had stu-dio and stage experience as a back-up singer.She makes her debut here as a solo artist witha convincing voice, a solid delivery, lots ofenergy, and too many songs -mostly writtenby herself -that don't do her much good. Thisis an album in search of a hit single, by an art-ist in a hurry to establish her own identity.Ms. Wright shouldn't be so anxious. She hasthe talent to go where she wants to, but it willprobably take her two or three albums with amore careful choice of songs before she getsthere. J.V.

COLLECTIONS

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITTHE FESTIVAL TAPES. John Hartford (vo-cals, guitar, fiddle); Bryan Bowers (autoharp);New Grass Revival (vocals and instrumen-tals); Byron Berline and Sundance (vocalsand instrumentals); Tim Goodman (vocals,guitar); Peter Rowan (vocals, mandola); othermusicians. Blackberry Blossom; Love YouLike a Man; Waugh Paugh; Goin' Back to Old



6

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Kentucky; Fiddler's Dream; and four others.FLYING FISH FF-068 $7.98.

Performance: Rocky Mountain highsRecording:Excellent remote

Telluride, Colorado, at whose fourth Blue-grass and Country Festival this album wastaped, has got to have one of the most spec-tacular settings of any village anywhere.Peaks of the San Juan range, two miles high,surround it on three sides. Playing in such asetting, I should think, would both inspire andhumble a picker, for what he's doing is goingout and nestling beside one of nature's realbeauts, one of nature's greatest hits, youmight say. And these pickers do seem in-spired, or something, for they put some lifeinto this live recording. Peter Rowan's Landof the Navajo, a haunting song that uses blue-grass instrumentation to make an unbluegrasssound, is my favorite, but there are severalcontenders, starting with John Hartford's No-body Eats at Linebaugh's Anymore (it's aboutpoor old Broadway in Nashville now that theGrand Ole Opry has moved to the outskirts oftown). Byron Berline does some outstandingfiddling in three different songs, and the"bluegrass and country" ranges from thenew-frontiers/semi-electric bluegrass of Ber-line's band Sundance to the almost-jugbandstuff by Dan Sadowsky and Washboard Chaz.This festival was held in June 1977, and, judg-ing from this disc, I'd say the quality of musicin that month was worthy of a place whereMother Nature once patted her foot. N.C.

SIX PAK, VOLUME 1. Willie Nelson: SomeOther Time; Face of a Fighter. Ray WylieHubbard: Up Against the Wall RedneckMother; Radio Song. Cooder Browne: Swing-ing with the Armadillo; Lonesome Rider. DonBowman: Willon and Waylee; Power ToolSong. Steve Fromholz: Heroes; Fool's Gold.Geezinslaw Brothers: Another Pretty CountrySong; Who's a Fool. LONE STAR L-4600$7.98, ® LC8-4600 $7.98, © LCR4-4600$7.98.

Performance: A little flatRecording: Variable

Seems an inauspicious way to revive WillieNelson's Lone Star label, this little hodge-podge of regional and heretofore dormant tal-ent (first I've heard of the Geezinslaw Broth-ers or Don Bowman in years), but that's thething about undertaking to make Austin, Tex-as, a recording center. You have to start withthe fact that Jerry Jeff Walker and Asleep atthe Wheel and other local biggies (includingWillie Nelson himself, represented here withtwo trebly -sounding minor songs recorded in,for Crissakes, 1961) are already signed upwith other labels out of Nashville and NewYork and such places. Still, this isn't bad ifyou take it as a little novelty kind of thing.Bowman, who usually isn't as funny as hethinks he is, comes up with some actual satirein Willon and Waylee ("If I could get Wil-lie . . . if I could get Waylon . . . to singalong with me," which, of course, he does),and Cooder Browne's modified Texas swinggoes very nicely in there. I remember theGeezinslaws as being a lot funnier than this,though, and I reckon I'll stick with BobbyBare's version of Ray Wylie Hubbard's UpAgainst the Wall Redneck Mother. But it's astart, and people, including musicians, are at-tracted to Willie, so I expect Lone Star to de-velop a little more kick as it ages. N.C.

Bang & Olufsen of America, Inc. 515 Busse Rd., Elk Grove Village, IL 60007 Dept. 12CIRCLE NO. 11 ON READER SERVICE CARD STEREO REVIEW

CROWN HEIGHTS AFFAIR: Dream World.Crown Heights Affair (vocals and instrumen-tals). Galaxy of Love; I Love You; Say aPrayer for Two; Dream World; Things AreGoing to Get Better; and two others. DE-LITEDSR-9506 $7.98, 0 DC8-9506 $7.98, 0DCR4-9506 $7.98.

Performance: Loud but leanRecording: Very good

If raw energy were all that counted, this groupof singing instrumentalists would walk awaywith a ton of trophies, so dense is the cloud ofdust they stir up with their whumping andthumping. Unfortunately, little happens be-hind all that furor. The songs are based ontrite little phrases that are repeated ad infini-tum, vocally and instrumentally. Maybe toomuch of the effort went into the production ofthe disc; the first track, Galaxy of Love, is socluttered with special electronic effects that itmight better have launched a bona fide rocketthan the tin can with an outsize fuse the albumturns out to be. The screaming horns andplodding rhythm section deserve special dis-honor. Rather than a dream world, CrownHeights Affair has created an overamplifiednightmare. P.G.

CISSY HOUSTON: Think It Over. CissyHouston (vocals); vocal and instrumental ac-companiment. Think It Over; Love Don'tHurt People; Somebody Should Have ToldMe; After You; I Just Want to Be with You;and four others. PRIVATE STOCK PS 7015$7.98.

Performance: Struggling to overcomeRecording: Satisfactory

Cissy Houston has spent so many of the bestyears of her life supporting other artists as abackground singer at recording sessions thatshe must by this time be due a Vinyl Heart fordistinguished service. It is easy to understandwhy others have wanted to employ her tal-ents. As a former lead gospel singer, she hasthe power and thrust to lift off almost anysong from ground zero, forcing it to soar.Then, too, there is her throaty voice, a fine,rich instrument that can move into the higherregisters without exhibiting any traces ofstrain. She endows whatever she sings-nomatter how trite-with conviction and emo-tion. She is, in short, a first-rate musician.

In view of what Houston has to offer, it islamentable that this new solo album is lacedwith third- and fourth -rate material. Admit-tedly, the disco numbers that make up two-thirds of this set are catchy in a pedestriansort of way, but the singer is so much betterthan what she sings here. Most of the time sheis done in by a leadenly monotonous beat, andthere are only spotty traces of her extraordi-nary abilities. Only After You and I Just Wantto Be with You are fully representative of

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CIRCLE NO. 42 ON READER SERVICE CARDNOVEMBER 1978 169

WeGIVew1978

cRepertoireSTEREO REVIEW again presents theannual revision of the Basic Repertoire.In pamphlet form, it includes 1978 discand tape recommendations for 173 stan-dard musical works. For your copy, send50V in coin, plus a stamped, self-ad-dressed No. 10 envelope (9'/2 x 41/2 in.),to Esther Maldonado, STEREO RE-VIEW, I Park Avenue, New York, N.Y.10016.

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what she has to offer; they are almost goodenough to compensate for all the other disap-pointing moments. Perhaps next time aroundthe real Cissy Houston will be permitted tostand up for the whole record. P.G.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITPAUL JABARA: Keeping Time. Paul Jabara(vocals); vocal and instrumental accompani-ment. Didn't the Time Go Fast; Saturday Ma-tinee; Dancin'; Last Dance; and four others.CASABLANCA NBLP 7102 $7.98, ® NBL87102 $7.98, © NBLS 7102 $7.98.

Performance: SuperRecording: Topnotch

Fresh from his featured role in the disco -ori-ented film Thank God, It's Friday, Paul Ja-bara delivers one impressive performance af-ter another on his second LP. He teams hishigh-steppin' version of Carol King's TakeGood Care of My Baby in a medley with hisown What's a Girl to Do, sung solo with in-fectious glee by Pattie Brooks. A new Jabarasong, Dancin' (Lifts Your Spirits Higher), isamong the best of the "shake it, make it, takeit" songs about disco fever. Jabara's own ver-sion of his TGIF monster hit Last Dance hasabout one -tenth the horsepower of DonnaSummer's rendition, but it is very well sungindeed. In addition, I nominate the longorchestral introduction to Something's Miss-ing for the Disco Hall of Fame. Bravo, ar-ranger -conductor Bob Esty! No one couldpossibly sit still through this, and the electron-ic flashes and jagged pieces of horn music thatpunctuate it are original and exciting. Thesong that finally follows is a good romanticballad, but it's nowhere near as inspired asthat intro. -Edward Buxbauut

LUV YOU MADLY ORCHESTRA. Luv YouMadly Orchestra (instrumentals and vocals).Moon Maiden; Soda Fountain Rag; HippoHop; Fleurette Africaine; Rocket Rock; andfour others. SALSOUL SA 8507 $7.98; ®8507 $7.98, © SC 8507 $7.98.

Performance: Disco DukeRecording: Good

"Love you madly" was Duke Ellington's fa-vorite phrase, but I doubt that he would haveused it in connection with this enigmatic al-

bum of Ellington compositions butchered indisco style. Kermit Moore arranged and con-ducted this mess, but concept and productionare credited to Duke's nephew, StephenJames, who, along with Moore, also wrote thealbum's two original compositions, proving ina most graphic way that creativity and tastedo not necessarily run in the family.

