(From 1979, The UCSD Guardian, when I still was trying to be a local version of the Village Voice's music editor and critic Robert Christgau. Yes, it's humbling to see how clumsy and ham-handed my prose could be back then._
Special Edition -Jack De Johnette (ECM)
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Considering the line-up on this disc-drummer De Johnette, one of the best-rounded jazz drummers anywhere, alto saxist Arthur Blythe and tenor saxist and bass clarinetist David Murray, and bassist Peter Warren- you would have thought it would have been a significant breakthrough record, one of those legendary sessions that chart new directions in the art. This ensemble, though, had no intentions of blazing any new trails, as the music stays safely in the boundaries of what we've heard before. Which isn't to say that this record lacks spark. On the contrary, Special Edition is fresh and lively, highlighting first-rate at the hands of Blythe and Murray. Throughout the disc, their instruments join in a variety of harmonic settings-the fusion-tinged "One For Eric," the rhythm and blues riff of "Zoot Suit," the ethereal texturizing on John Coltrane's tone poem "India"-and at key points branch out to establish their own personalities. Murray, alternating between tenor sax and bass clarinet, offers a strong,confident tone which he sustains through the wildest stretches of his soloing, an unpredictable style that finds nuance and unexpected inroads in a solo space. Blythe, on the other hand, exploits the alto sax for all it's worth, often changing moods from the whimsical and lyrical, to the soulfully anguished. DeJohnette plays solidly under their playing, rumbling like Philly Joe Jones one moment, accentuating hard-rock bass- drums another, and continually fragmenting and piecing back together rhythms as the music flows onward. Bassist Warren seems the odd man out here, maintaining a fairly conservative attitude as he backs the others dutifully, if not preceptively. Special Edition has much to recommend it. Though not profoundly original, it nonetheless cooks hard like the best jazz should.
Songs The Lord Taught Us- The Cramps (Illegal Records)
On the cover, The Cramps look like a cross between The Munsters and the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and on record their music sounds like the ersatz psychedelia of a bad 60s youth movie (Riot On Sunset Strip, Psyche-Out).The absence of a bass player is unnoticeable, given the rest of the band members' collective incompetence. Mod Squad guitar solos and recommissioned mothballed rock cliches add a lot of eldritch squeals and howls to the cuts.The most refreshing tracks on this disc are the grooves between cuts. The Lord apparently didn't teach them how to play these songs properly. Perhaps a stint in Purgatory listening to surf music would be an appropriate refresher course. With song titles like "Mad Daddy." "Sunglasses After Dark," "Strychnine," and "Zombie Dance," I don't doubt that some people call this stuff New Wave. Yawn. I call it old-hat.
Formula-Lazy Racer (A&M)
The title is the tip-off to what this record contains, wherein an earnest young band searches for that sound to put them over the top. Lessee, whatta we got here? Doobie Brothers? Steely Dan? Pablo Cruise? Yep, they're all here. The problem is that Lazy Racer jumps from style to style as if they were desperate-as though they suspected their appropriated styles wouldn't work as well as they hoped.
Some decent vocals and fairly competent soloing are found on these tunes, but the songs are so polished that the overall effect is imminently forgettable. While running in the vein of the aforementioned groups, Lazy Racer lacks complexity and hooks, which are essential for commercial success. If you hear a tune twice on the radio and can't hum it afterwards, it's going nowhere.
