Stevens Point Journal from Stevens Point, Wisconsin • Page 40

T6 Stevens Point (Wis.) Journal Saturday, May 30, 1998 ft a -L JlL JJ lij Fundamental Bonnie Raitt 7 ITH "Fundamental," Bon-V I I nie Raitt needs no frills to uu rivet the listener Her vocals tingle with honest emotion. The spare, smart instrumentation perfectly complements each mood. Unlike many contemporary artists, Raitt understands the power of subtlety and the value of dynamics. On each cut, she generates ample heat Her own composition "Spit of Love" seethes and smolders, and "Fearless Love" soars gently John Hiatt's ironic "Lover's Will" becomes profoundly plaintive via Raitt's interpretation. "Blue For No Reason," which she co-wrote with brilliant Irish singer-songwriter Paul Brady, ranks among the album's most infectious tunes.

This album, Raitt's 15th, proves she can still sizzle. (Capitol) -EE Classic band recalls old days with greatest-hits album XT'- Vku(kJ Rerelease fever sweeps Hollywood By WOLF SCHNEIDER THE success of this year's "Grease" rerelease means that a handful of other oldies but goodies are probably going to be making their way to a movie theater near you soon, including 'The Wizard of Oz," "Funny Girl" and "The Big ChilL" After 10 days of rerelease, "Grease," which stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John in a story about true love in a '50s high school, had grossed an impressive $20.2 million. "The music is still music you can tap your foot to," said Rob Friedman, vice chairman of Paramount Pictures' Motion Picture Group. The success of "Grease" followed last year's impressive rerelease of the "Star Wars" trilogy And restored versions of "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Blade Runner" also have brought in considerable revenues in rerelease. But it's "Grease" that seems to be paving the way for the rerelease of other once-popular pictures.

For example, Warner Bros, has reportedly spent about $2 million to restore its 1939 classic musical "The Wizard of Oz." Now, 60 years since its initial theatrical distribution, and despite being widely available on television and home video, "The Wizard of Oz" is headed for a big-screen rerelease. Sony is planning limited rere-leases this year of "The Big Chill," for its 15th anniversary, and "Funny Girl," for its 30th anniversary The much-imitated 1983 ensemble comedy "The Big Chill," directed by Lawrence Kasdan and starring Tom Berenger, Glenn Close and Jeff Goldblum, is about a group of college friends who reunite years later after the death of one of their friends. The musical drama "Funny Girl," originally distributed in 1968, is about a homely Jewish girl who becomes a big Broadway star. It's best remembered as an early Barbra Streisand vehicle, but it also stars Omar Sharif LJ By LINDA LABAN AST year Chicago commemorated their 30th anniver- sary with "Heart of Chicago 1967-1997," a collection of the rock band's greatest hits. But with so many popular songs left over, this month Chicago follows up with another collection, "Heart Of Chicago 1967-1998 Volume Along with more of the band's memorable songs, such as "Baby What a Big Surprise" and "Old Days," the album has two new compositions, "All Roads Lead to You" and "Show Me a Sign." Even after 31 years, founding member and trumpet player Lee LoUghnane remembers the exact date that the band formed: "Feb.

15, 1967," Loughnane says from his home in L.A. With last year's anniversary celebrations, Chicago did some reminiscing. "We didn't go overboard with it, but we went out to dinner and had a good time," he says. "We all asked, 'How did we do And we all answered, 'I don't Compiling these collections brought back many memories. Lee recalls recording "Baby What a Big Surprise," and getting a surprise himself when a session trumpet player was hired to play on the song.

"The producer didn't realize that I could play any other trumpets, and they hired someone else to come in and play piccolo trumpet," Loughnane says. Not to worry, though. When the band started playing the song live, Loughnane proved he could handle a piccolo trumpet very well, indeed. Another song on this new collection, "25 or 6 to 4" was released in 1970, a turbulent year for rock music with the deaths of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. "They both gave us our boost in the business," Loughnane says.

