Los Angeles Times, April 28, 2001: Difference between revisions
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<center><h3> Different strokes for lovers of folk (music) </h3></center> | |||
Different | <center> More than three dozen artists perform two eclectic, inspiring marathon shows celebrating the legacy of archivist Harry Smith. </center> | ||
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More than three dozen artists perform two eclectic, inspiring marathon shows celebrating the legacy of archivist Harry Smith. | <center> Robert Hilburn </center> | ||
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Robert Hilburn | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
It's hard to stage a winning concert when you start out with two strikes — even if you're blessed with some of the pop-rock world's most illustrious singer-songwriters, including Elvis Costello, Steve Earle and Beck. | |||
It's hard to stage a winning concert when you start out with two strikes | |||
By stretching from 8 p.m. to almost 1:30 a.m., the Harry Smith Project concert Wednesday at UCLA's Royce Hall felt far, far too long. | By stretching from 8 p.m. to almost 1:30 a.m., the Harry Smith Project concert Wednesday at UCLA's Royce Hall felt far, far too long. | ||
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Earle was exaggerating, of course, but not by much. The show's producer, Hal Willner, a visionary record producer and pop theorist, apparently invited every musician in his Rolodex. | Earle was exaggerating, of course, but not by much. The show's producer, Hal Willner, a visionary record producer and pop theorist, apparently invited every musician in his Rolodex. | ||
By enlisting more than three dozen singers and instrumentalists to perform | By enlisting more than three dozen singers and instrumentalists to perform — in varying combinations — some four dozen songs, the event was not only bound to stretch to five hours, but would also be subject to unevenness. | ||
The organizers apologized good-naturedly for the excessive length Wednesday and vowed at the start of Thursday's companion concert that things would move much more efficiently. There were even suggestions backstage that the show would be cut by as much as 60 to 90 minutes. | The organizers apologized good-naturedly for the excessive length Wednesday and vowed at the start of Thursday's companion concert that things would move much more efficiently. There were even suggestions backstage that the show would be cut by as much as 60 to 90 minutes. | ||
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The excessiveness of the shows, in fact, was a fitting salute to what someone described as record collector and filmmaker Smith's "obsessive tenacity." | The excessiveness of the shows, in fact, was a fitting salute to what someone described as record collector and filmmaker Smith's "obsessive tenacity." | ||
The concept both nights was for contemporary artists to play vintage songs from Smith's | The concept both nights was for contemporary artists to play vintage songs from Smith's ''Anthology of American Folk Music'', a landmark album first released in 1952 by Folkways Records. In the collection, Smith collected blues, gospel and country recordings from the 1920s and '30s — music that reflected a humanity and daring that he felt were becoming rare in the conservative social climate of the early '50s. | ||
The album became a musical bible for Bob Dylan and other folk-oriented singer-songwriters of the '50s and '60s, and it caused a stir among musicians again when re-released on CD in 1997 by Smithsonian Folkways Records. | The album became a musical bible for Bob Dylan and other folk-oriented singer-songwriters of the '50s and '60s, and it caused a stir among musicians again when re-released on CD in 1997 by Smithsonian Folkways Records. | ||
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Costello and Earle also did songs from the anthology, though their own styles are so rooted in country-blues tradition that they could have passed as their own. | Costello and Earle also did songs from the anthology, though their own styles are so rooted in country-blues tradition that they could have passed as their own. | ||
Of the conceptualists, David Johansen, the ex-New York Dolls leader and, in his Buster Poindexter guise, cabaret singer, brought a captivating, hard-edged presence to the evening, playing three songs with a startling rock 'n' roll vengeance. In the bitter but wry "James Alley Blues" he snapped, "Sometimes I think you're too sweet to die / Another times I think you ought to be buried alive." | Of the conceptualists, David Johansen, the ex-New York Dolls leader and, in his Buster Poindexter guise, cabaret singer, brought a captivating, hard-edged presence to the evening, playing three songs with a startling rock 'n' roll vengeance. In the bitter but wry "James Alley Blues" he snapped, ''"Sometimes I think you're too sweet to die / Another times I think you ought to be buried alive."'' | ||
There were so many tales of murder, sex and violence in the anthology songs that the FTC could have probably held hearings around the clock in the '20s if it was focusing on the negative influence of music on youngsters then as it is now. | There were so many tales of murder, sex and violence in the anthology songs that the FTC could have probably held hearings around the clock in the '20s if it was focusing on the negative influence of music on youngsters then as it is now. | ||
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Amid the competitiveness and hectic pace of pop music, it's easy to forget that musicians are members of a select fraternity. This week's event enabled them to celebrate some of their musical roots and allowed us the joy of watching in such a rare, relaxed atmosphere. | Amid the competitiveness and hectic pace of pop music, it's easy to forget that musicians are members of a select fraternity. This week's event enabled them to celebrate some of their musical roots and allowed us the joy of watching in such a rare, relaxed atmosphere. | ||
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'''Los Angeles Times, April 28, 2001 | |||
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[[Robert Hilburn]] reviews the ''Harry Smith Project'', Wednesday, [[Concert 2001-04-25 Los Angeles|April 25, 2001]], Royce Hall, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA. | |||
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==External links== | ==External links== |
Revision as of 16:01, 21 November 2013
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