European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 14, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Time off helped by Dave Larsen Cox news service Clint Black has returned a better Man after a two year lapse Between albums. The country Singer s marriage in october of 1991 to actress Lisa Hartman has brought balance to his life and a spectacular $250,000 stage set has enhanced the visual Impact of his concert performances. And while the hard Way never topped the charts billboard Magazine praised his latest release As being Quot so richly textured and emotionally revealing that it gives the listener the Joy of discovering Black All Over again. Black was t just Killin time a a Well publicized shift in management from Bill Ham to Jonni Hartman Nis new Mother in Law delayed production. Consequently the Texas native in t surprised that the no. 1 spots on the country and pop album charts have eluded him. Quot i won t say i m not disappointed but i was t expecting a whole lot Quot Black says. Quot i mean Billy Ray Cyrus phenomenal Success shut everybody out fora longtime except for Garth Brooks who s just gone Over the top. And i was out of the Loop for almost two years a i did t have a single out for seven that of course has t kept the hard Way from going Platinum or fans from enjoying his elaborate stage show built to it resemble a massive Stone formation and featuring some rather Earth shaking special effects Quot i made some Money last year and i wanted to spend it on my show Quot the previously laconic performer says. Quot i really got carried away with my creative avenues and have had a great time with it Quot the $250,000 Price tag was for the set alone and does t take into account 300 lighting cans seven video cameras two screens five semis six buses and 55 Crew members but that did t deter Black. Quot i did t know what i was getting into but whenever 1 saw the artwork and the plan for the stage set i just had to do he Hopes the expense will give his fans something More in the concert setting than they d get listening to his albums at Home. Quot it s important for me that they have something visually As Well As what they re hearing Quot he says. Quot we re not the rockette up there so they re not going to see any fans might hot see much of Black s trademark Stetson either. Quot i be worn a hat All my life but i did t Wear it All the time you know what i mean and so i just decided to be More True to my real self. And decided i can Wear it when i feel like it and not Wear it when i Don to Quot he jokingly compares the reaction to his slight change in image to the Madonna Book although he concedes that Madonna exposes Quot a Little More than the top of her head. Quot it s not a big change except that people Aren t used to seeing me without . My first album cover i did t have my hat on. It s funny but i did t hear a lot of comments about Black is capped on the cover of the hard Clint Black and his wife actress Lisa Hartman Way which like his previous releases Killin time and put yourself in my shoes concerns itself with life and its effects Quot with one exception Quot he adds laughing Quot Wake up yesterday is about a poltergeist the Guy Dies in the first line of the song and spends the rest of the time confused about going to the unlike Many of his contemporaries. Black writes his own material and deals with More Complex emotions than most in his lyrics. Quot i tend to focus on the Gravity of situations rather than the levity Quot he says. Quot it s really the More profound things that inspire me and when i m writing i try to look to that Side in order to be Able to find the lyrics. The More shallow something is the harder it is to write Good lyrics about it. And so if i can look at the More profound Side of things i m Gonna have enough inspiration to keep a fire burning All the Way through the and while his recent marriage has t manifested itself in his songs As of yet Black says it s made him Quot better in every Quot i m a Workaholic and if i Don t watch myself i la work constantly and a lot of that is probably due to loneliness and Lack of Otner interests and now i have pm Quot he says again laughing. Quot so it s probably healthier for my work and i know it s healthier for Young offers his fans something rare a sequel that works by Mary Campbell the associated press As Neil Young wrote the songs for a sequel to Harvest the album he made 20 years ago he heard women s choirs in his head. Quot some of the songs Are for my wife Peg and some for womanhood in general Quot said Young who recorded Harvest Moon in a studio on his ranch outside Redwood City Calif. Quot there s a lot More feminine representation on this record than there has been on my recent records. Quot that s Why i have women singing Linda Ronstadt my Nicomette Larson. It is refreshing. It gives it a lot More depth. I wanted to feel the feminine Side of the Content of the songs. When the chorus and harmonies come along it becomes much More meaningful with the female voice. Quot i kept hearing female voices in my head a choirs at first with every one of these things. I did t end up with that. Something tells me i m going to end up with that sooner or later. I do like that wearing a flannel shirt and jeans relaxed and smiling often during an interview Young talked about the creative process Quot i guess inspiration might be in the second before you Start writing that first note what makes you Start off in that direction you re going in. Quot it is not like you sit around and think of what to do and do it. It is like you re sitting there. Nothing May happen for a number of weeks. Then you re walking Down the Street and you re thinking words and humming something not through any conscious Effort to do it. The idea or inspiration for Melody and lyrics comes in one package. You be got to be receptive. That s How i do if. Quot i be pulled Over in the car a couple of times and picked up a guitar out of the Back seat to do something Neal Young performs at the Bob Dylan tribute in october at new York s mad son Square Garden. That came to me so strongly j like to w rite in moving vehicles trains and air planes. If i have a pen ill write it Down if i Don to i la remember enough to get it going when i get to a place i can sit Down with an As to whether what he writes is relevant the 17-year old Young said Quot after i write something sometimes i la go is this relevant compared to what what does this mean who knows i be been relevant and i be been did t seem to Harv est has been his Best Selling album at More than 3 million. The stray gators the band on the original Harvest play on Harvest Moon and James Taylor again sings backup after the Gold Rush 1970 sold More than 2 million and everybody knows this is nowhere 1969decade 1978 and live rust 1979 sold More than a million each according to the recording Industry association of America Young was a member of Buffalo Springfield from 1966 to 68, made his first Solo album in 1969, then became a sort time partner in Crosby stills Nash and Young in the Early 70s. ,.people who have recorded that Long Are bringing Cut retrospective cd Box sets. Young will i have a staff of people working on that Back in my studio a he said. Quot i be recorded a lot of material Over 27 years i made six unreleased records in Canada before i came to the states. I m kind of like a librarian. I be got All this stuff. Quot you d have to special order the Complete works. It won t be album by album but chronologically by Date of performance. If we just do master takes of individual songs it s Over 300, you d have to be a Freak for my music to be into there also will be a Box of either three four or five cd and a single cd compilation. Quot that represents the skim of the top of the whole thing the Best of the unreleased and most Well known things Quot he said. For now though the critics love Harvest Moon released on the reprise Label. One wrote Quot whether it s the movies or music sequels Seldom work. Young handles the task so Well it s almost Worth waiting a decade or two for volume 3.&Quot 12 stripes Magazine january 14, 1993
