The Morning Call from Allentown, Pennsylvania • 64

A 64 THE MORNING CALL, SATURDAY, JULY 17. WW I nPIAnn RECORDS 'QSrv t.H SF-'; It Vi, 1,111.1 iiiinwmfWi Mica Paris takes the safe route. A Gloria Estefan ground-breaking, NOTI 1 -f 1 ff' taatW 1.,., ill "I'll 'iir il nm I A Ashley Cleveland a well-crafted collection. A Maria McKee a female Michael Bolton? ing jazz piano. On her debut disc, Ms.

(a member of Mike Mainieri's Steps Ahead) performs classic, straight-ahead and contemporary tunes with assurance. She telegraphs her intentions from the first track, "Nardis," and gives an honest no-jive reading of Miles Davis' classic. The rest of the first half of 'Trust" has an intensity befitting of sidemen such as bassist Chamett Moffett saxophonist David Sanchez and drummer Al Foster. Best of the bunch is "Under the Suit" a Latinstraight-ahead tune with facile soloing, and Ms. Zs rich, sensitive "Forgive Me." The second, contemporary half of the disc also has its charms.

The title song is clear-headed and has a pleasant chorus and "lyakutanda," a duet with percussionist Gumbi Ortiz, is probing and immediate. It's not enough to praise 'Trust" for simply avoiding the dreaded smooth-jazz trap; it is the work of an pianist who intends to move the music forward and succeeds. Tim Darragh THE CRANBERRIES: Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? (Island) This collection of such-a-fool-for-you songs with one-word titles "Dreams," "Sunday," "Pretty," etc.) is far from tart the best cuts have the gentlest simplest touch on an acoustic guitar. And most are carried by the Sinead O'Connor-like voice of Dolores O'Riordan, backed by guitaristvocalist Noel Hogan. Some songs are almost interchangeable "Waltzing Back" and "Not Sorry" are minor-key warbles with lyrics that don't say particularly anything.

But things work best when tones are light and sunny, and everything is synthesized just right Melanie Novak (The Cranberries play Thursday night at the Theatre Of Living Arts, Philadelphia.) DANNY GATTON: Cruisin' Deuces (Elektra) While not well-known -among the general public, guitarist Gatton has gotten accolades from insiders the likes of which were once showered on Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Perhaps it's because he goes beyond just his timeless style and technique though he uses his large collection of vintage guitars to effortlessly master Latin-tinged jazz, rockabilly, retro rock n' roll and more on this follow-up to his acclaimed "88 Elmira St" Rather, his fretwork is so organic and natural, it's as if he has a personal relationship with his instrument. For instance, it could be his good-time drinking buddy out for fun on "Sun Medley" Train," "My Baby Left Me" and 'That's All Right," with Delbert McClinton on vocals) or "Thirteen Women." Or maybe a sassy, gum-cracking waitress on the funky "Sky King" and "Puddin" and Pie." Or the young, hot-rod-ding uncle who first introduced him to '50s music on "So Good" and the title track. Or the summer love that he still pines for on the sweetly romantic "Harlem Nocturne." Mostly, it's clear that Gatton loves his work and guitar, and is just bustin' out with pride and joy to share it. Paula H.Goff (Danny Gatton plays Friday night at the Chestnut Cabaret, Philadelphia.) BARERA STREISAND: Back To Broadway (Columbia) To say this is a Broadway album of pop standards old and new is not enough.

This is a Barbfs Streisand album of pop standards old and new. That says it all. Already at the top of the charts in its first week, the disc is a songwriters hall of fame. There's Rodgers and Hammerstein: an astounding "Some Enchanted Evening" from "South Andrew Uoyd Webber 'The Music of the Night" (a chilling duet with Michael Crawford) from "The Phantom of The Opera," "As If We Never Said Goodbye" and "With One Look," from the new musical "Sunset Stephen Sondheim: "Everybody Says Don't" from "Anyone Can Whistle," "I Have a LoveOne Hand, One Heart' (a lovely duet with Johnny Mathis) from "West Side Story," the moving "Children Will Listen" from "Into the Woods," and the tough-minded "Move On" from "Sunday in the Park with Frank Loesser: a stronger, less girlish "I've Never Been in Love Before" and a disco "Luck Be a Lady" from "Guys George and Ira Gershwin: "The Man I Love." and Kurt Weill: "Speak Low" from "One Touch of Venus." This is a masterful return more accurately, an expansion of 1 985 'The Broadway Album" for entertainment's most-hyphenated woman and movie-producer-activist-philanthropist). But simply there is The Voice: by turns exuberant, gentle, powerful, tender, soaring, sensual, operatic.

