ROCK • A • RAMA

ROCK . A . RAMA

This month s Rock-a-ramas were written by Michael Davis, Richard Riegel, Jeffrey Morgan, Rick Johnson and Robot A. Hull.

ELLEN McILWAINE—(United Artists)::This oughtta send all the solo simper sisters scurrying for safety. True, the production veers too close to the recent Raitt route for comfort but if that means Ellen's sassy slide leads are too infrequent, her voice still ain't takin' no lip from woman, man, or mixing board.

M.D.

MARIA MULDAUR—Southern Winds (Warner Bros.)::Have you noticed fjow all the (male) critics have suddenly ganged up on Maria Muldaur's reputed weight gain, ready to consign her and the extra pounds to the vocalist scrapyard for good? Worse yet, Ms. Muldaur's record company has gone along with this morphological assassination, by substituting an idealized painting of Maria for a photo of her stilllovely self, on the cover of the new set. When's the last time you read a record review pointing out that among James Taylor's band, for instance, Russ Kunkel is getting real bald, or that Leland Sklar is quite a tub beneath those figureflattering bib overalls? (You just did.)

R.R.

DISCOBALLS—Rosebud: A Tribute To Pink Floyd (Atlantic);:If the Germans were the real Master Race in rock 'n' roll for the past two years, then you've got to hand it to them Frenchmen for claiming this year's prize so early. I thought that disco covers went out with John Williams' Monster Orchestra versions of Cole Porter's tunes, but this has just got to be the last word. I mean, are you ready for a disco version of "Interstellar Overdrive"? Really ready? Syd was, but that was ten years ago. And look where he is now.

J.M.

RANDY BACHMAN—Survivor (Polydor):: Proving once again that you can take the beef away from the farm, but you can't expect it not to moo.

R.J.

DOCTORS OF MADNESS—(United Artists)::The Doctor's first Stateside house call is too late to revive the corpse of their career. There are moments when the eyeballs seem to flutter—an abrasive violin line here, a good lyric there—but the whole idea of releasing a 2-record set of rock 'n' roll suicides during the year of "Stayin' Alive" is hopeless. Back to med school till '84, gang; we might need ya then.

M.D.

HEAD EAST (A&M)::So the Head Easters (fave ramjam band of every Greater St. Louis arena-hopper) are dressed up in a nicely cryptic, import-appearing record jacket this time around, well-tailored by A&M to sell these Middlewesterners to the enlightened denizens of the coastal cities? Yeah, and besides, Head East do indulge fewer pretensions than their regional compatriots in Kansas, but is the effort worth it? Nostalgia for the hippie years is its own reward, but at least John Schlitt's vocals have nice John Lawton overtones for the duration.

R.R.

MADLEEN KANE—Rough Diamond (War ner Bros)::So Madleen's not your average discosex thumper, naww, not much. (Even if she isn't on Casablanca.) "In all innocence...She is just nineteen." Which almost exactly describes this Swedish discobombshell with the heavy makeup and the fur fetish. Mebbe she'll get some continental beauty and all that, bet the nuns back at the convent wouldn't even let her listen to Donna Summer (at least not after 10 P.M.).

R.R.

THE PALEY BROTHERS (Sire):: Why bother to re-create the Beach Boys here in 1978? (Unless you already are the Beach Boys, in which case revivals are still touch-and-go, "Almost Summer" notwithstanding.) The Paley Bros, aren't Andy's old Sidewinders, for sure, and they're also not the new Everly Bros, some pundits have claimed. But let's just say Billy and Bobby Alessi are going to have to watch out for the Paleys in the postpartum-pop dept. Personally, I'm afraid that the Paley kids may have been overdosing on WASP piety up in their magnificant old Boston house.

R.R.

JACK CLEMENT—AH I Want To Do In Life (EIektra)::Ex-rockabilly releases debut LP disguised as Burl Ives' goat! It's a real ripsnort to hear this ole coot croak his way thru country krassics accompanied by flutes and lutes & assorted babes in toyland. Such gimmick-laden, feather-weight tunes haven't been around since Van Dyke Parks decided to discover America. Undoubtedly, only this ancient author of "Egg Sucking Dog" & "Flushed from the Bathroom Of Your Heart" could even get away with the silliness of "Queen Bee." Yet despite his cute playfulness & senile eccentricity, Clemens has created a unique & comical LP that in '78, long with Clayton's Border Affair & Ely's Honky Tonk Masquerade, stands apart fromt he country mainstream of schlock conrpone.

R.A.H.