Golden Greats and a Funky Groove
Welcome to the season W of Bing Crosby and Golden Greats. The old groaner's back, too with A Christmas Sing with Bing. Among the many others whose golden achievements are celebrated in collections of their best, or best-known, are two nearly as old as Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra. The recent hits of David Essex and Neil Diamond, of Wings and the Commodores, are featured in seasonal collections, too.
Compilation albums by two groups and one singerr'comedienne deserve special mention. Steely Dan's Greattest Hits (ABC), a double album, represent some of the best of white rock of recent years. But the group has reemained something of musiicians' musicians and a little bit remote. That is also a; mark of their musical distinc-, tion and the occasionally un-' settling irony which pervades their lyrics.
Earth, Wind and Fire have a Greatest Hits album on CBS which is selected from six albums of their sophisti-funk, which has been a headline for the many more groups who have come both from jazz and soul into this bracket, Few have been able to reach the same blend of sparkling brass and voices with compullsively body-shaking funky rhythms.
Best of Bette Middler (Attlantic) features the eccentric genius of an all-round enterrtainer who mocks her audiience, parodies a range of style and, when she wants to, can really sing - and swing.
Much more certain to make an impact among the compendium albums is The Singles, 1974-'78 by the Carrpenters (on A&M). Nothing naughty here; they're cleanncut. Karen sings accurately and strongly; Richard writes and arranges with clear purrpose. Each of these ten songs has a strong melody and the production avoids the tempptation of over-doing anything.
Much less predictable, inndeed, often temper mental, is Van Morrison, whose album Wavelength (Warner Bros) is refreshingly direct. It also has a few surprises, a pop fell to the arrangement for Lifetimes and a harder, edgier rock appproach than we're used to hearing from Belfast's prodiigal son on the title track. It is not as relaxed and doesn't swing as well as his best, but Morrison is always worth a listen - and a second listen.
Joan Armatrading shares much in her musical style with Morrison, particularly in the effect - or reality - of immprovisation which her playing and singing give. On To The Limit (A&M) she is more forceful, more robust than before. But she still explores her very full vocal and exxpressive range, often changing the tempo within a number and moving from near-croak and falsetto.
Some of the other sophissticated ladies of rock are also featured in current releases. Linda Ronstadt still sounds the helpless little girl on Living In The USA (Asylum), an album which departs from the mood of the Chuck Berry number which gives its title immediately after that openning track. Unlike Joan Arrnaatrading, who writes all her own material, Linda Ronstadt selects hers over a wide span in time and styles. Oldest is a 1930s Oscar Hammerstein number, When I Grow Too Old To Dream, where she lets pass the opportunity to swing. Relying heavily on the backing vocals, and with simple accompaniment, the album is tasty, and a bit tame.
Scottish singer-songwriter Barbara Dickson can sound like Linda Ronstadt, especiallly when she does a gospelltype number on her latest album, Sweet Oasis (CBS), but her voice doesn't have the same distinction. With a change of label and a move from a country-rock backing to full orchestra, she seems blander than on her first two albums.
Kate Bush's first album came nowhere near the prommise of her strange single, Wuthering Heights. Her second LP, Lionheart (EM!) shows that she still had not been able to write material with enough immediately attractive elements to anchor the wayward movements of her voice and occasionally irritating intonation. But there are also some nice musiical moments to help us through her imaginative world of haunted places and hemlock.
Two great ladies of soul, Bonnie Raitt and Etta James (who herself recently released an impressive album, Deep In The Night) get a special and deserved credit for backing vocals on Motion (Warner Bros.) which features the voice and compositions of Allen Toussaint. Best known as the producer who put a shape on New Orleans R n' B, Toussaint founded the N.O. studio where the vocal tracks for the album were recorded. A couple of Crusaders are in the tight rhythm section and there's light colouring from horns and strings for a couple of tracks. Nothing is overrdone, possibly because Toussaint's voice is not up to much, but on Night People and With You In Mind, for instance, he, the two ladies and the band groove along nicely.
The Chieftains do their usual thing with Ch ietttains 8 (Cladd agh), on which several members of the group apart from Paddy Maloney get the chance to arrange traditional dance tunes into supposedly higher art forms. Maloney's major contribution is variously described as a "tone poem" and a "suite": celebrating our relationship with the sea. Derek Bell arranges two tunes from the Carolan book and there are reels, a strathspae and a polka to remind us of the roots.
Paul Brady approaches traditional material very diffferently on Welcome Home, Kind Stranger (Mulligan). He is fascinated by the stories which the songs tell and in his notes writes things like, "I would like to know more." The slight shakiness of his voice keeps the listener on edge and aware of the words. Filling out the sound, Paul doubles up and trebles up on guitars and mandolins for this album. The inner sleeve reminds us of Paul's varied musical career through R n' B, the Johnso ns and Planxty. 1 II recall him sitting in on Molessworth Place jazz sessions in the mid-60s. Strange, really that so little of that diverse experience shows in his reecordings, even if he someetimes lets it hang out in conncerts.
Related to the last two only in that it is homed uc ed and aims in part at an international market, the Swarbriggs' Winter (EM!) has several pleasant songs, but, in seeking to compensate for the weak vocals, arrange Richard Hill tends to clutter up the shop.
Best in this bunch, apart from the three selections mentioned early on, are the albums by Joan Arrnatrading, Van Morrison, Allen Tousssaint, Brothers Johnson, Killburn and the High Roads, and Paul Brady .•