ROCK • A • RAMA

ROCK A RAMA

This month’s Rock-A-Ramas were written by Michael Davis, Bi//y Altman, and Richard C. Walls.

ROY BUCHANAN—My Babe (Waterhouse): :Buchapan’s career ain’t exactly been booming lately; he’s no longer on a major label and he’s not recording with big name session men, either. All he’s done here is to put together a fine, funky band that excels at the barroom blues ’n’ roll that is his specialty and lay down one of his best albums ever. When Roy begins to, flgx his Fender, even the super stars take notes. ■ M.D.

THE TROGGS-Live at Max’s Kansas City (Max’s Kansas City):: Now that Reg Presley is old enough to be the middle-aged lech he always sounded like, the thought of seeing him live and bouncing his beerbelly around the stage has been enough to keep, me away for the year or so that they’ve been around the Big Mango. Still, pieces of this album are full of the simple two chords and a prayer genius that launched heavy metal on .its way. The selection her‡ isn’t the greatest—five out of 12 are covers that were standard repertoire filler back irt ’66 (“Got Love If You Want It,” “Walkin’ The Dog;” “Memphis,”) —but if the Inmates can get away with it I’m not gonna complain. Highlights, besides, of course, Presley’s ocarina on “Wild Thing,” include the “Give. It To Me/FEels Like A Woman” medley (Reg sure does have: a way with the word “groovy”), the guitar wrenches of “Gonna Make You,” and both songs banned by the,.BBC— “Summertime” and “Strange Movie, ” the latter being the one they did On that Midnight Special that Bowie hosted back at the end of ’73. Us purists, however, will wait for Volume Two, which had better include “I Can’t Control Myself,” “Cousin Jane,” and “I Want You,” not to mention, “Hi Hi Hazel.” B.AI

MOTORHEAD—Ace of Spades (Mercury):: It’s true that Lemmy u.sed to participate in Space Rituals with Hawkwind. It’s also true that his current band, Motorhead, is one of the most powerful, bonebruising units in the current heavy metal minefield. I mean it: Wind ’em up and watch ’em roll right over the heaviest of the new generation of metal bands—Def Leppard, Tygers of Pan Tang, Saxon, Iron Maiden— without even takipg a breather. They waste no energy on non essentials like melodies or vocal harmonies; they just churn out one threeminute riff-roaring crunch after another. I wonder if terrible Ted or Kiss will have the nerve to let these guys open a tour for ’em. M.D.

BLACK ROSE (Casablanca):: If the idea of Cher and Les Dudek making musie together has you scratching your head in wonder, then the product of this seemingly unmeldable alliance’ll have you scratching the vinyl to bits as you race to get it off your turntable and out of the house. The first track is the only one that works St all, a melodramatic showstopper called “Never Should’ve Started,” and if anyone involved in this thing had had any sense, they would’ve stopped right there. You want revelations? Cher has a tattoo on her right shin (hence the band’s name) -and Dudek can actually go through an entire song without having the great god of excess willing him into yet another boring guitar solo. (P.S. Does this mean we’re gonna get a Gene Simmons/Diana Ross album?) (P.P.S. Now that Love Boat is on three times a day, be sure to catch the one with Sonny Bono as a demonic, make-up faced rock star—sticks his tongue out and Everything—who would rather be off at the piano bar crooning a love song to a blind girl [“Sharon, you’ve made me see”] Positively hysterical.) ■ B.A.

CHARLIE BYRD-First Flight (Savoy):: This re-issue (from ’57) is noteworthy on two counts—as guitarist Byrd’s first album, an engaging mixture of acoustic Rodgers and Hart renditions and happy bop numbers, and as a rare and early example of the improvisational skills of Tommy Newsome. That’s right, Mr. Excitement himself. Under those gabardine threads beats the heart of a mad hipster. Now you know. R.C.W.