An opening eight -minute medley beginswith science -fiction -movie effects that modu-late into Duke's six -tone musical phrase, Inthe Beginning God, disco -beats its waythrough atrocious snatches of such popularEllingtonia as Satin Doll, Caravan, Take the"A" Train, I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart,and Mood Indigo, and fizzles out with a con-fusion of computer sounds, screaming wom-en, cowbells, and a gong, all of which is some-how supposed to be a rendition of Duke'sbeautiful 1962 composition Melancholia. Theladies return, sighing, oohing, and aahingthrough Moon Maiden and three other lesser -known Ellington compositions drenched indisco clichés. Duke's first composition, SodaFountain Rag (1916), gets a corny Saturdaymorning TV cartoon treatment, and BillyStrayhorn's Lotus Blossom, which ends thealbum, has been reduced to something thathas both the technical sound and the style ofbridge music from a Forties radio production.The two new selections are easily forgotten,but I should mention that one of them, HippoHop, seems to have been mastered at a frac-tion of the speed of the original recording;playing it at 45 rpm makes the strings soundless like the Portsmouth Sinfonia, but the realadvantage is that it shortens what is a painfulexperience at any speed.

The producer's mother, Ruth Ellington(Duke's sister), wrote the album notes-abrief history of each selection-and I supposethis whole thing was done as an attempt bythe Ellington estate to invade the lucrativedisco market. Ellington was not the puristsome of his followers are, and he would prob-ably have welcomed the thought of translatinghis music into today's disco language, but thisdesecration will please neither Duke devoteesnor disco dancers, who, believe it or not, havestandards too. C.A.

MUSIQUE: Keep On Jumpin'. Musique (vo-cals); instrumental accompaniment. Keep OnJumpin'; Summer Love; In the Bush; Summer

THE SYLVERS:disco music withclass as well as flash

170 STEREO REVIEW

4444444444014144444444044 44444444444,144Love Theme. PRELUDE PRL 12158 $7.98, ®PRL8 12158 $7.98. PRL9 12158 $7.98.

Performance- Formula discoRecording. Imbalanced

At first glance, this album has lots of promise.It contains only four cuts, suggesting that Mu-sique would like to give us dancing folk plentyof time to work up a disco sweat. Unfortu-nately, the engineering focuses so lopsidedlyon the four girls' voices and on the percussivebeat that the strings (and there are a lot ofthem) are never given a chance to vary thedance mood. The music gets monotonous.and adjusting your equalizer doesn't help.

The title cut, of the "everybody-jumpin'-till-you-see-the-sun-in-the- sky- variety, justgoes on and on. Summer Love is much better,although it is another disco cliché, this time apitch to the beach scene. The instrumental re-prise on side two, oddly enough, is dancier. Inthe Bush has caught on in the raunchier dis-cos, but it too needs remixing. There's a lot ofmusic buried in the tracks ---electric guitars,strings, and I think I heard a keyboard ortwo-that would make this album more fun todance to if it were brought forward.

--Edward Buxhaum

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITSUPERMAX. Supermax (vocals and instru-mentals). Dance. Dance. Dunce; Don't Stopthe Music; I Am What I Am: Lovemachine;and four others. VOYAGE V444 $6.98.

Performance Heavy!Recording Superb

The Germans have done it again. This Frank-furt product is the debut of both a new groupand a new label, and it's one of the heaviestdance, dance, dance discs of the year. In fact,the first song is called Dance. Dance. Dance(not to be confused with several others of thesame title) and it gets going with a syncopat-ed, percussive rhythm augmented by sexyelectronics. Sexy the album stays with Push,Push (Sexy Chocolate Girl), which 1 thoughtwas the most sensuous disco song I'd everheard until I swayed through six minutes ofDon't Stop the Music two cuts later on thesame side (listen to this one even if you don'tdance-I'm sure you'll think of somethingelse to do while it's on). Other high spots hereare the soaring finale to Watch Out SouthAfrica, Here We Come and composer -arrang-er Kurt Horenstein's vocal work on the soul-ful I Am What I Am (again, not to be con-fused with the very different song of the sametitle by the Village People).

The sound throughout is clear as a bell andstate-of-the-art deep, as we've come to ex-pect from German engineers. There's an aw-ful lot going on musically, yet everything is upfront and perfectly balanced despite the den-sity. Wow! -Edward Buxhaum

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITTHE SYLVERS: Forever Yours. The Sylvers(vocals); instrumental accompaniment. Don'tStop, Get Off; Love Changes; Forever Yours;Come On Down to My House; and six others.CASABLANCA NBLP 7103 $6.98.

Performance Bounce to every ounceRecording Very good

Like the Jacksons, the Sylvers have grownup, though they have apparently retained

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NOVEMBER 1978 CIRCLE NO. 89 ON READER SERVICE CARD

The late Keith Moon

`Requiem for'We Who

WE might as well face up to it: any Whoalbum that contains three John Ent -

whistle songs, none of which are funny, is introuble right from the start. "Who Are You"baffles me. If there was ever a time when theWho could have been expected to come roar-ing back with the kind of raw energy and slywit that has been seeping out of their musicsince the dawn of the Seventies, it is rightnow, when the New Wavers are breathingheavily down their necks.

Not that they have anything to prove, mindyou. Paul Weller of the Jam said it best re-cently when he remarked that all the punkbands that claim never to have listened to theWho are simply not telling the truth. And Icertainly don't mean to imply that the rela-tively reflective tone of both "Quadrophenia"and "The Who by Numbers" is an indicationof creeping senility. In fact, both those al-bums have more than their share of real rockmagic; you just have to listen a little harder tocatch it.

No, it's just that Townshend's duet albumwith Ronnie Lane earlier this year was sobloody marvelous, and the interviews Petehas given lately (especially the two-parter inTrouser Press) suggested that he was as intouch as ever with the fans, the state of rock,and how what has been going on around himaffects his own elder -statesman position. Sowhile it was obvious that the new albumwould be, as usual, a meditation on the Who'srelationship with rock, the very last thing Iwould have expected was that the product it-self would be so . . . well, for want of a bet-ter word, Winwoody (as in Sometimes I FeelSo Uninspired).

To be blunt about it, "Who Are You" is thevery first Who album that I have ever found tobe dismissable. Indeed, it's the only one I'veever had to push myself to listen to more thana couple of times. It's tuneless, for starters,

and at the very least I expect Pete to knockout a good melody or two, even now when heappears to have turned over an unprecedent-ed amount of the songwriting responsibility toEntwhistle. Of course, there's nothing dis-honorable about losing one's muse temporari-ly; every creative person hits a dry stretchnow and then. But somehow I can't help feel-ing that there is some more fundamental prob-lem behind the lapses of "Who Are You."

Perhaps the title should be taken literally,as a question of identity. Perhaps Pete reallyis out of touch, not in the sense of not readingthe papers or keeping up with the youngerbands, but of being caught in a Yeatsian funk:the center cannot hold, and mere punk isloosed upon the world. In the album's onemoderately compelling song he wails that"music must change," and he clearly meansit; but what's never resolved is whether hemeans it the way the punk bands do-Deathto the Dinosaurs-or the way the Sixties pro-gressives believed that every new record hadto be some kind of adventurous staking out ofnew musical turf (the pipe dream that rockwas limitless).

Maybe Pete's frustrations are not withgrowing old, after all, but with rock itself.Chasing the Lost Chord well into disillusion-ment, he. seems as let down by rock as Jimmy,the hero of "Quadrophenia," was let down bybeing a Mod. And if the central focus of one'slife begins to dissolve, the resulting depres-sion could easily explain producing an albumas basically empty as this one. How else canyou account for New Song, the first track, inwhich we are explicitly told that it is just thesame old stuff, but now dished out without ashred of conviction?

I should mention, I suppose, at least inpassing, that as an ensemble the Who stillplays immensely better than just about any-body else and that the integration of Entwhis-tle's one-man horn section with Pete's synthe-sizer work is, in the abstract, quite breathtak-ing. But the surface sheen of the material herecannot disguise the fact that there is next tonothing below that surface, and because ofthat the Who now seems to me like a bandwithout a future. Believe me, I don't like hav-ing to say that, but until I figure out whether"Who Are You" has some deliberatelyworld-weary melancholy undercurrent that Ihaven't connected with yet, that's the ines-capable conclusion.

THE above was written before news camethat the Who's Keith Moon, the most giftedand original rock drummer of the last twentyyears, had died. Since replacing him would belike replacing one of the Marx Brothers-allbut impossible-his death would seem to sig-nal the end of the group as well. Anyone whodoesn't own all their earlier albums is thepoorer for it; "Who Are You" notwithstand-ing, they were the greatest rock band ever.

-Steve Simels

THE WHO: Who Are You. The Who (vocalsand instrumentals); Rod Argent (keyboards);other musicians. New Song; Had Enough;905; Sister Disco; Music Must Change; Trickof the Light; Guitar and Pen; Love Is ComingDown; Who Are You. MCA MCA -3050 $7.98,® MCAT -3050 $7.98, © MCAC-3050 $7.98.

more of the youthful exuberance and spon-taneous feeling that made them favoritesamong bubblegummers of all ages. Perhapsthey were spared by just narrowly missing thesort of overblown superstardom that mighthave spoiled them. Their voices are more ma-ture now, somewhat deeper, but the spirit andtastefully blended ensemble singing are as ex-citing as ever. This is disco music with classas well as flash, and the intention is clearly setforth in such songs as Play This One LastRecord and Come Dance with Me. The open-er, Don't Stop, Get Off, bounds out at awhoopingly lively pace that is maintainedthroughout, though a couple of semi -softiesare slipped in for good measure. This is a fun-fest that also hits the mark musically. P.G.

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ASHFORD & SIMPSON: Is It Still Goodto Ya. WARNER BRos. BSK 3219 $7.97, C)M8-3219 $7.97, © M5-3219 $7.97.

ROY AYERS: You Send Me. POLYDORPD1-6159 $7.98, ® 8T1 -6159(A) $7.98,© CT I -6159(A) $7.98.

KONGAS: Anikana-0. SALsouL SA8512$7.98, ® S8-8512 $7.98, © SC -8512 $7.98.

METROPOLIS: The Greatest Show onEarth. SALSOUL SA8511 $7.98, ® S8-8511$7.98, © SC -8511 $7.98.

VIVIAN REED: The Other Side. UNITEDARTISTS UA-LA911-H $7.98.

ROSE ROYCE: Strikes Again. WARNERBROS./WHITFIELD WHK 3227 $7.98, ®M8-3227 $7.98, © M5-3227 $7.98.

