My Top 20 albums from 1977 No 4

Graham Parker and The Rumour perform "Watch The Moon Come Down" live in Studio A. Recorded 12/3/12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYnY5IiLpns
Graham Parker And The Rumour - Stick To Me
Genre: Rock
Style: Pub Rock, New Wave
Year: 1977
Stick To Me
I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down
Problem Child
Soul On Ice
Clear Head
The New York Shuffle
Watch The Moon Come Down
Thunder And Rain
The Heat In Harlem
The RaidStick To Me (Polygram ’77) Rating: B+
On the dramatic, intense title track, his hardest hitting song yet, Parker strips down his sound, but on the next song, a seemingly inconceivable cover of The Trammps “I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down,” he expands his sound. Containing the lush strings that were everywhere at the time, the song somehow still rocks, led by Parker’s venomous vocal, while "Problem Child" adds another wrinkle to Parker's repertoire, being a lightly bouncy, largely enjoyable reggae excursion. Alas, while I applaud Parker's ambition, sometimes he’s too ambitious for his own good (witness the ill-fitting female backing vocals on a couple tracks), and the songwriting is noticeably less consistent than on his superlative first two albums. Still, despite containing some generic rockers ("Clear Head," "The New York Shuffle") in its mid-section, this largely overlooked album isn’t nearly as disappointing as was initially perceived upon its release. After all, "Soul On Ice" is another hard rocking (if occasionally clumsy) highlight, while songs such as “Watch The Moon Come Down” and “Thunder And Rain” are among his stronger efforts. The former is a slow, soulful song that features one of Parker's most passionate vocal performances, while the latter has a moody yet rocking vibe, led along by the ever-so-tight Rumour and a memorable hook on its chorus. Anyway, on most of these tracks Parker and the Rumour rock harder and more straightforwardly then ever before, with a bare bones rock n’ roll assault that relies more heavily on Brinsley Schwartz’s accomplished guitar playing than the keyboard/horn-led r&b push that was previously up front and center. Then again, "The Heat In Harlem" is an ambitious attempt at recapturing that earlier soul-based style (it's only partially successful, though I really like the extended fadeout), while horns are again prominent on "The Raid." Unfortunately, by placing one of the album's weaker songs at the end, rather than ending on a high as he did on his previous two albums, it leaves a lingering impression that the album is weaker than it actually is. Truth is, a good 2/3 of this album is excellent, and though Stick To Me is surrounded by superior albums it’s still a very good album in its own right.