of aglorious human voice, you may want to get dynamic range, and lots of distortion. Would the record for this one number alone. If you're they be able to clean up the sound, and, if so, afan of gospel music, performed by people what does the recording of the show really who know what it's all about, you'll probably sound like? enjoy the whole record. The answers to the above questions are Gospel at Colonus was recorded partly at a "Yes" and "Pretty Good." Iwould still not want live performance and partly in astudio, most to use this recording as the best exemplar of of it via digital but some via analog tape, so the what recording engineers were capable of final result is, predictably, quite variable. The achieving in the late '60s, but at least now it can sound is never really bad, but the voices are be enjoyed without thinking that you have sometimes clear and close-up, at other times somehow tuned into one of the AM stations on distant and rather muffled.—Robert Deutsch acrowded part of the dial. The CD has much detail that Icannot hear on my (admittedly : Original Broadway Cast somewhat worn) copy of the original LP, the Galt MacDermot, cond. Music by Galt MacDermot, lyrics dynamic range is greater, and the sound gener- by & ally has more immediacy. RCA 1150-2-RC (CD). Mike Moran, eng.; Andy Wiswell, prod. Digital restoration by Rick Rowe, prod. and ens. Galt MacDermot's score contains anumber ADD. TT: 66:33 of good tunes, but, on re-listening, my ini- tial impression was that the music sounds The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical— rather relentless. Ithen realized that the pauses what powerful images are evoked by this appel- between selections are about one second, not lation: the New World vs the Old, Us vs Them, even allowing one to take abreath. Listening Love vs Hate, Our Music vs Theirs. When Hair with the CD player in the Copy Pause mode was first produced on Broadway (was it really (there is ause for this feature, after all) solved 20 years ago?), it was hailed by some as aland- this problem. The songs that impress most are mark musical, signaling the beginning of anew still the well-known ones: "Aquarius," "Let the age, abreak from the traditions of Rodgers and Sunshine In," "Hair," "Where Do IGo," "Good Hammerstein. Others viewed it as a crass Morning Starshine," and "Frank Mills." This attempt to commercialize (ie, rip off) counter- recording contains four numbers not on the culture ideas. The production did enjoy great original LP; only one of them ("Electric commercial success, but Tony Awards voters Dreams") seems to have been asignificant ignored it in favor of the now-almost-forgotten omission. 1776. A Broadway revival in 1977 closed after If the show has dated—and I'm afraid it 43 performances. As far as Iknow, it has not has—this is largely afunction of the lyrics. The received amajor revival since then; my guess references to environmental pollution ('Air"), is that a musical about draft dodgers, mindless patriotism ("Don't Put It Down"), and psychedelic trips, and sexual liberation would intergenerational conflicts ("I Got Life") are in not go over well in this era of Rambo, the War asense no less timely today than they were in on Drugs, and AIDS. 1968, but the approach seems just too heavy- Although Imust admit that Iwas not among handed. In terms of pure craftsmanship, none those who thought of Hair as the musical of the lyrics is the sort that would give Stephen theater's salvation, Ihave enjoyed much of the Sondheim sleepless nights, but, at their best, music, and was quite excited by RCA's an- they have some of the artlessness and inno- nouncement that they were going to issue aCD cence of flower children. And, simple-minded based on the original multi-track master rather or not, it would take acynic of utmost convic- than the mixdown. The LP was one of the tion not to be at least partly swayed by the worst examples of '60s Dynagroove technol- exhortation to "Let the Sunshine In." ogy: no highs or lows, a very restricted —Robert Deutsch

Jazz

BOBBIE ENRIQUEZ: Wild Piano market called Wild Piano. Rather than denot- Bobbie Enriquez. piano; Eddie Gomez, bass; Al Foster, ing an obscure type of keyboard instrument drums that grows uncultured by the roadside, the title CBS/Portrait 44160 (LP). Harvey Goldberg. eng.; Bob actually refers to awild pianist named Bobbie Thiele, prod. DDA. TT: 43:15 Enriquez. If by any chance you've reached astate of tor- Enriquez was born in aremote mountain por from overexposure to New Age music, take hamlet in the Philippines, and is said to have heart: there's apowerful antidote now on the developed his own technique for realizing the

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