MICHAL URBANIAK: Ecstasy. TK/MARLIN 2221 $7.98.

(List compiled by John Harrison.)

THEATER FILMS

THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE INTEXAS (see Best of the Month, page 117)

ULYSSES: THE GREEK SUITE (MichaelRapp). David Arias (narrator); Ted Neeley,Yvonne Iversen (vocals); vocal and instru-mental accompaniment. 20TH -CENTURY Fox2T-1101 two discs $9.98.

Performance: TryingRecording: Excellent

The rock idiom that served so well for suchpop "operas" as Tommy and Jesus Christ,Superstar, is not flexible enough for as manypurposes as its practitioners seem to think.


172 STEREO REVIEW

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SO WHERE'STHE GUITAR PLAYER?

Le vanishes -igh: in the middle of a riff. Elimi lated by a owdefirr-:im cartridge_ But ADC could have saved him. Tre XLM ink IllfeatulteS the facmp_lf. ADZ:tapered cantilever, wh-Kh when combined wi-hour .004'..t 00E" rectangular nude diamond resul-E in 53% ass Mess.

TI -etc less cLr previous lowest mass car -ridge_ the f ig-ilyaccloi Ted Mil Mk II. And because of its ultra (near treguEncyrespo l0F1.-. to ?.DkHz ±1dB, every instrument sp_inds eliveandnaturel all ate -eccrd saving tracking force of '4 to 1 2 grEms.

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MIPANY

This long-winded, painfully pretentious, andnumbingly simplistic version of The Odysseymay succeed in bringing Homer's saga to awider public, but the voyage is slow going.Twentieth -Century Fox must think it's gothold of something in Michael Rapp's TheGreek Suite; the album and the accompanyingtext are lavish, and no expense seems to havebeen spared to make it a sumptuous item onthe vocal and instrumental levels as well, withsingers and narrators in there trying everyminute. But what we really have here is sim-ply the last word in schlock. Poor Penelope(Yvonne Iversen) moans away for her missinghusband in an interminable rock aria that, forthis listener at least, is not going to replaceMary Magdalene's I Don't Know How toLove Him in any hurry. "Motherland, he'sjust a man/And he's been gone so long," thiswitless wife intones, and it's about as movingas a stalled car. All the sound effects ofstorms, one -eyed giants, six -headed mon-sters, and simpering Circes cannot for a singleminute bring this score up to the level of itssubject. Steal as the composer will from thestyle of Hadjidakis, Michael Rapp's Aegeanis less a sea than a musical desert. P.K.

THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (Jeff Wayne-Gary Osborne). Richard Burton (narrator); Ju-lie Covington, David Essex, Philip Lynott, JoPartridge, Justin Hayward, Chris Thompson(vocals); instrumental accompaniment. Co-LUMBIA PC2 35290 two discs $13.96.

Performance: NumbingRecording: Superb

Orson Welles' 1938 radio adaptation of TheWar of the Worlds frightened half of New Jer-sey (the "invasion site") out of their homesand sent the rest of the country into a panic.You can get a fairly good recording of thebroadcast on a two -disc Murray Hill set(S44217), and a satisfactory abridged readingby Patrick Waddington of the original H.G.Wells novel is available from Listening Li-brary (1 Park Avenue, Old Greenwich, Conn.06870). I cannot similarly recommend thisnew musical version, despite the imposingpresence of Richard Burton as narrator andthe most lavish packaging I've seen from Co-lumbia Records in ages (including a bookletwith full -color illustrations of the story). JeffWayne and Co. are supposed to have spentmore than two years preparing the album, andI feel as if it took every bit as long to playthrough the four slow -going sides.

Burton is expertly calm and imperturbablereading snatches of Wells' rather mustyprose, and one wonders whether the produc-ers ever told him what his contribution wouldbe used for. His narration is surrounded byincessant music, composed by Wayne, thatseems undecided whether to be hard rock orsci-fi film score; it never gets very far in anydirection, except maybe in getting on one'snerves. There are silly songs about the BlackSmoke, the Red Weed, and the Flashing HeatRays released by the invading Martians, whoonly sing "Ulla, Ulla" as the band plays on.There is some strong singing among the hu-

' man characters, portrayed by a whole assort-ment of pop/rock notables, but long instru-mental interludes keep bringing what actionthere is to a standstill. This particular inter-planetary mission should have been aborted.

P.K.

(Continued on page 178)Audio Dynamics Corp., Pickrt. District Rd., New Milford, CN 06776 Distrtputrd in Canada by BSR Canada) Rexda,e, Ont.

Please circle our reader service number and well send you a free record care gift.174 -CIRCLE NO. 15 ON READER SERVICE CARD

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RUNAWAYS, like so many other Broadwaymusicals of late, moved uptown after

making its mark off-Broadway at JosephPapp's Public Theater, the first production ofwhich-way back in 1966-was Hair. With itstribe of talented youngsters rounded up (inpart from the streets) by writer/composer/director Elizabeth Swados, Runaways is akind of descendant of Hair, more solemn inits sermonizing but almost as exuberant onthe musical level. The show is set in an aban-doned playground where the adolescent castmembers, real or imagined refugees from un-happy homes, sing and dance with a fierce en-ergy-and take time out to berate the audi-ence as if it were made up of the parentswhose mistreatment led them to run away. Al-though the songs have astonishing verve andare played, sung, and danced to an uptempobeat that varies from rock to reggae, in thetheater the show can become depressing,since, between numbers, much of the blamefor the performers' plight seems to be direct-ed squarely at the audience. One would think,therefore, that the record of Runaways wouldbe even more effective than the stage produc-tion, because the listener would be spared theextramusical propaganda.

It doesn't quite work out that way. Ms.Swados manages to get in a few licks at thelistener's conscience in her liner notes, andthe preaching quality is retained in the songTo the Dead of Family Wars-althoughthere's a kind of escape clause in it: we're toldthat it isn't all our fault that kids run away,since it started with Adam and Eve (soundslike a cop-out to me). Then, too, the sizzling

vitality of the show doesn't quite comethrough in the album; the sound is fine, butthe hard edgesaway in the recording studio. It's still affect-ing, however, to hear Venustra K. Robinsonsing about the teenagers controlled by TimesSquare pimps in Minnesota Strip; The Re-venge Song is a powerful ragtime number inwhich the kids tell how they dream of gettingback at their neglectful parents; and KarenEvans egging on a team of would-be looters inEnterprise sounds scary indeed. Also memor-able is the samba -like No Lullabies for Luis,in which Ray Contreras, as a young man onthe needle, sings ironically about becoming"the first Puerto Rican junkie on the moon."

RUNAWAYS' debt to the past is acknowl-edged in the self-conscious Where Are ThosePeople Who Did "Hair"? It never quitereaches Hair's level, but there are more thana few poignant moments in the seventeennumbers performed here (out of forty-one inthe show). And there are enough infectiouslyjoyous moments to leave you paradoxicallyfeeling pretty good about life when the musi-cal lecture's over. -Paul Kresh

RUNAWAYS (Elizabeth Swados). Original -cast recording. Trini Alvarado, Ray Contre-ras, Karen Evans, Jossie de Guzman, BruceHlibok, Diane Lane, and others (vocals); Ju-dith Fleisher (piano); Patience Higgins (flute,saxophone); David Sawyer (drums); Eliza-beth Swados (guitar); other musicians. CO-LUMBIA JS 35410 $8.98, C) JSA 35410 $8.98,

JST 35410 $8.98.

"the hard edges seem to have been smoothed away"

KEN McINTYRE: Introducing the Vibrations.Ken McIntyre (flute, oboe, bassoon, bassclarinet, alto saxophone); Terumasa Hino(trumpet, flugelhorn); Richie Harper (piano);Alonzo Gardner (bass); Andrei Strobert(drums); Andy Vega (percussion). Miss Priss;Shortie; Clear Eyes; and three others. INNERCITY IC 2065 $7.98.

Performance: InterestingRecording: Good .

This album was recorded two years ago; likeKen McIntyre's last U.S. release, it was madefor the Danish Steeplechase label. McIntyre,now forty-seven, was active in the avant-garde jazz movement of the Sixties and hasdevoted much of his time in recent years toteaching. His music-original, but not avant-garde-often reflects jazz and folk traditions,and his playing reveals technical skill and ver-satility not often possessed by members ofthe avant-garde.

With this release, McIntyre introduced anew sextet called the Vibrations and added

Terumasa Hino, whomakes a significant contribution to the pro-ceedings, sounding infinitely better than hehas on his own recordings. The compositions,all by McIntyre, were written between 1956and 1962 but are heard here in new arrange-ments. Theme, Shortie, and Clear Eyes aretaken at unusually slow tempos, the sort ofsnail's pace at which New Orleans clarinetistGeorge Lewis used to carry The Old RuggedCross, and they work very well. Clear Eyes,arranged for Terumasa's trumpet and McIn-tyre's oboe, is stunning. That Ken McIntyrehas to record for a European label is a sad re-flection of the attitude most American recordcompanies have toward jazz. At least InnerCity is bringing some of our valuable exportsback home where they belong. C.A.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITDAVE McKENNA: McKenna. Dave McKen-na (piano). Avalon; I Say I'm Sorry; HowHigh the Moon; Darn That Dream; Tangerine;and five others. CHIAROSCURO CR 202 $7.98.

Performance: BeautifulRecording: Good

Dave McKenna knows a good tune when hehears it, and he can make it even better whenhe plays it. In this set of ten solo perfor-mances he puts both hands to work on famil-iar material, dresses it up with imaginationand good taste, and leaves us with a most en-joyable listening experience. McKenna is notan innovative pianist, and ears tuned in to Ce-cil Taylor or McCoy Tyner will certainly findhis playing conservative, but he is a fine keep-er of the flame. C.A.

