European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 10, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Aque2for Book probes death of Brian Jones by Geoffrey . O Connell the Stamford advocate Twenty one years after the founder of the rolling stones was found face Down in the Pool at his English country estate a Westport conn., writer says he knows How Brian Jones died. And with him says the writer Sank the spirit of the �?T60s. . Hotchner spent the better part of the past six years researching and writing his latest Book blown away the rolling stones and the death of the sixties set for publication this month. The Book originally intended by a publisher As a gossipy look at the stones became for Hotchner a quest for the unholy grail that was the �?T60s decade born of idealism raised on rebellion and dead too soon its Promise unfulfilled. Hotchner is no stranger to celebrity journalism and no foe to the lofty Liberal ideals of the Era but the decades dark Side of drugs violence and sex made the project to put it mildly what emerged is an unusually organized but gripping mystery about the life and suspicious death of the flamboyant Jones Long forgotten under the commercial whine of the rolling stones big steel wheels. And in Jones who simultaneously embodied the creativity and self destructive impulses of a generation Hotchner found a metaphor for a decade that was overwhelming in its Impact yet fleeting in its legacy. The primary reporting problem Hotchner says is that unlike Jimmy Cagney being interviewed for a Book on Sophia Loren Rock world denizens when they can be found rarely keep appointments and often Only flirt with lucidity. Quot there were some people i wanted to talk to that had just disappeared. Nobody knows what happened to Hotchner says a perfect example is Nicolas Fitzgerald author of a 1985 Book Brian Jones the inside Story of the original rolling Stone. His account of Jones death never officially solved but presumed to have been a drug related swimming mishap was the first to explore the highly suspicious circumstances. Quot i spent two months in London trying to find him Quot Hotchner says. Quot that is just ruinous. You try to follow a Trail and it goes cold on much of Hotchner s methodology harks Back to his Legal training. Quot i was looking for a preponderance of the evidence in reconstructing the lives of the stones Quot he says. Quot in the Case of Brian Jones drowning by the time you added up All the evidence a the scepticism of the stones themselves Keith Richards Ian Stewart the exhaustive coroners reports the depositions of the people reportedly at his House that night a there was something additional interviews with friends of Jones gave Hotchner the evidence he needed to conclude that Jones was killed As he swam in the Pool at Rotchford farm the estate originally belonging to Winnie the Pooh creator . Milne. Jones was in the process of restoring the House and grounds Replete with Pooh characters when he was killed. The stones As a group were marketed As the More sedate beatles evil twin and Jones a talented blues guitarist was the baddest of the bad boys. Children born out of Wedlock overt sexuality on stage and notorious drug use ultimately led to Jones being a liability for the stones. After a tumultuous six years in which Jones played less and less of a role with the stones the More Businesslike Jagger organized the group and forced Jones out. The announcement of Jones departure for Quot musical differences Quot made International headlines june 9,1969. Less than one month later july 2, Jones was found at the Bottom of his Pool. Hotchner makes a Case that Jones distraught at his ouster from the band he founded was particularly vulnerable to foul play. Construction workers at his farm began to steal from Jones partying on his liquor and drugs overrunning the estate. One night according to Hotchner a sources the partying turned ugly and several of the workers assaulted Jones holding him underwater for increasingly longer intervals. Finally according to the sources Jones did not come Back up. Most of the revellers scattered some stripping rooms of Jones possessions on the Way out. Hotchner who has studied celebrity Hood for decades says that Jones while in Many ways unique to his generation is typical of superstars caught up in the seductive Power of an adoring Public. Hotchner s Book will rile stones fans especially in its portrayal of Jagger As a conniving businessman oblivious to the suffering of Jones. Hell also rile veterans of the 60s who have fought to keep their idealism into the Post Vietnam Post civil rights Era. Critics May rail against the Choppy episodic style of the Book. Hotchner says he wanted to convey the free flowing nature of the times and concentrate on the emotional facts to capture the 60s spirit. What s not record a Revi wac do a the razors Edge acc has been accused of making the same album Over and Over since it began in the mid-�?T70s, thumping assemblages of pentatonic Power chords and leering innuendo style so distinctive that you an always recognize an acc tune on the radio. It s Rock a no Roll stripped to its absolute basics of Oise beat and Schoolboy aggression a any High