The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 17

MUSICWEEK BULLETINS, BLASTS AND NEWS BITS REVIEWS OF THE WEEK'S POP-MUSIC CONCERTS TRACKS voice made up of equal parts of Gladys Knight, Tina Turner and performance at Cardinal Stadium that seemed designed to satisfy her every whim. Proving that she is not only a dance diva but a pop artist, soul singer and jazz vocalist, Khan challenged the crowd by mixing familiar with new, simple with complex. Early hits such as "Tell Me Something Good" and "Sweet Thang" played well with the audience, while the jazz standard "My Funny Valentine" thinned the crowd when Khan stretched its melody as far as it would go. Khan seamlessly moved from high-intensity, rock-based funk to contemporary ballads, some of it sounding like it came from Prince's Paisley Park studio. Khan's famous vocals, which have been tapped by a variety of jazz and pop artists, worked best when her higher vocal range was saved for climaxes.

When she hit the higher notes, she separated the fans from the flotsam; some call it stratospheric vocal brilliance, others call it a high screech. El DeBarge delivered an opening set composed mostly of smooth ballads, relying heavily on his fine falsetto voice. Live, his current hit "Dance with Me" played no better than the studio version, while another new song, "I Like," scored higher, with more heat and musical complexity. Ringo Starr in concert, last night By MARK CLARK Staff Critic It was the blue light special of rock and roll. For their $13.50 price of admission to last night's concert by Ringo Starr and His All Stan-Band, patrons got 25 songs (a mere 54 cents per song) by nine artists (just $1.50 per musician).

What a deal! And what a blast! I've seen better concerts, but none more just plain fun. Starr was less the focus of the concert than a ringmaster for the dazzling circus of musicians appearing with him: guitarists Joe Walsh, Todd Rundgren, Nils Lofgren and Dave Edmunds; bassist Timothy B. Schmit (late of Poco and the Eagles); ex-Guess Who keyboardist Burton Cummings; saxophonist Tim Cappello; and Starr and his son, Zak Starkey, on drums. Starr sang a half-dozen songs, mostly solo hits from the 1970s such as "You're Sixteen" and favorites from his days with the Beatles, such as "Yellow Submarine" and the inevitable "With a Little Help from My Friends." He was only on stage about half the time, letting the other musicians take the spotlight to perform two or three solo numbers apiece. But he set the tone with his famous, lighthearted demeanor.

It was obvious throughout that the band was having as much fun as the crowd maybe more. Walsh, who entered wearing an Indian headdress, and Rundgren clowned in manic fashion throughout, chasing Lofgren around the crowded stage at one point. Most of the solo performances were superb, but Cummings all but stole the show with a trio of beautiful selections, including "She's Come Undone." Lofgren also proved invaluable, reeling off solo after brilliant solo. Walsh delighted the crowd with two favorites, "Life's Been Good" and "In the City." Rundgren, shunning hits, offered a more esoteric fare, his kinetic "Bang the Drum All Day" and the obscure "Black Mar-iah." Edmunds had a nice moment with a solo guitar rendition of Paul McCartney's "Lady Madonna." As a backing band, the group was also remarkably effective. Cummings' "No Time" and Starr's "With a Little Help" never sounded better.

Buzzing the masses Robert Woletz of The New York Times writes that the Red Hot Chili Peppers' record "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" had only modest success after its release last year. Then the Peppers' "Give It Away" video was picked up by MTV for its "Buzz Bin," a music segment that tries to pick some say create new hits. Album sales rose, and MTV moved the Peppers' "Under the Bridge" to the "Buzz Bin." The album then catapulted into the top five on the Billboard chart and stayed there for months. Temple of the Dog, a Seattle-based group made up of members of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, released its eponymous record in April 1991. In 14 months, the record sold only 105,000 copies.

Recently, the video of the band's single "Hunger Strike" was added to "Buzz Bin." Within three weeks, "Temple of the Dog" had sold an additional 315,000 copies and had risen to No. 25 on the pop charts. "That record's success is 100 percent attributable to MTV," says Jim Guerinot, senior vice president of marketing at A Records. Such is the power of a spot on "Buzz Bin," random segments in which new videos are introduced by the network's video jockeys, thus conferring MTV's stamp of approval. "Music, visually presented, is the lifeblood of the channel," said Judy McGrath, executive vice president and creative director for MTV.

"We need new music to keep our viewers stimulated and watching." MTV usually puts three or four videos in "Buzz Bin" rotation at one time; they're typically shown three times daily for about eight weeks just a notch below what is called "heavy" rotation on MTV. The video jockeys talk up the bands. Each time the clip is shown, the "Buzz Bin" label clues viewers that MTV likes the video. The performers turn up on daily news features. "We have seen a tremendous correlation between ('Buzz Bin') and activity at the cash register," said Daniel Glass, executive vice president and general manager of EMI Records in New York.

And, record company executives say, there's a lot of lobbying involved. Record labels begin their campaigns to get videos played with a barrage of press releases, photographs and advance copies of albums. Then come promises that the bands will submit to on-air interviews. The video itself is sent over, often delivered by a member of the label's promotion staff. Such a campaign can run into thousands of dollars.