178


STEREO REVIEW

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Armelia McQueen, Nell Carter, Charlaine Woodard

I SOMETIMES marvel at the current Fats Wal-ler revival. Since September 1977 two bio-

graphies have been published (one by his sonMaurice Waller [Schirmer], the other by me[Contemporary Books]) and Ain't Mis-behavin', a musical revue based on composi-tions Waller either wrote or made famous,opened on Broadway last May, was greetedecstatically by the public and critics alike, andis sold out for months ahead.

Why should Thomas Wright "Fats" Wallerbecome popular again all of a sudden? Hedied in 1943 at the peak of his career as com-poser, pianist, and entertainer. His many re-cordings have been kept in print, but untilvery recently they were ordinary catalogitems selling slowly but steadily to jazz fansand to those fortunate folk who heard or sawWaller while he lived. He played "stride" pi-ano, a muscular but sensitive New York styleoften confused with ragtime and boogie-woo-gie, a style few but fanatics and connoisseurswould recognize. He composed wonderfulmelodies, but they would be considered ar-chaic in today's disco market. He wasuproariously funny-his wisecracks and frac-tured bons mots were part of his appeal-butin this era of hostile and scatological humorthey would seem tame, even timid.

To enjoy Waller is easy and to appreciatehim is a pleasure, but this easy pleasure re-quires much good will on the part of the lis-tener. Do the jaded and rapacious audiencesof today possess such good will or can they bemade to discover it? On the evidence of thesmash success of Ain't Misbehavin', theymost certainly can. Thanks to director Rich-ard Maltby Jr. and his effervescent cast, therevue is not only a triumph of conception,staging, and performance, but a vindication ofWaller's spirit. He was a very loving and lov-able man, and the show proves that his musi-cal invitation to friendship is impervious totime. So score one for civilization.

The original -cast recording is also a tri-umph, not only for the cast but for producerThomas Z. Shepard, who has successfullytranslated the verve, sass, and joie de vivre ofthe stage performance onto disc. This is a no-table achievement, since recording studiosand sessions are rather clinical, and actorsused to bouncing off live audiences mayfreeze in front of the microphone or sing withless oomph than they do at curtain time. Buthaving both seen the show and heard the re-cording, I can testify that there is very littleaural or emotional difference between whatgoes on at the Longacre Theatre and whatgoes on in this LP's grooves. Andre De -Shields' saucy arrogance is there, as is. Ar-melia McQueen's regal buffoonery, CharlaineWoodard's zany energy, Ken Page's rowdysense of fun (he is the Waller lookalike in theshow), and the delightfully salacious, hard-boiled stance of Nell Carter, who sings withthe attack and timbre of the late Dinah Wash-ington (whom Waller discovered in a Chicagoclub in 1942 and encouraged in her career).

F all that isn't enough, there is a surfeit ofdelight in the selection of songs that Wallercomposed or performed during his career(from 1922 to 1943). In several cases, directorMaltby and associate director Murray Hor-witz have written lyrics to Waller tunes that fitthem perfectly, so great is their understandingof their subject and his times. While it is truethat Ain't Misbehavin' is, as a whole, a singleprolonged great moment, there are exquisiteand hilarious peaks within that moment. Oneof them is The Jitterbug Waltz, set in a dancepalace with the last couples swaying slowly asthe band winds down. The lyrics are new, butthey conjure up Waller's cosmopolitan ten-derness, his knowledge of and love for thepeople of Harlem in its vanished Golden Age.

Two more are The Ladies Who Sing withthe Band and When the Nylons Bloom Again,both from Early to Bed, a 1943 Broadway mu -

1w

-

sical for which Waller composed the scoreand George Marion Jr., a Hollywood screen-writer, wrote the witty and bitter lyrics. Ar-melia McQueen has a field day singing the lat-ter tune as a hilarious satire on grande-damepop divas; she sounds somewhere betweenGrace Moore and Kate Smith. (When, ohwhen, is someone going to record the com-plete score of Early to Bed, Waller's last tri-umph and the likely prototype of others hadhe not died that same year? Are you listening,William Bolcom and Joan Morris?)

Mesdemoiselles Carter, McQueen, andWoodard have a raunchy romp with Cashfor Your Trash, a World War II song that thegovernment urged Waller to write and pro-mote as part of the campaign to save scrap

Fats himself, lookin' good

180 STEREO REVIEW

metal, rubber, twine, and discards to be con-verted into war material, with Uncle Samoffering cash rewards for tireless scavengers.Waller and his manager, the late Ed Kirkeby,cheerfully produced the ditty, and officialWashington was happy until someone downthere found out what "trash" meant in Har-lem slang, upon which the tune abruptly lostits G.I. certification. Waller had a healthy atti-tude toward sex-he found it at once naturaland hilarious-and it is a delight, in thesetimes, to have a historical example of Ameri-can citizens making suckers out of the gov-ernment instead of the other way around.

NELL CARTER and Armelia McQueen haverichly deserved showcase solos on Mean toMe and Squeeze Me, respectively, but it isCharlaine Woodard who-even with her giftfor superbly berserk physical and vocal co-medy-has the best voice in this remarkablecast, and she displays it stunningly on Keepin'Out of Mischief Now, a Waller melody withlyrics by his principal lyricist Andy Razaf.The song is a rhapsodic embracement of fidel-ity to a lover py a girl who has been around,and Woodard's interpretation is not onlythrilling vocally but has the theatrical sensitiv-ity of a fine actress simply becoming the char-acter she portrays. When she sings, you feelthat the man she's singing to is a very, verylucky fellow.

Black and Blue, again by Waller and Ra-zaf-and movingly sung by the company-isa quietly desperate and dignified statement ofthe agony of being a black American in 1929,when the song was written. It serves now asan anthem of times that are, to this country'shonor and relief, largely past. The song is aheart -stopping moment in a show that is allheart.

Along with the Waller classics Ain't Mis-behavin' and Honeysuckle Rose there aretwenty-one more gems, all delivered withmarvelous pizzazz and class. Until you have achance to see the show, this original -cast re-cording is a happy way to jump on the Wallerbandwagon. As Fats himself might have said:"Oh, man, this is really ready!" -Joel Vance

AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' (Fats Waller-LutherHenderson). Original -cast recording. NellCarter, Andre DeShields, Armelia McQueen,Ken Page, Charlaine Woodard (vocals); in-strumental accompaniment; Luther Hender-son arr. and cond. Ain't Misbehavin'; Lookin'Good but Feelin' Bad; 'Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness If I Do; Honeysuckle Rose; Squeeze Me;Handful of Keys; I've Got a Feeling I'm Fall-ing; How Ya Baby; The Jitterbug Waltz; TheLadies Who Sing with the Band; Yacht ClubSwing; When the Nylons Bloom Again; Cashfor Your Trash; Off -time; The Joint Is Jump -in'; Spreadin' Rhythm Around; Lounging atthe Waldorf; The Viper's Drag/The ReeferSong; Mean to Me; Your Feet's Too Big; ThatAin't Right; Keepin' Out of Mischief Now;Find Out What They Like; Fat and Greasy;Black and Blue; Medley-I'm Gonna Sit RightDown and Write Myself a Letter/Two SleepyPeople/I've Got My Fingers Crossed/I Can'tGive You Anything but Love/It's a Sin to Tella Lie/Honeysuckle Rose (reprise). RCACBL2-2965 two discs $9.98, ® CBS2-2965$10.95, CBK2-2965 $10.95.

LER at a wality store near you .


Whistler, Inc.410 Great Rd. Box 37Littleton, MA. 01460617/486-3579

h looking for! -,

The history ofa people.The music ofa man.Ramsey Lewis draws deeply on his solid roots in jazz,

rock, classical, and Latin music to emerge triumphant withan enduring musical milestone: his new album ,"Legacy'.'

On one side Ramsey realizes his lifelong desire to playwith a full symphony orchestra in "Legacy:' It's a composi-tion by James Mack which Ramsey premiered with theKansas City Philharmonic in January, 1978. "Legacy,"which utilizes a classical framework, leaves ample roomfor the patented Lewis piano to stretch out and search fornew spaces while revisiting the best from the past.

And on the other side, Ramsey steams ahead with thekind of witty, sophisticated funk that's made him one ofAmerica's favorite piano -men.

Ramsey Lewisshares his"Legacy."

On Columbia Records and Tapes.

RAMSEY LEWISLEGACY

including:All TheW3y Live/Don't Look BackMoog n'Onll Love To PleaseYou

"Columbia:' are trademarks of CBS Inc. © 1978 CBS Inc:. Headliners East. Agent: Rand Stoll (212)371-2500

NOVEMBER 1978 CIRCLE NO. 20 ON READER SERVICE CARD 181

Keith Jarrett, Jon Christensen, Jan Garbarek, Palle Danielsson

Barrett:Out of

SuperlativesI NEVER cease to be amazed by the beauty1 Keith Jarrett so consistently creates, asboth a composer and pianist. His is truly oneof the most fertile and imaginative musicalminds in America today, and there are nosigns of stagnation. In my five years onSTEREO REVIEW'S jaZZ desk, I have reviewedten Jarrett records, and I have had reserva-tions about only one of them-the organ al-bum, "Hymns/Spheres" (ECM -2-1086).Which leads me to make a little confession: Ihave run out of superlatives. Therefore, toavoid repeating myself, let me simply say that"My Song," his latest, is yet another out-

standing album of Jarrett compositions andperformances; that he is supported with char-acteristic sympathy by Norwegian saxopho-nist Jan Garbarek and two other Scandinavi-ans, bassist Palle Danielsson and drummerJon Christensen; that side one is almosttwenty-five minutes of lyrical, brooding musicwhile the remaining twenty-four minutes (noskimping on time here) are livelier (even fieryas we pass through Mandala, the secondtrack); and, finally, that although it presents afacet of Jarrett's music we have heard before,"My Song" belongs on your shelves alongwith all the other Jarrett albums. What? Youdon't have any other Jarrett albums? Wherehave you been the last five years?

-Chris Albertson

KEITH JARRETT: My Song. Keith Jarrett(piano, percussion); Jan Garbarek (sopranoand tenor saxophones); Palle Danielsson(bass); Jon Christensen (drums). Questar; MySong; Tabarka; Country; Mandala; The Jour-ney Home. ECM ECM -1-1115 $7.98, ®M8E-1115 $7.98, © M5E-1115 $7.98.

