CHRISTGAU CONSUMER GUIDE

CHRISTGAU CONSUMER GUIDE

Robert Christgau

Black music is subject to economic oppression just like all other aspects of black life in America. Until the advent of disco it was a singles music— the low median income of its consumers assured that. Radio outlets responded in kind, rarely programming album cuts, which meant in turn that producers concentrated on 45s to bait otherwise undistinguished albums. Not that it always worked this way—most of the artists below did put out terrific albums once in a while. But that's more a tribute to their overflowing talent than anything else, and in any case greatest-hits formats are still an ideal way to hear their music. If you can find them, that is—the economics of minor and major labels alike means that about half the 70's albums below, are functionally out of print. Happy binning.

THE CHI-LITES: 'Greatest Hits' (Brunswick '72):: The Delfonics and the Moments may have staked first claim on Eugene Record's love man, but Record demolishes the competition, if such a macho concept is permissible in this context (and it certainly is). Not only does he outwrite the other fellas, he doesn't trip over his bass man when the tempo speeds up or make a fool of himself when analyzing the dilemmas of contemporary civilization. The 15-song compilation includes the entire first side (plus one) of Give More Power To The People and may actually be too generous—it is possible to O.D. on this stuff. But everything you want is here, and what you think you don't want you might. A

CHI-LITES: "Greatest Hits, Vol. 2' (Brunswick '76):: They're still a better-thanaverage falsetto group, but their moment is past, and although they continue to handle brisk tempos more deftly than the competition, their accommodations to disco are just that—compromise, not expansions. Eugene Record's lyrics offer more than the music, which he often farms t?ut these days: 'A Letter To Myself' is classic silly self-pity, you can imagine how 'Homely Girl' turns out, and 'That's How Long' (which Record didn't write) is as graphic a song about old age as has ever made 54 in Billboard. B

TYRONE DAVIS: "Tyrone Davis' Greatest Hits" (Dakar '72):: I wouldn't quibble about this 16-song selection if the three-plus years it spans were long enough for one small factory to come up with 16 go-rillas in a medium tempo, the only one Davis knows. But though there's classic stuff here, only Davis' gamely anachronistic soul style—blues crooning with touches of grit, like a less sharply defined Bobby Bland or a softer Little Milton—provides interest most of the time. And too often Willie Henderson's horns (not to mention his strings) make you yawn anyway. B

ARETHA FRANKLIN: "Aretha's Greatest Hits'* (Atlantic '71):: Great stuff, but not the greatest—and not as consistent stylistically as I969's Aretha's Gold, -which it duplicates on 8 out of 14 cuts. As for the latest hits, well, Aretha's done, better recently than the contrived human kindness of 'Bridge Over Troubled Water,' the contrived religiosity of 'Let It Be,' and the contrived black consciousness of ''Spanish Harlem.' B +

MARVIN GAYE:' Marvin Gaya's Graatast Hits' (Tamla '76):: Even though, it omitted 'Inner City Blue^' while offering 'How Sweet It Is' and 'Can I Get A Witness' (already included on three other Marvin Gaye compilations and who knows how many Motown anthologies), I thought this might serve a function, since I find all of Gaye's'70's albums except Let's Get It On distressingly uneven. But '1 Want You,' 'After The v Dance,' and the live version of 'Distant Lover' are embarrassed by such stellar company. I guess when I want to hear 'Trouble Man' I'll put on Anthology. B-

AL GREEN: "A1 Grean's Graatast Hits' (Hi '75):: Green is less open and imaginative than Sam Cooke and less painfully wordwise than Smokey Robinson, but he belongs in their company, that of two of the half dozen prirhe geniuses of soul. His musical monomania substitutes Memphis for James Brown's Macon, and the consistency of his albums is matched only by Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, and Ray Charles, But because he spins music out over an area not much larger than a hankie, the albums also translate beautifully to a greatest hits format, and this is flawless. For those who refuse to be-, lieve the LPs contain hidden treasure and don't care that the singles 'all sound the same.' And for those, like me, who can go both ways with him. A

AL GREEN: "AI Green's Greatest Hits' Volume II (Hi '77):: I welcome this proof of the greatness of Green's lesser and later hits, but I'd prefer a more eccentric (hence accurate) and equally impressive selection—one that replaced the two non-singles from I'm Still In Love With You (a lengthened 'Love and Happiness' and 'For the Good Times,' live staples that typify his pop mode) with, for instance, 'There's No Way,' 'That's the Way It Is,' Snd 'Love Ritual.' A-

THE ISLEY BROTHERS: "Timeless' (TNeck '76):: The Isleys ai^e one of the great music. business success stories—in a decade when the artists were supposed to take over the industry, they're one of the few (along with Curtis -8 Mayfield, Jefferson Lear Jet) to make a go of 5 their own label. But though they put our excellent J product, producf is all it is. This two-LP compilation, in which their Buddah-distributed material reverts to the Isleys' company (it's virtually identical to Buddah*s 1976 The Best... package), reminds us that even back when they were inventing their schtick they were also victims of it. The only great songs are 'It's Your Thing' and 'Work To Do'; they reuse the same harmonies and dynamics again and again. The Isleys to own, probably—but there's no doubt you can live without it. B +

B.B. KING: "The Best of B.B. King' (ABC '73):: King is human and then some—never less than intelligent but often less than inspired, especially with words. So I'm delighted at how many high points this captures—'Caledonia' and 'Ain't Nobody Home' from London, 'Nobody Loves Me But My Mother' (marred by unfortunate engineering tricks) from Indianola, two classic blues, and 'The Thrill Is Gone,' one of his greatest ballads. And though I still find 'Why I Sing the Blues' self-serving and 'Hummingbird' silly, they sure make classy filler.

