Emitt Rhodes

Followers of wimp - rock like myself remember Emitt Rhodes as the singer and songwriter
of the Merry - Go - Round, an L.A. group which had an album of the same name and a hit
single called "Live" about three years ago. Apparently Emitt has spent the time since in the
netherworld at Dunhill learning to be an engineer. Now he's back on records, by himself
this time, and the age of the one-man band is really with us: not only does he wri... More >

A formalist in an age of license, Rhodes writes very tuneful rock and roll songs and overdubs all the voices and instruments in the studio, distinguishable from Paul McCartney mostly by his compulsive precision. As a believer in pop structures I approve, but as a lover of rock and roll I'm beginning to suspect that the bouncy little beat--and probably the dinky little lyrics--come with the package. (Grade: B-)