Nylons get shredded

Arts editor Dean Robbins rips the Nylons' three-night stand at the Madison Civic Center's Oscar Mayer Theatre, writing that they "remind me of a wimpy white group like the Capris: cutesy arrangements, leaden vocals, sanded-down harmonies and timbre." The Nylons' biggest problem, Robbins suggests, is their lack of a passable lead singer and voices that "are way out of their league on oldies like ‘I Second That Emotion' and ‘Up On the Roof.' (On Fridays the low point was a pathetic stab at the Temptations' ‘Papa Was a Rollin' Stone.')... It's easy to see why Pizza Hut and Levi's picked up on the Nylons for their TV ads," Robbins concludes. "The music makes you feel vaguely happy for about 30 seconds, but doesn't really have enough substance to distract you from the important information about pan pizza and blue jeans." With Arnold Robinson's retirement early this year, Claude Morrison is the sole Nylons member from those concerts who continues to perform with the a cappella quartet, which has been a constant Madison visitor over the years. Their most recent album is the 2006 release, Sterling. The Nylons' Christmas Show tour wraps up this Friday in Ontario, and their next tour begins in early February.