Records

Queen of the Night:

Maggie Bell. Polydor 2383 239.

Essence to Essence;

Donovan.

Attempted Mustache:

London Wainwright III. CBS 474162 SBP. Reviewed by Graeme Simpson.

Queen of the Night is a showcase for Maggie Bell's voice, ranging from the rock of Caddo Queen to the vcrging-on-honky-tonk Oh My My (by Ringo and Vinny Poncia) to the slow elegant blues of Trade Winds. But the number one cut is the title track. Around Maggie's vocals the organ rolls and swirls, the Sweet Inspirations woo-woo in the background and Steve Gadds drums keep everything firmly anchored to the floor.

On side one there's yet another version of JJ Cales After Midnight. Maggie's version is only second best though; she hasn't got the sleazy raised-eye brow grope of Cales voice and arrangement.

Interspersed among these highlight tracks is a variety of rock and blues songs, all of which chug along nicely.

During her days with STC. Maggie got compared with the late Janis Joplin. However on this album her voice is warmer, rounder, more flexible than Joplin's ever was.

Queen of the Night is a very good album because it avoids pretension, because Maggie says, here I am, here are my songs. I hope you like the album. I like the album.

Now why, you might ask, have I reviewed Maggie Bell and Donovan together. Stylistically there's no similarity, but both are known artists, struggling to find their form again.

The comparison I want to make though is that whereas Maggie Bell has made a solid album with a minimum of fuss and with musicians who aren't even vaguely familiar to me, the same cannot be said of Donovan. His album. Essence to Essence, features Carole King, Carl Radte, Peter Frampton. Steve Marriot. Alan Spencer. Bobby Whitlock. Jim Gordon, and without the occassional times they let rip the album would be a total waste of vinyl.

Donovan's musical direction and his social outlook is fairly reflected in the choice of front cover. All white innit, with Donovan sitting on his heels, hands on knees, impassively staring out at us. And on the back he's still there; this time he's bowing. Very spiritual. He seems to be like a stuck record: back in 1971 when he wrote the perfectly appropriate drivel for the recent film "Brother Sun, Sister Moon". Well its admirable that he's concerned with pollution (Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth) and everyone's soul etc, but unfortunately he can't write the music or the lyrics to convey these ideals.

I can't really say I like any of the tracks. Except parts of "The Divine Daze of Deathless Delight', 'Yellow Star', and "Saint Valentines Angels'. On these three cuts the band boils over and Don's vocals seem less offensive. Or perhaps with the good musical sound we forget his I boring warble.

Ok, in bygone days, Donovan Leitch wrote some pretty nice stuff. Hurdy Gurdy Man. Colours. Candy Man, with gentle melodies and original lyrics. But nothing on this album, especially vocally, is any where near as good as that. And it is a shame.

Loudon Wainwright is much more to the point, irrelevent mother that he is. I could call him an iconoclast, but he wouldn't think of himself like that, and I don't want to use big words for no reason. Nor does Wainwright. He writes as he feels, moulding his words around the music. From 'The Man Who Couldn't Cry' on side two: And he cried and be cried and he cried/On the forty-first day/ He passed away/He just dehydrated and died.

There's nothing self conscious about this LP. And there's not a helluva lot of quality either. But if you want some good time music (The Swimming Song) an unaccompanied song about Li/a Minclli, a Woody Guthrie song recorded live, with some very funny new lyrics (I Am The Way, based on New York Town) then side one of Attempted Mustache might be for you. And that's only side one.

Did I mention iconoclast? No, Wainwrights a Quixote: tilting harmlessly at windmills.

But with his songs in his heart and a smile on his lips:

I was standing in Jerusalem one day
Smgin' I am the Way

I can walk on water and I can raise the dead
I can walk on water and I can raise the dead
It's easy. I'm the Way

Don't tell nobody but I kissed Magdalene
Don't tell nobody but I kissed Magdalene
I said 'Maty it's Ok, I am the Way'

Every son of God gets a little hard luck some time
Every Son of God gets a little hard luck some time
Especially when He goes around saying He's the' Way.