Sounds in a Summer Groove

(2 of 2)

Ry Cooder: Bop Till You Drop (Warner Bros.). His musical excursions have carried him from Hawaii to the Tex-Mex border, but this time out Cooder stays closer to the mainstream, floating lightly through the fast, cool and sometimes stormy currents of rhythm and blues. The album's nine songs include one co-written by Cooder and eight other tunes, which, if not classics already, will surely be so now.

Rachel Sweet: Fool Around (Stiff/Columbia) and Lene Lovich: Stateless (Stiff/Epic) arrive via England from that paragon of excellent eccentricity, Stiff Records, where these young women are not only la-belmates but exemplars of the two extremes of rock vocal styles, contemporary female division. Lovich seems to have tak en vocal seminars from Nico and Patti Smith. Her songs (many co-written by Lovich) are feckless threnodies about lovelessness, entrapment and alienation. Sweet, who is sunnier in disposition, lays down a sort of teasing, jailbait rock that relies on snappy melodies and gum-cracking sensuality.

James Brown: The Original Disco Man ( Polydor). See what the man says? Don't argue. This is James Brown, the regent of volcanic soul, and even after all these years (say around 20) and some pretty rag ged records, royalty is due some respect. Nice thing is, James does not warrant any special considerations this time around. This is a solid, soulful record that shows where disco went to school. At least one cut, the wonderfully titled It's Too Funky in Here, could be played on the radio from now to Christmas. —Jay Cocks