A-

HAROLD MELVIN & THE BLUE NOTES: "Collectors* Item' (Philadelphia International '76):: Harold Melvin could no more give Teddy his due than he could sing lead himself, so he includes a Sharon Paige feature instead of another slow, vulnerable one—if not ..'To Be True' or 'I'm Weak For You,' then why not 'Yesterday I Had the Blues,' which was a hit? And Kenny Gamble could no more get off his high horse than he could do the dishes, so he includes the inevitable piece of male-chauvinismas moral-posture, 'Be for Real,' instead of .'Satisfaction Guaranteed,' which was a hit. And for ail that this compilation is the best Teddy Perfdergrass record you can buy. A-

THE O'JAYS: "Collectors' hems' (Philadelphia International '77):: Steadfast stylistically since 'Back Stabbers' in 1972, Kenny Gamble's three-man mouthpiece ought to make an ideal best-of—if you dig Kenny Gamble. I regard him as a gifted pop demagogue-black capitalist masquerading as liberator. The oppressively patriarchichal 'Family Reunion' is the lead cu{, setting the tone of a collection three of whose four sides are rendered unlistenable by Gamble's sermonizing and/or sentimentality'. What's more, the O'Jays deserve him. Eddie Levert is the master of the soulful harangue, parading the trappings of emotional commitment with literally incredible showbiz chutzpah. When 1 happen to agree with what they're saying, or when an inoffensive lyric is attached to one ,of Leon Huffs greatest hooks, I like them tine. But I obviously can't expect Kenny to put together a compilation for me. Maybe I'll make a tape. C +

WILSON PICKETT: "The Boat of Wilson Pickett Volame II' (Atlantic 71)::.'A Man and A Half ' is the quintessential Pickett title from this period—he's always striving to become more than he has any reason to expefct to be. Yet for all the overstatement of 'Bom To Be Wild' or 'You Keep Me Hangin' On' (the Box Tops did a better job on that one) he got there pretty often—in screaming tandem with Duane Allman on 'Hey Jude,' in voluble tandem with Gamble-Huff on 'Engine Number 9,' in can-you-top-this tandem with his own greatest hit on 'I'm a Midnight Mover.' And on 'She's Lookin' Good' he matched the ease of 'Don't Fight It,' which was probably hardest of all. . A

WILSON PICKETT: 'Wilson Pickett's Greatest Hits' (Atlantic 73):: Packaging the magnificent Best of (still using fake stereo on 10 aits) with a modification of the excellent Best of Vo1. II (trading 'Hey Joe,' 'Cole, Cooke and Redding,' and 'Bom To Be Wild' for 'Don't Knock My Love—Part I' AND 'Mama Told Me Not To Come' even up). A must-own for the benighted. A

DIANA ROSS: "Diana Ross' Greatest Hits'' (Motown 76):: I'd hoped this would drag me kicking and giggling to rock 'n' roll perdition, just like the old Motown best-ofs. Instead I found I had to learn to like it. Which I did, eventually— these are good pop tunes for the most part, and her 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' sounds more valid novV than it did when Marvin & Tammi were fresh in my ear. But rock 'n' roll perdition is beside the point, because this isn't rock'n'roll. B +

DAVID RUFFIN: 'At His Bast' (Motown 78):: Although some blame Ruffin's very intermittent post-Tempts success on deliberate corporate neglect, I've never fouhd even his biggest solo hits all that undeniable—ungrouped, his voice seems overly tense whether (f s grinding out grit or reaching for highs. Corporate decay is another matter. The four Tempts songs on this compilation aren't necessary—Ruffin has managed to chart 10 songs in the nine years he's been on his own—but they certainly show up the more recent compositions. Seems apt that the best non-Tempts cut was written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, the Berry Gordy/Holland-Dozier-Hollandofthe'70's. B-

STAPLE SINGERS: 'The Boat of the Staple Singers' (Stax 75):: For most of this decade, Roebuck Staples—bom December 12, 1915, about two weeks after Frank Sinatra—has been the oldest performer with direct access to the hit parade by some 25 years, so here's your chance to mind your elders. It's Mavis's lowdown, occasionally undefined growl that dominates, of course; you should hear how secular she gels with an O.V. Wright blues that got buried, on The Staple Swingers. But Pop's unassuming moralism sets the tone and his guitar assures the flow. , A-

THE STYLISTICS: "The Best of the Stylistics' (Ayco 75):: What I love about the Stylistics is that they're so out of it. Authentic modern-day castrati, they elevate the absurd high seriousness of the love-man mode into an asexual spirituality thafthe Delfonics, say, only hinted at—and the country-rock harmonizers only fake and exploit; Their spirituality doesn't have much to do with real life, but it's always liberating to encounter it on the radio. And now, with the flick of a switch, you can approximate this liberation in your home. A

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THE SUPREMES:"At Their Best' (Motown '78):: In which the great pop factory of the '60s flounders around in the superstar'70's, incapable of fabricating hits around the greatest of girl-group trademarks. 'Stoned Love,' from 1970, is the last undeniable single Berry Gordy's depleted forces can provide their act, by the time Smokey enters the lists in 1972 he's turned into an album artist. 'Love T^ain'? 'You're My Driving Wheel'? Has it come to this? C +

BILL WITHERS: "The Best of BUI Withers' (Sussex '75):: Unfortunately, Withers the Balladeer has had more hits than Withers the Rocker. But the compilation demonstrates forcefully that both share the same convictions. And the two cuts from + 'Justments gain power as a result. A-