MIKE NOCK: Magic Mansions. Mike Nock(acoustic and Fender pianos, synthesizers);Charlie Mariano (soprano saxophone); RonMcClure (acoustic and electric bass); Al Fos-ter (drums); Nacho Mena (percussion); LynWilliamson (vocals). Twister; Hybris; Black-out; Everglad; and three others. LAURIELES-6001 $7.98 (from Laurie Records, 20 F.Robert Pitt Drive, Monsey, N.Y. 10952).

Performance: Moderate fusionRecording: Very good

New Zealander Mike Nock came to this coun-try in 1961, formed the early fusion group theFourth Way with violinist Michael White in1968, and slipped quietly from California tothe New York music scene three years ago.Since arriving in the U.S., he has appearedand recorded with such artists as ColemanHawkins, Art Blakey, Yusef Lateef, , JohnHandy, Tal Farlow, and John Klemmer, buthe has yet to establish his name with the pub-lic. The Fourth Way made three albums (forCapitol and its subsidiary Harvest) before dis-banding in 1970, and "Almanac" (Improvis-ing Artists 37.38.51), an excellent album re-

leased last year, was actually recorded in1967, so "Magic Mansions" is Nock's first re-cording as a leader in eight years. It appearson the Laurie label (which I hadn't seen sincethe late Fifties when it gave us two excellentalbums by the late Bernard Peiffer) and bodeswell for Nock's future.

Nock began performing on the synthesizerten years ago, and he uses it here, but notexcessively. He is at his best on acoustic pi-ano, though, and I would like to see him de-vote an entire album to that instrument so thathis interesting style could be better displayed.Saxophonist Charlie Mariano, a former Char-lie Parker disciple turned fusioneer, here joinsNock on the soprano saxophone and provesthat he still has an affinity for jazz, especiallyon Hybris, which is the kind of wonderfulstuff I can't help wishing this whole albumhad been made of. C.A.

SOPRANO SUMMIT: Live at the Big HornJazzfest. Bob Wilber, Kenny Davern (reeds);Marty Grosz (banjo, guitar, vocals); Milt Hin-ton (bass); Fred Stoll (drums). Swing Parade;Song of Songs; Ole Miss; Black and Tan Fan-

tasy; I Had It; and three others. JAZZOLOGYJ-56 $6.98.

Performance: DisappointingRecording: Poor remote

Soprano Summit, headed by reed players BobWilber and Kenny Davern and featuring thatwonderful keeper of the flame Marty Grosz,is fast building up a sizable collection of al-bums. We have heard them on the WorldJazz, Concord Jazz, and Chiaroscuro labels,all to their great advantage, but this set onJazzology does not do Soprano Summit jus-tice. The performances were recorded duringtwo sets at the 1976 Big Horn Jazz Festival inMundelein, Illinois, and it sounds as if it hadbeen taped off an inferior public-address sys-tem; the spoken introductions appear to havebeen delivered into a bucket, the musicsounds muffled, and there is a low -frequencyhum throughout. Fortunately, all but two ofthe selections, I Had It but It's All Gone Nowand A Porter's Love Song, are in better al-bums by the group, so this is an offer you canafford to refuse unless you must have abso-lutely everything Soprano Summit hasdone. C.A.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITMEL TORME AND BUDDY RICH: TogetherAgain-for the First Time. Mel Torme (vo-cals); Buddy Rich (drums); orchestra. LadyBe Good; When I Found You; Bluesette;Here's That Rainy Day; and three others.CENTURY CRDD-1100 $13.95 (from selectedaudio stores).

Performance: Just grandRecording: Spectacular

This direct -to -disc recording by popular -jazzsuperstars Mel Torme and Buddy Rich isspectacular listening in every way. Tormesounds better than ever as he swings throughsuch standards as Lady Be Good, Bluesette,You Are the Sunshine of My Life, and-hisbest, most incisive track-Blues in the Night.Rich and his drums are part of our nationalheritage by now, and he continues to demon-strate why. The director of recording for thiswas Keith Grant, and he's captured a soundso close to optimum live listening conditionsthat even my plants turned toward the speak-ers. "Together Again" is an album that'smore than worth your time, the extra money itcosts, and your undivided attention. Bravo toeveryone involved! P.R.

RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERITMIKE WOFFORD: Afterthoughts. MikeWofford (piano). Struttin' with Some Barbe-cue; Oblivion; Monk's Mood/Off Minor; Cab-in in the Sky/Nina Never Knew; I'll See YouAgain/Our Waltz; and five others. DISCOVERYDS -784 $7.98 (from Discovery Records, P.O.Box 48081, Los Angeles, Calif. 90048).

Performance: SuperbRecording: Very good

Pianist Mike Wofford turned forty this year.Though he began recording as a leader a littleover ten years ago, this is only his fifth album.When you hear it (and you should), you willprobably wonder why it isn't his tenth. It isequally perplexing that Wofford's name isbarely known even in jazz circles. Is there nojustice?


182 CIRCLE NO. 96 ON READER SERVICE CARD",

Select what you wantin a record cleaner.

n Convenience in useand storage.You shouldn't need a separate shelf, elaborate mo-tions or an act of Congress to clean your records. Acomfortable, hand-held instrument that works beston a rotating turntable is ideal.

Effectiveness againstmicro -dust.Tiny, invisible dust particles hide in delicate recordgrooves and can be ground into the vinyl. Only aslanted (directional) fiber using specal ultra -smallfiber tips can scoop up, rather than rearrange, thismicro -dust contamination.

Effectiveness againstchemical contamination.Fingerprints and vapor -borne oils will deposit intochannels of a record groove. Such contaminationhides from adhesive rollers and all dry cleaningsystems. Only a special fluid plus micro -fibers cansafely remove such audible, impacted deposits.

Total removal ofcontamination/fluid.Capillary action-the lifting of fluid by small fibersurface tension-is totally effective. You want toget contamination off the record, along with anyfluid traces.r Lasting construction.You want quality. A record cleaner can last a life-time A plastic wonder can crack into oblivion-oryou can purchase the hand -rubbed elegance of mill-ed walnut befitting the rest of your audio system.

Ultimate economy.The value of a truly fine record cleaner is justifiedby the cost of replacing your record collection.Fifteen dollars is a small investment in long-term protection.

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"Afterthoughts" is Wofford's second al-bum for Discovery and, I believe, the first tofeature him unaccompanied throughout. Re-corded earlier this year, it contains a marvel-ously varied program of jazz and pop stand-ards, ranging from ballads by Noel Coward,George Gershwin, and Michel Legrand totunes by Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, andLil Armstrong. Wofford plays them all withimmense feeling and the kind of musical imag-ination he exhibited on his Joplin album("Scott Joplin: Interpretations '76"-FlyingDutchman BDL1-1376). He has a relaxedstyle, and he plays with a lyricism that is rare-ly found today among pianists his age. Thereare no bravura performances here; superbmusicianship and taste prevail. C.A.

COLLECTION

MONTREUX SUMMIT, VOLUME 2. WoodyShaw, Maynard Ferguson (trumpets); HubertLaws, Tys van Leer, Bobbi Humphrey(flutes); Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, BennyGolson (tenor saxophones); George Duke,Bob James (keyboards); Eric Gale, SteveKhan (guitars); other musicians. Be Cool;Rites of Darkness; The Moontrane; Red Top;and three others. COLUMBIA JG 35090 twodiscs $9.98, JGA 35090 $9.98, JGT35090 $9.98.

Performance: Low yieldRecording: Good remote

Mon Dieu, another Montreux! Columbia as-sembled an army of current jazz and fusionfavorites for a concert at the 1977 MontreuxJazz Festival, and the result is mostly a studyin excessiveness. Like Volume 1 (reviewedhere last April), this follow-up album is anodd mélange of substantial jazz and the kindof simplistic fusion -funk fare that oftenpasses for jazz.

From a jazz point of view, only two of theseven tracks in this album make the grade:The Moontrane, a composition by trumpeterWoody Shaw, and Red Top, a tune written byLionel Hampton and probably best remem-bered as an instrumental by saxophonist GeneAmmons (on EmArcy) and as a 1952 vocalversion of Ammons' solo by King Pleasureand Betty Carter (on Prestige). Here bothtunes have been arranged by trombonist SlideHampton, whose charts never cease to im-press me, and they are played by the morededicated jazz players in this monstrous as-semblage. Two Part Invention, featuring BobJames on acoustic piano and Hubert Laws onflute, is neither jazz nor rock -fusion music,but rather a classically oriented piece that dis-plays the technical prowess of both players;it's somewhat out of context here, but itshows a side of Bob James that is more re-warding, artistically, than the one exemplifiedby Night Crawler, a blander -than -water tunethat takes up all of side four and dares to putthe pathetic playing of Bobbi Humphrey sideby side with the fine flute of Hubert Laws.Night Crawler is less than sixteen minutes inlength, which is skimpy as album sides go, butit seems endless. Tys van Leer's arrangementand adaptation of Kanon for Flutes (compos-er's name withheld) has a pleasant, classicalopen and close between which is sandwichedsome dreadful funk a la mode, and SteveKhan's Rites of Darkness isn't worth the elec-tricity it took to perform it. All told, Columbiahas sacrificed quality for quantity with thisbummer of a concert. C.A.

