The Magnificent Zero Mostel. the Irrepressible Martin Walker
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does the show. Julia Migenes, as one of and teen -age favorites. was the first star Tevye's daughters, reveals a pleasant in this new constellation, but he now voice, and there is a wildly comic night- has a strong competitor in Johnny Rivers. mare sequence. The record, in short, is Each is backed by instrumental groups rewarding. but it conveys only part of consisting of rhythm guitar, bass guitar, the experience of Fiddler on the Roof. and drums (with a steady use of the J.S.W. cymbal), and both favor a medium tempo and a strong, sinuous beat that Martin Walker: "From Scotland with lends itself as readily to handclapping Love." ABC Paramount 483, $3.98 as it does to foot, hip, and shoulder (LP); S 483, $4.98 (SD). twisting. Rivers' "Here We a Go Go The Scottish singers we hear in this Again!" is a foot -tapping series of selec- country usually fall into either the char- tions, which stirs enthusiastic audience acter-comedian mold of Sir Harry Lauder participation. His songs are drawn al- or the sturdy seriousness of a Kenneth most entirely from the teen -age reper- McKellar. The sweet, high tenor and tory (Mavbelline, Dung Me, High Heel the pop repertory of Martin Walker, Sneakers), but their blatant edges are therefore, come as a distinct surprise. smoothed and polished by Rivers' suave His irrepressible Scottish burr brings delivery. The other two Rivers discs ap- a delightful freshness to such standard pear to be products of a slightly earlier songs as Me and My Shadow, That Old period, when his musical direction was The magnificent Zero Mostel. Feeling, I'll Take Romance, and As not so firmly set. On the Capitol re- Time Goes 13v. The first of these is a cording he gives occasional hints of his "Fiddler on the Roof." Zero Mostel and gem of casual. softshoe singing; and later style, but most of the pieces are Original Cast. RCA Victor LOC 1093, As Time Goes By, aside from fitting done in the teen -age routine, with $4.98 (LP); LSO 1093, $5.98 (SD). admirably into the lilt of Walker's dubbed -over voices and a group of girls Fiddler on the Roof is a rarity among Scottish cadence. contains an unforget- chanting behind him. The United Artists Broadway musicals: it manages to be table rendition of the line "No matter disc is even more strongly teen - both very moving and very amusing what the future brings " -in which the oriented, and Rivers' vocal exaggerations, without resorting either to melodrama or singer manages to avoid direct contact particularly his stretching of vowels (a to caricature. This is all the more re- with a single "t." Walker's simplicity habit he has since tempered), is given markable in that its setting -a Jewish en- and directness. combined with the un- free rein. clave in a remote village in Czarist Rus- expected twists provided by his accent, Trini Lopez's latest disc focuses on sia, burdened with poverty and the lend this disc a special charm. the Spanish songs that form only one threat of pogroms, held together by element of his repertory but which religious mystique -is an open invita- Dean Martin: "Everybody Loves Some- exemplify the musical background from tion to the melodramatic librettist. But body." Reprise 6130. $3.98 (LP); which he came. They are not representa- Joseph Stein's book, based on the stories S 6130, $4.98 (SD). tive of the blithely. bouncingly rhythmic of Sholem Aleichem, focuses on Tevye, Even though Martin's arrangements here Lopez of today, for he has included a pious but highly individualistic dairy- involve such currently overpopular several plaintive tunes typical of the man with five daughters, a man of vast sounds as twangy guitars and tinkly popular Spanish repertory. Many of optimism and warmth who is on as piano triplets, this is a varied and at- these lack the compelling beat of Lopez's familiar terms with God as with his tractive collection. Martin is a master more recent material; but when his cur- neighbors. The development of this very of the easygoing, Crosby -derived sing- rent style makes complete contact with engaging who reveals the character, ing style -a manner which, as its origina- a Spanish song -Granada is an instance to us through his Jewish community tor proved in his own heyday. cannot -the sparks really fly. own eyes, avoids any hint of melodrama. only adapt to almost every conceivable The plot grows out of fundamental sit- musical situation, but can enable a Max Morath: "Oh. Play That Thing." uations: the precariousness of existence singer to sneak around some situations Epic 24106, $3.98 (LP); 26106, $4.98 in these surroundings, and the resistance he Martin is in full can't face head on. (SD). of a new generation to unquestioning ac- control, ranging from the romantic Morath's one -man revival of the ragtime ceptance of the traditions of the old. crooner to the bouncing rhythm singer. era television, in night clubs. and Zero Mostel achieves a magnificent per- And he is aided by imaginative use of -on on discs a new on this formance as Tevye, and with the addi- what might have been rather common- -takes direction recording. Until recently, he has worked tional assets of richly ethnic music by place accompaniment. Most of the songs and idiomatic lyrics by Jerry Bock. apt are fresh and relatively unfamiliar, Sheldon Harnick, the colorful staging by although in addition to the current hit Robbins, Fiddler on the Roof Jerome title tune there are such old standbys fills the theatre with a glowing warmth. as :\lv Heart Cries for You and Corrine Transferring this aura to a recording Cotrina. has proved to be difficult, though let me say at once that Mostel's color and vigor Rivers: and whimsicality come through bril- Johnny "The Sensational." Capitol S 2161. liantly. But in the theatre, the over -all 2161. $3.98 (LP); $4.98 effect of Fiddler is the cumulative result (SD). "Go. Johnny, Go." United of bits and pieces of dialogue and song Artists 3386. $3.98 (LP); 6386. $4.98 and dance; and though on the recording (SD). "Here We a Go Go Again!" an effort has been made to supply some Imperial 9274, $3.98 (LP); 12274, of this background through dialogue, the $4.98 (SD). Reprise script is not memorable either for style Trini Lopez: "The Latin Album." or delivery. One's sense of involvement in 6125. $3.98 (LP); S 6125, $4.98 the life of the community, so acute in (SD). the theatre, is missing here. The development of adult rock 'n' roll Still, there is some stirring music, and in discotheques has been accompanied Mostel gives us treasurable moments by the rise of singers whose styles fit when he burbles sounds and words about the dancing requirements of this new his prospects If I Were a Rich Man, or night club fad. Trini Lopez, who roars out the glories of Tradition. For- specializes in easygoing but strongly tunately, he dominates the disc just as he rhythmic treatments of both folk songs The irrepressible Martin Walker. 110 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE www.americanradiohistory.com.