The Morning Call from Allentown, Pennsylvania • 52

B(Q)R2o)g Review by: BILL WHITE, TOM SOMACH, PAUL A. WILLISTEIN JACK McGAVIN, GLENN CLARK, KARL NEDOENIEN, KATHY McAULEY, DAVE GASKILL, and LEN RIGHI. Of The Morning Call SOUNDTRACK: Set. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (RSO) intolerance. Robinson, himself a homosexual, dedicated the song to the World Health Organization, which classifies homosexuality as a disease.

Also, be sure to catch TRB's pop-sounding hit, co songs sound pretty much alike, the record makes for a generally pleasant experience. CHUCK MANGIONE: Children Of Sanchez tions' "Rejoice" LP, which reached platinum status, but it isn't far off the mark. If there is a weakness here, it's that, while the lyrics change, the musical arrangements sound similar, and that similarity goes back to the "Rejoice" blockbuster. Be that as it may, it's easy to like "Smile," "Ain't No Doubt About," "Whole Lot of Shakin'," and most of the other seven cuts. JEAN-LUC PONTY: Cosmic Messenger (Atlantic) synthesizer (doesn't sound too much like Stevie Wonder on the one hand, or Kraftwerk on the other).

The music is funky, sounding much like that by Roxy Music, David Bowie, Sly Stone, Dr. John, and Earth, Wind Fire. But lipstick and whiteface aside, the group isn't very original. This essential weakness is apparent in Japan's version of "Don't Rain On My Parade." Suppose Mick Jagger had starred in "Funny Girl" instead of Barbra Streisand. Certainly would've been different.

But like this LP, it's not something you'd want to experience twice. Different isn't always better. SAVOY BROWN: Savage Return (London) song, "Grease" seem misguided (equating the grease in the kids' hair to their quest for freedom), it's still a solid comeback for Frankie Valli. "Greased Lightnin' is catchy, and "Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee" and "Summer Nights" are.decent show tunes. "Hopelessly Devoted To You," Olivia Newton-John's hit, sounds like another of her sappy pseudo-country ana is out of place in the movie and on this LP.

Reportedly it was inserted at the insistence of her manager, who demanded she have a showcase number. Also out of place are a several songs all of them terrible that weren't in the movie. Apparently they were added to flesh this out to a double album and to give Sha Na Na a chance to do versions of early 'n' hits. Whatever attraction SbaNa Na has, it fails to come across on vinyl. SYNERCY: Cords (Passport Records) "2-4-6-8 Motorway ana a striking version of Dylan's "I Shall Be Released." STARCASTLE: Real To Reel (Epic) This LP captures Starcastle's high volume, heavy metal sound.

Tight harmonies, flashy guitar-playing and a solid bottom of bass and drums characterize the group as one that probably would be more impressive in concert. The album suffers from a sameness in pace and attack: Starcastle's rock is unrelenting. Occasionally there's a glimmer of cleverness: "I'm nobody's fool but fay own now baby" on (you guessed it!) "Nobody's Fool." This tune also exhibits the ru- diments of melody which, unfortunately, is lacking in most of the nine songs. RUPERT HOLMES: Pursuit Of Happiness (Private Stock) I i Holmes already has written for theoest (Streisand, Manil-ow, Mac Davis) and now he's decided to go it alone. On his debut, he sings 11 new songs in the commercial ballad idiom people seem to buy these days.

Though the music is carefully varied and the instrumental polished, the LP comes off a bit too commercial. The songs seem plastic, the singer locked away in a distant echo chamber. You want Holmes to come in closer, to breathe a little, to show some personal warmth. There are exceptions: "Show Me" is a skillful vocal exercise for Holmes and his excellent backup singers. It verges on a Manhattan Transfer treatment, a fusion of jazz harmonies to an up- Deat two-step.

SOUNDTRACK: Crease (RSO) The "Sgt. Pepper's" soundtrack should be labeled with a skull and crossbones, like any other poison. "Crease," on the other hand, is a mixed bag, with liberal doses of charm and trash. "Sgt. Pepper's" is a collection of Beatles songs, loosely organized by an insipid plot into an insipid movie.

Its presence in the Top 200 (Top 1,000 even) is a disgrace. Peter Frampton (now renamed and the Bee Gees have helped their careers with this mess about as much as Benedict Arnold helped his by selling the plans for West Point to the British. The Bee Gees' failure is particularly ironic, since they often were accused of copying the Beatles in the '60s. They finally got the chance to copy with impunity, and they blew it. Frampton's bland vocals make me yearn for the hard-'' driving sound of the Ray Con-iff singers.

This effort should convince those few who took this guy seriously that he just can't cut it as a rock singer. George Martin's inept ar- rangements and production help do everyone in. The music has been sanitized; the sharp edges removed. By producing themselves, Earth, Wind Fire and Aerosmith have partially escaped that fate. I'm still not crazy about Aerosmith's "Come Together," but it sounds great compared to the other mush.

"Got To Get You Into My Life" may annoy Beatle purists, but it's lively and entertaining. Steve Martin's Maxwell's Silver Hammer" may be a howl in the movie, but not on record. Alice Cooper makes a fool of himself on "Because," presumably recorded before he kicked his alcohol habit. The movie "Grease," another Robert Stigwood production, has been much more successful than the "Sgt. Pepper's" film.