184 CIRCLE NO. 94 ON READER SERVICE CARD STEREO REVIEW

STEREO REVIEW MARKE r PLACEREGULAR CLASSIFIED: COMMERCIAL RATES: For firms or individuals offering commercial products or servoces, $2.50 per word. Minimum order $37.50.EXPAND -AD® CLASSIFIED RATE: $3.75 per word. Minimum $56.25. Frequency discount: 5% for 6 months; 10% for 12 months paid in advance. PERSONAL RATE:For individuals with a personal item to buy or sell, $1.50 per word. No minimum! DISPLAY CLASSIFIED: 1" by one col., $310.00. 2" by onecol., $620.00. Col. width2-1/4". Advertiser to supply film positives. Please write or phone for frequency rates. COLOR: Color avail. for all classified ad styles at earned rate plusadditional 25%.Color choice Publisher's option & subject to availability. Publisher reserves right to run ad in black if color not available on classified pages. In suchcases color chargewill be refunded or credited. GENERAL INFORMATION: Ad copy must be typewritten or clearly printed. Payment must accompany copy except when ads are to bebilled on credit cards - American Express, Diners Club, Master Charge, VISA - or when ads are placed by accredited advertising agencies. First word in all ads set incaps. All copy subject to publisher's approval. All advertisers using P.O. Boxes in their addresses MUST supply publisher with permanent address and telephonenumber before ad can be run. Ads are not acknowledged. They will appear in the first issue to go to press after closing date. Closing Date: 5th of the 2nd monthpreceding cover date (for example, March issue closes January 5th). Send order and remittance to: Classified Advertisong, STEREO REVIEW, One Park Avenue, NewYork, New York 10016. For inquiries contact: Gladys Mathieu at (212) 725-3926.

EQUIPMENT

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REMOVES VOCAL FROM MOST STEREO DISCSThe Thompson Vocal Eliminator can actually remove most or

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call the Pros at Audio ConceptsFranchised Dealers Fon.JBL, AR, TECHNICS' PRO, GREAT AMERICANSOUND, MICRO-SEIKI, BOSE, DAHLQUIST, AVID,ADS INAKAMICHI, MAXELL, D1SCWASHER, MXR,YAMAHA, ONKYO, OPTONICA, SATIN ADC, AC-CUPHASE, PHASE LINEAR, TANDBERG, AKG, DBX,WIN LABS, SONUS, MICRO ACOUSTICS, HARMANKARDON, AUDIOPULSE, VISONIK, STAX, DENIVON,HAFFLER, GAS., OTHERS.Free freight on most items.

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AT LAST! The ultimate cabinet design for housing stereocomponents -the Custom Sound Modular EquipmentCabinet. Nearly two years in development featuring: Flexiblemodular design expandable, to suit any size installation; ac-commodates any size components including the largest; to-tally enclosed design with locks prevents dust buildup, tam-pering, or theft; bottom casters for mobility and rear door foreasy rear access; high grade furniture design and construc-tion; very attractively priced. Before you invest in a rack, call orwrite for our free illustrated information. CSS, 8460 Marsh,Algonac, Michigan 48001. (313) 794-5400.

Unexplained buzz, pops, hash?Power line surges and hash could be theculprit! Line Cord Surge Suppressor/HashFilter curbs of/imaging surges & disruptive

hash. Protects valuable equipment. Strips away annoying hash from tools, appliances. Send SASE for free interference cures. At, your dealer or order direct. S/F-KW-3

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QS/SQ? The Best in Quadraphonic Sound . .. fantasticallypriced add-on decoders! Free information. PHOTOLUMECORP., 118 East 28 Street, New York, NY 10016.

DYNAKITS - LOW PRICES, fast service. DEW Audio (for-merly Underground HiFi), #4 Pinewood, Hampstead, N.H.03841. (603) 329-5403.

ENJOY DOLBY broadcasts and recordings. Switchable orsimultaneous encode/decode Outboard Dolby KITS. SROINTEGREX, Box 747, Havertown, PA 19083.

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BRITISH AND EUROPEAN Equipment Direct to you. Mostquality makes of equipment available at advantageous prices.Price list and price quotes send international reply coupon.For specific brochures send $2.00 bills. Audio T, Dept. C, 190West End Lane, London N.W. 6, phone #01-794-7848. Vis-itors welcome.

REK-O-KUT drive belts. Specify model. $9.95 delivered. QRKElectronic Products, 1568 N. Sierra Vista, Fresno, CA 93703.

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HORNS-WOOFERS-MIDS-TWEETERS at tremendous OEMsavings. Altec, Electro-Voice, Pioneer, Peerless, Phillips,Polydax and many others. Dozens of hard to find items uSedin major manufacturers most expensive systems. Huge selec-tion of crossover network components, automobile systems,and musical instrument loudspeakers. Send for FREEcatalog. SRC Audio Sales Div., Dept. SR, 3238 TowerwoodDr., Dallas, TX 75234.

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TAPE AND RECORDERS

GOLDEN AGE RADIO -Your best source for radio tapes.Free catalog. Box 25215 -TA, Portland, Oregon 97225.

OPERA CLASSICAL MUSIC Open Reels. Rare mostly livefree catalog. K. Lohan Tapes, P.O. 298, Mastic Beach, N.Y.11951.

TDK, BASF, Memorex, Maxell, cassettes, reels, 8 -tracks.Lowest prices, new guaranteed. S&S Audio, P.O. Box 56039,Harwood Heights, III. 60656.

SCOTCH RECORDING TAPE, exclusively, all new, lowestprices. TAPE CENTER, Box 4305, Washington, D.C. 20012.

RADIO'S GOLDEN DAYS on tape. Reel, Cassette, Cartridgecatalog. Radio Memories, Box 2297, Newport News, VA23602.

EVERYTHING ON OPEN REEL! Stereo. Quadraphonic.Catalogue $1.00. Barclay -Crocker, Room 1470S, 11 Broad-way, New York 10004.

1930-1962 RADIO PROGRAMS. Beats Television!! Tapes,$1.00 Hour! Established esteemed dealer. Informative 200page catalog, $1.25. AM Treasures, Box 192SR, Babylon,N.Y. 11702.

HISTORICAL OPERA DISC & TAPE - Magnificent quality,speedy service. Greatest live performances of past 50 years.Reel, cassette, disc. Free catalog. Historical Recording En-terprises, Box 12, Kew Gardens, N.Y. 11415.

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BASF TAPE: Largest Discounts, Fastest Service. All

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YESTERDAY'S RADIO ON TAPE. Reels -Cassettes. QualitySound. Reliable Service. Catalog $1.00 refundable with firstorder. ADVENTURES, Box 4822-S, Inglewood, California90302.

LIVE OPERA TAPES, CASSETTES. Incredible selection.Magnificent free catalogue. LIVE OPERA, Box 3141, Stein-way Station, L.I.C., N.Y. 11103.

PARANOID ABOUT SPECS? Prove or disprove playbadirperformance cassette or record player with surprising newtechnique developed by Emory Cook. Test cassettes or rec-ord, instructions $3.95 (Connecticut residents add tax).COOK LABORATORIES, INC. 375 Ely Avenue, Norwalk, CT06854.

SAVE up to 80% BY MAIL on: SCOTCH, TDK, BASF,MAXELL, MEMOREX, CAPITOL MUSIC TAPE, CERTRON

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BLANK TAPE SALEMAXELL RECORDING PRODUCTS. Lowest prices on complete line ofMaxell's quality products. Write or call for prices.TDK: SA -C60 $2 07 Ampex: Grandmaster -C60 ..$2.29TDK: SA -C90 2 99 Ampex: Grandmaster -C90 .. 2.75TDK: AD -C90 249 BASF: Studio or 0110,-C90 2.49Scotch: Master I -C90 2 79 BASF: Prof. I -C90 2 79

Scotch: Master II or 111-C90 3.24 BASF: Prof. II or III -C90 2.95Minimum order 12 pieces. All tapes can be assorted. PA add sales tax.Shipping $2.50 per order. Or write for complete catalog. (412) 283-8621.

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CLASSICAL CASSETTES FREE Catalog. Stereo -Dolby

... Quality Guaranteed ... Discounted ... CreditCards Accepted. EKR Classics, GPO Box 1977SJ,New York, NY 10001.

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OPEN REEL TAPES. Top quality. 100% money -back guaran-tee. Major labels. Classical, Pop, Rock, Quad -Direct Disk,Video. Bankcards accepted. Catalog/order information, $1.No other fees, obligations. Reel Society, P.O. Box 9337R, N.Hollywood, CA 91609.

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TDK, MAXELL SCOTCH, BASF, Reels, Cassettes, 8 -Tracks.Guaranteed! Y -H, 2007 Wilshire, SR -530, Los Angeles, CA90057.

RECORDS

SHOW ALBUMS, Rare, Out -of -Print LP's. 64 pg. list. $1.00.Bakers Wife cast LP $9.95. Broadway/Hollywood Recordings,Georgetown, Conn. 06829.

PROTECT your LP's -Poly sleeves for jackets 9 cents;Round Bottom Inner Sleeves 8 cents; Square Bottom 6 cents;Poly lined paper 15 cents; white jackets 35 cents. Postage$1.50. Record House, Hillburn, N.Y. 10931.

COLLECTORS' Soundtracks. Mint. List 50 cents (refundable).Jemm's, P.O. Box 157, Glenview, III. 60025.

OLDIES oldies, 45rpm. Also current hits. Free Catalog. Cor-ny's Record Shop, Box 166HK, Mason, Ohio 45040.

CLASSICAL RECORDINGS for collectors. Send $1.00 forBi-monthly lists. Collections bought, ARS MUSICA, 13 DanteSt., Larchmont, N.Y. 10538.

PROTECT YOUR ALBUMS. White cardboard replacementjackets 35 cents. Plastic lined sleeves 15 cents. Postage$1.25. Opera Boxes, 78 Sleeves. Free Catalog. CABCO400-1, Box 8212, Columbus, Ohio 43201.

THOUSANDS of like new LPs and prerecorded tapes cata-logue $1.50. Records, Hillburn, New York 10931.

FREE CATALOG LP's $2.50 to $4.00 factory sealed. ModernDesign, 1731 N.E. 51st St., Pompano Beach, FL 33064.

NOTICERecord Raters

WantedINo experience required) Each month youwill receive nationally released albums torate. There is no extra charge for the LP'syou receive - all you pay is a smallmembership fee which covers all costs ofthe LP's including postage and handling. Inreturn for your opinion you will build asubstantial album collection - "first comebasis For application write:

E.A.R.S. INC.BO x 10245 Dept.

