IN BRIEF

Rip It Up, Issue 31, 1 February 1980, Page 12

IN BRIEF

Bonnie Raitt, The Glow (Warner Bros) Former Beatle-protege Peter Asher handles production chores for Bonnie Raitt’s seventh album. Wisely, he hasn’t tampered with the Raitt style. She traverses a wide range of material, the new (including that rarity, a song by Raitt herself) and the near-forgotten (her re-working of Little Richard's “The Girl Can’t Help It” is an object lesson in that seldom-heeded truism, less is more). Those who already know her work will be as pleased as those discovering it for the first time. KW David Werner, David Werner (Epic) Slick New Yorker produces a few surprises in his first run in the albums’ race. Ably supported by a strident formative road band that verges on controlled heavy metal, Werner’s songs emerge as forceful melodic hybrids of pop/rock romance. The first side, in particular, rarely steps out of line and on "Melanie Cries” Werner has a love song that screams to be a single. Impressive. GK The Jukes, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes (Mercury) Southside joins a new label and severs his connection with producer-songwriter Steve Van Zandt. The result is a very dull set. Van Zandt’s songs apparently gave Southside as much as he gave them. - Is Johnny to meet the not uncommon fate of the one-time cult artist as public acceptance blossoms the creative spark dims? KW Johnny Guitar Watson, What the Hell is This? (DJM) Who says good music can’t be fun? If it’s good humour you seek, spiced with witty lyrics and larded with funk, take a listen to Johnny Guitar Watson, a rock and roll veteran now making small masterpieces in an area once the preserve of Leiber and Stoller and the Coasters. Beneath Watson’s street-wise raps, the music bubbles, by turns cool and greasy. Apart from developing one of the truly individual guitar sounds (Frank Zappa cites his influence) Watson plays nearly all the instruments with consummate ease. KW The Dukes, The Dukes (Warner Bros) The Dukes line-up reads like a third rate supergroup: the late Jimmy McCulloch (Thunderclap Newman, Stone the Crows, Wings), Ronnie Leah (Stone the Crows), Miller Anderson (Keef Hartley) and Charlie Tumahai (Be Bop DeLuxe). Anderson shoulders the songwriting chores and inspired he ain’t, and to make matters worse neither Leahy nor McCulloch can add fire to the dull ordinariness of the songs. Not a fitting epitaph for Jimmy McCulloch. GK Foreigner, Head Games (Atlantic) This stuff is so plainly music by numbers, a carefully crafted synthesis of the most bankable aspects of heavy metal, that it is impossible to take seriously. But worse than the overblown silliness of Foreigner is an ugly streak of misogyny running through the material. Rock has always had songs which dealt less than kindly with women, but it seems to be Foreigner's stock-in-trade. And if they don’t believe the message then they're determinedly cynical, and offensive beyond mere stupidity. KW Edgar Winter, The Edgar Winter Album (Epic) Having tried his hand at virtually every trend from blue-eyed soul to glitter and back again, Edgar Winter now turns to disco. It’s a pretty dismal affair. Cliches can be fun, but Winter’s unrelenting seriousness leaves the album devoid of any sense of lift. It’s a sad waste, because he displays an improved singing voice and his horn lines are interesting. Perhaps it is the fate of the Winter brothers that when Edgar’s up Johnny’s down, and vice versa. KW Wire, 154 (Harvest) Wire is one of the few old punk bands to develop into areas generally considered by most to be commercially unrewarding and musically dangerous. In 154 Wire have abandoned the toe-in-the-water diffidence of Chairs Missing for convincing total commitment to their idea of music as some sort of jarring comment on the harsher aspects of life. They successfully walk the fine edge between sheer pretentiousness and controlled experimentation, but because of its

