The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 114

1 10-H Sunday, Nov. 22, 1981 Philadelphia Inquirer 'POPROCK- nWaSZIYMG BA YSIXXIS i PM-WCX 6 PMSISISYV. IIWUM I. I III zzx 9 The snow and view TRI. CROUP RATES FREE PARKING A UBAS ENTERPRISE jJ vfumiii (215)079-4000 (iniiiniy GROUP RATES FREE PARKING A UBAS ENTERPRISE For Holmes, it's on to new things with 'Full Circle' pi (j THANKGIVING COUPON 3 ftLlLF OneHalf Pound Australian LOBSTER TAIL don 't take myself very seriously.

I take my craft seriously and doing what I do is tough enough. To me the most intimidating thing in the world is a blank piece of paper." Baked Potato, English Chips Green Salad, Dressing Hot .95 wnn tne purcnase ot nitikicD ik any iHiiiin Ull 1MB llieMU at Regular Price. VALID: SUNDAY, WEDNESDAY November 22. A jfa CM 7 Mo rival the food." Philadelphia Magazine Dinner A Show Both Only $1635 Trout, mm SUN. J17.W SAT.

NTE. Sf5. WEEK FEATURE or Linguine Bread Butter 15.95 VAIIIF tf' Not Va id with anv i other Offer MONDAY, TUESDAY, and FRIDAY 23. 2A 25 27 1 1 OR LUNCH ANDA QUARTERS SHOW I SHOW vki COUPON Ml rPresenls I odStduort .4 OA Grande Tour of America dCanada B8182 Vbrtb Lcaulng Home For! SATURDAY-FEBRUARY 6- 8PM TICKETS ON SALE TOMORROW! CHARGE BY PHONE (VISA MCIIS 546 6665. TICKETS MAIL ORDER INFO'215 563 9284 TiCKTWlrV ALL USUAL LOCATIONS By JacX Lloyd Inquirer Snttrummenl Writer At the age of 34, Rupert Holmes admits, "The older I get the more mushy I become, I guess.

I'm a real sucker for mushy love stories. I may be the only person in the world who liked that movie Somewhere in Time." Holmes pointed out that his earlier songs leaned to the "quirky" side. "Back then I'd be more likely to write a song about the training of an orthodontist," he said. Holmes hit the top of his craft about two years ago with a song titled "Escape the Pina Colada He quickly followed that hit record with two more, "Him" and "Answering Machine." These and just about everything else Holmes has written are "story songs" neat litle short stories wrapped in the framework of a pop song. The late Harry Chapin specialized in the same approach, except Chapin's material leaned to the more somber side.

On his latest album, "Full Circle," Holmes goes beyond the formula. All of the songs are devoted to one couple. By linking the songs, he makes the couple meet, fall in love, encounter some problems and eventually break up. Well, that's the way it goes sometimes. "I guess I just became frustrated with the limitations of writing a story within the three- to four-minute framework of a pop song," Holmes said during a telephone interview.

"I wanted to try doing a longer story. It was fun. There are a couple of songs in that that are simply love songs. Vou know, 'I love you, you love me' that kind of thing. I had never written a straight song like that before, and it was fun being able to do it, for a change.

But that doesn't mean that I'm abandoning the other thing. It was just nice to do something different Most people don't realize it, but this is my seventh album, and I think it's important to stay fresh." The LP also marks Rupert Holmes' debut on Elektra Records. "My goal is Review Moody Blues return The Moody Blues returned to the Spectrum on Thursday night, the first of two-night stand at the arena, following a three-year hiatus from recording and live performances. Their rustiness was apparent in all but their newest material, but that did not seem to bother their longtime fans, who seem willing to put up with the new songs as long as the group does not shortchange them on old favorites like "Knights in White Satin," "Story in Your Eyes," "Isn't Life Strange" and "Question." The group includes founding members Ray Thomas and Graeme Edge, long-time compatriots John Lodge and Justin Hayward, and the newest face, Patrick Moraz (who played with Yes before joining the Moodys). The quintet's concerts are, of course, exercises in nostalgia.

