European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 13, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Walking through a dream by Mary Campbell associated pres where has Success taken Anita Baker Quot to dreamland sometimes. To hell and Back in a Limo at other  Baker has been described As having Quot one of pop music s most gorgeously appointed  she has won three grammy awards As Best rhythm n blues female vocalist plus one for Best soul gospel singing and two songwriting grammy for Sweet love and giving you the Best that f got. But she has insecurities and she worries about maintaining her individuality. Quot record companies have come to see that what i do is profitable Quot Baker said. Quot they re churning out female artists who sing ballads with jazz overtones. How do i maintain my identity when there s an Assembly line of me coming out Quot Baker has a new album compositions on which she wrote or co wrote seven of the nine songs. She also recorded seven songs live with a rhythm Section. Quot it was great Quot she said. Quot i never knew you could have fun in the studio. Id hated it. Doing it live every thing at the same time i m not thinking about myself. If you hear something great being played it spurs you to do something  in the late 1970s, Baker became vocalist for a Detroit group chapter 8. Quot we did an album in 1980 and Ariola did t pick up the option. They said a you done to have what it takes to make it a i figured they knew what they were talking about. I went and got a Day  so she went to work at her aunt s Beauty shop As a Gofer and later As a Shampooer. Quot with chapter 8,1 was singing ballads Quot Baker said. Quot there was nothing on the radio except dance music. Now the trend is toward what i do fireside love songs with ja2z, blues and gospel overtones. The Good thing is that a lot of Young singers Are discovering their predecessors. I listened to Sarah Vaughan and Nancy . Baker who is in the Middle of a huge summer tour of the United states quips that her songs Are not fireside love songs but Quot Seaside a love songs from the  she a been accused of being Quick tempered but she says she Isnit. To impatient with incompetence we have 30 to 50 people on the Road when in a travelling a lighting Crew stage managers carpenters bus Drivers Limo Drivers Security. I done to know How i got a reputation for being that Witch with a by on the front of it Quot she said. Quot it comes from people talking to people who have been fired. The Only Way you can get fired is that you complicate very simple things by not listening or Nof haying any Pride about your Job or having to be told something 50,000 limes Quot audiences have been great Baker said. Quot the kind of Confidence that Fosters in me is not the kind of Confidence record companies want their artists to have. They play on the insecurity of an artist saying audiences were there the last time but we done to know if they re going to be there this time. Quot the first leg of this tour has Given me Confidence in knowing my audience is there for  in 1988, Baker married Walter Bridgeforth who has a Small investing company and operates a restaurant. When their opinions done to coincide she said he does no to debate or argue. Quot he says a you re entitled to an opinion. In a going to the Golf  i like it though. He travels with me when he can. I would t want him with me All the time. Somebody is going to read something into that i like the fact he has a a a i grammy award winning Singer Anita Baker says she s worried about maintaining her individuality. Life Independent of mine. And it makes for a sweeter  they live on Lake St. Clair in Grosse Pointe mich., and have recently bought a House nearby that they will tear Down. A a we la build something that will fit the Community. We re not ones to try to outdo everybody. In a in a very iffy business. If in a Milquetoast tomorrow we could sell off the adjoining land to developers and wed be quite All right. Quot no matter what i do and no matter How much property we acquire or investments we make there a this Little person in Here that s the inner City kid saying Anita somebody is going to come and take your credit card a Quot when we walked into the new House i had to go into another room and sit Down. I lost it. When i was a kid and Walter too the thing to do at Christmas time was parents would pack their children into the car and drive along the Lake Shore and look at the pretty lights on the houses. Quot now its like in a walking through a dream  we at what s not record a review Bonnie Raitt a the Bonnie Raitt collection Bonnie Raitt s four grammy awards earlier this year for her Nick of time album on Capitol records was viewed by Many in the music business As Long overdue recognition for a talented musician. But while