and No Fence Around Me, are good enough but suffer from too many touches of poesy. His biggest hit so far has been Games People Play (not included here), but comparing his version with that of Petula Clark, I can't understand how his made it and hers didn't. South has a bland manner, and the overly lush string ar- rangements here don't liven things up very galaofstars much. Truthfully, I couldn't notice any differ- ence between the "Atlanta Sound" and the av- erage overproduced commercial recording Opera, in from anywhere. Ballet I suppose Joe South is now back gestating, las but I do hope that the next time he comes out truntentaiand to say hello and make notes he won't feel the need of quite so much "production" around him. P.R. pieces KATE TAYLOR: Sister Kate. Kate Taylor on (vocals); various musicians. Home Again; Bal- ondon'sJuly lad of a Well -Known Gun; Be That Way; Handbags and Gladrags; You Can Close Your release. Eyes; Country Comfort; Lo and Behold/Jesus Is Just All Right; White Lightning; and four others. COTILLION SD 9045 $4.98, ® M 9045 $6.95, 0 M 89045 $6.95, M 59045 $6.95. Performance: Very good Recording: Very good Saint -Sans: SYMPHONY NO. 3 IN C MINOR FOR ORGAN AND ORCHESTRA The Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra-Zubin Mehta-Anita Kate Taylor is a year older than Livingston Priest (organ) Taylor and a year younger than James Taylor, CS -6680 her brothers, and she is not the last Taylor Delibes: COPPELIA we'll hear from: Alex, eldest of the family, has L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande-Richard Bonynge already recorded and there's still the youngest CSA-2229 brother, Hugh, who is eighteen. Hugh is said Schubert: SYMPHONY NO. 4 IN C MINOR ("Tragic") SYMPHONY NO. 5 IN B FLAT MAJOR to have a good voice but to be more interested, The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra-lstvan Kertesz at the moment, in other things. Kate had to CS -6682 make two efforts to get this one down-she HANDEL OVERTURES-Vol. 2 was too nervous to record the first time she Semele; Julius Caesar; Faramondo; Judas Maccabeus; Rada- tried it-but she sounds assured and relaxed misto; Arminio; Deidamia; Scipio; Belshazzar - The English Chamber Orchestra-Richard Bonynge (whether she was or not) as captured here. CS -671I Kate is no amateur; she has good control, a Catalani: LA WALLY-Highlights fair range, and a pleasant -sounding voice. It is Renata Tebaldi, Mario del Monaco, Piero Cappuccilli, Justino also a rather undistinguished voice. This is a Diaz-The Monte Carlo Opera Orchestra-Fausto Cleva triumph of production, rather than of a singer. OS -26202 Delibes: LAKME-Highlights Peter Asher, who got James started with Apple Joan Sutherland, Alain Vanzo, Gabriel Bacquier-The Monte and the Beatles, brought in such figures as Car- Carlo Opera Orchestra-Richard Bonynge ole King (piano), Linda Ronstadt, Russ Kunk- OS -26201 el, and Baby James himself to help out. He Verdi: LA TRAVIATA-Highlights chose good songs, too, for the most part, in- Pilar Lorengar, Giacomo Aragall, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau- Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper, Berlin-Lorin Maazel cluding two by Carole King, two by Bernie OS -26193 Taupin and Elton John, a nice effort by Living- Cherubini: MEDEA-Highlights ston (Be That Way), and two by James, one of Gwyneth Jones, Pilar Lorengar, Fiorenza Cossotto, Bruno which, You Can Close Your Eyes, is among his Prevedi, Justino Diaz-Orchestra of L'Accademia Nazionale di finest. Santa Cecilia, Rome-Lamberto Gardelli It bothers me a bit that Kate, because her OS -26184 Schubert: FANTASIA IN C MAJOR (Op. 15) ("Wanderer") name is Taylor, will probably sell more records IMPROMPTU IN E FLAT MINOR (D.946, No. 1) than such clearly superior singers as, say, Sandy IMPROMPTU IN E FLAT MAJOR (D.946, No. 2) Denny or Judy Mayhan or Lulu, but it takes Jean-Rodolphe Kars (piano) many people to make a recording, and good CS -6714 producers like Asher should be rewarded, too. Beethoven: QUINTET IN C MAJOR (Op. 29) SEXTET IN E FLAT MAJOR (Op. 81b) I expect this one will do that. N. C. Members of The Vienna Octet CS -6674 TONY JOE WHITE. Tony Joe White (vo- Now on London cals); instrumental accompaniment. The R. Strauss: ARIADNE AUF NAXOS Change; My Kind of Woman; The Daddy; Leonie Rysanek, Roberta Peters, Sena Jurinac, Jan Peerce- Black Panther Swamps; Five Summers for Jim- The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra-Erich Leinsdorf my; A Night in the Life of a Swamp Fox; Trav- OSA-13100 eling Bone; I Just Walked Away; Copper Ket- tle; Voodoo Village. WARNER BROS. WB 1900$4.98. Performance: Corny but nice ,t0T40011 Recording: Good RECORDS Tony Joe White, the composer of Brook Ben - ton's hit A Rainy Night in Georgia, is a talent- ed artist, very much rooted in the musical pat- terns of now but with an innocent's philosophy (Continued on page 112) JULY1971 CIRCLE NO31 ON READER SERVICE CARD