Thin ‘Retrospective’ Needs Full Leon

Russell has been on the pop scene since the mid-’60s, but he has changed musical hats so many times that it’s hard to fully measure his talent.

Is he a man for all seasons who was able to move effortlessly from Delta-based rock and country to R&B; to traditional pop ballads? Or is he someone who simply had a superficial feel for various styles without the depth to become a master of any?

It’s the same question that was raised about the late Bobby Darin, who once moved from rock to Sinatra-esque pop to protest-folk. In the end, Darin’s body of work was impressive enough for him to be elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Russell--who was born Claude Russell Bridges in Lawton, Okla., in 1941, and seemed equally accomplished as a singer, pianist, guitarist, writer and producer--once looked destined for the Hall of Fame himself. He first gained attention as a studio musician in the ‘60s, working with such producers and artists as Phil Spector, the Byrds, Sinatra and Ike & Tina Turner.

After that warmup, he teamed up briefly with guitarist Marc Benno to record a pair of promising albums as the Asylum Choir, then largely supplied the musical direction for Joe Cocker’s magical Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour in 1970. Not only was Russell the ringmaster on that wild and woolly rock ‘n’ roll circus, but he also wrote “Delta Lady,” one of Cocker’s early signature hits.

With his long hair and beard, Russell was a charismatic figure who enjoyed such respect among musicians that he was invited in 1971 to join George Harrison and Bob Dylan at the “Concert for Bangla Desh,” where his medley of the Rolling Stones’ “Jumping Jack Flash” and Leiber-Stoller-Pomus’ “Youngblood” was one of the benefit’s highlights.

His first three studio albums--”Leon Russell,” “Leon Russell and the Shelter People” and “Carney”--were uneven, but the highlights were dazzling. Songs from the collections were recorded by such artists as George Benson (the hit “This Masquerade”), the Carpenters, Aretha Franklin and Willie Nelson.

But, it turns out, that period was Russell’s creative high point. There have been sporadic moments of accomplishment since then, but none that come close to the promise of Russell’s early years. He’s left as a somewhat distant and possibly even marginal figure in rock history.

Even this set--drawn chiefly from his Shelter studio recordings in the ‘70s--feels thin measured against his range of accomplishments in the early ‘70s. To fully convey the excitement of the soulful, Dixie-fried style that Russell brought momentarily to the rock world, you’d need to expand these 18 tracks to include some of the Mad Dogs & Englishmen recordings as well as the “Bangla Desh” and other live recordings.

** Gregg Allman, “One More Try: An Anthology,”

Capricorn/Chronicles. Even though Allman has had a couple of gold albums, it’s easy to think of him almost solely as a member of the great Allman Brothers Band.

There’s something about the energy and grace of that Georgia group--both in the days when Duane Allman was the primary guitarist and later when Dickey Betts took over on guitar--that framed Allman’s voice brilliantly.

This two-disc retrospective does nothing to make you think differently about Allman’s standing in rock. The 34 tracks are mostly previously unreleased demo tracks, including versions of the Beatles’ “Rain” and the Percy Sledge hit “When a Man Loves a Woman.” Stick with the Allman Brothers albums.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).