The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 418

CALENDAR POP MUSIC J. i- POPPOURRI 123 RADIO BY JAMES BROWN A society to preserve and encouragethose golden oldies. 124 JAZZ BY LEONARD FEATHER The aftermath of listing the top 10 and most overrated jazzmen. 131 'BACKLESS' BY STEVE POND Review of Eric Clapton's latest laid-back offering. 132 POP EVENTS 138 'STREISAND'S HITS' BY DAVE BLUME Streisand is confirmed as the first lady of pop.

140 'WEEKEND WARRIORS' BY TERRY ATKINSON An examination of Ted Nugent's power shortage. 142 POP NEWS BY DENNIS HUNT Marriage has given Eric Carmen a new outlook. 143 ENOUGH ROPE' BY DON SNOWDEN The Clash's U.S. debut release: not for punks only. 144 LIVE BOOTLEG' BY TERRY ATKINSON Aerosmith struts its potent stuff.

ting style. See Page 144. (18) "Greatest Hits," Barry Manilow. Arista A2L 8609. This two-record set is an excellent reminder of the delicious ditties Manilow performed in his first two albums.

Manilow should play a copy and realize how poorly the mushy later hits predominant here compare. (19) "The Best of Earth, Wind Fire, Vol. 1," Earth, Wind and Fire. Columbia FC 35647. In addition to great EWF oldies like "Singascng," and "Getaway," and the recent "Got to Get You Into My Life," this collection includes two new briskly paced cuts "September" and "Love Music" that rank with the band's best.

An excellent package with no extraneous or weak tracks. (20) "Dog and Butterfly," Heart. Portrait FR 35555. Rock songs without color or intensity, attempts at pastoral prettiness that achieve only pastel pretension this is as much an impediment to Heart's momentum as the unauthorized "Magazine" LP. (21) "Some Girls," the Rolling Stones.

Rolling StonesAtlantic COC 39108. Full of irreverence and energy, "Some Girls" is a splendid return to form and ranks with the best albums the Stones have ever done. (22) "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," Neil Diamond. Columbia SC 35625. This LP, featuring the Streisand duet on the title tune, is more in the inviting yet unfocused vein of last year's "I'm Glad You're Here With Me Tonight" than in his peak "Beautiful Noise'V'Moods" mold.

(23) "Pieces of Eight," Styx. SP 4724. Aims for progressive-rock splendor and hard-rock dynamism, falls short of both. This longtime Top 10 resident has one or two punchy rockers and lots of overblown filler. (24) "Weekend Warriors," Ted Nugent.

Epic FE 35551. One of Please Turn to Page 12H Linda Ronstadt (15) "A Single Man," Elton John. MCA 3065. John hasn't recaptured the appealing spirit of his best songs in this modest effort. The album, featuring his sparest, simplest sound since 1972's "Honky Chateau," is John's way of starting from square one with a new team.

Promising but tame. (16) "Cruisin'," Village People. Casablanca NBLP 7118. "Y.M.C.A.," this uproarious group's single, mixes disco sprightliness with a catchy singalong chorus. There's much of the old MGM musical spirit in the rest of this lively, entertaining package.

A party natural. (17) "Live Bootleg," Aerosmith. Columbia PC2-35564. Over an hour of fierce, fiery hard rock that should more than satisfy Aerosmith's followers and may even make some converts. Contains several examples of their snarling, high-strut ROD STEWART AS A BLOND ON BLONDES BY ROBERT HILBURN BLONDES HAVE MORE FUN, Rod Stewart.

Warner Bros. BSK 3261. Rod Stewart, rock's most famous blond, is out to have more fun himself in this glossy 10-song collection. Stung perhaps by charges that he has lost touch with rock 'n' roll, the Britisher is in a playful mood. The music is often rowdy and irreverent.

