ROCK · A · RAMA

ROCK · A · RAMA

This month's Rock-a-ramas were written by Michael Davis, Robot A. Hull, Richard Riegel, Simon Frith, Doctor Oldie and Big Al.

FOCUS—Focus Con Proby (Harvest):: Geez, even when you're not looking for irony, it comes up and clobbers you over the head. Thijs van Leer reforms the band with some new personnel and what's the biggest problem? Lack of focus, natch. They try everything from ersatz Procol Harum plodhoppers to fusion flashers, connecting about half the time. It's nice to see the Once-notorious P.J. Proby back in action but the lyrics he's asked to sing are so dismal, you wind up listening to the speedy guitars of Philip Catherine and Eef Albers (ain't that a name) instead. At least they had the (1) good sense or (2) blind luck (pick one) to put all the good stuff on side one. M.D.

JOHN MARTYN—One World (Island):: Yahoo, a folkie with wallop! Been true to this songwriter's plucking ever since him & Bev. laadeedahed their hearts out on Road To RuinMartyn always sounded like he'd had a barrel of stout and was gonna belch thunder at any moment. For the past five albums, Martyn, like Norman Mailer, has continually thrown punches, remaining oblivious to the consequences of appearing foolish (most evident on Inside Out's fuzzy experimentation). With poetic gusto, tho, Martyn eventually comes through. He usually gets in a jam when he tries to go funky or worms too close to MOR jazz, but this album only has traces of such wanderings; it flows gently, unifying the cosmos with its special Music of the Spheres. In other words, for those down-to-earth types—great dope muzak, Jack! R.A.H.

COMA—Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (MGM)::Wotta natural-born album for all you punked-out CREEM$ters! 1 mean, being comatose is just about the ultimate minimalism, ain't it? All kidding aside, both sides of this set lead off with a lilting jingle entitled "Love Theme From Coma" (straight and "disco" versions), and that coupling may say more about our era than we care to know. Aesthetically speaking, Coma's "A Chance Encounter" hardly approaches that sterling standard of ominous backgrounding set by "Fin Repair Sequence" (on the Hindenburg soundtrack, of course), but. these are different, times we're living in, doncha know. R.R.

MORRIS JEFFERSON—Spank Your Blank Blank (Parachute)::Yeah, leave it to Kiss-mydisco Casablanca to put even S&M to the allconsuming machine thump; this is a concept album about spanking, with titles like "To Spank With Love," "Dr. Spank," etc., all written and produced by that dominatrickster "Maurice Commander". Complete with cover photo of a (female) butt catching some real good whacks, and an insert diagramming the "Spank With Love" dance steps, no less. Ye godz! At least Yrash like this will help bring disco to its knees (so to speak). R.R.

BUZZCOCKS—Another Music In A Different Kitchen (United Artists):: An early punk band with a belated album debut. The Buzzcocks have a reputation for clever originality and lyrically I don't doubt it (even if it took me eight plays to realize that what I thought was the witty chorus, "We hate Buzzcocks!" was really the commonplace "We hate fast cars!"). But musically they don't depart far from well established punk cliches and while I'll listen to this a lot I don't think I'll ever get to recognize it from a hundred paces. S.F.

SANTA ESMERALDA—House Of The Rising Sun (Casablanca)::Okay, so Santa Esmeralda is one more semi-anonymous band of studio grinds cranking out der Disco for ovarian-tubed Casablanca, but at least somebody in the group had the good taste to follow the Animals' songbook on down the line; this LP trades in on the group's recent success in reviving "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" with a similarly-discobumpized "House Of The Rising Sun" that steals Alan Price organ licks left and right. And there's even "Hey! Gip"; a reworking of the old Donovan/Animals raver, in which the reggae-inflected Jimmy Goings entreats his lady with an "I'll buy you a sugar cube!" (Eric B. couldn't 'a said it better!) 'Ey, mon, now how 'bout "Sky Pilot"? R.R.

CHICK COREA—The Mad Hatter (Poly dor)" Chick's new LP is so diverse that there are things to enjoy and/or annoy almost everyone. The positive stuff includes a growing sophistication in the use of synthesizers,! the post Bartok string arrangements, and the use of Eddie Gomez, thus proving to Chick's.sizeable following that there are other bass players besides Stanley Clarke: But Gayle Moran's dippy lyrics and essence-of-purity vocals never fail to make my needle recoil in disgust; too bad she, doesn't pull a real Alice In Wonderland number and disappear down a rabbit hole. M.D.

JOHNNY BURNETTE & THE ROCK N' ROLL TRIO—Tear It Up (Solid Smoke):: Some of us have been waiting twenty years for this album. The Burnette brothers, Johnny and Dorsey, formed rock 'n' roll's first power trio with Paul Burlison back in 1953', and it was their 1956 version of Tiny Bradshaw's "The Train Kept A-Rollin' " (complete with primitive fuzztone guitar sounds) that inspired the Yardbirds to cover the song twice (on HauingA Rave Up and the Blow-Up soundtrack). From Beck & company, it's only a hop and a skip to Aerosmith, who Resurrected it on Get Your Wings. (Ain't history grand?) Now, at least, you can hear it again by the Burnette Trio along with sixteen more of their cuts from the 50's (several never previously issued in the U.S.). Just send $6.98 to Solid Smoke Records, Box 22372, San Francisco, CA 94122. Outstanding and it is legal. Dr. Oldie don't push no bootlegs.

D.O. & B.A.