ascetic character it is even less likely to succeed commercially than their previous two albums. And that is a cryin'shame. GK Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons (Rockburgh) Each to their own, but to me there is little more exciting than a good honking rock-and-soul band in full strike. Funkybutt; the Stax artists had it, and Aretha and Wilson Pickett, and once upon a time Mitch Ryder, and the Young Rascals. Far from Muscle Shoals or Memphis, Australia’s Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons have it in abundance. In full cry, singer-saxist Joe Camilleri is hard to top. This compilation album showcases the group downhomecooking on 12 tracks, the best of which is Bobby Womack’s “It’s All Over Now.” KW John Cougar, Miami (Warner Bros) At one time, not too long ago either, Cougar could have passed for a male model trying to play featureless heavy rock but now he’s ditched his wardrobe, roughed himself up a bit and come up with a bunch of damn good songs in a John Fogerty-Gasoline Alley Rod Stewart mould. In keeping with his new-found unkempt bravado the songs lyrically are self-consciously tough, but his tunes and arrangements are the best he's managed to date. Change of name needed though. . GK Nicolette Larson, In the Nick of Time (Warner Bros) Can a talented back-up singer take centrestage and find true happiness? Can Nicolette Larson, former vocal accompanist (Neil Young, Commander Cody), turn an ability to handle a variety of song styles (rock ballad, Motown, 1940-ish boogie woogie) into a convincing personal voice? On this showing, she remains a much-touted but minor talent. KW Michael Chapman, Life On the Ceiling (Criminal Records) Starting innocently enough as a folkie, Chapman has, however, ventured deeper into the realms of rock with each successive album. Surrounded by the finest sessioneers that money can buy and his old side-kick Rick Kemp on bass, Chapman need have no regrets over the painstaking quality of this album, his first in over eighteen months. Standouts are the seven minute “Babe”, a strong moving love song, and "End of the Line” which wouldn’t have been out of place on the first Dire Straits album. Where the songs are weak the band's effortless panache and Tom Atlom's immaculate production save the day. Worth investigation. . GK Leonard Cohen, Recent Songs (CBS) The lugubrious-voiced Canadian return’s to a small-group setting for an album that can easily stand with his best work of earlier years. The unavoidable monotony of Cohen’s vocal style is balanced by the vocal support of Jennifer Warnes and the group arrangements, which manage to sound modern without overpowering or detracting from the literate content of Cohen’s songs. KW The Stranglers, The Raven (United Artists) The Stranglers have yet to make a completely satisfactory album. Just when they hit that wide-legged groove (as in their best singles) Hugh Cornwall’s codpiece posing as an experimental brain gets in the way. The Raven then is their usual blend of satanic claptrap and chunky rock’n’roll the title track and "Baroque Bordello” being prime and welcome examples of the latter. So another patchy piece of posturing but it will do until someone has the sense to release The Stranglers Greatest Hits. GK The Charlie Daniels 3and. Million Mile Reflections (Epic) The corpulent fiddler turns in persuasive country rock music with the emphasis on goodtiming. We’ve all heard "The Devil Went Down to Georgia” more than enough, but it’s only the iceberg’s tip. This is a very fine album with CDB exploring areas beyond pure country. This may be the influence of producer John Boylan, who has worked with the Little River Band. It’s not a total success "Rainbow Ride”, a lengthy piece in the manner of jazz-fusion, is a muddle but there are more than adequate compensations in the updated Western Swing of “Jitterbug” and, especially, the wistful “Mississippi” which does for the Deep South what Hoagy Carmichael did for Georgia. KW Earl Klugh, Heart String (United Artists) This George Benson protege here relinquishes any claim to being a jazz artist. Admittedly, it is Klugh’s association with leading jazz players that caused him to be so labelled; erroneously, it would appear from Heart String where the little Klugh has to say on his acoustic guitars is often obscured by lush arrangements, meticulous and quite passionless. Klugh himself calls his music 'easy listening pop’. At least he isn’t as pretentious as most of this sounds. Music for the upwardly mobile elevator. KW Michael Nesmith, Infinite Rider on the Big Dogma (Stetson) One time exploited pop star, cowboy philosopher and now versatile MOR stylist, Michael Nesmith cooks up a pot pourri of styles and occasional fine songs on his new album ranging from tongue-in-cheek disco (“Capsule”), fifties pop ("Magic”) to barroom boogie on "Factions”. Entertaining, but the album is too diverse to succeed as an entity. GK Pointer Sisters, Priority (Planet) Producer Richard Perry has turned the Pointer Sisters into a tasty rock act, but in so doing he has eroded some of the charm of their earlier incarnation. Their songs are now culled from the better rock writers (Bruce Springsteen, Robbie Robertson, Bob Seger) rather than the jazz people of yore. At best “(She’s Got) The Fever”, for example the finely honed harmonies can be genuinely moving. Even in its lesser moments, such as the ill-chosen “Happy”, this makes a propulsive partying record. However, there remains a nagging feeling of chances not taken. KW

The Rezillos Mission Accomplished... But The Beat Goes On. Sire This Rezillos’ live package has been coolly received by the British critics. Could be that this has little to do with the quality of the album. The real reason being that the Rezillos did not want it released. Behind this reluctance on the band’s part was the inevitable friction following their split from Sire and subsequent break up. The Rezillos were the sort of trash pop band which sounds best live. Rough though the set maybe in parts it is fine testament to the band’s live appeal. .The hectic joint vocals of Fay Fife and Eugene Reynolds combined with the raucous guitar dominated sound, make for fun all the way. Highlights include a powerhouse version of “Somebody’s Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonite”, a number which Terrorways popularised in Auckland. “I Need You” and “Destination Venus” are also standouts. As the band has split we will never see them live but this album is almost adequate compensation. Of prime interest to the fan but also to any one who likes energetic disposable pop. After all it’s the best kind. Dominic Free Greg Kihn Band With the Naked Eye Beserkley Kihn is one of rock’s unsung small-time heroes capable of trotting out tasty and unassuming albums that are either overlooked in the rush or are just plain dismissed as slight and unimportant. Not fair. Signed to Beserkley three or so years back, Kihn's first two albums established his slightly laid back penchant for rockin’ out via mostly his own song output and a lean picking of nonoriginals be they Springsteen or Holly. With the Naked Eye follows the same pattern and like its predecessors its worst moments are never bad but merely forgettable, and the best are worth hanging on to. “In the Naked Eye” is in the latter class. politely up-tempo, it plots a neat, catchy melody with Dave Carpender’s guitar not far behind. Elsewhere “Fallen Idol” is a fine attempt at an epic finish and ’’Beside Myself” is compact and punchy rock’n’roll. Springsteen figures in the cover versions (again) in the crisp “Rendezvous” and Richman’s road anthem “Roadrunner” is effectively honed to a streamlined three minutes as Kihn wisely doesn't try to compete with the two orighnals laid down by his label mate. Greg Kihn, then, is Mr Dependable destined, it seems, to be regarded as inessential in the great scheme.of things, just tagging along until he quietly disappears. On the strength of his albums so far he deserves a better fate. George Kay Dragon Powerplay CBS On this, their final album, there's some good Dragon tunes. They’ve not changed their approach; it’s still catchy pop tunes over solid bass and drum bash. The standout is “Motor City Connection”, which opens the first side. It may not be another “April Sun” or “Get That Jive”, but it definitely has AM single qualities. New member Billy Rogers acquits himself well on vocals and sax, but his singing lacks the arrogance and intensity that distinguished Marc Hunter. Richard Lee’s electric violin adds very little to an already full line-up. The band plays with their usual finesse, the rhythm section staying simple but tight, with Taylor’s

