a gentle but persuasive falsetto lead. Six ar- All thisis smoothly abetted by Valerie rangers have been utilized to produce expert Simpson and Nick Ashford, two of the most The middle-of-the-road soul. Strings gently play knowing songwriter/producers in the indus- under the vocals; horns supply spare punc- try. with an endless string of hits for confirma- Nakamichi tuation. tion. They rarely approach a project until In person. this group is flashily dressed and they've keyed in on a working concept, and Revolution. choreographed to the hilt. Blue Magic is high- they're almost never wrong. All ten of these stepping live entertainment. However, pro- songs are by Ashford and Simpson. At least ducer Norman Harris has opted for an ap- one. "Shoe Shoe Shine," was designed to be a proach that ultimately is monotonous. The hit single, and that's exactly what it was. quartet has energy, but none of it appears on "Shoe Shoe Shine" was arranged by Leon this recording. Pendarvis, who is about as good an arranger as The same complaint can not be applied to you can get in New York City in this quality the Ohio Players' "Fire." This disco music is area of recording. Joining him in that rare cor- repetitive, shrill, and gravelly. "Fire" is noth- ner are at least two other arrangers on the set, ing more or less than a soundtrack playing be- Richard Tee and Arthur Jenkins. All are neath the violence occurring on screen during equally superb as keyboard players. If I had to a mediocre black action film. It depends on choose a favorite track here, it would be either soul cliches. collections of repetitive riffs, and "Shoe Shoe Shine" set by Pendarvis or "Leave peculiar noises, all of them overworked but It Alone" arranged by Tee. The still capable of generating enormous support There are few things that give me more from r&b's devoted and occasionally undis- pleasure than the process and the end results criminating fans. "Fire" may be the commer- that come from a group of people who know Cornerstone. cial Towering Inferno of recent albums, but what they are doing and do it as well as it can beneath the smoke there's nothing but medi- be done. Thanks. ocrity. A word for Motown pressings: Please. Side The Nakamichi 1000 Tri-Tracer Mediocrity has never been an apt word to 2 pops and cracks and isall but useless. Cassette System, an achievement describe the musical output of Thom Bell, the Gimme a break. M.A. of such significance that it created soul wizard who made Philadelphia one of the a virtual revolution in cassette world's most prominent soul capitals. Bell is a recording. master when it comes to creating slick, rhyth- MARIA MULDAUR: Waitress in a Doughnut The first cassette deck to em- mic entertainments. The Spinners' "New and Shop. Maria Muldaur, vocals; Paul Riser, ploy a true three head configura- Improved" is no exception. This disc is as me- Benny Carter, Nick De Caro, Geoff Muldaur, lodic as it is toe -tapping. Its highlight, the hit Larry Packer, Mac Rebennack, and Jerry Ju- tion-separate erase, record and single "Then Came You," features a lead vo- monville, arr.; Greg Prestopino, vocal arr. playback heads-the Nakamichi cal by Dionne Warwicke. She supplies three Travelin' Shoes; I'm a Woman; Honey Babe 1000 attains a level of perfor- minutes of variety in the form of distinguished Blues; seven more. [Joe Boyd and Lenny mance that rivals that of pro- vocalizing but at the same time makes the Waronker, prod.] REPRISE MS 2194, $6.98. fessional reel-to-reel recorders. Spinners' effortspall by comparison. The Tape: cilIM M 52194, $7.97; M 82194, In every important respect, ex- group's harmonizing demonstrates that it pos- $7.97. tended frequency response, wow sesses a carefully crafted formula; Warwicke and flutter, speed stability, distor- breaks the formula. One craves other novelties If you were Maria Muldaur, with a tricky if only to guarantee that the formula remains voice and an accidental runaway hit ("Mid- tion and signal-to-noise ratio, the vital throughout the entire disc. H.E. Nakamichi 1000 sets new perfor- night at the Oasis"), what would you do for an encore? Ms. Muldaur's dilemma is that she mance standards. does not fit-or even approach-any Top 40 In fact, the performance capa- DYNAMIC SUPERIORS. Dynamic Supe- formula. All things considered, the lady has bilities of the 1000 are so riors, vocals: Leon Pendarvis, Richard done amazingly well this time out. She has a awesome that High Fidelity Tee, Arthur Jenkins, and Paul Riser, arr. Shoe charming, rinky-tink voice and a narrow dy- (August 1973) characterized them Shoe Shine; Release Me; Star of My Life; namic range that works like a rabbit's foot as, "...well beyond the capability seven more. [Nick Ashford and Valerie Simp- when applied to the proper piece of material. range of cassette decks as we've son, prod.] MOTOWN M6 822S1, $6.98. Tape: The highlights of the album are two purely come to know them and into a 0'1 M 822C, $7.95; 0i M 822T, $7.95. perfect arrangements-"Squeeze Me" and "Sweetheart"-by the great Benny Carter, fea- range that makes possible profes- Igot them all in the mail this month-the turing such classic big -band players as Harry sional applications that would be Temptations, the Miracles, the Hues Corpora- "Sweets" Edison, Snooky Young, Plas John- virtually unthinkable otherwise." tion, the heavy groups. son, Roger Kellaway, and Ray Brown. You Get in the forefront of the Of the lot, the Dynamic Superiors is the can feel the band smiling-charts like this revolution now. group with the most life. Different albums never happen any more. Another jewel in the succeed for different reasons-sometimes just set is "Gringo en Mexico" by Wendy Wald- out of orneriness. This album succeeds be- man, whose writing suits Ms. Muldaur well. For complete information and cause of a near perfect balance of excellence The rest of the album is spotty. but the truth the name of your nearest dealer among the performers, the two writer/pro- is that it's growing on me. M.A. write: Nakamichi Research ducers, and the arrangers. (U.S.A.) Inc., 220 Westbury The Dynamic Superiors are George Peter- Avenue, Carle Place, N.Y. 11514. bark Jr., George Spann, Michael McCalpin. HUES CORPORATION: Rockin' Soul. Hues In California: 1101 Colorado and brothers Tony and Maurice Washington. Corporation, vocals; Tom Sellers, arr. and Avenue, Santa Monica 90404. They are from Washington, D.C., and have cond. No End in Sight; Love's There; Into My been in business together long enough to Music; seven more. [Tom Sellers and Wally know what to put across and how. Several can Holmes, prod.] RCA APL 1-0775, $6.98. sing lead, but the one who counts is the high Tape:1111 APK 1-0775, $7.95; !. APS 1-0775, PERFECTION THROUGH PRECISION tenor, and they all know it. That's how it is in $7.95. today's music. The high tenor cuts across the rhythm section; he's easier to hear. The Dy- All things considered, this is a puzzling album namic Superiors know how to float a group to get from the group that produced the hot- vocal, how to get in and out, how to blend. test single hit of 1974, "Rock the Boat." It is NAKAMICHI how to be warm or simple or strong without the opposite of the hit, unfocused and weak. losing group identity. The Hues Corporation and "Rock the

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