BRIEFS

Rip It Up, Issue 49, 1 August 1981, Page 20

BRIEFS

Robert Gordon ' ' Are You Gonna Be The One (RCA) < i Technically; Gordon has one of the better voices in rock and roll. The criticism that has lingered throughout his career is that he relies too much ,on technique and not enough on heart." His new album is best when' he / leans to country, a little uninspired when he rocks. But for those with a new taste for rockabilly inspired by the Stray Cats, Gordon is certainly worth investigating. PG The Barracudas Drop Out With The Barracudas (EMI) The back cover should have been the front cover, featuring as it does a suitably archetypal Seeds/Bryds/Love group photo, plus the lyric to the key song 'I Wish It Could Be '65 Again'. The Barracudas lack the Byrds' vocals when they're doing Byrds, lack the Beach Boys' inventiveness (and . vocals) when - they're doing surf, etc, etc, etc, but this is still an enjoyable cruise through Los Angeles circa 1965. File beside Flamin' Groovies. JfIHHRGI

Modern Eon Fiction Tales (Din Disc) A Liverpool five-piece. The vocals come at you Jon Ander-son-like as if from a Himalayan mist, while keyboards flourish down below and the relentless backbeat makes you understand how this band were able to replace their injured drummer on a recent Stranglers' tour with a tape machine. At times, Modem Eon seem to be merely developing ideas, but when they get down to writing songs on Side Two especially then things get a lot more interesting. Try 'Child's Play' and the Cure-like spinning 'Euthenics'. RC Robert Fripp - The League of Gentlemen (E.G.) . Virtuoso Fripp's latest is as good a dance album as any released this year. The League's rhythm team, bassist Sara Lee and either Johnny Toobad or Kevin Wilkinson on drums, lay. down a frantic beat, over which Fripp and former XTC keyboard whizz Barry Andrews weave scalding, cascading lines. The League recall the compulsive danceability of early Talking Heads or XTC. This album is

only marred by the’ conversational collages, 'lndiscreet 1 - 3', initially humourous, but tedious after repeated playings. GD Where Is Hank, XL Capris (Stunn) Aussies lovfe it. I don't. Will .that do? You want more? OK ... The title track is really good and very different from the rest (it's the only one written and ; sung by the drummer). It's also the only track that includes Todd Hunter, the album's producer. The fact that he's since joined them as a guitarist could bode well for them. CK The Phantoms (Primitive Music) New Zealand's first indie cassette it: says here. Sub-title 'Fun For The Home Recordist Who Likes The Residents And Setting Fire To Cats'. Confused? The sub-title is mine, not theirs, and yes I'm confused. Bits of music, but 'only bits, drift through this melange of overdubs, backwards noise and (could they have dared?) the vocal effects you get when inhaling . hydrogen. . Still confused?. Play this between the lastest PiL album and any radio news bulletin and it will, suddenly make sense. You can get it for $6.50 from Primitive Records, 76 Mary St, Christchurch. RC Fusion Can't Trust A King (Ocean Cassette) Despite the name, Fusion is not some American jazz-rock hybrid, but a guitar-based outfit from Taranaki. What they actually sound like is a bunch of hippies in some late sixties time warp. There's some smooth-flowing, punchy songs here; strong vocals, too. It's a pity they're undercut by shoddy production. PT David Hollis, Caught Alive . This is the album with the hand-painted cover that could turn into a J.D. Blackfoot for the nation's second-hand dealers with Hollis swearing he'll destroy the master after the initial run. Hollis' songs are Englishderived folk/and he widens the appeal of the album with some fine supportive acoustic guitar 'Dharma' being the showcase. RC