Goin for Myself

Following on the creative and commercial breakthroughs of Evolution, Dennis Coffey’s second Sussex LP can’t help but suffer by comparison. Though by no means a bad record, Goin’ for Myself nevertheless falters from a paucity of new ideas, relying heavily on recycled riffs and ill-suited cover material. “Taurus,” the record’s hit follow-up to Coffey’s funk classic “Scorpio,” even borrows elements of the original’s melody, while renditions of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” the Jackson 5′s “Never Can Say Goodbye,” and Carole King’s “It’s Too Late” hinge on the guitarist’s now-familiar gimmicks like wah-wah and distortion. But the mid-tempo “Midnight Blue” succeeds on the strength of Coffey’s nuanced performance, and the funky “Can You Feel It” is irresistible. Best of all is the incendiary “Ride Sally Ride,” later sampled to memorable effect for LL Cool J’s “Big Ole Butt.” – Jason Ankeny