Daily News from New York, New York • 310

'U D(E3wi en Till II i I 1 I ft'l HBttttM cmcm me By SUSAN TOEPFER lAROLE BAYER SAGER didn't discover "the next Judy Garland" on this trip to New York. In far i t': n't even get to consider the current Gi'da Rner her own first choice the female role in Neil Simon's two-character liiillllilliiPllil liiii rach is an exceedingly good-looking man who chose to perform, so the majority of the public doesn't even know about Hal David, who was equally responsible for those songs." For Carole, the first LP served as "a giant: demo for the industry" convir.cing established artists to rush to her material. But now, she's faced with the dilemma of giving her best songs to performers she admires or keeping herself. "I'm still more a writer than a singer," she says, "but given the choice of Dolly Parton having a hit with 'Heartbreaker' or having it myself, sure I'd want my own. "But because I'm not a my interpretations are totally unthreatening.

Another performer will hear a cut on my album and say, 'I could sing thit great' or just, 'I couid sing I've got a cult following in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. But I'm still resigned to the fact that that may be all I'll ever have." She first started putting words to a friend's music at New York's High School of Music Art; when that partner decided to drop out for marriage, Carole went on to work with Toni Wine and churn out "formula hits" for Screen Gems. "There were many times when I sat down and wrote 'the follow-up for In a way, it was destructive, but I'm glad I had the background. Now, whan I hear a melody that has the possibility of sounding like a hit, I can sometimes guide the composer." Despite such grounding in hit melodies, Sager hasn't been that pleased with the songs from her albums that hae been released with the hope for a hit. "The singles are slightly dishonest, blatant attempts to get on the charts.

If I were attacked, I'd have a hard time defending a song like 'It's The Falling In because I was so desperately trying to write a single I wish I didn't have to play that game, but if I win, a million people will hear my LP, who I am, what I'm proud of. Like 'To Make You Smile Again that's a song that's totally honest and uniquely me." Yet Paul Simon, for one, believes "When I Need You" (a No. 1 hit for Leo Sayer) is the best song Sager's ever done. "When I wrote it," she says, "I remember thinking, 'This is almost dumb." J( musical, "They're piwj-ri r-m W'th Gilda locked into a "Saturday Night Live" contract, Lucie Arnaz. is signed for the pan.

The woman who's wriUen the words to such hits as "Midnight Blue." "When I Need and "Nobody Does It Better" has more icason than most writer; to worry about wro will sin.t her thoughts onstage. Simon's story, set to open on Broadway in February, is about a lyricist who moves in with a composer just like Sager did, a year ago, with Marvin Hamlisch. Now, they're both providing the score for their stage counterparts. "He's a veru successful, award-winning composer who's not so open about his emotions," Carole describes the Hamascli character, to be played by comedian Robert Klein. "She's Annie Hall-like, a little scattered, off-centered, and very vocal about her feelings," she says of her own.

"Neil didn't sit down to write our life story, yet he did. So I think there was a universality there. It's really a love story, a microcosm of what's happening in hundreds of relationships today." Hamlisch, with his Tony Award-winning "A Chorus Line" score behind him, is already an established Broadway name. And it was the contemporary slant cf the Simon project which also attracted Sager to a genre many young songwriters have resisted. "I thinsc of it as a play with songs, net a conventional musical," she says.

"I can't see myself writing a traditional show, for 'Some Enchanted Evening' voices. These songs are just an extension ol what I usually write." If so, the show may yield a number of pop hits. In the past few years, Sager's collaborations with Melissa Manchester, Peter Allen, roommate Hamlisch and others have made her one of the most successful lyricists around. Then, there's the recent recording career that's propelled her from a hidden talent to a visible personality. "Carole Bayer Sager Too," her second Elektra Sager: "It'd be hard defending some of my songs." release, is a potentially more commercial album than her first.

Still, her tentative, whispy-coarse voe.ds scarcely place her among I he great singers. And she admits that the decision to enter the ranks of the singer-songwriters partially arose from her frustration at not receiving mass attention. "I'd be lying if I said that wasn't in my mind. Most people aren't aware of lyricists, except for Sammy Cahn, because he made himself visible. Burt Bacaa- LP, filled with, the kind of mood music that provides no challenge for Roberta's well-proven talent.

