Because radio no longer helps break regional bands, a group may toil away in its hometown and become the local hero without any out-of-towners ever hearing it. That may be the Morells' fate, if the good word on their debut album can't shake and push them out of Springfield, Missouri. This band is a rock archivist's dream, a guitar fan's delight and a party lover's joy. Led by guitarist D. Clinton Thompson and bassist Lou Whitney, the Morells breathe life into obscure early rock songs, as well as invent some stuff of their own–all of it feeling like a gust of fresh air from the Midwest and sounding both timeless and twenty years old.

Any music that would pack a rowdy dance floor seems to pass the Morells' test, but the rule seems to be the more hilarious the lyrics, the better. There's their tribute to the local hamburger joint, "Red's," where "the only thing French on the menu is fries," and there's "Gettin' in Shape," an aerobics workout, or so they claim, set at poolside–"Here comes Betty, she's lookin' so sweaty/I wish that girl and I were going steady." But they know enough not to beat a joke to death; "Growin' a Beard" clocks in at 1:52, "Ugly & Slouchy" at just over two minutes. Leaving the world-weary sighs and stressful gnashings to other bands, they romp through a Freddie Cannon sendup, race through "Bumble Boogie," pull off a sort of surfy instrumental and even, smirking, play a slow dance that a teen heartthrob could have sung ("Her Kind of Guy"). The Morells filled their studio with fans to get a loose, happy atmosphere on these fourteen tracks, and it sounds like a stadiumful that calls back "hamburger, cheeseburger, lettuce and tomato!" in "Red's." Well, no wonder everybody's making so much noise. The Morells are throwing the year's best party. (Write Borrowed Records, 2820 West State, Springfield, Missouri 65802.) (RS 394)

DEBBY MILLER