New albums released by Ray Price, AC/DC and Trisha Yearwood

Published: Friday, May 19, 2000

''Prisoner of Love,'' by Ray Price. Justice At 74, country legend Ray Price the Cherokee Cowboy, whose hits range from the '50s honky-tonk swinger ''Heartaches by the Number'' to '70s easy-listening fare ''For the Good Times'' still possesses a calming tenor and a comforting way with a lovelorn lyric.

Prisoner of Love is a lovingly produced comeback effort replete with plinking piano and swooning strings that reprises hits such as ''Ramblin' Rose'' and ''A Better Class of Losers'' while taking pages from the songbooks of the Beatles (''In My Life'') and Sinatra (''Fly Me to the Moon'').

It's a classy, if occasionally kitschy, package, but the combination of Price's delicately understated delivery and Randall Jamail's ultra-smooth production sees to it that the bland ''Prisoner of Love'' indistinctly recedes into the background.



''Stiff Upper Lip,'' by AC/DC. Elektra. The word on the street was that this, AC/DC's first new album in five years, was a departure of sorts, an unveiling of a new approach for the veteran rock outfit.

C'mon. AC/DC hasn't made an original album since ''Back in Black.''

Of course, it's not like the band's latest is unlistenable. Hardly. Much of ''Stiff Upper Lip'' rocks as steady and hard as anything the group has produced in 20 years, and Brian Johnson's vocals tend to hook you when you least expect it, even when he sounds like a screeching cat on dim songs like ''House of Jazz'' and ''Can't Stand Still.''

Sure, maybe guitarist Angus Young isn't as quick with the catchy riffs anymore. Being a serviceable blues slinger is admirable, but in Angus' case it's boring.

How many times are they going to attempt to recapture the fun of ''You Shook Me All Night Long''? Perhaps it was too much to ask that AC/DC would change just a smidgen. As it is, Johnson's still bleating on about the same thing, mostly how you ''Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll.''

Hey, Bri, who's trying?



''Real Live Woman,'' by Trisha Yearwood. MCA Nashville Listen to a few bars of ''Where Are You Now,'' this disc's opening track and best tune, and you'll realize that Yearwood is onto something good. The song, by Kim Richey and Mary Chapin Carpenter, is a firestorm of hurt and anger, and the recently divorced Yearwood wails it out with newfound conviction.

''Real Live Woman'' also affords Yearwood a chance to explore the country-rock stylings of her musical idol, Linda Ronstadt, and a cover of Ronstadt's ''Try Me Again'' is among the disc's best moments. The title track by Bobbie Cryner is another.

It's the kind of emotionally bare love song Tammy Wynette would have sung 25 years ago, and its down-to-earth brand of feminism puts Lilith Fair poseurs like Martina McBride and Dixie Chicks to shame.