Browne, who featured him inhis stage shows. His first solo album, two years ago, asongs" to country harmonies with Dolly was a sort of guitarist's holiday, and "Win Parton and Emmylou Harris. The vocals This Record!" seems to be a deliberately are well nigh terrific throughout. Ronstadt casual sequel. never lets a difficult note seem difficult, and Part of Lindley's humor is invested in the her ideas about when and how to decorate a audio effects here. He uses corny echoes, phrase are impeccable. A couple of the worn-out amplifiers, and low-grade micro- rockers, the title song, and People Gonna phones to create a "garage studio" sound, a Talk have nothing but good singing going technical musical joke that may be lost on for them. They are balanced, however, by any listener who does not possess sensitive KateMcGarrigle'sdifficult -to -sing(not equipment. That aside, the songs are a mix- that you'd suspect it from this rendition) ture of good times and a specialist's whims. Talk to Me of Mendocino and by The Too much of the album is given over to Ca- Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, which Jimmy ribbean rhythms and to Lindley's own ma- Webb wrote in 1974 and which is his best terial, which is obscure, faintly paranoid, song since his Wichita Lineman days. and dependent on the sexual slang of his cir- Other high spots are the off -beat Mr. Ra- cle of friends. Still,his version of Etta dio, written in 1976 by Roderick Taylor but James's Something's Got a Hold on Me is a with a Depression -era romantic attitude rouser. He also knows how to convey the about bringing a new radio home to the New Orleans funk of Cyril Neville's Broth- farm, the country -like Sometimes You Just er John, and Turning Point is a real treas- Can't Win, written by Smokey Stover in ure in the Caribbean mode, with Lindley 1962, and Parton's My Blue Tears. There and Booker T. Jones, on organ, trading are also some soaring vocals on a Joe South eight -bar fills to a point of righteous fusion. tune and a so-so duet with James Taylor. These three cuts make the album worth Kind of a strange little program. Ronstadt's keeping for a long, long time. J.V. eclecticism this time is more quirky than trendy, but her voice is great. LORETTA LYNN: Making Love from -Noel Coppage Memory. Loretta Lynn, the Jordanaires Linda (vocals); David Briggs (keyboards); Charlie LINDA RONSTADT: Get Closer. Linda McCoy(harmonica);othermusicians. Ronstadt (vocals); vocal and instrumental Making Love from Memory; Don't It Feel RonstadtRonstadt accompaniment. Get Closer; The Moon Is a Good; I Shouldn't Enjoy (Enjoyin' You So Harsh Mistress; I Knew You When; Easy Much); Love the Day Away; Breakin' It; T111 RE aren't many pop singers who can for You to Say; People Gonna Talk: Talk Deeper and Deeper; and four others. MCA do as many things as well as Linda to Me of Mendocino; Mr. Radio; Lies; I MCA -5354 $7.98, © MCAC-5354 $7.98. Ronstadt can. Her new Asylum album, Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine; Tell Performance. Good "Get Closer," almost seems designed to Him; Sometimes You Just Can't Win; My demonstrate that, ranging as Blue Tears. ASYLUM Recording: Good hard rock through a number of "singer's 60185-4 $8.98. Being a harmonica player myself, I like this album, because Charlie McCoy is all over it, playing some of the tastiest fills he's re- corded in a couple of years. Jordanaires fans might feel the same way; those boys are all over it too. As far as the rest of the indication of the pitifully limited taste of short, revitalizing vacation. The effect has worldisconcerned,itcould have been youngsters addicted to junk music. The nothing to do with the loudness of the music something truly fineif Loretta Lynn, or heavy beat, underscoring such lyrics as or the heaviness of the beat; it's all in the someone, hadn't suffered a diligence break- "Ooh, you make my love come down," is spirit of the performance. down while picking out the songs. The title supposed to incite a desire to dance, but this This special feeling is present in abun- song is passable, and There's All Kinds of treatment is about as exciting as an un- dance in this new release by Kool & the Smoke by Don Wayne and Lynn's own washed sock. Both the tunes and lyrics (if Gang. Certainly it is one of the best dance Then You'll Be Free would go down almost you can call them that) sound as if they records in many months, with most of the perfectly on a truck -stop juke box, which is were written by a computer programmed to credit going to the Gang for fine vocal ar- the ideal place for a Loretta Lynn.record- churn out mindless clichés. Evelyn King rangements and to Eumir Deodato as pro- ing. She has never sung better, and the does project an appealing effervescence in ducer. Though all the selections stimulate backing is good and clean and fairly honest- her performances. She is good enough to lighthearted fun, the reggae -flavored Let's ly country. But most of the material doesn't make me almost like the better items here, Go Dancin' (Ooh La La La) is the standout deserve to be recorded. Betcha She Don't Love You, Stop That, track. It is also the longest, lasting for near- Deeper and Deeper, as predictable as low and I'm Just Warmin' Up. Otherwise, lis- ly seven minutes; it could easily go on for tide, naturally has as its punch line "out of tening to this album is like being trapped twice as long without bogging down. It's al- love"-and has to have an ugly hitch in its inside one of those portable noise machines most as much fun as a trip to the Caribbean melody to get it in. In her last album, Lynn that culturally stunted kids tote through the during Carnival. If you can't afford to trav- stretched out a bit on some material in other streets. P.G. el, play this record instead. P.G. genres, but this is not a case of that sort of thing going awry. Only When We Get Back RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERIT DAVID LINDLEY: Win This Record! Da- Together, by Nancy Dolman and Gordon vid Lindley (vocals, guitar); El Rayo-X (vo- Waszek, is unusually urbane, even for Lo- KOOL & THE GANG: As One. Kool & the cals and instrumentals). Talk to the Law- retta. The problem is that it isn't very good, Gang (vocals and instrumentals); other mu- yer; Premature; Brother John; Turning and the mostly happy -talk country songs sicians. Street Kids; Big Fun; As One; Hi Point; Spodie; Something's Got a Hold on that flesh out the rest of the album share De Hi. Hi De Ho; and three others. DE.Li-rE Me; and four others. ASYLUM 60178-1 that difficulty. A pity. N.C. DSR 8505 $8.98, © DCR4 8505 $8.98, 0 $8.98, © 60178-4 $8.9R DC8 8505 $8.9R Performance Very good BARBARA MANDRELL: He Set My Life Performance Top dance music Recording. Good to Music. Barbara Mandrell (vocals); vocal Recording Very good and instrumental accompaniment. What a David Lindley, a versatile and gifted guitar- Friend We Have in Jesus; Swing Low Sweet Some records are bathed in such a happy ist, is a well-known studio artist. Until re- Chariot/Swing Down Chariot; I Turn to spirit that listening to them is like taking a cently he toured and recorded with Jackson Him; I Will Glory in the Cross; Through It

76 STEREO REVIEW