Porn flakes If you think that 2 Uve Crew just isn't sufficiently foul-mouthed and you saw "Caligula" but didn't think it was prurient enough, you'll be glad to hear that "Country Porn," the infamous 1976 release by Chinga Chavin, has been reissued on CD. Chavin, who made quite an impression in the Bay Area in the 1970s, combines decent country-Western musicianship with sexually explicit satire. Chavin whose earlier efforts include a book of poetry entitled "The Carmen Miranda Coloring Book" calls himself "the anti-Christ to Randy Travis, an X-rated Will Rogers." To order, send $12.99 for the CD or $9.99 for the cassette plus $1.50 postage and handling to Dietetic Music, P.O. Box 339, Montclair, N.J. 07042.

Out this week It seems everything's relative in the record business this week Edan, the band fronted by Don Everly's son, releases "Dead Flowers," and the Wallflowers, featuring Bob Dylan's son Jakob, come out with their eponymous debut. Also this week, Bobby Brown will follow up his breakthrough 1988 album with the oh-so-cleverly titled "Bobby." It includes Brown performing a duet with his new bride, Whitney Houston. Warrant releases "Dog Eat Dog," and Linda Ronstadt comes out with "Frenesi." Kristin Faurest, contributing critic Sarah Vaughan. The future of jazz was represented by the Louisville Jazz Workshop, by Mike Tracy. Made up of players between the ages of 15 and 17, the group sounded tentative at first, but their confidence grew as they worked their way through a set of jazz standards.

By the end it was clear that these young players al ready have the kind of foundation on which excellence can be built. The Zoo in concert, Tuesday night By SCOTT ROBINSON Contributing Critic During his time away from the band that bears his name, veteran rocker Mick Fleetwood amuses himself by performing with the Zoo, a loose, blues-based rock ensemble. And since Fleetwood Mac's latest hiatus may be permanent, the Zoo may be Mick Fleetwood's final resting place. If so, the old guy is going out with a bang. His six-piece experiment (which has at times included such superluminaries as Eddie Van Ha-len) packed the house at Flaherty's Tuesday night with a muscular set of blues-rock anachronisms, unfinished but sincere.

A far cry from the radio-friendly pop generated by Fleetwood Mac, the sound of the Zoo rattled the roof. Fleetwood's partner in birthing this new music is Billy Thorpe, a vocalist-guitarist with an appropriate journeyman demeanor and apparently none of the attendant ego displayed by Fleetwood's better-known cohorts. Vocalist Bekka Bramlett shared the front-line duties with Thorpe as the band roared through tracks from "Shakin' the Cage," its first major release (and titled, ironically, after the last major Fleetwood Mac tour). Bramlett's performance was remarkably understated for a vocalist of her range and passion. Opening with "Breakin' Up," a boisterous cut featuring both vocalists, and continuing with "Voodoo," "Takin' It Out to the People" and other tunes from the album, the Zoo descended firmly into an unassuming bar-band mind-set, no bigger and no smaller than the moment.

This is where Fleetwood started almost three decades ago, in small pubs throughout Europe. He seems to ask for nothing more. The Zoo displayed an overwhelming presence in its live show that is lacking in its new album and in its recent TV appearances. Fleetwood seems to be trying for the big time yet again, which may be a horrible mistake. The whole point of this band, after all, is to return him to his roots.

Soul Kitchen, a power rock ensemble from Los Angeles, opened the show with 45 minutes of compelling, well-executed tunes from its self-titled album. KFC Jazz in Central Park, last night By RICK MATTINGLY Contributing Critic By the end of last night's opening concert of the three-day KFC Jazz in Central Park festival, the more than 2,000 attendees had been exposed to the music's past, present and future. Representing the past was vibra-phonist Johnny Lytle and his Sextet, who recalled the era when jazz musicians were more entertainers than serious artists. Nicknamed "Little Hamp" in honor of vibist Lionel Hampton, Lytle proved that the title was well deserved as he concentrated on melody and swing, displaying none of the bop phrasing of Milt Jackson or the technical flair of Gary Burton. Lytle demonstrated a wide range of dynamics and a good sense of the many colors his instrument can produce.

Regrettably, due to bad miking, many of the nuances of his performance were barely audible, often causing the more show-biz aspects of his performance to take prominence. But the crowd clearly loved the glissandos and clanking machine-gun staccatos that punctuated his playing, and were vocal in their approval. Lytle was preceded by Ramon Howard and the Wisemen, with vocalist Toni Cole. Howard's trio opened the set with three tunes that showed the influence of funk and gospel on modern jazz. Cole's four tunes sent the music into a contemporary mode as she mixed jazz standards with pop tunes in a Chaka Khan in concert, last night By BOB BAHR Contributing Critic She dispensed with suspense and started her show with that familiar repetition of her name "Chaka Khan, Chaka Khan.

Chaka Khan, Chaka Khan from her biggest hit, "I Feel for You." Free of that obligation, Khan then dove into a free Kentucky State Fair Saturday, Aug. 22. 1992 SCENE Pago 11.