European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 4, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Melissa Etheridge baffled by Fame by Roger Catlin Hartford courant even with two hit albums under her Belt and a growing audience for her shows Melissa Etheridge is still taken Aback when people recognize her. Like the time Bruce Springsteen said hello a few months Back. Quot i was in a restaurant in los Angeles sitting in a Booth and he came in. He had placed an order to go a she said Over the phone recently from los Angeles still sounding a bit mystical about the incident. Quot at some Point he turned around looked at me and waved. I thought of my god he knows who i am Quot what s More the Boss even came Over and chatted a bit and said that he liked Etheridgee a music. Being recognized on the streets is still a bit unusual or Etheridge 28, if Only because of her looks which Are extremely us Normal. Quot i am Normal Quot she said amicably. Quot there s no getting around it. Quot but it s a funny thing when it does happen. It takes me by Surprise people say a Melissa a and i say a do i know you Quot everybody a even Springsteen a seems to know her already and it s not just because her first album Melissa Etheridge sold nearly 1 million copies and last year s follow up Brave and crazy did almost As Well. Rather it s because her songs a and their Gritty fiery delivery a seem to reveal details about her life so personal that they stand out starkly from the processed formula that passes for pop and Rock music. The heavily played tracks from her first album bring me some wafer and similar features paint a picture of a woman with the kind of burning obsessions that have not been so sharply detailed since Glenn close in fatal attraction Sung with a voice that recalls the passion of Janis Joplin the songs made listeners wonder Well who exactly broke her heart so badly anyway Quot it s funny a lot of people thought that Quot Etheridge said. Quot i be had some great relationships realty i have. Its unfortunate people think i be had a thing about the choices i made that backfired on  on the other hand a significant number of her listeners especially the women specifically identify with these White hot feelings. That much is Clear from the electric reception she receives in concert. Quot it s cathartic Quot Etheridge said. Romance and passion Are big parts of More than just Sims lib Siv my what s not record a review Melissa Etheridgee a voice recalls the passion of Janis Joplin and make listeners wonder just who it was who broke her heart. Her music though. Quot i demand that in my life Quot she said. Although she succeeded in getting that passion across on the first album for the second Quot i wanted to explore and push deeper inside Quot Etheridge s career began at age 11 in Leavenworth Kan. The youngest daughter of the local High schools psychology and government teacher she first Sang professionally As part of country Western bands in bars and clubs chaperoned by her father. Quot i Learned a lot Quot she recalled. Quot i never listened to a lot of country when i was growing up even though it was everywhere. I m much More into it now with Patsy Cline Hank Williams .  somewhere Short of Nashville however Quot i became More aware of pop Rock  when she graduated from High school she moved to Boston where she studied at the Berklee College of music by Day and tried to play in coffeehouses at night. But Boston was in the midst of its new wave scene and not interested in a Solo Folkie. After a Brief return to Kansas she went straight to los Angeles. The Folk scene had shifted there As Well to accommodate Metal. So she found her Niche in a Little club in Long Beach calif., called the que Sera Sera where she Sang for four years. It was about that time that Chris Blackwell of Island records found his Way to the obscure barroom and signed her on the spot. And with the record company s backing the Solo artist soon assembled a band for her first  Ian Lowery group a King Blank to restless Singer Ian. T Lowery s career has taken a h \ i o him from the Wall to ski patrol Folk devils and a Solo career As King Blank. That a four bands no hits. Now King Blank has been renamed the Ian Lowery group for its second album King Blank to. The uninitiated will need to hear it just once to understand How Fame has eluded Lowery. Commercial he s not Lowery s music can be described As Neo Punk. Dueling guitars recall television jarring chord progressions Are reminiscent of Richard hell and nihilistic singing suggests Johnny Rotten. Quot i need nobody or anything. Can you imagine Quot Lowery snarls in need. The mixture results in a sound that a original and hard to  standout Cut is Jack dust a Banjo driven Folk song with a violent storyline a sense of humor and several neat plot twists. There ought to be a Market for work this Good. A Steven wine associated press Chrissie Hynde a pocked Ever since she first assembled the pretenders Chrissie Hynde has been writing two kinds of songs personable pop oriented hits and personal introspective Rock n rollers. Naturally her Best work balances the two but most of what she s put into packed seems skewed toward the personal approach. Not Only Are there brooding by understated reflections like let s make a pact and when will i see you but even upbeat tunes like sense of purpose and never do that seem unduly muted. Only the bitter downtown Akron and the boisterous no guarantee manage to recall the sort of punch Hynde s music once packed As a matter of course. A . Considine Baltimore Sun Rhino a have a Nice Day super hits of the �?T70s were the 70s really just a vast wasteland of polyester clothes and prefab pop groups that certainly seems to be the thinking behind Rhino s have a Nice Day super hits of the 70s series a collection of am radio oldies that bounces happily Between guilty pleasures and outright embarrassments. Obviously any anthology that includes the likes of Chi Coltrane s Thunder and lightning or signs by the five Man electrical band has a real Knack for finding the Creme de la crap. Yet for every Clunker there Are enough Hal forgotten gems a brother Louie try stories to 9say or Melanie a Brand new key vol. 7 a to make the Effort worthwhile. A .c Baltimore Sun All this an a 1490 spe1n& m of a a is. I r  style $2 contains european styling in clothes that speak your language a special Section for infants through preschoolers the latest styles and Brand names for boys and girls must have looks for the �?T90s, lounge Wear Active Wear suits and More. Home $5 contains furniture and grills for Patio fun Over 1,000 Power and hand tools design it yourself storage systems parts and accessories for vans coordinated bedroom fashions Lawn and Garden equipment and More. Available at most stars and stripes bookstores. Monday june 4, 1990 the stars and stripes Page 17