"Jimi saw us play at the Whiskey- Davies starts a new chapter with 'Storyteller' 4 By PAUL FREEMAN TRUFFAUT can take 90 minutes to tell a great story Kurosawa may take four hours. A pop song tells its story in three minutes," says influential British songwriter Ray Davies, comparing his music to the work of two acclaimed film directors. "It's all about communicating. I was amazed when people came to me and said they related to our first hit, 'You Really Got It really does get through." His latest album, "Ray Davies: The Storyteller" (EMI-Capitol) brims with tales of how he and brother Dave formed the legendary rock band The Kinks. The work can be traced to Davies' autobiographical book "X-Ray." That was transformed into a one-man show, which was trimmed into a VH1 special that became the basis for the cable network's "Storytellers" series.

Marina Chavez A-Go-Go and asked us to come out on one of his tours." Then in 1978, Chicago had its own tragedy when guitarist and singer Terry Kath died from an accidental gunshot wound. "Terry was the band's musical director, and his death was the first real test that the band had," Loughnane says. "We decided that he would want us to keep going, so we did." After a series of guitar players, current guitarist Bill Champlin came on board in 1981. Champlin had a different home. People respond in much the same way as my family" Davies finds it's often easier to communicate with the younger members of his audience than with his own generation.

''Thankfully Not feeling wild about missing out on "Deconstructing Have a sour taste in your mouth because you couldn't get a copy of "The Sweet Hereafter '7 Or are you just frustrated to death about not renting "The Killers'? Liven up your Itfe with one of these movies instead. Justice for All-en There are those who think that Woody Allen has lost his touch in the '90s, that the talent he displayed in films such as "Annie Hall" and "Hannah and Her Sisters" is gone. Maybe they haven't seen the perversely funny "Deconstructing Harry" or some of Allen's other recent movies. Two of them have included Oscar-winning performances: Dianne Wiest as a flaky stage diva in the 1994 period farce "Bullets Over Broadway," and Mira Sorvino as a ditzy hooker in 1995's "Mighty Aphrodite." Allen went semi-serious in 1992's "Husbands and Wives" as a man who falls for a young girl (Juliette Lewis) at the expense of his current love (Mia Farrow). And don't miss SUNDAY WE HONOR ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ii 1 You and Ycu Alona Randy Travis VOU and You Alone" was recorded while Randy Travis was filming his role in Patrick Swayze's movie "Black Dog." Indeed, Travis invited Swayze to add backing vocals to one song, "I Did My Part" Also on board as backing vocalists are fellow country singer, Vince GilL on the doleful title track, and Grammy-winning bluegrass artist Alison Krauss, on "I'm Still Here, You're Still Gone." Needless to say, Travis has country's finest musicians along for the ride, too.

Aubrey Haynie's fiddle sparkles on "The Hole" and lilts on "Satisfied Mind." Matt Rollings' piano and keyboards, whether tinkling in the background or rousing up the fore, are pertinent but never overdone. And Sonny Garrish's rich steel guitar is timeless. These are splendid touches, but the heart and soul lies in Travis' soulful interpretation of the words. Not a songwriter himself, Travis has that uncanny knack of getting into every emotional nook and cranny and singing it like it is: Classic country (Dreamworks) in which he has the pivotal role of new D.A. Andy Garcia's possibly corrupt father.

Late bloomer "The Killers" may have been the feature-film debut of the late Burt Lancaster, but he obviously made many more movies in his illustrious career. In fart, much of his great work came late in his life. One of his final roles was as Doc Graham in the gentle 1989 baseball fantasy "Field of Dreams." In 1981 he hit a home run as a down-and-out gangster in "Atlantic City." And Lancaster collaborated one more time with old buddy Kirk Douglas in 1986's crime comedy "Tough Guys." Contact Ann Omernik Laurie Slowinski Jack Brooks Mary Lu Chick (ksmssmm- style than Kath, more than rock. But with his similarly soulful baritone voice, Champlin easily took on Kath's vocal parts. Chicago has weathered many changes, both personal and musical, but out of the current eight-man lineup, half have been there since the beginning.

"I definitely count my blessings, and I enjoy this more now than ever," Loughnane says. "Thirty-one years later, this is a gift. It is obviously my job, but I feel like I've never had to get one." we've got a lot of young people now that are really hip to what went before. There's a great period of rediscovery" The album includes fresh interpretations of such Kinks classics as "Tired of Waiting" and "Set Me Free." Never one to remain mired in nostalgia, Davies seeks new challenges. "I've got to have them to fire me up," he says.