So is the LP. You could argue that much of this music has nothing to do with rock 'n' roll, and you'd be right. But "You're The One That I Want" is good pop rock, and although the lyrics of the title Wt rf This two-record package is Mangione's overblown attempt to make musical meaning of a film score. It's long on vinyl, short on listener appeal. Much of the LP is "novelty" pieces that may have meaning to Mangione personally because of nis involvement in producing the film's soundtrack, but which don't come across because of their subjectivity.

One of the better cuts, "Pilgrimage," utilizes Mangione's fluid -flugelhorn tonalities to the fullest, but its at-first haunting theme grows tiresome after the umpteenth repitition. Mangione's poetry (printed on the jacket) is passable, except that somebody named Don Potter sings it. Perhaps the accounting profession is more in Potter's line. This seems to be a fill-in album one falling between previous successes and the something more to come. I'd wait until that time.

TOM ROBINSON BAND: Power In The Darkness (Harvest) TRB has a new wavepunk audience because of its leftist political bent, but anyone who's been grounded in solid rock will find much to like on this English band's two-rec- i ord debut. "Up Against The Wall," "Ain't Gonna' Take It," and the title cut are successful political songs that rock hard, while "Too Good To Be True" and "Winter Of 79" are slower and slinkier songs that also manage to get the message against racism and repression across. I tally four clinkers with a politcal message; those songs' lyrics are too strident and full of useless sloganeering. The two gems of this package are "Martin" and "Glad To Be Gay." The former is a charming song about Robinson's childhood friend and their misadventures together. The latter is a bitter slam at the "queer bashing" tactics of young Brit hoods, the media and gays themselves, who, by their silence, abet the public's attitudes of injustice and Jean-Luc's latest is an understatement of his complete mastery of the electric violin.

He is totally in control, and while he doesn't seem to be searching, he never stumbles. Most of the eight cuts bear his trademark style of exciting. electric violin alloyed with tight instrumental harmonies and subdued rhythm sections. It would be silly to analyze this disc cut-by-cut because it exists as a whole, a mood-creating device that defies strict definition. The selections grab hold of the listener, lift him to the heavens in a frenzy of adrenalin and toe-tapping, and then gently return him to earth.

Especially good are the title track, "Etheral Mood," and "Egocentric Molecules." This LP has a place in any jazz or fusion fanatic's collection. FRANKIE VALLI: Frankie Vallie Is The Word (WarnerCurb) This LP is a radical change of pace for Valli, who, as lead vocalist for the Four Seasons, sold more than 85 million records during the 1960s and 70s. Valli again is at the top of the current sound: If this is 1978, it must be disco. Stacked up against the rest of the Disco Fever crowd, Valli fares above average, though his high, thin vocals sometimes get lost in the crowd of backup singers. The best number here is "Grease," the single that's already topped the charts, though the two songs written by Valli Love At All" and "Needing aren't bad.

Overall, with the exception of two slow numbers, the Valli beat goes on, and, since most dis si My faith in the future of rock has been restored by Savoy Brown's newest LP. In a day when every so-so band that can pound its guitars and. skip across a stage is considered a supergroup, it's nice taknow there's still a band concerned with playing good music. This 12-year-old British group doesn't depend on gimmicks, just solid rock 'n' roll. At the same time, Savoy Brown keeps its blues heritage evident.

"Don't Do It Baby, Do It" is a good blues ballad, and "Double Lover," the final and longest (6:10) cut, is a slow number that builds to an intensity which can only can be resolved by going back to the beginning of the LP. Kim Simmonds, the only original band member, can do with a guitar what most only dream of. His melodies sneak up almost unnoticed and leave a pleasant aftertaste. Choice cuts include "The First Night" and "Rock 'N' Roll Man," although every one's a winner. fLJ.

THE EMOTIONS: Sunbeam (Columbia) The best thing I can say about this LP is that I like it. The Emotions' brand of snappy and upbeat soul is good for my soul. Maurice White, guru of Earth, Wind Fire, produced this album, and I think he has blended well the talent he has brought together. I wouldn't say this disc is in the same class as The Emo Synergy is Larry Fast, known in the vinyl jungle as "The Wizard Of Electronic Music." With "Cords," this 26-year-old former Lafayette College student who has built customized electronic modules for Yes's Rick Wakeman. musically arrives.

Fast's third LP is pressed on clear vinyl and sounds like something out of this world. "Phobos And DeimosGoTo Mars," "Full Moon Flyer," and "Terra Incognita" are all evidence of that. The album cover looks like a still from the old Twilight Zone series, and the music reflects that eerieness. One point of interest is the new equipment Fast has developed and introduces here: Super-sequencers and the only us-uabie guitar synthesizer in existence. Listen and enjoy; it's quite an experience.

JAPAN: Adolescent Sex (Ariola) This band gets my vote for the year's most: 1. Different album art (A rising red sun and name in brush strokes on black); 2. Different song titles "Suburban Love," "Communist and 3. Different use of the.