European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 29, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Bad company airs dirty Linen latest music riot exactly an ode to wedded Bliss by Ron Mckinney staff writer it s been an emotional roller coaster in recent years for bad company Lead Singer lyricist Brian Howe and he s taken his listeners with him every punishing step of the Way. Two years ago he was singing the praises of a wonderful relationship that made him feel like he was walking on holy water the title release of bad company s 1990 album. Then came a Nasty divorce and last fall s follow up album thus titled Here comes trouble. It was a warning he said for his sex wife not to let s say a give him any trouble. The music in itself was Howe s expression of love. Or in his sex wife s Case bitterness. Take for example the track brokenhearted. It Quot is a song i wrote to try to rub Salt into my wife s wounds. Because she s such a Bitch. I just wanted to Welcome her to the world of the brokenhearted Quot Howe said in a Telephone interview from fort Meyers fla., where he lives. Call it poetic irony then that bad company s first hit off Here comes trouble was How about that a Rock n Roll Ballad that spoke of someone pleasantly surprised to be so in love. To be so committed. The irony comes from Howe having written the song a year ago when he and his sex wife were trying to Patch things up. Quot it just did t happen Howe said. Quot i tried to show her that i d put her above everything. And it just did t work out. But at least i got a Good song put of  and his sex wife s reaction Quot she probably thought of it As another vehicle for her to get Money off of  since the divorce Howe has found love again but in the Wake of the divorce remains the haunting fears of a Loving relationship regressing once. Brian Howe second from right will be putting his bitterness on display in Europe when bad company begins touring in february. Again into the hurtful throes of breakup. Quot anyone who s been through a divorce is always scared stiff of getting through it again Quot Howe said. Quot after one is truly screwed it s difficult. I know this girl would never do that to me but still you hold something Back which in t fair but it s human  still the novel excitement and constant fear of Howe s new relationship inspired this could be the one a melodic Rock tune that has had frequent airplay on an radio but was a disappointment on the american pop charts not even breaking into the top 40. Quot it Kinda died away at the end Quot Howe said. Quot it s on its Way Down to never never land now. It just did t seem to catch on. It s one of those  for Howe his love life or Post love life is All he needs for material for an album. Quot that s about All i be got in my life he laughed. Quot that s about what my whole thing is is falling in and out of  while Howe has been lamenting the woes of the brokenhearted on his albums he has t warmly embraced the resurgence of heavy Metal bands that have Cut into his shrinking Rock Market while he hails such new bands As nirvana and Pearl Jam he bitterly turns against those heavy Metal bands. That can be hardly surprising Given this self description Quot i m very single minded and very obstinate if you like. I have very Strong opinions about things and i like to voice  As for the invasion of heavy Metal bands Howe said Quot i think heavy Metal has become a parody of itself. It s sad but if i see one More heavy Metal band dressed in All leather and with chains and whips and girls tied up by the neck i think it s just several expletives. I think they should just Wake up because there s a real world out Here and people Don t dress like that when they walk Down the  bad company embarks on a european tour next month with Howe who previously Sang for Ted Nugent and two of its mainstay musicians guitarist Mick Ralphs and drummer Simon Kirke Paul Rodgers who Sang for bad company during the 1970s and Early 80s when they had hits such As can t get enough feel like Makin love and Rock n Roll fantasy declined to stay with the band when it regrouped in 1985. Country with a conscience a a. A. Megastar Garth Brooks takes on Urban issues by Robert Hilburn the los Angeles times popularity and Power make headlines and no one generates More these Days than Garth Brooks. Less than four weeks into the new year Brooks a who sold $231 million in records last year More than any other country or pop artist a has already made news on several fronts including signing a spectacular new recording contract with Liberty records that gives him a Royalty rate rivalled Only by that of Michael Jackson a in the 25 percent to 30 percent Range. Tonight Brooks Hopes to raise about $1 million for los Angeles riot Relief by giving two sold out concerts at the forum