45 REVELATIONS

45 REVELATIONS

DEPARTMENTS

by

Ken Barnes

It always fascinates me how songs start sounding, over a few months� airplay, drastically better or worse than they did at first hearing. Unfortunately, of course, most singles aren�t big enough hits to warrant that sort of airplay, which limits them to just half a proper evaluation, the dangerously fallible first impression. It�s just as important to judge how a record ends up sounding in context with other hits of the day, and how it holds up under repeated listenings.

The changes work both ways. It was sobering to hear Simple Minds� �Don�t You (Forget About Me),� which I think I called an �instant classic� in an earlier column, evolve into a mere Billy Idol soundalike as its CHR, traditional AOR, modern AOR, and even Urban Contemporary airplay made it the mostplayed record on my FM dial. Then there are the songs I get sick of through overplay, like �Nightshift,� which will probably sound great a year from now when my synapses are clear again.

On the other hand, many records that don�t immediately impress sneak up on me via the radio—like Hall & Oates�s �Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid,� with those fat guitar chords spearheading a second-half comeback. Or Glenn Frey�s cold-blooded �Smuggler�s Blues,� Julian Lennon�s lively �60s pop nod �Say You�re Wrong.� Or Patti Labelle�s indefatigably upwardly mobile �New Attitude.�

The radio sounds pretty good these days (mid-May), thanks to an abundance of uptempo R&B/pop grooves. The restoration of Madonna to airwaves queen is a big help—both sides of her current 12-inch are back on track, with �Into The Groove� the dancefloor dominator (deft harmonies too) and �Angel� showing off an attractive lower register on a pretty pop tune that almost sounds like Stevie Nicks in spots (which would break an unblemished record).

Also an instant radio fave is Eurythmics� aural edifice �Would I Lie To You,� constructed of slabs of Stax funk and Kinks� �I Need You� chords and built to last.

Not on the radio but noteworthy is �River Deep Mountain High� by Darlene Love (the legendary Spector vocalist who recently returned via a Rhino live LP). The singer of �He�s A Rebel� and �Zip A Dee Doo Dah� is about the only artist who can give Tina Turner a run for reg doll; this version is overfaithful (from the �60s-recreation play Leader Of The Pack) and lacks a bit of Tina�s desperation, but not so it matters—get it anyway.

If you�ve read all the raves about Linda Thompson and can�t figure out why, �One Clear Moment� is the perfect place to start—a propulsive track and meaty melody line that gives her smoky vocals something substantial to grapple with.

Trevor Horn may be making a nuisance of himself with a dozen superfluous remixes of Frankie Goes To Hollywood songs that were tedious to begin with, but it�s important to remember what a groundbreaking producer he was with ABC and even Yes. Some of his best early productions were a batch of lush overthe-top creations for a British duo called Dollar, whose female half Theresa Bazar has resurfaced under Mike Chapman�s wing with a zippy light rocker called �Gotcha� from the movie of the same name. Look out for it and grab those Dollar imports if you can.

�Toot Toot� mania has swept the South, and it doesn�t mean a double dose of cocaine. It�s a song by zydeco (black Cajun) veteran Rockin� Sidney, who gave Rockpile �You Ain�t Nothin� But Fine.� �My Toot Toot� has been covered by Southern soulsters Jean �Mr. Big Stuff� Knight and Denise �Trapped By A Thing Called Love� LaSalle (who calls her version �My Tu-Tu,� though it�s not about ballet outfits either). It�s a mildly raunchy, funny, irresistibly out-of-time (in the sociological, not musical, sense) record of the sort that explodes out of Louisiana every every 5-10-15 years (Wilbert Harrison�s �Let�s Work Together� was a similar phenomenon), defying all trends and selling a batch of records. Sidney�s is the most traditional (lots of accordion), Denise�s substitutes synthesizers and is faster and funkier, while Jean�s is the biggest hit and sounds the most synthetic. But that�s all relative—you�re sure to fall for any of the three (and look out for John Fogerty�s version).

Evelyn "Champagne� King has a fascinating change of pace in �Till Midnight,� a reflective acoustic guitardominated song that�s almost folky and quite lovely. Natalie Cole returns with �Dangerous,� peppy pop/R&B in the Pointer Sisters mode, with a hot dance mix.

The Commodores follow the unconventional �Nightshift� with the even weirder �Animal Instinct,� an absorbing, edgy synth-popper far removed from their funk roots. Philip Bailey�s �Walking On The Chinese Wall� is also offbeat, its acoustic guitars making it the male counterpart to the Evelyn King record above and reminding me a little of �Can�t Find My Way Home� by Blind Faith, of all people. Womack & Womack�s �Strange And Funny� is just that, with an odd acoustic allure and Cecil Womack�s distinctively hoarse vocals.

And, as black music crosses new frontiers, Prince is always among the pioneers, with �Raspberry Beret��s syrupy flower-pop textures and casually cool vocals making it the obvious single from a puzzling album. Former Time stalwart Jesse Johnson has his second solid single, the punchy, melodic �Can You Help Me� following the infectious �Be Your Man.� And Nile Rodgers�s jittery �Let�s Go Out Tonight� (featuring the most tantalizing foreign passages since Eric Burdon�s �Spill The Wine�) is backed with the even stranger �Doll Squad,� a tale of a sexual-psychedelic alien invasion highlighted by nimble funk guitar (the record, not the invasion). On the rock side, ��Heaven� is a seemingly effortless instantlyappealing Bryan Adams power ballad in the �Straight From The Heart� tradition, and there�s a harder-edged live version on the flip. Slade (pronounced Slar-DAY to stay with the times) can still knock off the catchy rock ditty, playing hooky as usual with �Little Sheila.�

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U2�s subtly rousing �The Unforgettable Fire� is backed as a single by a live version of �A Sort Of Homecoming� and a bonus disk of three unreleased tracks, one of which, �Love Comes Tumblin,� is quietly haunting. Meanwhile, U2-style bands keep cropping up in England, with Easterhouse demonstrating a good balance of guitar ringing and blustery singing on �Coming Up For Air� and especially the electrifying �Man Alive.�

The Truth, not unusually for a Jam/Modoriented band, rock in the Who spirit on �Playground,� but interestingly the model is not �My Generation� but �Won�t Get Fooled Again.� Graham Parker�s �Wake Up� starts out much like �Just My Imagination� by the Temptations before breaking into familiar Parker territory. It�s his biggest hit ever—nice to see. (Non-LP B-side �Mortar� is a solid rocker.)

The ad hoc quartet of Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash & Kris Kristofferson revive one of my favorite songs of the �70s, Jimmy Webb�s cycledelic reincarnation number �Highwayman.� This vocals-by-committee version isn�t up to Webb�s mystical original or Glen Campbell�s superblyorchestrated cover, but the song retains its ghostly grace. And if you�re in your mid-30s and want to feel a lot older, check out �Old Hippie� by the Bellamy Brothers, a sympathetic though condescending country song about an endangered species, left behind by current events and soon to �fade away.� Perfect theme song for the forthcoming film The David Crosby Story. %