Play Meter

MUSIC PROGRAMMING
"---By Pat Matthews
K.C. and the
Sunshine 'boys' score-- again
Maybe it's true . Judging by the
scarcity of record product since the
end of 1979. we may very well be in
a recession. Economically, as well as
musically . It's a shame. tool Music
may be the only thing left to lift the
world's spirits.
repertoire and added touches of
Little Richard , a little of the Allman
Brothers, and have come up with the
dancin ' record of the early Eighties .
All the way - rockin ' up to the
top - it's a solid " 10". Bo Derek. eat
your heart out , or better still. .... let
me.
YOU WON'T BE THERE- The Alan
ANOTH ER BRICK IN THE WALL
Parsons Project - Arista AS 0491
A few months back I went out on a
limb and predicted commercial suc-
cess. overdue at that. for this talented
songwriter-producer-engineer-
musician & his stable of talent. Well,
to make a long story short, the record
( " Damned If I Do) was a smash and
garnered a whole new audience for
this fabulous group . It took several
albums, but "Eve" finally put them in
the forefront. This is another cut from
that lp and is musically just as strong.
It's a bit more melodic than the first
single, but features excellent lead
vocals and strong lyrics as before .
Synthesizer and acoustic guitars lead
the way Eight out of ten or better.
H) - Pink Floyd-Columbia
1- 11187
Now. if I might have a little
fanfare . it's time to go out on the limb
once again . Talk about your under-
exposed successful groups. The only
single success they've had was , of
course. the highly controversial ( for
the
early
Seventies.
anyway)
"Money". However. this one could
be the shot to give Pink Floyd that
elusive long overdue hit single . It's
simple. yet daring like , say , "Tusk"
by Fleetwood Mac . The music and
the group's enormous following
could take this one a long way .
Seven out of ten or better .
LET'S GO ROCK AND ROLL -
BACK ON MY FEET AGAIN - The
K . C . and the Sunshine Band - Tk
1036
It took a ballad , as we predicted,
to be the biggest smash ever for the
Florida
Boogie
Music
Makers
( " Please Don't Go " ) . Now that that
foothold has been established, it's
time for some " Rock 'n'Boogie". And
it's good I H . W. Casey and friends
have taken the best of their own
Babys - Chrysalis CHS 2398
Here's another group with an
unmistakeable sound that for which
success has been a long time coming .
The cut is a rock in' self portrait from a
very talented quintet, that, as usual
excels in the instrumental and vocal
departments. It's a song with a
definite message , so look out - it will
definitely. as the ad says " knock you
( Part
ouf'l Eight out of ten at least.
DOUBLE LIFE- The Cars - Eiektra
E-46580-A
This. as most third singles from an
album go. is the weak-sister of the
lot. I believe it's time for a new album
from this extremely popu lar New
England group . Penned by Rick
Ocasek. the tune relies totally on
established riffs you 've grown to
expect from The Cars. The beginning
of the song sounds like one of those
demonstration music store o rgans
where you turn on the "boom shhh
shhh'' percussion. Don't get me
wrong - ! like The Cars, but some o f
the never-before -heard -on-Top 40-
radio cuts on their debut album are
better than this. But , as with
everything, "one never knows, do
one?" Seven out of ten with a little bit
of luck.
TH E HARDEST PART - Biondie -
Chrysalis CHS 2408
On the other hand, this is the
second cut pulled from Blondie's
latest album. "Eat To The Beat" and
this. in my opinion, is stronger than
the first ( "Dreaming" - reviewed by
PLAY METER many moons ago) .
This is more of a rocker and
showcases the gritty side of the
provocative Deborah Harry. Lyrical -
ly. it's about some sort of robbery
involving an armored truck. Simply
speaking. it's just dynamite 1 The beat
is on the hook. so watch 'em get up
and dance . Ten out of ten.
The records are rated as follows : 10 out of 10 = Top 10 peak ; 9 out of 10 = Top 20 peak; 8 out of 10 = Top
30 peak ; 7 out of 10 = Top 40 peak; 5 or 6 out of 10 = Somewhere in Top 100; 4 or less = Forget it, loser,
break in half.