ROCK • A • RAMA

ROCK • A • RAMA

DOBIE GRAY - Drift Away (Decca):: Dude’s come a long way from “The In Crowd” to pleading to “Drift Away” on the mists (?... well, yeah, now that I think of it) of rock 'n' roll with quasi-supersession Nashville backup for the cable. A moody, pleasant album — even the customary banalities go down easily: “Lay Back” follows “Rockin’ Chair” and it all sounds fine in or out of the dentist’s chair.

BARBARA KEITH (Reprise):: Oh, you know, she wrote “Free the People,” Barbra Streisand’s cover of Delaney and Bonnie’s version of which was nifty as a noodle but no “Stoney End” hence not a hit. Period? No, she also had an album on Verve that nobody remembered but A. J. Weberman: he told Bob Dylan, in that famous phone conversation so many bootleg tapes of which have circulated the country, that Barbara “Keif” was better than Dylan. Maybe that’s why the first song here is “All Along the Watchtower.” Or maybe it was just so’s she could get people to listen. Anyway she’s got problems. Among them are: her singing / her guitar and piano playing / the fact that her songs are not good enough to take seriously / the fact that they’re not funny-dumb enough to enjoy on a Laurie Styvers / Lindy Stevens / Patti Miller level. O where is the new Melanie?

MOSE ALLISON - Seventh Son (Prestige):: Mose is pretty bland these days and has been for some time, but back in the Fifties and very early Sixties he made several albums for Prestige that comprised a very distinctive, strongly rock V roll influenced style of funky vocals-and-piano jazz that proved to be more influential (on people like Jimi Hendrix, for instance) than it was given credit for at the time. This is a reissue of a repackage of some of Mose’s best vocals on Prestige, and it’s still worth getting if only for the chance to hear the original version of the song the Who recorded as “Young Man Blues.”

JIMMY CLIFF AND OTHER ARTISTS -The Harder They Come — Original Soundtrack (Mango):: But not quite as nice as this. Cliff may be the main man of the Kingston doings, and this film could put him into the spotlight at least. The music is a bit crisper and more varied than the Wailers new stuff, and there’s not a throwaway on the album, a rarity for film soundtracks. Also making an appearance is Desmond Dekker (remember Desmond Dekker & the Aces’ “Israelites?”), among others. Look, this reggae stuff is catching on (even the new J. Geils single, “Give it to Me,” is heavily reggae-influenced), so get on the bandwagon before the fancy passes.

BOBBY WOMACK - Original Motion Picture Score: Across 110th Street (United Artists) and Understanding (UA):: Womack at his best is strong indeed, a major contemporary soul stylist who’s rarely given the credit he deserves. Both his singing and guitar work manage a rare fusion of mellowness and intensity, and in spite of the fact that he’s occasionally prey to the current grievous soul music propensity toward Brotherhood Week cliches, his sense of musical humor mere than saves the day. Like when “I Can Understand It” breaks repeatedly into “Running Bear’s” rhythm, obviously a gesture of solidarity with our red brothers. And “Harry Hippie,” of course, is a contemporary classic which should be listened to by all white Left politicos: “How can I help ’im/ If he’s somewhere outa town,” indeed. The Womack sections of the soundtrack are good but not worth buying the record for, since the J. J. Johnson themes which take up half of it are standard movie score fare.

THE BYRDS — Gene Clark, Chris Hillman, Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Michael Clarke (Asylum):: Yep, the original Boids is back together arid you better act fast ’cause you can never tell when they might break up again. But if they stay together1 for awhile, and if they keep regressing at the rate they are on this album, they might make a good record again some day.

ELLEN McILWAINE - We The People (Polydor):: Hell, I want to say nice things about this girl. She’s got loads of talent, heaps of artistic integrity, and a voice that matches Barbra Streisand’s for sheer acrobatic flexibility. But she can’t rock like Elkie Brooks, can’t play guitar like April Lawton, doesn’t have tits like Claudia Lennear, and can’t melt like Joni Mitchell. All she can do is show off her talent, integrity, and vocal acrobatics. Sorry, Ellen.

PINK FLOYD - Dark Side, of the Moon (Capitol):: Woooooooooo, Zeeeepraaahh mmmmmmmmmmmmmssic bluuuuuuuusctch quaaaaaaaaloooooooood faaaaaaaaaaaar ooouuuuuttt (to be read in quadrophonic sound).

ELVIN BISHOP - Rock My Soul (Epic):: He won’t slay ya, but at least his music ain’t as baggy as his pants anymore. Cross-index with Boz Scaggs.