the album contains some of the hard edged blues that Raitt built her career upon it also has More of the softer pop Rock sound that appeared on her earlier works on the Warner Brothers Label. Wasting Little time after the grammy Warner Brothers compiled 20 tracks from the nine albums Raitt made Over the first 16 years of her recording career the Bonnie Raitt collection dramatically shows that Raitt is first and Foremost a lady who sings the blues. One of the surprising things about Raitt when she made her debut in 1971 was her guitar playing. Until then hard edged Rock guitar and blues Rock was the province of men but the daughter of Broadway Star John Raitt set the Standard for women players which has been carried on since by Anne and Nancy Wilson of heart Charlotte Caffey of the original go gos and Vicki Peterson of the bangles. Raitt is the female version of Eric Clapton and Lonnie Mack rolled into one. That much is evident throughout the Bonnie Raitt collection whether it is a stinging Riff of a slide on an acoustic blues tune or a cutting Solo lick on a Rocker Raitt has the chops to play with anyone. Another even More important Point that this collection makes is that raid s musical instincts have been consistently Sharp when it comes to selecting material. Although she can write As Well As anyone Raitt most often has elected to interpret the songs of others ranging from Jackson Browne and Allen Toussaint to Del Shannon and Bryan Adams two of the finest cuts on the collection Are duets and both Are from concert performances. The first is a previously unreleased version of women be Wise Sung with a primary influence on her career Sippie Wallace. Raitt and Wallace Trade bars with ease on the song penned by Wallace. Even though there is a Sharp contrast Between the craggy voiced Wallace and the smooth sounding Raitt the Energy Between the two voices holds everything together. The other duet is with John Prine on one of priness Best songs Angel from Montgomery. Sung with the simple accompaniment of an acoustic guitar it is Worth the Price of the album alone. It s not often that a Quot Best of Quot album really reflects the diversity of a performer s career and is representative of his or her talents. The Bonnie Raitt collection does. A by Kenneth Best Stamford advocate sonic youth a goo one of the Ediest bands on the cutting Edge makes its move to a major Label with an album that at first seems almost too grating for general consumption that did t Stop the pixies Doolittle from placing in Many critics top 10 lists last year and it won t Stop sonic youth either. Goo sustains the oddly tuned instruments driving beats and dissonant guitars of sonic youth s Independent Label masterpiece daydream nation and As on the Lead off track dirty roofs thrashes like the Early who fed through plenty of feedback. Distortion builds into the beat of tunic As Kim Gordon s disconnected vocal describes Karen carpenters arrival in heaven. In disappeared Lee Ranaldo a and Thurston Moore a guitar notes blend into a constant chiming of ringing reverb. Scooter and Jinx s buzzing drone and Mildred Pierce s anguished screams make both songs inaccessible but much of goo is great guitar Rock. A by Dave Larsen a Poison a flesh amp blood Poison is Back with a new album but there s not much new about it. With one or two exceptions flesh amp blood is entirely predictable from the Power chord progressions to the Hook Laden choruses. The songs Are structured so that the obligatory guitar Solo occurs at almost exactly the same Point in every tune and it s not hard to Tell when Rikki Rockett s Drums Are due to kick in on life loves a tragedy. Although the h a s in this Glam Metal group have put their makeup Kis away the cover of look what the cat dragged in portrayed Poison As an All girl ban they still owe much to another band of Pancake wearing performers. The sing song choruses of flesh amp blood sacrifice and Don t give up an Inch sound pretty much like what kiss was doing in the 70s a especially when the band sings in unison. The group singing cheapens the chorus of the Power Ballad life goes on which would have been stronger done Solo. In its favor flesh amp blood features a Catchy kick off single uns Kinny Bop which put Poison Back at the top of the pop singles Chart. Nothing to believe in packs a few surprises although it too has its perfunctory guitar performance. The song is a lyrical and musical stretch for the band interweaving four troubling tales one involving the death of an associate of the band in december and is far More textured than anything they be done to Date. But then unfortunately it s Back to Boring basics with the Bon Jovi like Ball and Chain and the plodding poor boy blues. A by Dave Larsen a Page 16 a a a the stars and stripes monday. August 13, 1990