in Inglewood Calif. Sunday he will sing the National Anthem at the super bowl in Pasadena Calif. Not bad for a 30 year old who six months ago said he might retire to devote More time to his wife and 6-month-old daughter. During a break in a Nashville tenn., recording session Brooks reflected on the recent events including his song we shall be free the Post los Angeles riots expression of brotherhood that Many country radio programmers rejected As too Liberal for country audiences. Q what were your feelings during the riots a compassion for the victims or sadness for the people who Felt so disenfranchised that they would take to the streets a i guess my biggest problem with the riots was dealing with the beliefs that we All grow up with in this country a the idea that you Don t take the Law into your own hands because the Justice system will work for everyone. For me that just seemed to fall through the floor that Day. I think these people had to express their voice and the Only Way unfortunately for them was to tear their own Back Yard up. I know a lot of people were saying Quot Welt they had More choices than  but i Don t know. Put yourself in the shoes of those people and ask yourself How Many choices did you have q How surprised were you by the verdict in the Case a i remember sitting on the bus thinking Quot please god please show me something that we Haven t seen. Something that is going to justify the end result  Well i m Sony a and i Don t know the whole Story and i Don t mean to Hurt anybody s feelings a but i never saw anything that justified letting that beating go unpunished. Q what was the reaction when you started doing we shall be free in concert a few months later a i know people say that concerts Are usually full of your fans so they Are bound to like everything you do but you can Tell the difference in the response to certain songs and we be always gotten great response to that song. And we still do. Q were you surprised when the song got so much resistance on country radio a i know some radio programmers said they put it in heavy rotation and that the song just did t get the Calls requesting it. And that s Cool they gave it a Chance. But there were some people who Flat out confessed Quot hey i Don t think my audience wants to hear this so i m not going to play it Quot and i think that was wrong. To Tell you the truth it was one line that kept the song from being played Quot when we re free to love anyone we Garth Brooks is having a Busy weekend in los Angeles. Tonight it s a Benefit concert for riot victims sunday he s singing the National Anthem at the super Bov unit choose a then we shall be  q you touched on a lot of sensitive issues with that. Because you could be talking about racial and sexual tolerance a and that s something that runs against the Grain of most country music. A i be been called everything from Brutus to Judas because of that tin which was intentionally meant to cover everybody. People even said that i have lost Christian values and stuff and that hurts. I Don t believe in god any less because of the song. I Don t see How Loving anybody can be a sin. I still feel strongly about the song and i m glad the National football league wants to use it As the theme for the super bowl game. A what about the touring is the retirement talk Over a my biggest problem with the retirement thing was i d be leaving the part of this business that i enjoy the most. The entertaining part being on stage and seeing How the music affects people. So we be figured out a Way to tour with the whole family weekends Back to Back. If the demand can stay like it is Well be Able to stay a few Days in a city.,. Maybe rent a House of some place so that it can be something like Home. I can get to sleep with my wife at night and i get to see my child All during the Day and go to work at night. Q Are you optimistic about the future when you Are on stage singing we shall be free do you believe the words a i see a lot of things a Good and bad but nine out of 10 things i see Are Good things about people. People calling and asking me to do something for someone else not for them. I think that s wonderful. I m not sure we Are heading in the right direction when it comes to Money and the ecology but As far As brotherly love i do think we Are getting there. I think the 80s brought a lot of emphasis on the individual a which is Cool but life is a team sport and we All have a role to play. Pop a singles 1.1 will always Lov you Whitney Houston 2. To i Ever fall in Lova. Shai 3. In lha still of the Nile ill remember Boyz i men 4. Saving forever for you Shanice 5. Rump Shaker wreck a effect 6. A whole new world Perabo Bryson and regi. Nabelle 7. Deeper and deeper Madonna a Good enough Bobby Brown 9, rhythm la a dancer snap 10.7, Prince and the . Top a