CHRISTGAU CONSUMER GUIDE

BACHMAN-TURNER OVERDRIVE: "Head On" (Mercury):: The badmouthing finally reached even a bemused admirer like myself, so that I was all ready with an alternate title "Flat Tired"; pretty funny, eh? — until I listened one last time. Which is when I noticed that "Average Man" is a well-above-average cut, a typical paradox for this obstreperously ordinary group and album.