5521 Center St.. Milwaukee. WI 53210"Guaranteed" © 1975 E.A.R.S., Inc.

FILM - STAGE SOUNDTRACKS! Monthly Listings! Manyrarities. Over 1,000 listings! AJLSR, Box 557342, Miami, Fla.33155.

RARE ORIGINAL RECORDS, all kinds, mostly mint. 5000 list$2.00, refundable. Carl, Box 828, Princeton, NC 27569.

JAPANESE STYLE LINERS and everything else in recordand tape protection. Free catalog. Quasi -Rational Products,Box 171, Prospect Heights, IL 60070.

DAYBREAK EXPRESS RECORDS Jazz imports from Europeand Japan. CBS -Sony, Trio-WhynotrEastwind. FreeCatalogue. Write: P.O. Box 582, Cathedral St. Station, New

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CASSETTE SAVINGS BREAKTHROUGH!!! Proven best oryour -money -back. No minimum. Free same -day shipping.Sample $1.00 - Facts free. Larksong, Box 468-C11, PointArena, Ca 95468.

OLD RADIO PROGRAMS. Sales, rentals, Dolby. Catalog.$1.00 deductible. AIRWAVES, 211 -SR E. Porter, Kirksville,MO 63501.

SAVE! ORDER MINIMUM 20 cassettes - cut any advertisedprice 10(t - enclose that advertisement, Name Publication.100% guaranteed. Add $2.50 shipping. Tapeking, 864 East 7Street, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11230.

HAVING TROUBLE finding direct -to -disc and SOTA record-ings? We have them all. Send for free catalogue. Knot SoCheap Records, 7505 Big Bend, Dept. SR10, WebsterGroves, Mo. 63119.

DIRECT -TO -DISC recordings all labels. Send $2.00 for de-scriptive catalog -- Free Newsletter. Disconnection, P.O. Box10705. Tampa, FL 33679.

RARE OFFER! Join Major Label's own record club WITHOUTany purchase obligation. New releases and reissues of leg-endary performances - great theatrical and movies per-sonalities. Write for latest catalogue: DRG Records, 200 West57th St., New York, NY 10019. (212) 582-3040.

DIRECT -TO -DISC, SUPER -DISC and FILM MUSIC record-ings. Comprehensive, free catalog. COSMIC CHORDS, P.O.Box 4873, Boulder, Colo. 80302.

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TUBES

TV and Radio Tubes 36 cents. Free 48 page color catalog.Corrnell, 4215-H University, San Diego, California 92105.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTSRADIO SHOWS, remotes, chronologies, jazz, personalities.Large Catalog $2.00 (Refundable). Box 82 -SR, Redmond,WA 98052.

UP TO 60% DISCOUNT. Name brand instruments Catalog.Freeport Music, 114 Q. Mahan St., W. Babylon, N.Y. 11704.

INSTRUCTION

BROADCAST STATION: Start your own. Home, school,

church, business operation. Get free equipment,records. Details free. "Broadcasting", Box 5516-R11, Walnut Creek, CA 94596.

WANTED

GOLD, silver, platinum, mercury, tantalum wanted. Highestprices paid by refinery. Ores assayed. Free circular. MercuryTerminal, Norwood, MA 02062.

POEMS, SONGS WANTED. Songs recorded - published.Radio released. Broadway Music Productions, Box 7438 -CM,Sarasota, FL 33578.

HYPNOTISM

FREE Hypnotism, Self -Hypnosis, Sleep Learning Catalog!Drawer H400, Ruidoso, New Mexico 88345.

RUBBER STAMPS

RUBBER ADDRESS STAMPS, BUSINESS CARDS. FreeCatalog - Fast Service. Jackson's, Brownsville Road -E-101,Mt. Vernon, III. 62864.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

I MADE $40,000.00 Year by mail order! Helped others makemoney! Free Proof. Torrey, Box 318 -NN, Ypsilanti, Michigan48197.

STEREO REPRESENTATIVES NEEDED!!! Lowest PossiblePrices!! Over 100 Brands!!! Krasco-Rep, 998 Orange Ave.,West Haven, Conn. 06516.

NEW LUXURY Car without cost. Free Details! Codex-ZZ, Box6073, Toledo, Ohio 43614.

MAKE BIG MONEY in spare time selling: Tubes, Antennas,Speakers, Test Equipment, Lite Bulbs, Hi-Fi, etc. No invest-ment. Free information: Allied Sales, Pimento, IN 47866.(812) 495-6555.

MILLIONS IN MAIL! Free Secrets. Transworld-17, Box 6226,Toledo, Ohio 43614.

AUDIOPHILES WANTED!! Put your knowledge to use, earnan excellent spare time income. We need campus Dealers tosell name brand stereo equipment at substantial discounts inyour area. No investment necessary. For information and ap-plication please write: ABCO, Dept SR, 1201 East MainStreet, Meriden, Conn. 06450. Call (203) 238-7979.

GET RICH!! Secret law erases debt. Free report exposes mil-lionaire'$$ secrets. Blueprints, No. DD11, 453 W 256, NYC10471.

$650 WEEKLY for beginners!! Free report: Mailorder Consul-tants MDD11, 453 W. 256, Bronx, NY 10471.

REPRESENTATIVES increase your profits! Make $$$.DEUTSCHE Radiowerke offers high quality IMPORTEDHeadphones, SPEAKERS, Microphones. 6311 Yucca Street,Hollywood, California 90028.

COLLEGE DEALERS - WRITE for details on college prog-ram. Fast shipments, low prices, excellent profit. Sound Re-production, 460 Central Ave., East Orange, N.J. 07018.

$3000.00 MONTHLY. Start Immediately. Stuff envelopes athome. Information, send self-addressed stamped envelope.Village, Box 508-ZDH, West Covina, CA 91793.

$500.00 Weekly possible mailing circulars! Free information.Wayne, Box 644, Ottawa, Kansas 66067.

$1200.00 MONTHLY Correcting Pupils' Lessons!!! Start im-mediately. Free Report. Send self-addressed, stamped en-velope. Home, Box 9201-SJXH, San Diego, CA 92109.

YOU CAN MAKE $700.00 a month/spare time, stuffing en-velopes! Free Proof. Write, Hagler, 500 W. University Park-way, Baltimore, MD 21210.

GOVERNMENT SURPLUS

JEEPS -$59.30! - CARS-$33.501 -450,000 ITEMS! -GOVERNMENT SURPLUS - Most COMPREHENSIVE DI-RECTORY AVAILABLE tells how, where to buy - YOURAREA - $2.00 - MONEYBACK GUARANTEE - Govern-ment Information Services, Department EC -3, Box 99249,San Francisco, California 94109 (433 California).

MOVIE FILMS

16mm SOUND Features, Shorts, New, Used for Sale. FreeCatalog. National Cinema, 333 W. 57th St., N.Y., N.Y. 10019.

CLUBS

TONY BENNETT Fan Club. To join send SAE envelope. Al-pert, Box 893, Welch WV 24801.

NOVEMBER 1978

!"-L.t1ININIIN...i I %.../

AA e.Let us know 8 weeks in advance so that youwon't miss a single issue of STEREO REVIEW.

Attach old label where indicated and printnew address in space provided. Also Includeyour mailing label whenever you write con-cerning your subscription. It helps us serveyou promptly.

Write to: P.O. Box 2771, Boulder, CO 80322,giving the following information:

['Change address only El Extend my subscription

ENTER NEW SUBSCRIPTION0 1 year $9.98 1=I Payment enclosed

Allow 30-60 days for (1 extra BONUS Issue)delivery. 0 Bill me later

NEW ADURESS HERE0422

Nameplease print

Address Apt

City

State ZipAdditional postage on foreign orders: add $1 a year for Canada, $5a year for all other countries outside the U.S. and its possessions.Cash only on foreign orders, payable in U.S. currency.

c AFFIX OLD LABELq_1

1

If you have no label handy, print OLD address here.

I Name please printli. ()

) Address `1

rI

IICity

I StateZ q:i I

MAGAZINES & BOOKS

WORLD'S most outspoken publication. Natural health, heal-ing, organic gardening. Free copy. Provoker Press, St.Catharines -164, Ontario L2R 7C9. U.S. Inquiries.

JUST PUBLISHED: The Soundtrack Record Collector'sGuide. All you will ever need to know about Soundtrack, Orig-inal Cast and Personality Records. $6.95. Dored Company,1508 West Broadway, Minneapolis, Minn. 55411.

ELECTRONICS

ELECTRONICS BARGAINS, Closeouts, Surplus) Parts,stereo, industrial, educational. Amazing values! Fascinatingitems unavailable in stores or catalogs anywhere. UnusualFREE catalog. ETCO-014, Box 762, Plattsburgh, NY 12901.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

LEARN WHILE ASLEEP. Hypnotize! Astonishing details,strange catalog free! Autosuggestion, Box 24-ZD, Olympia,Washington, 98507.

SERVICES

WRITING, RESEARCH, EDITING. All disciplines. Original!Professional Team. Confidential. Reasonable. Superior li-brary facilities. Writers Unlimited, Box 4391, Washington, D.C.20012. (202) 723-1715. Mastercharge - VISA accepted.

PERSONALS

MAKE FRIENDS WORLDWIDE through international corre-spondence. Illustrated brochure free. Hermes-Verlag, Box110660/Z, D-1000 Berlin 11, Germany.

MISCELLANEOUS

FINALLY a simple way to organize Records & Tapes. FreeInformation. Musictile, Dept. SRT1, P.O. Box 32111, SanJose, CA 95152.

