News-Pilot from San Pedro, California • 31

Daily BreezeNews-Pilot Frl Aug 4 1 978 Rock and a new found popularity have helped to put Thin Brian Downey Brian Robertson Phil Lynott and Scott Gorham on top Record reviews Rita's fine but lacks identity Who's rockin' Thin Lizzy is on top at last By Joseph Bensoua Thin Lizzy as gathered by now is here to stay and at the top no less After years of scratching clawing and having people leave the band only to rejoin it later Thin Lizzy has struck it rich What sold critics and rock lovers alike to Thin world of heads up rock roll was its 1976 tour coupled with a strong effort in Now after moving from Mercury to a new label Thin Lizzy lets loose with everthing its got in and (Warner Bros) a compilation of live concerts from Dallas to Canada to England There are no surprises in store for those already familiar with this power rock played at gut level Bassistvocalist Phil Lynott is as up front as ever as is the furious drumming of Brian Downey With the volume turned up guitarists Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson continue to complement each other well Its hard to find any particular highlights off this two-album set but one cut that is a standout is Thin socko version of Bob Many of the familiar hits are present including Boys are Back in the Fox Meets Jimmy the and a new one in You some great stuff here and as usual solid rock roll always sounds better raw and live And speaking about solid raw rock roll how about some knock-out drag-out hard rock from Yesterday (London) Like Van Halen Yesterday Today is one of the classiest hard rock bands (This is the second album for this Oakland-based foursome) One thing always admired about this group besides the excellent band vocals and guitar play of Dave Meniket-ti and Phil Kenemore is the crunching drumming of Leonard Haze Producer Jimmy Robinson really knows how to bring it to the front The LP is hard rock through and through an exotic rocker in of (which Meniketti felt inspired to arrange after a trip to the land of the Pharoahs) and a cut the epitome of hard rock There is definitely nothing quaint or pretentious about this group second effort on Ariola Forever would be a strong favorite in a Styx-sound alike contest but only if judged on the basis of a couple of songs Prism cooks up an excellent array of rock roll variety even if it does tend to get tied down at times with cushy love ballads (which admit it does extremely well) This Canadian band shows admirable discipline in its foray into keyboard-accented rock and would be a good addition to the record stockpile (Atlantic) is a step above its debut album but remains as contrived and predictable as its predeccesor And while that tired and true predictability is only matched by lack of imagination the group will in all probability have another big album on its hands two songs on the album and have just the right hooks phrasings and simple lyrics needed for controlled rock roll It also assures continued success on the AM dial About the only way Foreigner could work up a sweat playing its brand of rock roll in the studio would be if all the windows were shut and the heat was turned up Still it does warrant a little pat on the back After all it is high-grade commercial stuff be caught in a swamp of mediocrity WR Rock Daryl Hall and John Oates (RCA) This live album is really nothing special but it is an up-tempo collection of familiar and not-so-familar Daryl Hall and John Oates compositions The performances are stylishly inspired and the recording is extremely clean a lot like the studio recordings but there is a bite and immedia- Records 13 col 1 mately Barish starts out with On a selection now made famous by Jefferson Starship and maintains the same easy-going mood-making pace throughout Kiss Made The World lends a jazzier note with the jubilant Tower of Power horn section heightening the score Barish sings all lead vocals and plays 12-string guitar flute and percussion as well Not for lovers only! Lessard Pablo Cruise Pablo Cruise is a group in need of an identity The brand of pop-rock often flavored with a touch of disco is nothing more than mildly entertaining Each track sounds like the previous one making for monotonous listening Last year the group made it big with the single Gonna but there is nothing nearly as interesting as that breakthrough single on Pablo Cruise performs with an upbeat and positive attitude that is refreshing and lively but without a more substantial musical stand the group will always Me Rita Coolidge Rita next album should be fantastic Her last album brought the deserving Miss Coolidge into the spotlight with renditions of a handful of standards It was nice stuff but it failed to show the full artistic range she is capable of For Me Miss Coolidge has chosen less familar works by some of best writers (Boz Scaggs Christy McVie) and mixed it up with a few classics Bye The result is a more personal sounding album but one that tends not to be all Rita Cooldige Her sweet melodic voice is in fine form but it would be nice to hear it on material written specifically for her Her strength is in delivering a ballad and not especially interpretating them Me finest efforts include Jealous and Now that Rita Coolidge is finally a star hopefully she will work on developing her own distinctive identity Robak Barish is outstanding in a field of dying romantic songwriters In nine out of 10 songs on this album the word is intoned inti CHICAGO TED NUGENT COMMODORES KANSAS THIN LIZZY BLUE OYSTER CULT UFO FRANK SINATRA STEVE MARTIN BOB WELCH JEFFERSON STARSHIP LIGHTFOOT DIANA ROSS RANDY NEWMAN BONNIE RAITT NUREYEV CLEO LAINE JEAN LUC PONTY LITTLE RIVER BAND BRO JOHNSON DODGERS VS GIANTS ANGELS RAMS ELO JOURNEY AUG 26 BLACK SABBATH VAN HALEN SEPT 23 COMING SOON: MOODY BLUES BOSTON BOZ SCAGGS HEART WHO EAGLES BEE GEES DEPOSITS ON UPCOMING EVENTS GUARANTEE TICKETS ccx THE TICKET OUTLET 'JSKES 336 PACIFIC COAST HWY HERMOSA BCH 90254 a OPtM 7 DAYS 376-0587 772-2488 IVJxLV.