RSSRita Coolidge [extended]
- Rita Coolidge [A&M, 1971] C+
- The Lady's Not for Sale [A&M, 1972] C
- Breakaway [Monument, 1974] B-
- Anytime . . . Anywhere [A&M, 1977] C
- Natural Act [A&M, 1979] B
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Consumer Guide Reviews:
Rita Coolidge [A&M, 1971]
Despite sage advice from my female advisers, I cherished hopes that Coolidge's thick voice--which is grainy rather than gritty, like the Bramlett voice without the bravura--would grow on me the way Tracy Nelson's did. She does get more out of "Seven Bridges Road" than Tracy does by underplaying the overstatement just a little, and it's nice to hear "The Happy Song" as praise for a househusband. But in the end this is so solid that it never sparkles once. C+
The Lady's Not for Sale [A&M, 1972]
Cute title, but my best information is that you're still expected to pay for this in stores. And even if you weren't it would just clutter the house--from a great female hope she's developed into someone who sings "Fever" with all of the heat (and none of the charm) of Keith doin "98.6." C
Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge: Breakaway [Monument, 1974]
The least embarrassing LP either had made in years is a testament of what just might be a fairly interesting marriage. The way you can tell is that the love songs about separation and temptation and compulsion and good-timing work out, while the ode to romantic serenity (could it be by the same Sherman brothers who occasionally soundtrack a Disney movie?) sound like it was recorded at gunpoint. B-
Anytime . . . Anywhere [A&M, 1977]
This was gonna be her annual sultry cornpone, unobjectionable except for the Neil Sedaka tune and not without its soulful moments, when A&M prexy Jerry Moss told Rita how to become worthy of Kris. You'll get more sales, Jerry opined, if people Recognize Your Material. Try a Motown revival, one of Boz's lesser songs, a Bee Gees number, maybe that wonderful Sam Cooke classic the Stones did once--and who can lose with "Higher and Higher"? It seems to have worked, too, except that those of us with fond memories can still hear the originals. Rita is now halfway to becoming Andy Williams with cleavage. It takes a very special kind of stupidity to slow "Higher and Higher" into a down. C
Kris & Rita: Natural Act [A&M, 1979]
Before the days of Oscar nominations and Jackie Wilson atrocities, when these married hippies were striving to gain acceptance as a mainstream country duo, they actually went out of their way to be boring--the material on Full Moon was so damn acceptable you almost didn't notice it was there. So I guess Breakaway was "transitional," because this time the outlaw superstar duo work with much sharper songs, including three from T-Bone Burnett and two (good ones) from Billy Swan. Unfortunately, K&R don't go out of their way to be interesting, and when you're as somnambulant as this pair, sharp songs aren't enough. B