ROCK • A • RAMA

ROCK • A • RAMA

RECORDS

This month's Rock-a-ramas were written by Richard Riegel, Billy Altman, Richard C. Walls, and Michael Davis.

THE WONDER BAND—Stairway To Love (Atco):: Right, kids, we've already had disco reinterpretations of classic English rock tunes from the songbooks of everybody from the Stones to The Animals to the Spencer Davis Group, so the definitive disco-revision of Led Zeppelin's catalog has been long since overdue. Fellow Atlantic Recording Corp. employees, the Wonder Band, tackle the Zep's two biggest hits, "Stairway To Heaven" and "Whole Lotta Love," with commendable disco flair. These covers should prove palatable even to the most fervent Zep loyalist, as the time's certainly ripe for even 10-year-old metalosaurs to move on into the new age of music. Hey Jim(my)/Bob,„ disco's ARRIVED; the Stones do know, 'n the li'l girls understand! R.R.

ART GARFUNKEL-Fate For Breakfast (Columbia)::"Listen ma, why don't ya leave me alone? I know Paul's doing fine, but I don't mind making records that nobody listens to and playirtg schlemiels in lousy Mike Nichols movies. It's a living. And I'm happy. Can I have another bagel?" B.A.

NIGEL OLSSON—Nigel (Bang)::My apologies to the Faith Band for drubbing their debut album so mercilously in the April Rama; after I had consigned those faithful Indiana sloggers to stylistic oblivion for the unwelcomed revival of the long-discredited Eagles-epic, unemployed Elton John drummer Nigel Olsson (once known as the "sexy" cog in E.J.'s band, Since he had honest-to-goodness long hair) went and had a major radio hit with the Faith Band's signature tune, "Dancin' Shoes." Not that Olsson's cover makes the original sound any better in retrospect, as he lifted the Faith Band's winey arrangement wholesale, but if you just have to have that song musically cringing denial of its own lyrics, please buy the original Faith Band version, and give oF American known-how its rightful dye. R.R.

MEADOWLARK LEMON—My Kids (Casa <b!anca)::You know things are slipping at Bogart's headquarters, cuz Mr. Lemon doesn't even do "Sweet Georgia Brown" disco-style, and that's a bad business move. Who's gonna buy this record anyway? The Washington Generals? B.A.

WHITESNAKE—Trouble (U.A.)::Deep Purple were one of the best dumb ideas in an era deemably moronic period of pop music, and their always-clever noise-churn was the heavy metal archetype of the age. Despite (maybe because of) innumerable' personnel changes, the beloved Purple protp-bombast continued to zoom along so relentlessly intact, that its apparent immortality finally frighten off its own creators. Still, ideas whose times have come all over the wall aren't easily discarded, and D.P. founder and keyboard emperor Jon Lord has rejoined one-time Purp vocalist David Cloverdale in the latter's Whitesnake for this LP go 'round. Their reunion sound is decidedly Purpleinflected, if somewhat thinner on top' Still,/ there's plenty of Kiss-guifaring and Bad Company-penile screeching for fans with rather more "contemporary" tastes. Now, if we could just persuade Whitesnake to merge with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, that could be retro-rock with a feeling... R.R.

BADFINGER—Airwaves (Elektra)::The return, after four years, of one of the less offensive purveyors of studio rock and undigested Beatle licks (puked up whole). The idea of being McCartney/Lennon sound-clones isn't as commercially ingenious as it used to be what with effective extensions (Cheap Trick), waning interest, and the unrelenting public rotting of the real thing (Wings). Still, a lingering ersatz nostalgia for the unreal thing is herein satisfied.

R.C.W.

LUTHER RABB—Street Angel (MCA):: Okay, so now War suddenly splits into a whole gang ol engaging solo §tars in multiple-permutation bands, a la the P-Funk empire, with shdwman/bassist Rabb emerging as the paralleluniverse Bootsy What's-his-name? Yeah, right, and this is equally worthwhile stuff, loud, exuberant music that's interchangably disco and hard rock. Fact, the lead guitar of (yet another) Robert Palmer is so nice and loud that you may not even notice the disco-heartbeat humping of the massed strings until you're already three or four cuts into this. R.R.

RICKIE LEE JONES (Warner Bros.)::You mighta heard that savvy li'l Rickie's a female Tom Waits, lappin' up the L.A. lowlife and spittin' it back with spunk 'rF funk. But there's more: she's nyro to Laura when she goes for them high aches and she's closer to bratty Patti when she goes for them gutter giggles. I wish she was closer to me right now; I'd 'company her coolsville anytime. M.D.

NEIL SEDAKA—All Yo* Need Is The Music (Elpktra)::This is a great album, really wonderful. I especially liked the part where he sings "Smoke some dope/Killed the pope/Got a rope/And hung myself." At least that's what I think he sang. I wasn't really listening too hard.

TRILLION (Epic)::"A sound so big, it's staggering," read the ads and they're right. You'd be staggering too if you were stuck between Styx and Starcastle. M.D.

HERBIE HANCOCK—Feets Don't Fail Me Now (Columbia):: "Keep on goin' 'til you drop (don't stop)/Feels so good don't stop, don't stop/Stop/Keep on goin' 'til you drop (don't stop)/Feels so good don't stop, ckm't stop/Stop/ Keep on goin' 'til you drop." R.C.W.

TKO—Let It Roll (Infinity);:Now that heavy metal's dead and buried (so why-are you praising Whitesnake, dummy?), H/M groups are proliferating like swing-type bands did in the late 40's, when that scene was already played out. TKO have a good, chunky, raspy sound, not bad for what it is (what it is, is 1973, punk!), but not oyerly impressive when stacked up against all the rock 'n' roll history we've witnessed since this stuff was in vogue. Still, these guys are production stablemates of the everpumping Heart, so TKO may achieve gilt-byassociation yet. R.R,