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Sure, image is one thing, and Cole is very conscious of hers, but SNAP OUT OF IT â€" CLEAN THE WAX OUT â€" GIVE IT A SHAKE! It‘s Cole‘s vocal gymanstics that deserve first mention. Her voice is deep, sultry, and velvety smooth. It can turn on a dime, jump through hoops, weave it‘s way mischievously through a melody. It‘s simply one of the best voices to come out of Canada, or anywhere for that matter, in a long while. What‘s all this fuss about black elbowâ€"length gloves? y In practically évery description that ever there was of jazz singer Holly Cole, the first thing mentioned is the Jong black evening gloves â€" or the rubyâ€"red lipstick â€" or the shortâ€"fringed, 50sâ€"style, ravenâ€"black coiff. It would seem unlikely that a torch singer, no matter how talented, could find commercial success in this day and age. And unlike situations with many popular entertainâ€" ers, people aren‘t buying her records because they Holly Cole And that voice is earning her accolades here in her homeland, in Europe, and now in the everâ€"imâ€" penetrable U.S. But Cole‘s debut album (Girl Talk, released in 1990), has sold close to 40,000 copies. And her latest release, Blame it on My Youth is more than half way to the Gold Record 100,000 copy mark. Makes something old something new By Deborah Crandall "It‘s necessary for me to interpret a song my way. A lot of people are into nostalgia â€" it‘s in vogue to like jazz,‘‘ she says, alluding to performers like Harry Connick Jr. ‘‘And that‘s fine â€" but not for me." Don‘t miss an opportunity to see the Holly Cole Trio (Aaron Davis on piano and David Piltch on string bass) perform when the group returns to Waterloo for a gig at Humanities Theatre, Jan. 30 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $14.98 for nonâ€"UW students, and $12.84 for fullâ€"time UW undergrad students. So, she says, people are buying her records in spite of radio. ‘‘I think some radio sations are waking up a little bit,"‘ she says of the airplay she gets on the alternative airwaves. ‘"‘Stations like CFNY are playing my music a lot, actually."‘ Cole‘s latest release follows through with her debut effort‘s mix of "old standards‘‘ and contemâ€" porary works. But this time, she‘s taken the "old standards‘ and turned them into something all her own. She‘s almost extreme with her interpretations. Finding new meanings in songs, or discovering alternative underlying messages, is a natural progâ€" ression, Cole says. If she didn‘t do that â€" challenge herself to take a song further â€" she‘d go nuts. hear her songs on the radio. Mainstream radio doesn‘t play her music, not very often, anyway. ‘‘Every area has its own set of rules, often against total nudity. But the producers don‘t want to do the show with gâ€"strings, because that would be vulgarizing it," Hartley says. ‘‘For example, the nude ballet is lovely and very roâ€" mantic and natural â€" it looks prettier and nicer nude than it would if it were done in some kind of little outfit. There‘s another number in which the whole cast does kind of a comedy striptease, and that‘s done in a funâ€"loving way.‘‘ towns and cities have in place. But once city councils (like Kitchener‘s) are presented with the bare (oops) facts about the show‘s artistic valâ€" ue, shock subsides and com:â€" mon sense prevails ‘‘The producer took it to court, He brought in the origiâ€" nal director, and he won the case to be able to take the show there. But there are places that have there own specific rulings over this, Hartley says. "When we did the show in Israel, the censorâ€" ship board was not going to allow it in Tel Aviv. So the producer went and met with them, and (the censorship board) decided, because the authors of Oh, Calcutta! are such respectable writers, to let the show go on. But they made them cut one number." Hartley says one big probâ€" lem often faced by Oh, Calcutâ€" tal‘s producers is the "total As a choreographer, Hartley The inhibitions wear off after a while, and for a veteran of the show, the act of taking off the clothes for all the world to see is a breeze â€" until Mother â€" buys tickets You can be in the show tor more than two years so that you re totally used to the nudiâ€" Mothers® _ reactions . vary Hartley says. Some love to see their children up on the stage naked or not. And others aren‘t so sure ty â€" not nervous at all Hartley says | Then. all of a sudden, you mother s coming to town, and she s going to see the show You have a nervous breakdown all over again. That was the case with everyone. They d say, Oh my God â€" my mothers in the audience â€" now | feel really naked I was very nervous about it When | first heard about the show. | thought | would never be able to do that But some one told me they needed a dancer, | went for an audition and | saw how lovely the choreography was Hartiey says. ‘But when | had my first nude rehearsal with the cast | was a replacement and everyâ€" body else was used to being nude. So there | was feeling stupid That was more difficult than first pertorming nuge in front of an audience. When you don‘t know people and they‘re out behind the footâ€" lights, that‘s less nerveâ€"rack: ing than being in an intimate setting. (Continued on page 23)