Eddie Money pays his dues

Press, 19 April 1979, Page 16

Eddie Money pays his dues

EDDIE MONEY “Life For The Taking” (CBS SBP 237249): Eddie Money, who was voted second in the new artists category of the “Rolling Stone” readers’ poll this year, is now paying his dues.

The success of his first album, “Eddie Money,” has meant that a lot more effort has gone into the making of “Life For The Taking,” including a horn section arranged by the übiquitous Tom Scott (of the L.A. Express) and a string section.

Eddie Money is still a classic rock and roll artist, but the use of the extra strings and horn section has knocked the rough edges off his songs, so that there are no standout songs like “Two Tickets to Paradise,” or “Baby, Hold On.”

The more sophisticated rock is suitable for American FM, and a close listen gives a good taste of the difference in Money’s talents, especially the last two tracks on side two.

“Nobody” and “Call On Me” use the string and horn sections separately to great effect, and “Maybe I’m A Fool” is a typical Money solid rocker.

But other songs let the side down a little, especially "Maureen,” a bit too much like the classic “Gloria” for my tastes.

Money is still worth while, but “Life For The Taking” is a bit devalued when compared with his debut album.

MICHAEL FRANKS “Tiger In The Rain” (WEA BSK 2394): Once again Michael Franks has come up with the goods in his typical feather-light, jazz-

flavoured songs on “Tigers In The Rain.”

None of the songs come on as strongly or as sweetly as “The Lady Wants To Know” or “Bwana — He No Home” off his second album, “Sleeping Gypsy,” but they still make for relaxed, late-night listening.

Franks describes his songs as being “occasional pieces” and in a way that is what they are. He takes bits of his own experiences and makes them into songs. In one sense Franks reminds one of the simple man’s Randy Newman. He has none of the bite but the sly humour is there, as on the urban paradise in “Underneath The Apple Tree,” or “Satisfaction Guaranteed.” He can also be a little closer to home in his reflections of human rela-

tionships in “When It’s Over” and “Lifeline.” Franks has lost none of his feeling for Brazil, and with a good line-up of musicians like Ron Carter and Flora Purim, the album is musically successful.

BLUES BROTHERS “Briefcase Full Of Blues” (Atlantic SD 19217): The cover of “Briefcase Full Of Blues” features the Blues Brothers, alias National Lampoon and Saturday Night Live types, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, looking menacingly like gangsters — nice guys who would ask for your mother in instalments if you failed to pay the loan.

Setting up a little story about the legendary Blues Brothers on the album sleeve — Joliet Jake Blues languishing in prison after failed gas station hold-ups and Elwood Blues working nights in a factory, they come together with the likes’ of Steve “The Colonel” Cropper, Donald “Duck” Dunn, and Steve “Getdwa” Jordan (also Tom “Triple Scale” Scott of the L.A. Express mob) and produce an album that is exuberant R and B. It is a put-on that succeeds as the band plays tight and hard on the classic Floyd Dickson song “Hey Bartender” and Junior Wells’s “Messin’ With The Kid.” The album resurrects old blues numbers and the rhythm section really hammers against the horn section’s counterpoints, as the Blues Brothers attempt to defeat the “Here it is the late 70s going on 1985 when so much of what we hear today is pre-pro-grammed electronic disco.”

So for those wanting to escape that fate and at the same time have some great fun with great music, a taste of “Rubber

Biscuit” will really suit the palate.

THE RUBINOOS “The Rubinoos” (Beserkley L 36649): Like the Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers album, “The Rubinoos” have been out for quite some time. However, it is only now that the Beserkley lable from Berkeley, California, like Sire, is really starting to move. The Rubinoos, are a step backward into 60s classic pop rock without sounding - pretentious or nostalgic. For instance, they take the Tommy James and the Shondells’ hit “I Think We’re Alone Now” and make something new out of the romantic yearnings by awakening adolescents. However, unlike the James version, the intent is very clear in John Rubin’s soaring vocals. Most of the other songs are originals, including “Hard To Get,” which features clavinet against a counterplay by a 12-string guitar. The Rubinoos have not had so much fun since The Raspberries, taking the best of pop and turning it into something new.