187

STEREO REVIEWADVERTISERS' INDEX

READERSERVICE NO. ADVERTISER

PAGENUMBER

3 A.A.L. Speakers 48ADS 39Advent Corporation 101,165Mai America, Ltd. 25

4 Allison Acoustics 285 Angel/EMI Records 1226 Audio Discount Warehouse Sales 144

15 Audio Dynamics -Cartridge 17442 Audio-Technica U.S., Inc. 169

Audio-Technica U.S., Inc. 40.1289 Avid Corporation 13

10 Ball Corporation 11111 Bang & Olufsen of America 168

BASF 97Bose Corporation 49

7 British Industries Co., BIC Venturi 50, 5112 British Industries Co., BIC 10.1113 British Industries Co., BIC 82, 8314 British Industries Co., BIC 15516 BSR (USA), Ud.-Equalizer 15917 BSR (USA), Ltd. -Quanta 13218 BSA (USA). Ud.-Accutrac 2719 BSR (USA). Ltd. -Turntable 60, 6120 CBS Records 18122 Celestion Industries, Inc 13994 Century Records 18423 Chrysler Corporation -Plymouth 129

Design Acoustics 15324 Discount Music Club 1825 Discount Sound t40

Discwasher 4, 78, 18327 District Sound, Inc. 16028 Dover Corporation/Mt. Snow 17950 Dual 13529 Electro-Voice, Inc 2621 Empire Scientific Corp. 299 Empire Scientific Corp 6930 Eumig (USA), Inc 3131 Fantastic Photo Electronics 16032 Fucker 15633 Fuji Photo Film, USA 7734 Hammond Industries 17435 Harman Kardon, Inc. 42,4336 Hi-Fi Buys 16026 Hitachi 8537 Illinois Audio 16638 Institute of Audio Research 14539 International HI-Fi Dist 16340 J & R Music World 160

Jet_ 46, 47

8

Jensen Sound Laboratories 12543 Jensen Sound Laboratories 20.2144 JVC America 90, 91

Kenwood Electronics 745 Kirsch 16846 Koss Corporation 88, 872 Koss Corporation 2

47 Lafayette Radio Electronics 948 Lee 89

Lord Calvert Canadian 52Lux Audio of Arnerica, Ltd 87

51 3M Company 130,131Marantz, Inc. 188, Cover 3

52 Maxell Corp. of America 11253 Maxell Corp. of America 3054 McIntosh Laboratory, Inc. 4455 Memorex Corporation 13456 Mitsubishi 32.3357 Motorola, Inc. 4158 Musical Heritage Society 141

Nikko Electronics of America 17959 Ohm Acoustics Corp. 1560 Oldsmobile 8162 J. C. Penney 128.127

Phase Linear 15241 Pickering & Company 95

OSD (Quality Sound Direct) 183Radio Shack 71

63 Rank Organization 7364 SAE. 10365 Sankyo Saki (America) 75

66Sansui Electronics Corp. 16.17

67 Sanyo 12368 H. H. Scott, Inc. 1969 Sharp Electronics 109

Sharper Image 79, 15170 Sherbourne Corporation/Killington 17371 Shure Brothers 3472 Shure Brothers 3573 Shure Brothers 142.143

Sonic Research, Inc 2474 Sonikit 18375 Sony Corporation of America 6376 Soundcraftsmen 1477 Sound Machine 16378 Sparkomatic 13679 Spectro Acoustics, Inc 3880 Stereo Corporation of America 145

Stereo Discounters 17381 Studer/Revox America 3782 Tandberg of America, Inc. 120, 12183 TDK Electronics 2384 TDK Electronics 56, 5785 TDK Electronics 3886 Teac Corporation 4587 Teac Corporation 13388 Technics by Panasonic 2989 Top Discount Audo 17193 Toshiba America, Inc. 10550 United Audio 13590 U. S. Pioneer 157

1 U. S. Pioneer Cover 2,191 Whistler 18192 Wisconsin Discount Stereo 171

Yamaha International Corp. 85

NOVEMBER 1978

TRY THE MARANTZ PWILL NEVER KNOW OUfi

By using a simple test you can proveto yourself that Marantz loudspeakersdeliver the same brilliant soundseparation over the widest possiblelistening area:

Here's the test:Have your Marantz dealer place any

pair of Marantz floor standing loud-speakers in a normal listening position.Now, listen as your selection ofdynamic music is played through theMarantz loudspeakers. Notice thethree dimensional quality of the sound.Now close your eyes and have twopeople slowly turn the Marantz loud-speakers until they're actually facingeach other

Did the sound change?In almost every case we've found the

listener cannot hear a change in thesound ... because there isn't any! Evenwith the loudspeakers facing eachother. Incredible!

But if you try the same test with mostconventional loudspeakers you'llnotice a striking difference. The soundliterally falls apart. You'll hear a lossof overtones-sparkle and brilliance-all the qualities that make music openand spacious disappear.

WHY MARANTZ PASSEDTHE TEST WHILE

OTHERS FAIL.In a nutshell: Constant Radiated

Power (CRP)- 180 degrees dispersionregardless of frequency. To achieveCRP we consider both the frequencyresponse and dispersion characteristicsof each individual transducer in thesystem; woofer, midrange and tweeter.The result is a unique design approachincorporating three importantperformance parameters:

1. We know that dispersion is detemined by the diameter of the radiatinsurface-the speaker cone-and the fre-quency being reproduced. So we pickthe precise frequency at which eachindividual driver radiates 180 degreesand use this as the crossover point.

But many manufacturers often cross-over at a frequency where, forexample, the woofer's dispersion hasalready started to beam. Why? Theymay be trying to save money by usingcheaper transducers and crossovernetworks. Or, perhaps they considerCRP to be unimportant. But you won't!

2. Our transducers are positionedon the baffle toensure the best pos-sible dispersion.

Other manufac-turers may positiontheir driver for eye -appeal, but that's notgood enough forMarantz.

3. To control tran-sition between ourdrivers, we use themost sophisticated, best thought-outcrossover networks ever developed.

As you can see from the illustrationbelow (Fig. A), wherever you are in theroom you hear the same ideal stereoseparation and 180 degrees dispersionpattern. Notice how the other speaker

"beams" certain frequencies in anarrow corridor (Fig. B). Unless you sitdirectly in front of those speakers, youlose part of the music.

TRANSDUCERS YOU'DEXPECT FROM A WINNER.

Wide sound dispersion alone doesn'tguarantee sonic accuracy. You also

Tone burst test demonstrates superior low storedenergy characteristics of Marantz loudspeakers.

Original signal. Noteinstant start/instant

stop of trace.

Marantz loudspeaker.Note close similarity

to original signal.

Competitor. Note overhangcaused by inability ofcone to stop vibrating.

C)1978 Marantz, Co., a subsidiary of Superscope,

need transducers that exhibit lowdistortion and low stored energy.

Stored energy is the continuedvibration of a loudspeaker's radiatingelement after the driving force hasstopped. It can exist in any loud-speaker; woofer, midrange or tweeter,and is heard as a smearing or runningtogether of the individual instruments.

To assure Low Stored Energy,Marantz uses extremely rigid conesand domes tightly coupled to the voicecoil to create a homogeneous rigidstructure. Accurate control of thisstructure is then assured by anextremely powerful magnetic motorassembly. The result is that Marantztransducers move as a unit in a smooth,piston -like motion without theslightest hint of cone break-up orflexing-even under the most rapidacceleration and deceleration! You hear

cise, sharp instrument definition-truest musical sound possible-

wherever you are in the room!Your Marantz dealer has the full line

of Marantz speaker systems. If youtruly want the best-and are willing tospend a little more to get it-then gofor it. Go for Marantz.

mrsi_M2KtInc., 20525 Nordhoff St., Chatsworth, CA 91311. All Rights Reserved.

SOT TEST. YOUR EARSLOUDSPEAKERS MOVED

-1KHZ6KHZ

14Y20°30. 13KI- _

\fir

0Figure A Decibels Figure B

The Marantz speaker disperses Conventional speakers tend toall the frequencies 180 degrees. narrow certain frequencies.

In actual test, speakers should be placed the same distance apart as you are away from them.

About the only thind havethat's better than a Koss Pro/4 iriple A aresome extremely expensive electrostatic,

I think the Pro/4Triple A sounds reallysimilar to an electrostaticheadphone, very crisp, verygood in the midrange andthe highs, yet very dynamicand full in the bass..,

There are few stereo -phones of any kind that canmatch the full -bandwidthsound of the new Pro/ 4Triple A. That's becausethe Triple A's oversizedvoice coil and extralarge diaphragm reproducerecorded material with alife -like intensity andminimal distortion neverbefore available withdynamic stereophones.

If there's any clipping,it's in your amp.

With a frequencyresponse from 1 0Hz to22KHz, a highly efficientelement and a perfect sealfor low bass response tobelow audibility, the newTriple A lets every noteblossom to its fullest

harmonic growth. You'llhear so much more of yourfavorite music you'll thinkyou're listening to awhole new record.66 The pneumalite ear -

cushions do three things;they're a lot more comfort-able, they eliminate listeningfatigue, and they develop a

the most perfectly fitting,perfectly comfortablestereophones you'll everslip on.

I talk a lot about theprivate listening experience.Especially with coupleswhere she wants to watch aTV program and he wantsto listen to Bach. They can

deep, clean bass response.., be together and still doWhat more can we their own thing.

say except that the uniquedual suspension headbandmakes the Triple A one of

One of the beautifulthings about the Sound ofKoss stereophones is that

Audio SalesmanLos Angeles, California

you can listen to yourfavorite music at any volumewithout disturbing anyoneelse. And that's beautiful.66 The workmanship ofthe Triple A is beautiful.Even the inside which mostof my customers never seeis very machined, veryprecision made.,"

Why not stop by youraudio dealer and take agood, long look at the newKoss Pro/4 Triple A.And while you're there listento the Koss CM line ofloudspeakers. They're in aclass by themselves, too.Or write c/o VirginiaLamm for our free full -colorcatalogue. Better yet, listento a live demonstration ofthe Sound of Koss withyour own favorite record orPape. We think you'll agreewith David, that when itcomes to the Pro/ 4 TripleA, and other Koss stereo -phones and speakers:hearing is believing

KOSS' stereophones/loudspeakershearing is believingTm

KOSS CORPORATION, 4129 N. Port Washington Ave . Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212 International Headquarters, Milwaukee/facilities: Canada France Germany Ireland Japan


HiFi-Stereo-Review-1978-11.pdf - World Radio History

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