Tom Rush

Rush was a prophet in the days of folkies rampant, working with Al Kooper and Roosevelt Gook on a side of Chess-style rock and roll in 1966 and beating the crowd to J. Mitchell, J. Taylor, and J. Browne in 1968. Nor was he limited to good ideas--his rich, clear, lithe voice broke into raunch so naturally that his up-and-bluesy "Something in the Way She Moves" cut all subsequent versions. But now that his brainstorms have become world currency he seems stuck in the latest folkie fad, high-gloss vocal decorum. And now that everyone's discovering unsung songwriters he's forced to resort to knowns like F. Neil and J.C. Young or unknowables like M. McLaughlin (McLauchlan?) and D. Whiffen (Whitten?). This could be a rut. (Grade: B-)