But it is a pleasant sort of memory, a kind of dreamy '60s and early 70s mood that very few still-surviving bands could conjure up. There is nothing moody about them, and their music has virtually nothing in common with that very distinct American idiom, the blues. A good part of the Moody Blues musical inspiration is, in fact, drawn from the European-classical tradition. Their tunes, particularly the older ones, have a broad, sonorous, expansive sound. The current staging is first-class; there are no visual obstructions, they have a clean and well-balanced sound, and every other detail has been attended to.

Perhaps the only detracting element was the visual prop, an inane collection of landscapes, clouds, stars and other depictions that had little artistic or musical reason for being there. Edgar Koshatka He prefers ByJackHurst CMcdf TrtbuM Service Bobby Braddock says he prefers writing alone and that "80 to 85 percent of my catalogue" has been written that way, although he had a co writer on the hits that the Country Music Association named Song of the Year for 1980 and "81. His 1981 award-winner, George Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," was written with Curly Putnam, from whom Braddock says "I guess I learned a lot." He notes that Putman helped him write his first No. 1 hit Tammy Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" by changing its tempo, "making it more mournful." Not all of the Braddock-Putman collaborations have been classics, Braddock says. One of their early ones, a Statler Holmes' latest venture is an and play to sellout houses.

I also get the best Italian food in the world there. They don't have Japanese just right yet, but the Italian food is fantastic." Despite his story-telling knack, Holmes does not see himself attempting prose in the near future, even though the idea of a novel is certainly tempting. f'Oh, sure, I thought about it," he said. "I've even dabbled at it. But old habits are tough to break.

I keep wanting to end a line with something that rhymes with the ending of the previous line. It's just a different technique. If I ever do write a novel, it would probably be a mystery novel. They're frequently the only novels that are worth reading all the way through to find out how they end. So often you read a novel and then realize you could have put it down after chapter six knowing all you were COUNTRY ALBUMS 1.

THERE'S NO GETTING OVER ME, Ronnie Milsap 2. FEELS SO RIGHT. Alabama 3. FANCY FREE. The Oak Ridge Boys 4.

LIVE, Barbara Mandrell 5. THE PRESSURE IS ON, Hank Williams Jr. 6. GREATEST HITS, Willie-Nelson 7. STEP BY STEP, Eddie Rabbitt 8.

ESPECIALLY FOR YOU, Don Williams 9. GOOD-TIME LOVIN' MAN, Ronnie McDowell 10. HOLLYWOOD, TENNESSEE, Crystal Gayle SOUL SINGLES 1. TAKE MY HEART, Kool ft The Gang 2. LETS GROOVE, farfh.

Wind ft Fire 3. CONTROVERSY, Prince 4. 1 HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE, Roger 5. NEVER TOO MUCH, Luther Vandross 6. GET IT UP, The Time 7.

OH, NO, The Commodores 8. TURN YOUR LOVE AROUND, George Benson 9. SNAP SHOT. Slave 10. INSIDE YOU; Isley Brothers SOUL ALBUMS 1 SOMETHING SPECIAL, Kool ft The Gang 2.

NEVER TOO MUCH, Luther Vandross 3. CONTROVERSY, Prince 4. THE MANY FACETS OF ROGER, Roger 5. RAISE. Earth, Wind ft Fire 6.

ITS TIME FOR LOVE, Teddy Pendergrass 7. THE TIME, Time 8. SHOW TIME, Slave 9. INSIDE YOU. The Isley Brothers 10.

WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE, Diana Ross Source: Billboard magazine several very pleasant songs ballads and mid-tempo numbers. EARTH, WIND ft FIRE Raise (Columbia): Perhaps only the Commodores have consistently demonstrated a stronger feel for the fusion of pop and elements than Earth, Wind Fire. And while there are no surprises here, the group offers another session of class music, fortified with strong melodies and appealing lyrics'. The skilled blend of classic funk' and mainstream values guarantees wide acceptance for this release. The groups shifts nicely from mellow ballads such as "My Love" to upbeat material such as "Let's Groove." PETER CETERA Peter Cetera (Full Moon-' Warner This is the debut solo release from Cetera, best known as the bassist with Chicago, and while he makes no daring departures from the venerable jazz-rock group's formula, there are a number of appealing moments on the release.

