Vitality 'Wet'

The Retriever, December 4, 1979, Pase 9 Knack c ' aptur~sBeatle sound, vitality By Julie Thompson that the emphasis on teenage love prevalent ill the early 1960's has shifted to Since their success in the Los Angeles one on teenage sex. With its seductive, club circuit in 1978,IThe Knack has set the pounding beat and blunt lyrics, "Selfish" musical world on its ear. The four is but a segment of the thematic thread musicianr" Doug Fieger, Berton Verre, running throughout the disc including Bruce Gap , and Prescott Niles, have such cuts as "Frustrated" and "Good Girls indeed been compared time and again with Don't." the 'Beatles, and justifiably so considering their concert stop at Carnegie Hall in New Although infectious, racey beal and York last month. The concert created a fervor quite reminiscent of those early, clamorous vocals seem to be the Knack's , heady days of Beatlemania, Get the Knack, speciality, the group proves themselves their debut album, only further warrants masters also of a more subdued style in "Maybe Tonight," the only mellow cut of the call for enthusiasm over this newly formed quartet. In their attempt to reinsti the album. Fieger's voice artfully weaves throughout this lazily tuneful track, tute the values brought to rock and roll by peaking with the refraining crescendo and the Beades, The Knack has produced an sliding easily back to an idle momentum. album brimmin~ with vitality. Aside from "My Sharona" and "Good Considering the success of this first Girls ,Don't," the two renown singles album, no doubt the music-enthusiastic released to date, Gel the Knack harbors a public, in hopes of unraveling the mystery collection of cuts that could each undoubt of the Knack phenomenom, is waiting , "{he Knack edly attain number one status as singles, with bated breath for a second release. But "Let Me Out," triggering the album's before any future album is anticipated, it disc's musical mileage is not a'bout to run let go. unbridled flow of excitement with striking must be noted that, despite the two single out. Surely those listeners who 'get the "Get the Knack"I The Knack l Captio/ rhythm and unified, boisterous vocals, releases so br from Get The Knack this Knack' will Hnd themselves unwilling to Records continues with split-second hesitation into the totally different beat of "Yo~r Number or Your Name.." The transition, enigma tically enough, comes off sounding " smooth and n~tural, but with a curious, • undefined sharpness. Pacino~ Ba/tim.ore 'star film "Oh Tara," chocked-lull of rhythmical diversity, is completely enthralling with it By Annette SoiJ'e% endearing lyrics. "You squeeze my heart ally the story of a young lawyer asked to sion and corruption of America's modern and then you let it go, tJ sings Fieger in this At a lime when lawyers rate very low in defend a judge he cannot stand, but whose judicial system, he finds himself in situa catchy lament to an unjust girlfriend. terms of the trust the American public case he agrees to take in an attempt to tion~ which are often as ridiculously comic Innocent as this musical theme sounds. holds in them, And Justice fflr All should u?hold his principles. In his ensuing as they are heart-breakingly tragic. "She's So Selfish" follows as a reminder prove to be a very popular film. It is basic- struggle to seek justice within the confu- This tragi-comic tone of the film proba bly creates tht: greatest difficulty for the viewer, because it switches so abruptly from one mood to another. However, this same aspect of the film lends it its most realistic note, considering that the funniest 'Wet'is all vvashed situations in life most often carry an under up current of tragedy behind them. While the humor in the film sometimes borders on the absurd, it is never forced but rather comes off as genuinely funny because of its basis in reality. By Kathleen Warnock Wet l Barbra Streisand l Columbia Al Pacino, the actor who excelled in the role of honest cop agai{lSl corrupt system Barbra Steisand is; of course, The Voice. in 1973's Serpico, plays the role of honest She could sing the Baltimore telephone lawyer against corrupt system in Justice to book, and it would go platinum. This is perfection. In fact, he proves himself to be not because the Baltimore telephone book an actor of broader range in this more is so interesting, but because her incredible voice can make any lyric, no matter how recent effort, handling not only the inane. sound good. intensely dramatic scenes but also the , comic ones with great skill. Jack Warden is There are two gimmicks to Wet, one of also very funny as an «'ccentric judge who which works, the other doesn't. The one fires a pistol to bring his court to order, and Lee Strasberg gives a touching which works is the celebrated duet with performance as Pacino's grandfather, a another Voice, Donna Summer. While wise man slowly sinking into senility. "No more Tears/Enough is Enough'" is being played to death on the radio,' the The city of Baltimore also gf1ts a very big song wears well. Both artists have devoted role in Justice. Unlike The Seduction of followings, and the pairing was enough to Joe Tynan, the Alan AIda film shot here send fans into ecstasy and record stores into but set in upstate new York, And Justice iJ. higher tax bracket: For A II actually takes place in Baltimore. Well-known landmarks appear The second gimmick is the concept of throue-hout the film, including beautiful the album. Wet is the word, with the title aerial shots of Fort McHenry and the Inner cut, and various water-logged songs, including a bizarre disco version of "Sphsh Harbor. Screenwriter Barry Levinson, who Splash", [he old Bobby Darin hit. comes from Baltimore, dfcided to set the Streisand's unequalled power completely story here because he knew , the city, and o.verwhelms the silly lyrics of this little director Norman Jewison, who likes to song, apparently included on the ~lbum shoot primariJy on location, found all the only because! of its H20 content. city'S best spots. Baltimore comes off.. looking "picture postcard" beautiful. Some of the other songs, like "After the Rain" are a bit drippy. The rhyme is not While it raises some serious questions complicated - of the moon-june-tune about the American judicial system, And school. Ju~tice For A II ends on an upbeat, extreme ly satisfying note, and definitely rates as Perhaps it is just the contrast of her last an entertaining two hours of film. For two "high-intensity singles, 'The Main Baltimoreans, it presents the added Event" and "No more Tears", but Wet, attraction of seeing the city Mayor compared to these singles, is all washed up. Schaeffer has been talking about for years. Barbra Slreisand That alone is worth the price of admission. I!.===~ .

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