DATE: Friday, November 14, 1997             TAG: 9711130239

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E12  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Music Review 

                                            LENGTH:  134 lines

CD REVIEWS

BLUES/R&B

GREGG ALLMAN

``Searching for Simplicity''

(Sony/550 Music)

If anybody deserves to find what they've been looking for, it's Gregg Allman. With ``Searching for Simplicity,'' his first solo album in nearly a decade, and one of the finest of 1997, his mission is accomplished.

The title can be taken two ways. Stylistically, the connection is Memphis-Muscle Shoals. That suits him fine. Allman's vocals have never sounded better and he still works a B-3 like nobody's business. Horns, harp and, on the painfully frank ``Silence Ain't Golden Anymore,'' cello complement the earthy arrangements.

Personally, he has faced down the demons that have plagued him since the 1971 death of his brother Duane.

Exhibit A: He tackles ``The Dark End of the Street,'' a favorite of Duane's, with a passion that tears at the heart. Every track here - covers (Jimmy Hall's ``Rendezvous With the Blues,'' John Hiatt's ``Memphis in the Meantime'') and originals (``House of Blues,'' ``Wolf's a Howlin' '') - smacks of experience.

You be the judge. But first, consider this verse from ``Wolf's a Howlin' '':

Everybody's talkin' they don't tell the story right / Everybody's talkin' they don't want the story right / It's hard to live your life in color / And tell the truth in black and white.

- Craig Shapiro, The Pilot

In concert: Gregg Allman & Friends, with the Derek Trucks Band and the Oakley Krieger Band, 8 tonight, the Boathouse, Norfolk. $13.50 plus service charge; 671-8100.

LEVERT, SWEAT, GILL

``LSG''

(Elektra)

Let's get to the point: This CD is off the hook. Gerald Levert, Keith Sweat and Johnny Gill deliver a smoothed-out, '90s-style R&B that sweeps you away.

Guests include LL Cool J, MC Lyte, Busta Rhymes and Missy Elliott. While that roster may point to another rap-heavy sound, LSG's rich voices and mellow grooves put this unprecedented joint effort in a class by itself.

Although each artist has had successful chart runs, there is no lead singer here. On ``Round & Round,'' each brings his niche to each verse: Gill's tenor has a soulful intensity; Sweat's twangy voice is pleading; Levert's romantic sincerity touches. These elements are crafted into the stirring ballads ``My Body'' and ``My Side of the Bed.''

LSG shakes things up with the Puff Daddy-inspired ``You Got Me,'' which samples Teena Marie's ``Behind the Groove.'' ``Curious'' is another head-bobbing jam.

If you buy only one CD this year, make it this one. It has everything.

- Candy McCrary, The Pilot

POP/ROCK

X

``Beyond and Back: The X Anthology''

(Elektra)

The shameless strategy to sucker fans into buying a ``Greatest Hits'' album is to add a new studio track to a collection they already own. Pioneering California punk band X has devised a unique scheme.

``Beyond and Back'' collects 45 studio, live, demo and rehearsal recordings dating to 1978, including ``Los Angeles'' and ``Devil Doll.'' In every case, the studio version is better. It's not like X ever used a handheld tape recorder, they just lack the punch produced in a superior facility.

If you have a small budget and don't own an X album, this is a good find. If you're a crazed fan, there's no stopping you, especially for the previously unreleased ``Some Other Time,'' from the film ``The Unheard Music.'' Of course, if the tune was all that, it would have been released. The song is fair.

Old-school punks who have this stuff on vinyl should save their money for cigarettes and beer.

- Jeff Maisey, The Pilot

NEW AGE

LOREENA McKENNITT

``The Book of Secrets''

(Warner Bros.)

Sometimes, another ``new age'' album (defined as sappy, bombastic ear candy with inflated titles) is about as welcome as ants at a picnic. Not ``The Book of Secrets,'' a passionate, intelligently crafted work steeped in Celtic modes and swirling with classical, pop and world music.

The disc chronicles Canadian Loreena McKennitt's search for her Celtic roots, a journey that took in all of Europe and former Islamic countries that made up part of the old Soviet Union. The CD booklet is filled with history, lore and exotic impressions.

Created at Peter Gabriel's studio in England, the music - a mosaic of Eastern, Third World, Islamic, Italian, early Christian and ancient British Isles/Celtic styles - is equally compelling.

Buoyed by strong rhythms and modern pop sensibilities, McKennitt plies her stately voice over impressionistic keyboard colors.

- Eric Feber, The Pilot

CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN

MICHAEL CARD

``Unveiled Hope''

(Myrrh)

Put together in Canada, Nashville and Atlanta, ``Unveiled Hope'' is a holy mishmash of folk-rock, symphonic, hand-clapping and cathedral sounds.

The songs, all penned by Card, provide a deep look at the Book of Revelations. The lyrics are insightful and intelligent, and the notes accompanying each song add immensely to your understanding.

Musically, he swims in familiar and unfamiliar waters. When Card works with a small group of modern musicians, you get what you expect. When he works with the London Session Orchestra, you get an oil-water mix. The disc also features the 25 voices of Metro Voices and the hand-clapping rhythms of Veritas 15.

But there is one thing about this release that sets it apart from many other Christian offerings that suggest something Biblical. ``Unveiled Hope'' is straight out of The Book.

- Frank Roberts, The Pilot

JAZZ

PAT METHENY GROUP

``Imaginary Day''

(Warner Bros.)

Jazzman Pat Metheny is known for his fine electric guitar work, but on this adventurous album he plays darned near anything that requires tuning - including a 42-string monstrosity known as a pikasso guitar.

His band likewise stretches itself, crafting a multitextured, almost symphonic sound that's equal parts jazz, rock and world music.

The most rewarding numbers are ``Follow Me,'' which has a folk-rock feel with acoustic guitar out front; the minor blues ``A Story Within the Story,'' with its intriguingly odd time signature; and ``The Roots of Coincidence,'' with its startling techno beat and heavy-metal guitar.

Purists may be disappointed, but Metheny and his mates (particularly keyboardist/co-writer Lyle Mays) have made a record with broader appeal. What's more, they've managed to do so without sacrificing artistic integrity.

- David Simpson, The Pilot ILLUSTRATION: Color CD Covers

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