The disc confirms Streisand's supremacy among singers. She's beyond compare. If there's any doubt, buy this disc. Paul Willistein GLORIA ESTEFAN: Mi Tierra (Epic) It has been quite interesting to see Estefan's all-Spanish disc climb up the pop charts. While "Mi Tierra (My Home Land)" has been hailed as an almost ground-breaking endeavor, I just don't hear it.

There is really only one song in this syrupy collection of mostly romantic ballads that I can say is good, and that's the title track, an upbeat dance tune. This disc is being hailed as an innovative blend of Afro-Cuban rhythms such as charanga, muntuno and guaguanco and a kind of modern house music. But except for 'Tradicion (Tradition), which ends the record, the house music isn't nearly that apparent as the mix of those traditional Afro-Cuban rhythms. In the early 70s Willie Colon and the recently deceased Hector Lavoe mixed these rhythms with even more diversity, using Puerto Rican bomba and plena and even Brazilian samba. (And, I might add, Colon and Lavoe were not looking to become crossover conquerors, the apparent goal of Estefan's career.) There also is an apparent contradiction in the packaging.

The CD cover shows Estefan with her plucked eye brows and white beaded bodice in a Havana bordello from the 1 950s, seemingly yearning to return to Cuba and the Mafia whore house it once was. During this period in Cuban history the people who pioneered the rhythms she now embraces could not get a gig in Havana, much less cut records, because most of them Barbra Streisand beyond compare. Taylor Dayne on a creative quest. were black and the racism of white Cuban society stifled them. Clarence Elie-Rivera MICA PARIS: Whisper A Prayer (Island) Unlike her 1 988 debut, "So Good," where relatively unknown producers provided Paris with adventurous and somewhat eclectic musical settings that added to the appeal of her unique voice, on her third outing, the talented London native takes the safe (and well-traveled) route by using safe (and well-traveled) producers, Michael Narada Wal-den and Rod Tern pert on.

Paris also goes back to the retro-soul feel of her debut as opposed to her last album, 1 991 's "Contribution," which was a hipper, street-edged effort. In general, her unconventional voice doesn't quite click with the conventional programming from Walden and Temperton, who are shooting for mass appeal, something that didn't seem to be a major concern of Paris in the past. Cuts such as the first single, "I Wanna Hold Onto To You," and "I Never Felt Like This Before," both funky grooves, are an example of the well-done, yet same-old-pop-sound of Walden. There are bright spots the ballads "You Put A Move On My Heart," "Love Keeps Coming Back," both produced by Temperton, and "I Bless The Day," her promising first attempt at producing. Perhaps that's the answer she should produce herself.

Dennis Kelly TAYLOR DAYNE: Soul Dancing (Arista) Dayne, she of the unmistakably fiery delivery, probably could have kept pumping out simple, yet infectious, pop-dance numbers until doomsday and everyone would have been happy except perhaps Dayne. After cranking out eight consecutive Top 10 singles and a pair of double platinum discs from 1 987 to 1 990 and establishing herself as one of pop-music's reigning divas, this Long Island native took a kX- Lm Chriss'ie Hynde impersonation on the Memphis-flavored "I'm Gonna Soothe You," where she paves the road to infidelity with good intentions. So what's the excellent title track, a rousing, hilarious, '50s style gospel raveup, doing on such a misbegotten project? Why, whetting people's appetites for McKee's next disc, of course. Len Righi ASHLEY CLEVELAND: Bus Named Desire (RCA) With influences such as James Taylor and Steven Stills, and having backed up Patty Smythe, Emmylou Harris, and John Hiatt among others, it's not hard to imagine what's in store on Cleveland's second outing. Her debut was one of the most overlooked albums of 1 991 according to Billboard magazine.