school dude with a guitar can reproduce any acc Iff. The groups last few albums have sold Well but where near the umpteen million copies they routinely sold Between 1979 and 1982. A a cd station on hard Rock stations is probably nearly As High As led Zeph a but what a played is mostly 10 ears old. On the razor s Edge the band hired hot Aero Smith on Jovi producer Bruce Fairburn and the album still Ocks like acc but a rather Slick version thereof. A a cd a trademark Gritty guitars Are softened up audio swoosh ing fills the famous empty space tween Power chords vocalist Brian Johnson actually tries to sing instead of yelp like a Wolverine he tinge of mainstream Rock May make longtime fans Cream but razor s Edge is probably cd a Best Ibum since 1985�?Ts Fly on the Wall. Jonathan Gold la Timeche Waterboy a room to roam the water boys room to roam is a perfect album if our re in love. Mike Scott certainly is a with a woman e giddily recounts his discovery in a Man is in love and with his adopted Rural Irish Home whose music and aspiration fill this collection. And Scott the scotsman is Iso still in love with the spiritual quest that has fuelled e four previous water boys albums. In some ways though the earthy music and the contented tone make this seem a bit of a Retreat. Historically a seekers Art is More compelling when he still has t found what he s looking for a and this album suggests that s True in Scott s Case. With the acoustic mix of reels and Van Morrison influenced explorations on 1988�?Ts Fisherman s blues Scott and Crew struck a balance Between the Light and the heavy. Only in a few places Here do they leave the pub Jam session and get Back to the Hunt for meaning. On the other hand the pure existential Joy of these 17 songs and fragments makes this far and away Scott a least pompous Outing a unless you think a scotsman s guileless Romance with Ireland Falls into the latter category. If you re a romantic yourself it would be hard to pass through this Ceilidh without catching its spirit. A Steve Hochman . Time Bette Midler a some Peoples lives with some people s lives Bette Midler has gotten too serious. What she does Best is 40s swing those Perky Andrews Sisters style songs a la Boogie Boogie Bugle boy with their intricate harmonies and frantic rhythms. Instead there san overload of whiny Dirge like ballads Here Many in the style of wind beneath my wings her grammy winning hit from last year. One of the ballads the gift of love just misses but is bogged Down by Gaudy production touches. Fortunately there a nothing on the album quite As unabashedly sentimental As wind but Many of the songs have those same Sappy overtones including the title track co written by Janis Ian. The Only Flash of the old Midler is on her version of Cole porters Ultra witty miss Otis regrets a Clever blend of contemporary and swing styles. She can be an exceptional Torch Singer As she shows on the tender he was too Good to me since you stayed Here one of the few times when the arrangement is restrained. Dennis Hunt . Time the judds a love can build a Bridge Wynonna and Naomi a latest is chock full of tasty production touches but the meticulously conceived parts add up to an Overly polite reserved whole. The problem too Many songs seem engineered rather than inspired. Thom Schuyler a heartbreakingly Beautiful Are the roses not Blooming is the stunning exception. A Randy Lewis . Times Hardtop a singles 1. Praying for time George Michael 2. Close to you Maxi priest 3.1dont have the heart James Ingram 4. Ice ice baby Vanilla ice 5. Black cat a Janet Jackson 6. Love and affection Nelson 7. Romeo a Dino 8. Something happened on the Way to heaven Phil Collins 9. Everybody everybody Black Box 10. Of girl Paul Youngton a up s 1. Please Hammer dont Hurt pm . Hammer 2. Wilson Phillips Wilson Phillips 3. Mariah Carey Mariah Carey 4. Usten without prejudice vol 1 George Michael 5. Poison Bell bar Devoe 6. Blaze of glory Young guns ii Jon Bon Jovi 7. Cherry pie warrant 8. Ghost a soundtrack 9. Empire a Queen Ryche 10. Flesh and blood Poison country a singles 1. Friends in Low places Garth Brooks 2. You be Reba Mcentyre 3. Too cold at Home Mark Chesnutt 4. Drinking Champagne George Strait 5. Holdin a Good hand Lee Greenwood 6. Born to be Blue the judds 7. Jukebox in my mind Alabama 8.1 meant every word he said Ricky Van Shelton 9. My heart is set on you Yonel Cartwright 10. Story of love the desert Rose band Lack a singles 1. Giving you the Benefit pebbles 2. Fairweather Friend Johnny Gill 3. Heaven knows Lalah Hathaway 4. Close to you Maxi priest 5. Everybody everybody Black Box 6. So you Uke what you see Samuelle 7. The booming system la Cool j 8. Merry go round Keith sweat 9. Rhythm of use Oleta Adams 10. You re right about that Klar album a Rock last week s listing 1. Suicide blonde inns 2. Days Uke these Asia 3. Boys cry Tough bad company 4. A night on the town Bruce Hornsby amp the Range 5. Type Vang Colour 6. Mansion on the Hill Nell Young amp crazy horse 7. While my guitar gently weeps the Jeff Healey band 8. Young lust Bryan Adams 9. Thunderstruck acc 10. Tick Tock a the Vaughan Brothers a compiled by billboard wednesday october 10,1990 the stars and stripes a Page 17
