ROCK • A • RAMA

ROCK-A-RAMA

This month�s Rock-A-Ramas were written by Richard Riegel, Jeff Nesin, Craig Zeller, Richard C. Walls and Michael Davis.

PLATINUM BLONDE

Standing In The Dark (Epic)

Roll over Herb Alpert and tell your lad Sting the news: This new Anglo-Canadian group puts out the kind of semi-decent powerpop we�ve semi-heard dozens of times before, but it�s the band�s look that�s truly noteworthy. Get this, now, there�s three of them, and they�re gone bottleblond so that they all look devilishly alike, and they jump around a lot in the photos.. .Yep, you guessed it, and not a moment too 'soon to (hopefully) begin to deflate Mr. Sting�s ever-moredeadly seriousness of purpose. See how silly peroxided artistes really look?!? Thought you�d agree. R.R.

STEVE BASSETT

(Columbia)

Another serious contender in the Blue-EyedSoul-without-Saccharine Sweepstakes. So serious, in fact, that John Hammond is executive producer (& liner note chef) and Jerry Wexler coproduced down in (where else?) Muscle Shoals. Bassett, a Virginia veteran whose warm husky baritone has run the gamut of American music from jingles to gospel choirs, sounds confident and intelligent leading an overabundance of my fave studio stars through their pace with power and focus. The hand-picked tunes range from the churchy �Right In The Middle Of Falling In Love� to the Derek-And-The-Dominoes-get-loose �All Out Of Love� and so far I�ve hummed a different one every two days. Besides, a whole album of David Hood and Roger Hawkins on bass and drums is worth anyone�s time. J.N.

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Detroit Gold—Volume 1

Detroit Gold—Volume 2 (Solid Smoke)

These mostly obscure (and mostly enjoyable) anthologies of �60s Motor City soul singles mark the welcome return of Solid Smoke to the past blast reissue sweepstakes. A few hits (Dion Jackson�s warmhearted �Love Makes The World Go �Round,� the Capitols� jaunty �Cool Jerk,� Barbara Lewis�s sweet �n� sexy �Hello Stranger�) are interspersed with a slew of minor gems like Jimmy Delphs�s �Don�t Sign The Papers.� Makes a good companion piece to Epic�s Lost Soul series. (Solid Smoke, Box 22372, San Francisco, CA, 94122) C.Z.

LAID BACK

Keep Smiling (Sire)

It�s hard for me to comprehend, even at this late date, that major record companies remain desperate enough to sign on groups as wretched as these studio-wasted prunehead Danish hippies. I won�t even dignify �em with the obvious something-rotten-in-Denmark jokes, but I will note that their flaccid DOR exercises would be lucky to find work in Baby Ruth/Butterfinger commercials Stateside. Okay, okay, I realize you guys aren�t �composing� in your natural idioms, but don�t ever sing �Let the good vibes get a lot stronger� to an American, ever again! If this glop actually hit big on the Continent, it just goes to show how the reallife missile-fears have curdled people�s tastes. R.R.

PAT METHENY

Rejoicing (ECM)

This is a trio album with bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Billy Higgins and for the length of the first side—three compositions by Ornette Coleman and one each by Horace Silver and Haden—it�s a stripped-down unadorned approach where you can either cut it or you can�t. Metheny can. On the second side, via overdubbing, the guitarist�s Gotterdammerung impulses are indulged, especially on �The Calling,� which begins as psychedelic martial music before transmutating into nine minutes of logically cohesive googly moogly. Metheny isn�t afraid to risk bugging those fans who dig his more ambient moves, and good for him. R.C.W.

HOWARD JONES

Human�s Lib (Elektra)

It figures that a former Keith Emerson fanatic would finally work his way into the synth-pop scene, but this Jones fella is definitely making his way to the head of the class in a hurry. Not by originality, certainly—musically, he apes Dolby and Gabriel, while his direct, affirmative lyrical stance is in the same ballpark as Joe Jackson and Tom Robinson—but by molding acceptable materials with taste and spunk, he�s making his mark. Keeping things mainly upbeat is also a good strategy, especially since his slower tunes hint that there may still be some Moody Blues records lurking in this man�s collection. M.D.

CURTISS A

Damage Is Done (Twin/Tone)

Besides beating the pants off Courtesy (his soso debut), Damage Is Done serves as a forceful announcement that Minneapolis maven Curt Almstead deserves to share favorite son status with Prince. His nervy mixtures of angry young pop, over-the-top rock and stinging soul result in a whole passel of striking winners. �Oh How Happy� (not the Shades Of Blue opus but a galvanizing Larry Williams commemoration), �It Was Heaven/Almost Magic� and the title cut are rousing highlights—and there�s plenty more where they came from. This is quality rock �em/sock �em turmoil from a man smart enough to afford the Raspberries and Wilson Pickett equal doses of affection. (Twin/Tone Records, 445 Oliver Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55405.) C.Z.

DAVE HOLLAND QUINTET

Jumpin� In (ECM)

When Dave Holland leads a group, people listen. The great bassist, whose credentials include stints in some of Miles Davis�s and Anthony Braxton�s best bands, last recorded with a group under his own name 11 years ago and the result was the highly-acclaimed Conference Of The Birds. But where Birds featured the interaction of reed virtuosos Braxton and Sam Rivers, Jumpin� In is more brass-oriented, although Holland�s tastefully hyperactive bass lines still keep the horn players on their toes, sometimes all at the same time. The album is dedicated to Charles Mingus, so you�d best believe it�s got more blood �n� guts than the icy Nordic jazz ECM had been typecast for providing; this one churns and burns. M.D.