But Stewart's effectiveness is marred by his fascination with and uneasiness over his image as rock's premiere playboy. Realizing the commercial value and artistic limitations of that role, he both mocks and fuels it here. In last year's "Foot Loose and Fancy Free" album, Stewart attempted to move beyond the narrow image to a more evocative, personal stance in "You're in My Heart" and especially "I Was Only Joking." The songs were among the most exquisite ballads of the 1970s and showed that Stewart, long acknowledged as an out- Billy Joel (7) "Comes a Time," Neil Young. Warner Bros. BSK 2266.

Beneath a gentle exterior is a probing, restless undercurrent centering on a melancholy search for romance and contentment. Less urgent and compelling than his previous LPs, but still a superior work. (8) "C'est Chic," Chic. Atlantic SD19209. Nothing else on this album even comes close to "Le Freak," the group's smartly arranged disco hit.

The rest consists of pedestrian disco pieces and plodding ballads. It's surprising that this so-so work is one of the fastest-rising disco albums ever. (9) "Jazz," Queen. Elektra 6E-166. The title aside, Queen remains a rock 'n' roll band.

The difference is more humor, spunk and sly commentary than in past LPs. The band's most significant step forward since its "A Night at the Opera" in 1975. (10) "Time Passages," Al Stewart. Arista AB 4190. Stewart continues to stress his moody, lyrical side at the expense of his equally attractive crisp, vigorous side.

The styles work best together. 1 1 "Living in the U.S.A.," Linda Ronstadt. Asylum 6E 155. Ronstadt sticks to her usual formula, but the result is a fresh, inviting demonstration of her country, pop, rock and instincts. (12) "Chaka," Chaka Kahn.

Warner Bros. BSK 3245. Khan's flashy, seductive persona is intact on the singer's debut solo album. The LP features some effective, ground-breaking moves, and presents a more mature image of a woman whose voice contains enough gutsy, good-natured bravado to keep on fulfilling her fans' fantasies. (13) "Brother to Brother," Gino Vannelli.

SP 4722. Vannelli's voice and lyrics conjure up a lounge-act image, but the music's harmonic opulence is on a level with Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan and a few others. The whole can't be discounted because of the weakness of some parts. (14) "Backless," Eric Clapton. RSO 1-3039.

A respectable, easygoing album with few standouts and few major disappointments. Clapton shortchanges his abilities with this undemanding routine. See Page 131. TT A. Ct "Hus-tl-er" and "bach-el-or." Ouch.

The intent is to scuff the aloof side of the playboy image and show that Stewart is really just a good old rocker after all, and it works-within limits. Stewart's band gives him the most comfortable and spirited support he's enjoyed on any of his Warner Bros, solo albums. They're especially potent on the disco-spiked "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy," a look at the singles scene that's No. 1 in England. "Ain't Love a Bitch," which is Stewart's who-can-figure-it-all-out equivalent of Paul Simon's "Still Crazy After All These Years," is the album's most affecting work.

It's supported by the gentle elegance of "The Best Days of My Life," which could be interpreted as a toast to Stewart's fans, and "Is That the Thanks I Get," which surely will be interpreted as a retort to Britt Ekland's breakup lawsuit. The problem is that too few of the other songs live up to the promise of "Foot Loose." Even the old Motown hit "Standing in the Shadows of Love" is flawed by a clumsy, whispering vocal tag. The album ends awkwardly with "Scarred and Scared," a maudlin slice of death-row rock. While "Blondes" is Stewart's most spiritual musical package, his failure to either fully embrace or more forcefully reject his sex-symbol status leaves its tone more uneasy than fascinating. pi 7 Rod Stewarts new album is entitled "Blondes Have More Fun," standing singer, also is a gifted songwriter.

In this follow-up LP, Stewart slips back to a more conventional role. His playboy image is so much on his mind, in fact, that he mentions Hugh Hefner in one of the songs. But the reference is teasing. It comes in "Attractive Female Wanted," a tune that casts Stewart in the role of an ordinary guy longing for companionship. Stewart takes advantage of the song's ludicrous (for him) premise to inject playfully some rhymes that are so strained even he must have winced.

Among them: T3.