guitar and Hewson's piano filling the gaps with taste. Peter Dawkin’s production is as clean as ever. My real beef is with the lyrics. Dragon write good tunes and arrange them well, but the words range from dire to mediocre. I could have stood it, but they printed them on the liner sleeve. At their age, they should know better. John Malloy John Cooper Clarke Disguise In Love CBS A rum one, this. Rock and poetry have never been entirely comfortable bedfellows. Patti Smith, for one, found it easier to integrate rather than to differentiate. By the same terms, lyrics don’t always function well in isolation from the music. John Cooper Clarke adopts a compromise, using music to back up his vicious, seamy little couplets. The backing tracks, penned by Martin Hannett and Steve Hopkins, complement the verse without overwhelming it. Once you get used to Cooper Clarke’s thick Manchester accent and machinegun delivery, the reason for his rising cult status in Britain becomes apparent. His poetry is witty and incisive, full of little barbs, and pulls no punches. Some of his topics may be a little too British for local comprehension, but character such as the jogger seeking eternal youth ("Health Fanatic”) and the goose-fleshed page three Sunday paper dolly (“Reader's Wives”) are universal. The two best tracks, however, are unaccompanied. "Psycle Sluts 1&2” portrays the leather girls with "pillion piles”, while “Salome Maloney” is the tragic tale of a palais de dance queen who breaks her neck falling from her high heels. Yer can’t ’elp laffin’. Not an album you'd play every day, but definitely worth having when you feel like the change that’s as good as a rest. John Cooper Clarke is no Byron, but he does give you your wordsworth. Duncan Campbell Flamin' Groovies Jumpin' In the Night Sire Originally a 60’s band, the Flamin’ Groovies have been caught in a time-warp for the last couple of years. Though their basic sound hasn't changed much since early days, their biggest hit a true pop classic “Shake Some Action”, featured on an early new wave compilation alongside the likes of the Ramones and Dead Boys. Jumpin’ In The Night is a solidly 60’s album. Right from the twanging guitar breaks to the fish-eye cover style used on the Stones’ High Tide & Green Grass. But the Groovies’ rather sparse sound doesn’t do much for pop milestones like “19th Nervous Breakdown”, "Please Please Me” or “Boys”. The album rocks and bops along, but lacks the punch and even the finesse of some of the other newer acts around these days. With all the resurgence of interest in 60's pop, Jumpin’ In The Night should provide nostalgia for some. After all, the Flamin’ Groovies are the genuine article. They were there when it was all happening, man. Paul McGowan

Rod Stewart Greatest Hits Warner Bros. This is the fourth (maybe even fifth) hits compilation from Stewart, although it is the first to deal with the Warners’ product that begins with Atlantic Crossing. Stewart fans will doubtless already possess most of these 10 tracks, but as a package of the man’s most popular material it would take some beating The tracks are divided by album thusly two from Atlantic Crossing, three from A Night On the Town, three from Foot Loose and Fancy Free, and one (“Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?”) from Blondes Have More Fun. From an earlier time comes “Maggie May” (courtesy of the previous record company, and not re-recorded as had been suggested). The simplicity, even crudity, of arrangement and production of “Maggie May” sits a little oddly among the bright lushness of the later American recordings, but it has a strutting bravado, a quality that made Stewart such a loveable rogue but which was eroded by advancing success. It may have been malice that wiped the murmurings of Britt Ekland from the closing bars of "Tonight’s the Night” but it also erases an unforgiveable piece of kitsch, for which I suppose one should be grateful. One might be more grateful for the inclusion of some of Stewart’s less remunerative but equally satisfying performances. While this album paints a picture of Rod Stewart successful pop singer, to complete the portrait one needs such heartfelt songs as "This Old Heart of Mine", “Fool For You”, or "(If Loving You is Wrong) I Don't Want to be Right.” Still, the album spine says what the label doesn’t this is Volume One. Ken Williams