The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • 105

I fe By J. D. Considine Sun Pop Music Cntic iar themes, the other songs here "Rock This Joint," "Who Loves You," "Just One Kiss" positively wallow in cliche. And frankly, if you must listen to a song calling Itself "Kick Start My Heart," do yourself a favor and choose the one written by Motley Crue. Dylan himself sounds pretty lame In "Flashback" as he attempts to breathe new life into the Impressions' oldie "People Get Ready." But where "Born on the Fourth" manages to soft-pedal the decrepitude of contemporary rock by filling out the album with the predictable pomposities of John Williams' symphonic score, "Flashback" shows no shame in offering the worst in new music, from the sappy psychedelia of the Ultraviolets to the blatant Bowie-isms of Flesh for Lulu.

with changing tastes while maintaining a musical identity and nowhere is that task tougher than in Yet Earth, Wind Fire has not only kept its sound current, but with "Heritage" actually seems to have been invigorated by the process of change. Take a tune like "Wanna Be the Man" with its bouncy chorus, tight falsetto harmonies and intoxicating swirl of percussion, it has all the earmarks of an classic. Yet by toughening up the beat and tossing in a little rapping (by M.C. Hammer, no less), it seems as vital as anything on the charts. Now, how's that for understanding your heritage? HERITAGE Earth, Wind fire (Columbia 45266) Perhaps the most difficult balance for any successful pop group to attain over the course of a career is managing to sound consistent yet fresh, keeping up BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY Original Soundtrack Recording (MCA 6340) FLASHBACK Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (WTG 46042) Contrary to popular belief, the greatest rock and roll of all time wasn't all recorded In the '60s.

But after listening to the soundtrack albums from "Flashback" and "Born on the Fourth of July," it's easy to understand how listeners might be left with that impression. It's painfully obvious that the best performances on either album come courtesy of the oldies. Though they might have been included for verisimilitude, these '60s songs whether Steppenwolf "Born to Be Wild" from "Flashback" or Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" from "Born on the Fourth" provide most of the listening pleasure on either album. The remakes don't help, either. Edie Brickell may have a nice time with "Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall" on the "Fourth" album, but she and her New Bohemians never approach the angry portent of Bob Dylan's original.

Then again, Hot sounds ALANHAH MYLES Alannah Mytes (Atlantic 7 81956) As singles go, "Black Velvet" is a real attention-grabber, built around mysterious, Elvis-evoking lyrics, a sensuous, insinuating backbeat and Alannah Myles' sultry, sensational singing. In fact. It's such an all-around wonderful performance that It's hard not to be disappointed by "Alannah Myles," this Canadian singer's American debut. It isn't that Myles herself can't keep up with the pace set by the single; Indeed, her singing is wonderful throughout the album. The songwrit-ing is another matter, though, and where "Black Velvet" offers new twists on famil (Reprise) 10 Billy Joel, "I Go to Extremes, Columbia BLACK SINGLES 1 Stacy Lattisaw featuring Johnny Gill, "Where Do We Go From Here," Motown 2 Janet Jackson, 'Escapade, 3 Paula Abdul, "Opposites Attract' Virgin 4 Mikl Howard, "Under New Management," Atlantic 5 Surface, "Can We Spend Some Columbia 6 Soul II Soul, 'Jazzie's Virgin 7 Qffincy Jones, 'Secret Garden, Qwest (WB) 8 Christopher Williams, "Promises, Promises, Here are Radio Records' best-selling records tor the week ending tomorrow: TOP-40 SINGLES 1 Paula Abdul, "Opposites Virgin 2 Janet Jackson, "Escapade, 3 Roxette, EMI 4 Mllll Vanllll, "All or Arista 5 Cover Girls, "We Can't Go Wrong, Capitol 6 Bad English, "Price of Epic 7 B-52's, Reprise 8 Gloria Estefan, "Here We Are," Epic 9 Chicago, "What Kind of Man Would I Full Moon ALANNAH MILES 1 JOAN JETT RUBY TURNER THE HIT LIST 4 Paradise fit features: IClCMilh Alrirflt SALE! CASSETTE OR LP 52( PwidtMLeavce In the Wind Duly DMdrPrMty Vcrt'Lov Hurts CaMoM HrfcTtMfTiisJi Twm Hn Com Today A.

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