Moon & Star Concert Reviews
As
Majicat is trying with the 'Moon & Star Petition' to spur the release of the ABC In
Concerts 'Moon & Star, I thought it would be interesting for you to relive the
excitement of this spectacular televised concert. Reading the reviews of the concert and
checking out the TV guides' placement of this rare event of so many years ago, may help
you to share the feeling of excitment of reading about the concert prior to the big event.
The top two articles are courtesy of Bruce Lawrie and the
pictures are courtesy of Ernestine Eisenhouer and Keith
Balaam. The last article is from a '1974 In Concert Volume II ' book I
purchased years ago.
I urge everyone to
please sign the petition Majicat has placed up on the site. We hope one day this very rare
and wonderful performance will be available for all to view.
ABC In Concert - 'Moon
& Star ' Petition Drive
- Rare advertisement for the ABC In
Concert " Moon & Star "
- Courtesy of Bruce Lawrie
Stevens TV
Bow On ‘IN CONCERT’
NEW YORK__ Cat
Stevens, A&M Records artist, will make his national television debut for the US on
ABC-TV’s "In Concert" series. The entire 90 minute segment for Nov, 9 will
be devoted to Stevens' music with a number of surprise guests slated to perform his
material.
During Stevens’
performance taped before a live audience at the Aquarius Theatre in Hollywood, Stevens
will perform his 18 – minute " Foreigner Suite" without commercial
interruption.
Show is being
directed by Joshua White and produced by Sunny Schnier with Barry Krost the television
producer.
- TV Guide Advertisement and
placement for Friday November 9, 1973
- Courtesy of Ernestine
Eisenhouer
TV REVIEW
Stevens Portrait
Shows Artist in Right Light
As the first
anniversary of the late night TV rockers approaches, and the news of prime time music
shows also breaks, it’s equally exciting to see the first attempts at screening
entire shows built around strongest pop stars. ABC-TV’s " In Concert" has
been first through the gate with "Moon and Stars," screened November 6 in the
series' usual late night slot.
The Stevens special
pointed up both the inherent strengths of such an approach, and a few of the pitfalls.
Viewers were treated to a portrait of Stevens’ music of unusual depth, as Stevens
moved through material from various phases of his recording career since joining
A&M’s roster. The quality of the stereo-FM track for simulcast was excellent.
Showcasing the possible technical heights this medium could reach, and both Stevens and a
superb back-up including stalwarts Alun Davies, Jean Roussel and Gerry Conway, long time
Stevens collaborators, made that aspect of the show more than just a technical triumph.
Visually, the show
was also a tasteful effort, free from the surplus of quick cutting and "action"
slots that have often plagued rock on television and proved distracting rather than
compelling. The current addiction to star filters – that turn points of light on the
image into prismatic flares – was probably the only flaw here, being rather overused.
Yet, the show itself
hit many lulls, despite some strong changes of pace provided by Linda Rondstadt and Dr.
John. Each performing a Stevens' composition, and by one of the show’s highlights, an
excellent animated version of Stevens’ drawings of Teaser and the Firecat riding an
moonshadow (and naturally framed by that song). The shows flow was broken by the necessary
flurry of commercial breaks. Late night shows have long been plagued by those breaks, but
here it was the sheer frequency that proved the problem.
Stevens is a dark
and quiet personality and the show was virtually without any spoken comment. While small
screen addicts might have been disappointed by the lack of chatter, it was a refreshing
departure from the usual inanity of forced conversations that are often included to
provide humor or personality. There may well be artists who in such a special could talk
to us as well; Stevens seemed more comfortable just singing and it helped give the show a
more natural feel.
SAM
SUTHERLAND
This advertisement
picture and placement appeared in the New York Daily News - television section of
the newspaper.
Courtesy of Ernestine
Eisenhouer
CAT
STEVENS
Cat Stevens broke a
guitar string in the middle of a song and the jam-packed audience at the
Aquarius Theater in Hollywood applauded the full 55 seconds it took him to replace it. And
when the British superstar politely asked director Joshua White if he could do one song
over again for the cameras, the audience went wild.
That’s how
eager the hundreds of Cat Stevens fans were to groove on his music.
The memorable
occasion was the taping of the "In Concert" segment starring Cat Stevens, on the
ABC Television Network’s "ABC Wide World of Entertainment." The show marks
Stevens’ American television debut and is his first American appearance in a year.
His powerful
performance put to rest rumors that the 25-year old star’s absence from the stage was
due to a recurrence of the respiratory ailment that hospitalized him several years ago.
It was the
inevitable conflict between art and commercialism that eventually took its toll on the
young singer-composer, who was born Steve Georgiou. Following instant stardom at the age
of 17, came the unending TV interviews, recording sessions, performance dates, tension,
hassling and bad feelings.
Recalling those
turbulent days, Stevens says, "I used to dread recording. For days I’d worry and
think about that studio, full of blank, uncaring, bored session men who were going to play
my music.
"And every
time, in would go my music and out would come their music — technically perfect and
perfectly antiseptic. It was my music and they would kill me with it."
During his
convalescence Stevens came to grips with the problem that so often plagues creative
artists.
"Once
you’re a success it becomes very difficult to judge things; people love anything you
do," he says. "But it’s important for me to try new things, different
things, even if they fail."
When Stevens left
the hospital and returned to a recording studio he was assured complete artistic
integrity. He came out with "Mona Bone Jakon" (1969), an album that swept across
Europe and rose into the Top Ten in France. He played to sellout crowds in Holland and
Germany, and did a national television concert in Paris.
This year, Stevens recorded
"Foreigner," the first album on which he is also producer, and the LP is
currently rising to the top of the charts. It features "Foreigner Suite," an
18-minute tour de force he performs on "In Concert."
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