European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 27, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse Richie Johnson score big with new is by Stephen Holdem new York times can no longer Wear Rose coloured glasses All he Lime Lionel Richie said. The majority of he world my music reaches is in turmoil. We re living in a world of wars on wars of la mimics fighting families of apartheid. On my new album. Dancing on the ceiling i be begun to express the social consciousness i had always Kep under wraps. It s so absurd hat the artists Rev offed in u s. A. For Africa live Aid and hands across America should have to beg politicians and governments to help save the lives of allow human beings in Tacl. Richie s new motown album represents Only a minor shift in direction from he Lone of his two previous Solo albums both Commerce Ai blockbusters that blended sentimental pop ballads wih upbeat pop Funk dance music. Only iwo out o the album s eight songs be la and love Witt conquer All admit any negativity at All. In Sela the first full out reggae song Richie has recorded the songwriter unction Lionel Ruchla expresses social con Siclo Snoa on to new album. Muses you know sometimes t Ell Aruj wonder just How this world would be if we had All the people laughing and everybody living in the song s choral refrain be la 86 la is. According to Richie an old cajun term Lor listen thai he great great grandmother of his wife brands used i write a song that expressed just doom and gloom Richie said. The song offers Hope by imagining a Lan lasy world ii asks what if " love Vuht conquer As alludes to bad limes and unkindness but in the end it Loo reassures there s no need to won love will conquer it should come As no Surprise thai dancing on the ceiling follows the somali Injo for everyone musical Normal of Richie s Bat Solo Alburn. Can t Stow Down which sold 10 million copies a foal thai has since been matched Only by Bruce Springsteen s Flom in the . Almost every Cut on the album is slanted toward a different audience. Richie who developed a country music base with hits me three times a lady the Kenny Rogers hit lady which a wrote and produced and stuck on you has hit the country soul bulls Eye once again with deep River woman in which he is accompanied by the country Harmony group Alabama. Directed Al Rock audiences tonight will be alright features a guitar Solo by Eric Clapton whom he met at live Aid. Say you say Matfie former no. 1 hit from the soundtrack of White nights is a powerful mid to s Echo of the beatles late-60 s chant like ballads. Most of the song was recorded in his living room. And although Ballerina closer than any other song on the new album to capturing me mood of Heartfelt pop Valentines Ike hello endless love Taffy and still songs thai Are the Cornerstones of Richie s popularity the album is missing a Linchpin love Ballad according to Richie that Lack is intentional. For All his Success with love songs the Singer would rather not be identified As a Ballad writer. I spent 15 years with the commodores and each time we started an album sex Guys would walk in with 10 songs each he said. Since most Wero uptempo the Onty Way i could be sure to gel a song on the album would be to write a bated i have a whole catalogue of ballads thai 1 love bul that Lam afraid of recording because i Don t want to overdo slow songs. One reason i write ballads is that it s hard for me to express my Lee lungs to a woman face to face i d rather write them Down. Bul when i do. I say exactly what i feel i m a hopeless the term i invented to describe my music is Modem Lough Rock " Don Johnson the Star of Miami vice said. I Don t like music i figured i was going Lomaka in album i d boiler get Johnson s assessment is a fairly accurate description of his debut album hear 6bar epic which features three leading Rock guitarists Stovie Ray Vaughan Hon Wood and the Singer s old Friend Dickie belts 01 the Allman Brothers band. Recorded with Charles Sandford the Miami Viet Attr Don Johnson do butt it of Modem Lough producer guitarist responsible for hits by John Waite missing you and Steve micks talk to me heartbeat echoes the of Gillier Side of the eagles the preeminent la 3 Angeles Rock band of the late 1970 a bul has a somewhat harder Edge. Johnson 9 sinewy voice bears a Strong resemblance to that of the sex Eagle Glenn fray As Well As to John David Souther the Singer songwriter who co wrote a number of eagles Alta. The album which includes songs by Bob Seger and Tom Pally As Well As two ton by Johnson has received Advance orders of nearly 300.000 and has spawned an immediate hit in its hard Rock title song written by Wendy Waldman and Eric Kaz. I be away been torn Between