He has been commissioned to confpose an instrumental work and plans to write another book. As for The Kinks, their story may not be over yet. "We've discussed the four of us getting together, trying to write some songs as if 'You Really Got Me' hadn't been a hit," he says. "What would we have done next? If the results amount to anything, we might record it But we're not making any promises to ourselves or our fans." his whimsical "Alice" (1990), with Farrow as an unhappy woman who turns to unconventional means to get out of her depression. Holm, sweet Holm Many thought that Ian Holm should have received an Academy Award nomination for his performance in the critically acclaimed "The Sweet Hereafter." Holm actually has earned such an honor, for his work as a coach in the 1981 British track saga "Chariots of Fire." Most of Holm's other film roles have been small but significant.

Among his diverse credits are the space-horror classic "Alien" (1979), the darkly comic future-shocker "Brazil" (1985) and the costume drama "The Madness of King George" (1994). Then there's Holm's other 1997 movie, "Night Falls on Manhattan." (715)344-1116 BRUNCH Serving 10 A.M.-2P.M. 45 Children $3.95 Senior Citizen 10 Discount -fl I 1 I v. 1 -v 1 Griffin swings into action on 'SB' "Storytelling is the purest form of music," Davies says. "You're extending to the world your particular life." As a youth in London, Davies' fascination with life stories focused on his family "I have reel-to-reel tapes I made of my grandmother telling about her times.

Storytelling is as simple as that, ordinary people conveying ideas to one another, passing them on. That's the way it happened before television and the Playstation took over the room." Throughout the album, recorded live on tour, Davies establishes an air of intimacy with his listeners. "It never comes easily, but maybe I'm a natural at it because I grew up working my family as an audience," he says. "Holding your own in that forum is a great accomplishment. They want you to do well, but they can be your biggest critics, too.

"What's great is when I'm performing now, it's like playing at Dax Griffin me for it," he says. 'A month later they called me in to read for Tim on the spot." Griffin says with a laugh. "That's Hollywood!" With "SB" being Griffin's first job with a TV series, the actor recalls "grasping for air" at first "I was asking so many questions and annoying writers for information about my character," he says. "Today I'm much more confident. My character is kept pretty realistic, and the writers told me they like what I've done with him." Though Griffin is closed-mouthed about upcoming storylines, he does hope the writers steer clear of the supernatural.

"There are so many things to write about," he says. "Aliens and demons should be the last resort." i IJMKJJ.l JJl .1 II IT I 1 to I I -J Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in "Grease" Sports Notebook Steffi Graf may have hit the end of the line. Reeling from yet another injury that put her out of the French Open, the tennis champion is laying down large hints that her retirement from the sport may come much sooner than later. "I've come to the point where I can see clearly the end of my career because I have the feeling that I am not making any progress," Graf recently told the German magazine Focus. She said that she will keep playing after recovering from her injured right ankle, but if she can't stay healthy and return to her winning ways, "I will give up." Graf is 28, which is old but not ancient in the circles of tennis; Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova played well into their 30s.

But Graf also has been nagged by ailments for the past two years, and other up-and-coming tennis stars such as Martina Hingis have swept past AX Griffin was hip before the Kat Pack was back stvle. Before landing his act ing pis on "Sunset Beach." the ud- o-o and-coming actor was a bartender at The Derby, a Hollywood swing club made popular by the 1996 critically acclaimed film "Swingers." "Those guys from the movie were regulars," says Griffin, who plays Tim Truman on the NBC soap. "They'd talk and drink and dance with the ladies." Atlanta-born Griffin, whose first name comes from a book his father read called "The Adventurers," dabbled with modeling after high school before realizing acting was his true calling. "I didn't like the experience," he says of modeling. "I had so much more to express than being half-nude and smiling." So Griffin departed for the University of Alabama, where he took his first acting class.

His pop, however, had other ideas about a career in drama. "My father would kick my butt if I didn't major in something Griffin says. "For his needs, I majored in business. theater." Griffin's needs obviously won out in the end. After graduation, he moved to Los Angeles to begin the auditioning process.

After a "siring of commercials" for Nintendo that aired in Japan, Griffin landed his role on "SB." "I had read for one of the other characters, but they didn't like Mrfi i5SvS2 341-4000 Post Road, Plover (7) 'ki A.