albums 1. Soundtrack to a the bodyguard a various artists 2. Breathless Kenny g. 3. Unplugged Eric Clapton 4. Soma Gava All Billy Ray Cyrus 5. The Chase Garth Brooks 6. Timeless the classics Michael Bolton 7. The chronic or. Dre 8. If i Ever Falla in love Shai 9. Ten Pearl Jam. 10. Hard or smooth wreck a effect country a singles 1. Look heart no hands Randy Travis 2. Too Busy being in love Doug Stone 3. Walkaway Joe Trisha Yea Wood 4. Ufa s a dance John Michael Montgomery 5. Wild Man Ricky Van Shelton 6. Can i Trust you with my heart Travis Tritt 7. Take it Back Reba Mcentyre 8. Somewhere other than the night. Garth Brooks 9. In a week or two Diamond Rio 10. Donl let our love Start slip plan away Vince Gill ramp by singles 1.1 will always us. You from Quot the. Body guard Whitney Houston 2. If i Ever fall in Uve. Shai 3. Hera a go again portrait 4. Quality time i five 5. Font walk away Jade 6. Baby i m for real natural High after 7 7. Rump Shaker wreck a effect 8. Reminisce Mary j. Bliga 9. Love should brought you Home Toni braxton4 10. Or. Wendal arrested development adult contemporary 1. A whole new world Perabo Bryson amp Regina Belle 2. When she cries restless heart 3.1 will always love you Whitney Houston 4. Never a time genesis 5. Feels like heaven Peter Cetera with Chaka Khan 6. Faithful go West 7. Forever in love Kenny g. 8. The last song Elton John 9. Heal lha world Michael Jackson , Patty Smyth classical a albums 1. If you Lova me Cecilia Bartoli 2. In concert Carreras Domingo Pavarotti 3. Kathleen Battle at Carnegie halt Kathleen Battle 4. Baroque duet Kathleen Battle Wynton Marsalis 5. Horowitz discovered treasures Vladimir Horowitz 8. Amore Luciano Pavarotti 7. The last recital for Israel Artur Rubenstein 8. Shostakovich 24 preludes and fugues Keith Jarrett 9. Gorecky symphony no. 3, Upshaw London. Sinfonietta 10. Bach sonatas Keith Jarrett Michala Petri a complied by billboard on disc the chronic or. Dre inter scope death Row is the Man behind the hard Core slam of n.w.a., the . And Michelle it goes without saying that or. Dress Solo debut kicks like a mule. It s full of fat beats from the loping Jazzy Bass of us ghetto boy to the a Funk stomp of the Roach. But because Dre insists on living up to the other half of his reputation a that of a brawling woman beating gang anger a the chronic counters its musical smarts with All the worst excesses of gangsta rap. And while dress never quite hit the. Boorish lows of  s last album it s going to take More than a few nastily funny numbers like the $20 sack Pyramid to make this anything More than chronically disappointing. The. Juliet letters Elvis costello Warner Bros hat could be More pretentious than a Rock album conceived As an epistolary novel How about one recorded with a string quartet instead of guitars Bass and Drums unfortunately that a pretty much what Elvis costello uncork on this album a collaboration with the Brodsky quartet that bears the ominous subtitle a song sequence for string quartet and voice. Although its conceivable that someone could wring a listenable album from this ridiculous premise costello is clearly not up to the task. Not Only do his lyrical conceits rarely measure up to the music but his voice blends with the quartet about As Well As Lemon juice mixes with milk. Add the fact that the album drags on for 63 minutes and you la definitely want to Mark it Quot return to  costello perverse Jesus Jones wbk it. T could be that the most perverse thing about this album is the Way Jesus Jones refuses to define itself in Standard Industry terms either As Rock or dance alternative or popular. True there Are elements of each on hand a get a Good thing is driven by the electro pulse of techno Groove while Magazine owes More to the adrenal Zed Rush of thrash. And for every pop Friendly number like the Devil you know there san arty Experiment like yellow Brown. But rather than try to Mash it All Down until the music takes on the character and consistency of paste the Jones boys let each ingredient stand on its own. That May not earn the band Many friends on the marketing Side but it ensures that the album will remain fresh. Heart of the Bass John Patitucci stretch electric Bass virtuosos too often come across As frustrated guitarists emphasizing Flash and volume Over depth and Groove. But not John Patitucci. When he takes on the Bach prelude in g minor from the suites Tor unaccompanied cello he plays with the sort of Grace and fluidity you d expect of Yoyo a. And that a a Standard he maintains throughout heart of the Bass whether sailing through Jeff Beal s concerto Tor jazz Bass amp orchestra dueling with Chick Corea on four hands or strutting his stuff on double ass in Coreas miniatures for Solo Bass piano and string quartet an amazing album. A , cons done the Baltimore Sun