As long as there's a market for meat-and-potatoes rock, there will be Eddie Money. He and his band still believe in basics: songs about girls and small-town escape played with honest-to-goodness guitars and drums. Still, lacking a strong personal vision to back up this grass-roots approach, Money is condemned to being a lightweight. Without, say, the populist embrace of John Cougar or the blood-and-guts commitment of Bruce Springsteen, Money is just another American kid out for a good time–only he wants to sing about it.

Where's the Party? proves that enthusiasm isn't enough to make great rock & roll. Money may have passion in his rough-and-ready voice, but his band is never more than proficient, and his material is third-rate. The songs on Party lack any lyrical depth; a title will embody the entire thought of a given song–e.g., "Bad Girls," "Back on the Road," "Club Michelle."

Thanks to the professional production work of Tom Dowd and Andy Johns' sparkling mix, Party is never dull. The drum sound is as crisp as the guitars are raunchy, but the tunes they surround are dry. Money is faced with a common frontman's dilemma: he might make a fine lead singer for someone else's group, but as a bandleader and songwriter, he is sorely lacking. On Party, Money gives everything he has to rock; unfortunately, it is not enough. (RS 414)

STEVE FUTTERMAN