(Strut/!K7) www.strut-records.com

After his older brother held him back in mid-seventies one-hit wonders Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band ("Cherchez La Femme"), August Darnell created another retro persona, Kid Creole, which let him take center-stage. But the brainy, sassy, zoot-suited Cab Calloway wanna-be isn't the star on this collection (Creole makes up only 4 of the 15 tracks) so much as Darnell the producer of weirdo dance hits. At a time when barriers were much lower between styles, Darnell could easily stride his music around disco, salsa, rock and assorted cultural references. As such, he made his early mark with other Buzzard cast-offs like wildman Coati Mundi ("Pharoah"), Gichy Dan (the sweet "On A Day Like Today") and Don Armando (the novelty Western "I'm An Indian Too"). A good display of Darnell's talents, but to hear his real genius as an extravagant bandleader and songwriter, you'd be better off getting his early catalog recently reissued by Wounded Bird — titles include Wise Guy, Fresh Fruit in Foreign Places and Doppelganger.

Standout Tracks: Machine "There But For the Grace of God Go I” (Machine), "Going Places" (Kid Creole & the Coconuts) JASON GROSS