Boston "Don't Look Back" (Epic) Tom Scholz's tunes aren't as good, though the music, for those who like it, is still pretty enough. After a three-year wait, Boston's fans may be disappointed, if pleasantly, in this follow-up to their top-selling debut. Weather Report "Mr. Gone" (Columbia) The longest lasting and most palatable of the electric jazz groups continues to provide a couple outstanding cuts Gone," "Young and compelling moments on even the most predictable selections. Devo "Are We Not Men?" (Warner Bros.) In which the most exhilerating "new wave" band gets its big chance and blows it.

While the group's sing-song "Satisfaction" remains a viable alternative, the wonderful lunacy of their "Jocko Homo" and "Mongoloid" singles is lost to the gloss of more sophisticated production. Phoebe Snow "Against The Grain" (Columbia) Snow may finally be finding her direction with this, her most straight-ahead rock album. Muscle Shoals' Barry Beckett (co-producing with Phil Ramone) and some of the best studio musicians in New York contribute a driving edge that saves even the most indifferent songs. S. T.

By CYNTHIA RAYMOND 1 '-J fm Louis J. Garcia Staff Vice President Braniff International We try to accommodate the tastes of all our passengers with classical music, jazz, disco, Latin, pop, even sing-along, which we find older people seem to enjoy. We follow the music charts to make sure our selections are up-to-date. For a change of pace, we have a channel of comedy, a la-guage course and a channel on world affairs. Record roundup Neil Young "Comes A Time" (Reprise) The quiet ironies of love, as perceived by Young in one of his strongest, most poetic LP's.

A near-perfect effort through "Peace of Mind," "Already One" and his masterful rendition of Iari Tyson's "Four Strong Winds." Recorded with Crazy Horse, the album is also blessed with the seductive harmonies of Nicolette Larsen. Linda Ronstadt "Living In The U.S.A." (Asylum) Cute and perky as ever, America's sweetheart continues her "Simple Dreams" decline. If possible, the dreams are even more vapid here, from her monotonous version of Chuck Berry's "Back In The U.S.A." through a sing-by-numbers "Love Me Tender." But the oddest selection of all is Elvia Costello's "Alison." Technically, Linda sings it perfectly; typically, she doesn't know what she's singing about. Funkadelic "One Nation Under A Groove" (Warner Bros.) "Who says a jazz band can't play dance music? Who says a rock band can't play funky? Who says a funk band can't play rock?" Not this reviewer. Another skillful funkollection from George, Bootsy and a formidable portion of the P-Funk crew.

Daryl Hall John Oates "Along The Red Ledge" (RCA) Moving further from their base, the duo has come up with a much-needed hit single, "It's A Laugh" and, unfortunately, a sound that lives up to the title. Van Morrison "Wavelength" (Warner Bros.) Carried by the singer's and the synthesizer's soul, "Wavelength" is the best single to come out this year, and the album's his best in ages. Although some of the material is disappointing, "Lifetimes," "Checkin' It Out," and "Take It Where You Find It" put it high on top of the heap. Roberta Flack "Roberta Flack" (Atlantic) The woman who had the good taste to turn down "You Light Up My Life" now perpetrates three Joe Brooks songs on what is basically a very lazy Who decides what music to play for passengers on airlines and why? If: i (4 xna James L. Ferguson Ona Burns, Manager Cabin Entertainment Trans World Airlines We have a big band sound, a classical channel and country and Western.

Our programs change every two months. Through surveys we find a lot of our passengers want music to relax and. work by. But there is a sharp increase of leisure travelers from June through September so we try to take their taste into If Wi rk i Genera Foods I don't listen to music on the airlines because I don't like sticking those things in my ears. However, I do enjoy most types of music, although I must admit I have trouble understanding the kind of stuff my kids listen to.

I like the classics very much, but don't particularly care for the opera, except for a few arias. Disco what is disco? 55 to CO.