So if you missed her the first time around, here's the lowdown. Cleveland sounds like a cross between Patty Smythe and Carly Simon; this comely Tennesseean's vocals are passionate without being overwrought (if it's theatrics you crave, look elsewhere). "Bus Named Desire" is a well-crafted, varied and intelligent collection of songs. "I'm Not That Way" is a ferocious, angry rocker, while the title track has a driving, spare arrangement that saves the song from sinking under its concerns. And with songs as funny and intelligent as "Henry Doesn't Care" (about a self-centered lover), "Bus" could be her ticket to some long-overdue recognition.

Larry Printz CARLENE CARTER: Little Love Letters (Giant) Carter's latest disc is studded with stars Heartbreakers Benmont Tench and Howie Epstein (her latest squeeze, the lucky stiff), members of NRBQ, Albert Lee, David Lindley and Dave Edmunds, among them. But "Little Love Letters" (arguably the best of her five discs) bears Carter's stamp. The clever, coltish single "Every Little Thing" is not only a crackerjack followup to her breakthrough hit, "I Fell in Love," but should bring a smile to ex-hubby Nick Lowe, as should the dandy rockabilly-flavored "Wastin' Time With You." The rollicking "I Love You 'Cause I Want To" is the perfect companion piece to Lyle Lovett's "She's Leaving Me Because She Really Wants To," while the country-gospel "Hallelujah In My Heart," about an unsuccessful life of sin, is a true moment of grace. And "Unbreakable Heart" is an understated ballad that recalls the innocence of the early '60s. Only two of the 14 tracks are subpar; for the most part, "Little Love Letters" is first class.

Len Righi MICHELLE MALONE: For You Not Them (Sister Ruby) What if you made an album and nobody noticed? After one unsuccessful shot with Arista Records, Atlanta's Michelle Malone decided to sit around and write for a year. That investment in time landed her a contract at Sony. Meanwhile, she's released her demonstration tape on a tiny independent label. One listen to "For You Not Them," and it's easy to see why Malone was snapped up faster than sump pumps in Iowa. Her voice is full of reckless abandon; swaggering like Keith Richards, wailing like Etta James, and all with the tongue firmly in cheek.

"Greatest Show On Earth" is the usual showbiz send-up, but Malone adds circus music. Other tracks show her twisted take on standard rock forms, including the VU-drenched "Peace Frog" and the country-rock "Knee Deep." But all is not sweetness and light Unfortunately, Malone turns serious, and despite noteworthy efforts such as "Worthless Bones," a portrayal of homelessness, she proves better at bravado than brain power. Despite its uneven nature, Malone's sophomore effort proves that some things are better the second time around. Larry Printz RACHEL Trust The Universe (Columbia) Don't be fooled by the name. Rachel (as in Nicolaz-zo) is no rap lady.

Ms. instead plays an elegant, swing- I ff three-year break. In that time, Dayne worked on expanding her musical horizons while, thankfully, not abandoning her dance-rooted past. She co-wrote six of the 1 1 tracks on "Soul Dancing" and packed them full of the passion and energy found in her earlier work while broadening her stylistic range. The result is a decent mix that includes traditional house-inflected material such as "Someone Like You" and "I'll Wait" (helped along by famed Madonna writerproducer Shep Pettibone) and better-than-standard ballads such as "Send Me A a duet with Keith Washington, 'The Door To Your Heart," and her current chart-climbing Barry Whie remake, "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love." The stuff in between, while satisfying Dayne's creative quest, is likeable enough, but not yet up to par with her dance-track work.

But this should keep the throngs happy until it gets there. Ernie Long MARIA McKEE: You Gotta Sin To Get Saved (Geffen) I don't know what it is, but reviewers seem to lose all perspective when discussing McKee. Yes, the former Lone Justice singer has a special talent, but it has yet to be fully exploited on disc. True to form, however, some have praised McKee's second solo record (her first album in four years) to high heaven, even though she appears hell-bent on becoming (shudder) the female Michael Bolton. Don't be surprised if the histrionics-laden "I Forgive You" and "Why Wasn't I More Grateful" (which is almost redeemed by a blistering guitar solo) turn up on Mr.

Anguish's next record. Continuing her attempt to fashion a career as a soul singer, McKee covers two Van Morrison songs "My Sad Lonely Eyes," which gets a tacky south-of-the-bor-der treatment and 'The Way Young Lovers Do," which sounds like the stuff Judas sings when he's agitated in "Jesus Christ Superstar." Topping things off is McKee's eerie.