May 1, 1976 Record Review: Another chat with Jethro T. Megahertz

 

Time for another conversation with my imaginary compadre. 

May 1, 1976

Piano, Organ Add to Adventure of Rolling Stones 

I WAS STUFFING last week’s release of some 50 elpees into a wheelbarrow and muttering something to the effect of all or nothing, feast or famine, when from behind me came a deep, well-modulated, school-of-broadcasting voice.

          “Want some good advice, good buddy?”

          “Jethro T. Megahertz, you old scoundrel. Advice I can do without, especially yours, but you’re just in time to help me with this heap of new records.”

          “Negatory, son. I didn’t leave my new citizen’s band radio to come encourage you in your foolish ways. My clue to you is to take six. Over.”

          “Wait a minute, Megahertz,” I objected as we walked into the house. “What about America, Rick Wakeman, the LA Jets, Mike Pinder of the Moody Blues?”

* * *

“THEY’LL KEEP. First things first, my critical chum.

          “Why don’t you get me some lemonade and I’ll give you the bird’s-eye lowdown on this caper. Here, scribe, take your notebook and write down the first title.”

          The Rolling Stones, “Black and Blue” (Rolling Stones COC-79104 Atlantic).

          “Can’t say this is only rock ‘n roll, can you?” Megahertz winked, kicking off his boots.

          “What makes it different? Lots of things. Like more piano and organ.

          “Remember how Billy Preston was the fifth Beatle? Well, now he’s the sixth Stone.

          “That’s him here doing the boulevard bounce with Mick Jagger in ‘Melody.' Keith Richard takes to the keys in ‘Memory Motel’ for those resonating high notes.

          “What I like is the rhythmic experiments, all of which seem to work. The reggae in ‘Cherry Oh Baby.’ The bare, nasty disco repetition in ‘Hot Stuff’ and 'Hey, Negrita.’

          “Jagger’s called this record a ‘hearthrug,’ but it’s still uncommonly satisfying. I’ve heard it a dozen times – once with earphones to pick out the overdubs – and I’m just getting into it.”

          Leon & Mary Russell, “Wedding Album” (Paradise PA-2943 Warner Bros.).

          “Are you ready for a funky love-and-kisses record?” Megahertz grinned. “This here’s the biggest surprise of the season. Leon all cuddly and romantic.

          “Maybe it’s time to rethink Russell. As a balladeer. He scores awfully well with the slow stuff here – ‘Love’s Supposed to Be That Way,’ ‘You Are on My Mind,’ the baby song ‘Quiet Nights’ and ‘Windsong,’ which is, dare I say it, lovely.”

* * *

BOB MARLEY and the Wailers, “Rastaman Vibration” (Island ILPS-9383).

          “I had my doubts about Marley before,” Megahertz mused, pouring another lemonade, “because he was so doggone sullen and polemical.

          “But this record’s converted me. Rastaman vibration, ye-eah, pos-ee-tivv. Can’t wait to see him Thursday at the Century Theater.

          “Notice how he justifies the R&B touches in ‘Roots, Rock, Reggae’ – the female chorus and all.

          “The heavy politics are on the other side. The parasites in ‘Who the Cap Fit.’ Best one is ‘War,’ which was a speech Haile Selassie gave in 1968. Judging by Africa today, it looks like he was right.”

          The Shakers, “Yankee Reggae” (Asylum 7E-1037).

          “Two thoughts hit me when I first heard this,” Megahertz exhaled. “Paul Butterfield – suburban youngsters playing someone else’s league. And Beach Boys. If Brian Wilson was a reggae-crazy Berkeley teenager today, his group would sound like this.

          “No, it’s not Marley. The beat’s simpler and the social concern is about girls. That’s what turned me off originally on ‘Wonder Girl,’ which I now love. Don’t go by first impressions. This Yankee reggae grows on you.”

          John David Souther, “Black Rose” (Asylum 7E-1059).

          “Souther, you remember, worked with the Eagles way back,” Megahertz acknowledged. “When it comes to poetics about cheating and crying, he’s got to be your first choice. Bonnie Raitt’s ‘Run Like a Thief’ is one of his songs.

          “He’s got great titles: ‘Banging My Head Against the Moon.’ And great lines: ‘Let me tell you/ I can fight like a man/ And cry like a little boy’ in ‘Your Turn Now.’ That kind of sums up Souther. Strong, but tearful.”

          Firefall (Atlantic SD-18174).

          “A blast from the past,” Megahertz grinned. “Rick Roberts wrote it with Steve Stills and Chris Hillman.

* * *

“THE GUITAR’S pretty close to the Buffalo Springfield original. That’s to soften you up for the rest of it.

          “You will, too. Roberts’ other songs ought to make this a monster. Watch for ‘You Are the Woman’ or ‘Mexico’ on your Top 40.”

          “OK, Megahertz, but what about those other records outside? Aren’t we forgetting something?”

          “What a question. You’re the guy who didn’t pick up on ‘Stretching Out in Bootsy’s Rubber Band,’ which is so incredibly disco jive that it’s good. You also want to listen to the Tubes’ ‘Young and Rich.’ This one’s as classy as the first one was trashy.

          “I wonder if they can possibly be that elegant next Saturday at the Century. Catch you then, good buddy. Right now I’m going over and out.”

* * * * *

IN THE PHOTO: Rolling Stones 1976 promo shot off the microfilm.

* * * * *

FOOTNOTE: Nothing like almost a half century of hindsight to keep you humble. There's a fair share of losers among the winners in my record recommendations from the 1970s. I had a way of falling in love with one-hit wonders, or worse yet, no-hitters. It happens this time too, but no regrets. I still stand by four out of the six choices.

Right about the Rolling Stones. Other critics weren’t kind to this, their 15th album and the first to include Ronnie Wood, but they just didn’t get it. Sure enough, over the years, appreciation for this one has grown.

Not so right about Leon Russell and his then-wife, the former Mary McCreary, who was one of Sly Stone’s backup singers. It peaked at 34 on the Billboard album charts and is pretty much forgotten. They divorced in 1980.

          Bull’s eye on Bob Marley. His most commercially successful album, it’s the one that finally took him into the Top 10.

          Way off base on the Shakers. Their album, notable as the first full-length American-made reggae LP, sank without a trace and the band disappeared with it. 

          Should’ve been right about John David Souther, though it wasn’t the breakthrough he deserved. A superb singer-songwriter, he was everybody’s buddy in the Southern California country-rock scene. Linda Ronstadt, his girlfriend at the time, appears on it.

          Looking righter in retrospect is Firefall, another California country-rock fave, though this album didn’t quite make them stars. “You Are the Woman” cracked the Billboard Top 10 and it seems to be playing on Sirius XM’s “Yacht Rock” channel every time I happen to turn it on.