At times, only the absence of a horn section suggests that this Indeed is not Chicago. The bulk of the material Cetera wrote all of the songs' falls into the soft rock area. Among the best songs are "Llvln' In the Limelight," "I Can Feel It." "On the Line" and "Not Afraid Excellent. Very good. Good.

Fair. Poor. CHOOSE to record for every label in the world before I'm through," Holmes joked. He has previously recorded for Epic, Private Stock, MCA and Infinity, experiencing some rotten luck on a couple of occasions. Private Stock went out of business just as his first release for that label showed signs of reaching the top 40.

Infinity folded right after "Escape" became the nation's No. 1 single. Fortunately, the album that "Escape" came from, "Partners in Crime, was picked up by MCA, and the two other hit singles followed. Long before "Escape" turned him into a recording star, Holmes developed a cult following as a result of such extraordinary early albums as "Widescreen" and "Singles." er, the bulk of his success was as a writer of songs that were recorded by the likes of Barbra Streisand, Dolly Parton, Mac Davis, Barry Mantlow and Dionne Warwick. It was the cult following that finally convinced Holmes that he should remove himself from the protection of a recording studio and try his luck as a stage performer.

His very first live performance was at Philadelphia's Bijou Cafe about six years ago. Now he's an old hand at performing. "I'm going to England in a few weeks and then I'll be going to Japan. The response in Japan is fantastic. It's amazing.

Considering that I write these story songs you'd think the language barrier would be a real problem. I mean it's not like Ted Nugent doing an hour-long guitar solo. "But Japan is wonderful. I go there Top-selling records TOP SINGLES 1. PHYSICAL.

Olivia Newton-John 2. PRIVATE EYES. Daryi Hall John Oam 3. WAITING FOR A GIRL LIKE YOU, Foreign 4. START ME UP, The Rolling Stones 5.

HERE I AM. Air Supply 6. TRYIN' TO LIVE MY LIFE WITHOUT YOU, -BobSager 7. THE NIGHT OWLS, Utile River Band 8. EVERY LITTLE THING SHE DOES IS MAGIC, Tha Poliot .1 9.

ARTHUR'S THEME, Christopher Cross 10. THE THEME FROM HILL STREET BLUES, Mike Post TOP ALBUMS 1. 4, foreigner 2. TATTOO YOU, The Rolling Stones 3. GHOST IWTHE MACHINE, Police 4.

ESCAPE. Journey 5. NINE TONIGHT, Bob Segar 6. RAISE, Carth 7. BELLA DONNA, Stevie Nicks 8.

PRIVATE EYES, Daryi Hall and John Oates 9. ABACAB. Genesis 10. THE INNOCENT AGE, Dan Fogetberg COUNTRY SINGLES 1. ALL MY ROWDY FRIENDS.

Hank Williams Jr. 2. WISH YOU WERE HERE, Barbara Mandretl 3. MISS EMILY'S PICTURE, John Conlee 4. MY FAVORITE MEMORY, Merle Haggard 5.

BET YOUR HEART ON ME, Johnny lee 6. IF I NEEDED YOU, Emmylou Harris and Don Williams 7. ALL ROADS LEAD TO YOU, Steve Wanner 8. HEART ON THE MEND, Sylvia 9. IT ALL I CAN DO.

Arme Murray 10. ONE NIGHT FEVER, Mel TitUt New albums NEIL YOUNG CRAZY HOflSE Re-actor (Reprise): Young and his band are back into a freewheeling, hard-rocking groove on this release, and the LP includes several ot his best songs in several years. There is plen-, ty ot his customized, raucous electric guitar work, and even those who are not the biggest fans of Young's voice will experience only a couple of shivers along the way. While Young's lyrics are hardly profound, they are frequently biting. The best of the songs are "Opera Star," "Surfer "Joe and Moe the Weasel" "Southern Pacific" and "Motor City." A couple of others are relatively trivial.