acting and Johnson said. When i was just a Lett in kid growing up in Missouri i used losing gospel tunes in my Grandfather s Church and later i played guitar in a number of garage bands in los Angeles a few years ago i played informally with some Tesser known local musicians and 1 also co whole three songs for the Atlman Brothers. But every time i would Start to Pul a musical career together a film or a to show would come up. So music became a sideline a kind of therapy to relieve the tensions of last year in now Vork while shooting a two hour episode of Miami vice the Star was introduced to the president of lbs records Walter Yel Nikolof. A Deal was quickly consummated end he was signed to epic records Johnson has just begun work on a Long form music video of the album financed by ass and directed by Francis Delia. It will be an hour Long Rock operetta Complete with overture some additional music and no dialogue Johnson said. I think that this is the direction in which music video has to Al a time when Confidence in music videos both As marketing tools and As commercial products has weakened the future of a Long form Rock operetta with a Star As popular and As closely linked to television As Johnson will be watched Rosety. Trouble Funk s go go beat is Good to go Bojoh Swenson United press International o go music is the most important development in american Black music since the inception of disco More than a decade ago. The Washington go go scene is built around a dance craze and the music has been a Well kept secret although it has been going Strong since 1979. The release of the feature film Good to go this summer should put go go on the map Hows Var. Good to go provides the first close up look at the real Washington a City referred to by its 80 percent Black population As chocolate tie title of the film is taken from a song by trouble Funk the original go go group who with their music feature in the movie. In 1979 the band started its own Label. Diet records to release the first go go record drop the bomb. The people end the culture of . Developed the term go go sound because it really is a Street music explains trouble Funk vocalist Robert Reed. No band in the . Area can exist without local support. It s probably one o the few places where a group can play Alt new material and be immediately the band started out playing lengthy Jam sessions that proved 1o be audience favourites. We d play something a called Roll with it Lor two hours non Stop pags16 the stars and stripes recalls keyboardist James Avery. Go go in its Rawest lorm is very very unstructured. Now we play what we Call concert style go go. It s still a non Stop continuous kind of music but it has endings and pauses. In ., though there Are no pauses it just goes on and on with no Breaks at All. A typical go go concert the hard Core kind will have three bands. I starts at Midnight and goes to 6 in the the Root of trouble Funk style Como from a number of legendary 60s bands we grew up daring the 60s, says Avery in the time of bands like parliament funks Delic James Brown War Earth wind 4 fire motown. We kept to hat big band sound and innovated it by adding percussion and african trouble Funk developed such a close rapport with its audience that dancers would aet Walfy help develop the Sang structures. We have a Cas and response Between the group and the audience that leads to improvisation says Reed. One night they d be shouling Al s Good logo it s Good to go the band might pick it up and Start chanting All right y All it s Good to go everybody say Good to so " it really stems from the old gospel Days Avery says. The gospel choir will Start with a chant and the audience will take off on it trouble Funk s influence was limited at first to its Home turf if Only because you can t put a two hour live Snow on a single wednesday August 27,19s6 we practice Lor years trying to figure out a Way to compress this sound says Reed ii look years Lodo h. But it s showing now because you re starting to hear Oom Mercia groups today using that go go beat " we re interested in a lot of different kinds of music says Avery. And once you gel past the basics we use it All. Jazz blues re. Soul rap african. Sabot we put All these rhythms together. You have 10 rhythms " people have gotten away from the la Reed. Adds influential group. The Gap band was inspired by " 3 a big tremble Funk Gate though. Avery vows Tow group will never desert its Home turf. A Tot of groups go to los Angeles or new York " a Bays. Bul we re going Lostay . Ard feed a our people their needs desires feelings Setie because that s our lifestyle. Anxieties. We re going to act As ambassadors for that population and carry shia music throughout the
