POPULAR MUSIC

Discs and tapes reviewed by MISSED CONNECTIONS, HIDDEN HEARTS Chris Albertson

Phyl Garland INthe Seventies, singer/songwriter Alanna Nash John Prine and his friend the late Steve Goodman carved out a niche Mark Peel in American popular music that Peter Reilly few other artists, in or out of the coun- try/folk milieu, attempted to fill-that Steve Simels of illuminating the glories and foibles of everyday life with gentle wit, occasional cynicism,andsoft -eyedbutright - BRYAN ADAMS: Reckless.Bryan Ad- hearted sentiment. At least three of ams (guitar, vocals); vocal and instru- Prine's songs-SamStone,about the mentalaccompaniment. One Night disenfranchisement of the Vietnam vet; Love Affair; She's Only Happy When Hello In There,concerning the neglect She's Dancin; Run to You; Heaven; of the elderly; andParadise,about the Somebody;and five others. A&M SP ravages of strip mining-also estab- 5013 $8.98, © CS 5013 $8.98, CD lished him as one of the Seventies' most 5013 no list price. lyrical socially conscious critics. Prine's work grew erratic in the mid Performance:Winning to late Seventies, and then, in 1980, Recording:Great after recording seven albums for two A good friend whose judgment I usually major labels, he disappeared altogether. trust warned me I'd like this record. Now he is back with a strong and engag- Nonsense, I thought. Bryan Adams is ing album on his own label, Oh Boy the epitome of Brand X rock, a blond, Records. black -leather MTV version of generic Produced by Prine and Jim Rooney, canned beans. Well, my friend was "Aimless Love" takes a leaner, simpler right. It may be the supersonic produc- production approach than Prine's last tion or Adams's 2,000,000 -volt, tur- commercial album, "Storm Windows," bine -driven power chords, orit just and with the exception of one track, may be the album's ten solid, hard - People Puttin' People Down,which was rocking songs about life's simple plea- produced by Steve Goodman, the ar- sures and pains-dancing, sex, heart- rangements don't seem quite as in- break, alimony, and rock-and-roll. But spired as those on "Bruised Orange," John Prine: wry, whimsical, poignant one thing is clear: "Reckless" puts the the Goodman -produced album of 1978 pedal to the metal. Adams won't win that is generally considered Prine's mas- ing to the effect is Prime's dry -throated, any awards for originality-this reallyis terwork. irony -laced delivery, always so reminis- generic rock-but he carries it off with Nonetheless, "Aimless Love" is a glo- cent of Dylan but stronger here than on confidence and energy. Best cut:Kids rious album, full of songs about love in past records. Wanna Rock. M.P. all its incarnations and stages-missed As poignant as much of this album is, connections, hidden hearts, blushing ro- it's even sadder that artists of Prime's ALABAMA: 40 Hour Week.Alabama mance, one-sided affairs, and special stature have to go to independent labels (vocals and instrumentals); instrumen- friendships-and the consequences that to ensure the quality of both their work tal accompaniment.Forty Hour Week come when it's given and when it's tak- and the product itself-or simply to be (For a Livin); Can't Keep a Good Man en away. Never sappy, sometimes com- heard at all. The fact that Prine has pre- Down; There's No Way; Down on Long- plex, and always terse in Prime's trade- vailed makes "Aimless Love" a cause boatKey; and six others. RCA AHL I- mark way, some of the songs were writ- for double celebration. Alanna Nash 5339 $8.98, © AHKI-5339 $8.98, ten by Prine alone and others in collab- PCD1-5339 no list price. oration with such writers as Donnie JOHN PRINE: Aimless Love.John Performance: Fritts, Roger Cook, Bobby Braddock, Prine (vocals, rhythm guitar); instru- Familiar territory and Shel Silverstein. Recording:Good mental accompaniment.Be My Friend For all the seriousness of his theme, Tonight; Aimless Love; Me, Myself and Three songs into the new Alabama the wry, whimsical quality of some of I; The Oldest Baby in the World Slow album, you realize you've heard this Prime's best lyrics is still very much in Boat to China; Bottomless Lake; Mau- one before. Well, notexactly,mind you, evidence here, particularly onThe Bot- reen, Maureen; Somewhere Someone's but it's patterned rather closely on the tomless Lake,the story of a family that Falling in Love; People Puttin' People formula of the group's last album, "Roll goes out fora drive and ends up floating Down; Unwed Fathers; Only Love. OH On." Just as that one opened with a in a you -know -what, andMaureen, BOY002 $9 (from Oh Boy Records, tribute to the brave men who drive the Maureen,one of Prime's finest and most P.O. Box 67800-5333, Los Angeles, CA eighteen -wheelers, "40 Hour Week" haunting pieces of comic tragedy. Add - 900671. starts out with a sentimental salute to ourhard -toilingAmericanfactory workers. (Nothing like pandering to going to do it,I want to make sure I your fans.) After that the Alabama boys know your first name" theme), and EXPLANA'T'ION OF SYMBOLS: hit pretty much the same nails they another of those dreary, flag-waving, O = DIGITAL -MASTER ANALOGLP hammered before-a quiet, "sensitive" there's -no -place -like -Dixie ditties. With =STEREO CASSETTE song about one woman's pain, another "40 Hour Week" it's fairly obvious that = DIGITALCOMPACT Disc "sensitive" song on the order ofWhen the only cause these Rebels have is their 9 = MONOPHONIC RECORDING We Make Love (witha sort of "If we're own. God knows it isn't music. A.N.

STEREO REVIEW JUNE1985 83