THE BEE GEES Living Eyes (RSO): This is the first album from the Brothers Gibb Barry, Robin and Maurice since early 1979, when they were still riding the crest of "Saturday Night Fever," and so there will be plenty of interest in the fortunes of this one. Gone is the frantic disco beat and most of the falsetto vocals, but the Bee Gees continue to demonstrate a sharp ear tor mainstream pop. There is no way to deny the Gibbs knack for constructing highly appealing melodies, showcased with the brothers alternating on leads and doing nicely on the slick harmonies. This time around, they are not setting any trends, but Included are writing a Country music Brothers song titled "You Can't Have Your Kate and Edith, Too," may not be classic, but it made the top 10. The recent certification of Emmylou Harris' "Evangeline" LP as gold, signifying sales of 300,000 copies, makes it the sixth of her nine Warner Bros, albums to be so designated Kieran Kane; who hit the country charts in 1981 with "You're the Best" (Elektra), is working on an album tentatively titled "Man Around the House." It is due out the first week of 1982.

The Statler Brothers have been CCIN $10 IN QUARTERS PLUS A AND THAT'S JUST THE BEGINNING! album that tells a love story going to find out about the people involved. "I don't take myself very seriously. I take my craft seriously, and doing what I do is tough enough. To me the most intimidating thing in the world is a blank piece of paper. I'm not really very prolific.

I'll write maybe 12 songs a year tops. I have a repertoire of about 75 songs, which doesn't sound like many. You hear some people talking about having written, say, 300 songs, but I always wonder about that Were they 300 bad songs? "I guess it's natural for an artist to want to move on to new things. But an artist runs the risk of promoting himself from "one thing to another until he finally gets involved with something he can't do." So for the time being, at least, Rupert Holmes is content turning out his mushy story songs, either in four-minute or in full-album form. Review It's sound music and a real sight Modern pop, rock and soul groups frequently bring a lot more than musical instruments with them to their concerts.

Their audiences have come to expect colorful, even grandiose, stage productions. But it would be difficult to top the multimedia assault that Earth, Wind Fire staged at the Spectrum on Tuesday. The group has managed to produce a sort of contemporary form of opera; all the ingredients are there, including some unlikely plots and plenty of drama. Earth, Wind Fire has always offered more than just good music, particularly since becoming the pre eminent soul, jazz and rock group the mid-1970s. Its concert entrances have always grand, its exits fiery, and its overall concept somewhere between Cecil B.

DeMille and Steven Spielberg. At one point, lead singer Maurice White (who also writes many of the songs) waged a convincing Star Wars-style battle with an opponent dressed, to resemble Darth Vader. The scene used fake explosions, laser beams and other lighting tricks. But the visual grandeur should not obscure the group's sophisticated sound. The nine-piece core band, supported by a half-dozen other musicians lined up on one side of the stage, has within its ranks several virtuoso jazz The ensemble is capable of a rich and powerful sound, and shows a variety of timbres by giving the spot light to various pairings and combinations of instruments.

One might quibble with an occasional pedestrian lyric, but in the overall spectacle, mere words are reduced in importance. Edgar Koshatka Anderson's style grows in scope with out losing its glorious country sound. The young singer-songwriter wrote only three of the album's 10 songs, and only one of the three I Danced With the San Antone Rose is memorable, yet this LP contains an abundance of fine cuts. Ander son's distinctive George Jones-Lefty Frizzell hybridization of sound takes on the moaning fire of Hank Wu Hams Jr. in "San Antone Rose" and "Jessie Clay and the 12:05," as well as a bluegrass touch in Stop in the Road." Other notable cuts include Jo- El Sonnier's "One of.

Those Old Things," Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice," Alton Delmore's "Trail of Time," and the title song. Here An derson "stretches out" without going pop. Nobody gives you Atlantic City fun and excitement and games and prizes and action and show tunes and soap opera stars and everything like the Sands! And it's all at the best location in town, right where it's all happening! Sign up in our lobby for our newest drawing. We'll be giving away a Jaguar Replicar in Nov. and Dec.

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Review of the Week: In his new LP, "I Just Came Home to Count the Memories" (Warner John 4.