The Commercial Appeal from Memphis, Tennessee • 69

New records Big names add glitter for Yule Hall Oates, Day have new releases By WALTER DAWSON In their annual ritual, tapes are billowing out of the studio doors as record companies put on their Christmas trappings, complete with big names on the ribbons. One of the biggest this season is that of Morris Day, the former Time leader who all but stole the show from Prince in Purple Rain. Between that movie and the Time's last album, Day found himself quickly being touted as a major multimedia star. His first solo album, however, turns that glow down a notch or two. The album, entitled Color of Success (Warner was produced, written and arranged by Day, and though portions are stirring, a lot of it goes no further than the simmering stage, suggesting that perhaps some outside help could've been beneficial.

The title cut and The Oak Tree are the only cuts that the listener can revel in, while the remaining songs develop a bad case of sameness over repeated listenings. Day is still a man to watch; Color of Success doesn't 5 8 Morris Day The COLOUR FIRED. 0 1 IRGINS and PHILISTINES have to be watched too closely. Hall Oates, the hottest rock duo of the '80s, are represented with Live at the Apollo with David Ruffin Eddie Kendricks, the two Motown graduates featured by Hall Oates at the Live Aid concert. The set here, on RCA, is divided between an side, with One on One, I Can't Go for That (No Can Do) and two others, and an opening side that rushes headlong into the soul music that inspired Hall Oates in the first place.

Teamed with Kendricks and Ruffin, the group goes through a four-song Motor City medley (including Ain't Too Proud to Beg and My Girl), a Memphis number (When Something Is Wrong With My Baby) and then Everytime You Go Away, the Daryl Hall song recently resurrected by Paul Young. All in all, this is an album with much appeal and much history; more importantly, it is an album with much passion. Comedy hasn't been forgotten in the Christmas mix. Cheech Chong have left the movie sets long enough to re-enter the record race with their first release in five years, Get Out of My Room (MCA). The album's highlight is a takeoff on Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A., this song being the plight of a Mexican-American who was Born in East L.A.

The rest of the album is the usual material, with inflection carrying as much of the humor as what is actually said. Inflection also is an important element of Eddie Murphy's new album, How Could It Be (Columbia), a surprising departure from his comedic LPs. This one is straight-forward singing no jiving, no fooling around. Murphy is helped by his friends, notably Stevie Wonder and Rick James, but the thing ON SALE NOW! "BLAZING THEATRICAL FIREWORKS!" TIMES "A MUSICAL MADE IN HEAVEN!" -TIME MAGAZINE BROADWAY BEGINS AT DAVID MERRICK'S BEGINS EXTR SONG A Directed and Choreographed by GOWER CHAMPION GOOD BEST MUSICAL SEATS AVAILABLE TONY AWARD 1981 FOR ORPHEUM THEATRE EVERY SHOW October 15-20 TICKETS AVAILABLE AT ALL TICKET HUB AND TICKETMASTER LOCATIONS INCLUDING THE ORPHEUM BOX OFFICE. OR CHARGE BY PHONE 725-HUBB that stands out about the album is that Murphy really can sing.

He isn't great, but he does have a passable voice that can adapt to different material and hold its own. The Stevie Wonder song I Do is a highly polished example. Always in the press of Christmas there are albums by newer artists that easily slip through the cracks. One debut album that definitely should not get lost in the shopping rush is Virgins and Philistines (Chrysalis) by the Colour Field, a U.K. band that includes Terry Hall, former lead singer with the Specials and Fun Boy Three.

Unlike those bands, the Colour Field doesn't explore one area of the pop terrain; the music here is expansive, compellingly so. The band has the capacity for making pop music that is at once melodic and brooding, haunting and catchy. Lyrically, the songs range from the insightful to the just plain fun, but musically the Colour Field is rich in texture. Standard strains of pop music are reassembled in such a way that it all sounds fresh and vibrant, and Hall's vocals lend a decidedly British tone that has a cool detachment even as it expresses fiery sentiment. To say that Virgins and Philistines is impressive is not enough.

It is among the best of what rock and roll has come to mean in the '80s, from slashing guitars to computerized technology. A different side of '80s rock is shown by another fairly new group, the Del Fuegos, which made a creditable debut last year and is back now with Boston, Mass. (Slash), an album that pushes rock to the abyss. The band is the kind of noholds-barred group that would be perfect for your bachelor party, but you wouldn't want at the wedding. Rock in the hands of these musicians is a burning proposition, and Boston, Mass.

has more than a few songs that end up in ashes. ALL YOU CAN EAT SEAFOOD BUFFET Friday-Saturday-Sunday 5 PM 9 PM Calabash Shrimp Fish Fillets Breaded 'n Seasoned from 2 Favorite Shoney's Recipes Baked Fish Fillets Hot Vegetables Seafood Chowder French Hushpuppies Fries $599 Special $6.99 with Salad Children's Prices and Fruit Bar SHONEY'S participating Available at all SHONEY'S! The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Friday, October 11. 1985 23.