Bette Midler [Atlantic, 1973]Side two does seven great songs with umpteen instruments in just over fifteen minutes, a perfectly amazing miracle of concision. But side one is less than hot. Two (why two?) just-wrong Johnny Mercer songs lead into a properly excessive intro to Ann Peebles's "Breaking Up Somebody's Home" that is destroyed inside of two minutes by an improperly excessive, funkless production. Bette's overstatement works on "Surabaya Johnny" and "I Shall Be Released," but I've heard better. Most important, why isn't there one song by a contemporary composer here? Dylan doesn't count--I'm talking about Randy Newman, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Joni Mitchell, maybe James Taylor or Cat Stevens, she's always made me believe in miracles. As it stands, this record is perilously close to the ostrich nostalgia of her dumbest fans. B+
>>124451570All that shit talking and he finally gushes on Bette fucking Midler?
>>124451570yeah yeah she specialized in retro cabaret shit for her mostly gay fans. whaddya what? that audience wasn't paying for covers of "Fire and Rain", they had a fucking poster of Marlene Dietrich on their wall.
Nobody but aging gay bottoms cares about Bette Midler. Also her "Higher and Higher" is no match for Rita Coolidge's.
>>124451750All the cucking and hating chad and stacy is starting to make sense.If he's gay, he's gay. Why doesn't he just come out of the closet?
>>124451673Christgau used to be a fan of her live shows in the 70s but I guess was lukewarm on the albums. Personally I'd never be caught dead near a Bette Midler concert because I don't want fags hitting on me.
>>124451750if you put Higher and Higher into Youtube you get the original Jackie Wilson version first and then Rita Coolidge second but Midler isn't even in the suggested results.
>>124451570>Dylan doesn't countwhy?
>>124452055He's saying Dylan is babby's first cover artist and especially in the 60s-70s Dylan covers were a low effort way to pad out an album (he calls out Johnny Cash for that in At San Quentin).
>>124451750>>124451831wasn't bette's just an album cut while the other two were singles. anyways the country gospel ver dolly produced for herself has the most personality of the bunchhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ92MONrj9Y
>Caught in the Act [MCA, 1977]>Neither of Gibbons's first two albums convinced me that the world needed a young Bob Seger--which meant among other things a craftsman who hadn't yet mastered his craft. But this time he's writing 'em and picking 'em with a sharp nose for the cliche. Assholes the world over cover Berry and Dylan on the live album, but they won't risk unrecognized classics like "Tulane" and "Watching the River Flow," which is why they're assholes. And how many other craftsmen could imagine a mock myth called "Gave His Life to Rock 'n' Roll"? B+yeah see what i mean. need to pad out an album? do a quick lazy cover of Johnnie B. Goode or Like a Rolling Stone.
>>124452077>he calls out Johnny Cash for that in At San QuentinSounds like a stupid point considering Dylan and Cash were playing sessions together around this time and Dylan appeared on Johnny's show
