RSSConsumer Guide by Review Date: 1971-00-00
1971-00-00
Blood, Sweat & Tears: B, S, & T; 4 (Columbia, 1971) Aww-shuck! heck. C−
Judy Collins: Whales & Nightingales (Elektra, 1970) Artysong. C+
Dreams: Dreams (Columbia, 1970) See "Bull" C−
John Lee Hooker: Endless Boogie (ABC, 1970) I like this double-lp more than either of two recent Bob Hite efforts. Hooker 'n' Heat (Liberty) features too much unaccompanied Hooker and tends to play on his status of a minor blues relic with hot-off-the-tape studio rapping, although the last side really boogies, as the saying goes. Coast to Coast Blues Band (United Artists) collects 14 20-year-old masters, mostly previously unreleased solo takes. The white audience hasn't much changed Hooker's sound, so the timeliness of Endless Boogie is an unmitigated plus, and producers Bill Szymczyk and Ed Michel get a relaxed groove out of a cast of supporting musicians (Brown, Miller, Davis, Radic, Naftalin) who can boogie Canned Heat right out of the studio. B+
Dorothy Morrison: Brand New Day (Buddah, 1971) Except for a strange "Spirit in the Sky" (she does it straight, whatever that means) and a few other stirring renditions of white people's music (who besides BS&T can ruin "Hi De Ho"?) this attempt by and with the young woman who sang lead on "Oh Happy Day" succeeds only moderately. B−
Biff Rose: Half Live at the Bitter End (Buddah, 1971) Those who want something besides the Firesign Theatre to make them laugh when they're really stoned might try this goofy, well-edited tribute to the short-circuit synapse. A warning, though: I've always liked Rose on Johnny Carson. Some don't. B+
Rio Grande (RCA Victor, 1971) This is a perfectly competent-plus mod-country band which has gone virtually unacknowledged in print, led by a Texas music man named Ronny Weiss whose name you might file. B