SOUNDTAKES. JAZZ/POP/ROCK
``The Gospel at Colonus.'' (Warner Bros. Records 1-25182) -- It was an unlikely idea: a production of ``Oedipus at Colonus,'' by Sophocles, set in a black American church with a gospel-music accompaniment. Yet the result, staged by director Lee Breuer, was a moving and often ingenious evening in the theater. While the original cast album doesn't include the spoken text, it serves up 11 thumping songs composed by Bob Telson, who also collaborated with Breuer on the lyrics. Some of the rhythms and text ures are irresistible, and the energy doesn't let up from first cut to last. Artists include Clarence Fountain and the Soul Stirrers, the Institutional Radio Choir, the J. D. Steele Singers, and the Five Blind Boys, who jointly played Oedipus when the full onstage version had its New York premi`ere.
Stevie Wonder: ``In Square Circle.'' (Tamla 6134 TL [LP]) -- The pop genius is back with another package of irresistible hooks, scintillating dance rhythms, uplifting love ballads, and social commentary. ``Part Time Lover,'' the most accessible of the lot, is the big crossover radio hit. The lush ``Overjoyed'' is one of those unforgettable melodies that may be destined for standard status, `a la ``You Are the Sunshine of My Life.'' On the funky, street-beat side are the urgent ``Go Home'' and ``Spiritual Walkers,'' a son g about street-corner evangelists. ``Land of La La,'' an ode to Los Angeles, is a sort of West Coast version of his gritty ode to New York, ``Living for the City.'' The most powerful offering is the festive, anthem-like ``It's Wrong,'' Stevie's anti-apartheid statement.
Jane Wiedlin: ``Jane Wiedlin'' (I.R.S. 5638 [LP]) -- For her solo debut, the ex-Go-Gos guitarist and songwriter is after more than just the catchy, energetic pop fare that helped her former band rack up mega-sales. ``Modern Romance'' concerns the folly and futility of ``fooling around.'' ``East Meets West'' is a humorous look at the Americanization of Japan. ``Sometimes You Really Get on My Nerves'' is a telling portrait of domestic strife. And ``Goodbye Cruel World,'' her impassioned plea for global sanity, contains the lyrics ``No more children hungry or bruised/No more land raped and abused/No more people split by their color/No more nations hating each other.'' She even includes post cards in the album to send to Reagan and Gorbachev that plead for nuclear disarmament. Food for thought with a beat.
