The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 29, 1999 - 9 ° . r ..' : Bewitching 'Charmed' casts delectable spells By Aaron Rich Francisco is that you get the best of all Daily Arcs Writer worlds. Not only are these people beau- There remain a few simple pleasures tiful, rich and intelligent (well, sort of), on Earth. Singing "Billie Jean" falsetto but they also have the highly-sought- ~kc hi rhl n thf licta dnA xn-h- nft n r toc nall ert f a- Courtesy of uverty rooks as we all used to know him. Who is this Chris Gaines guy? eirdo Btoo unvel alter-ego S'thLifeofChris Ganes ranK s g yii on ne nst, as goes watch- ing those rambunctious kids from the 'hood of Beverly Hills. But, alas, the TV gods have foretold of the passing to the "90210" eraat the end of this season. This is a rough blow, indeed, but thanks to Aaron Spelling, among others, we are not Tomorrow at 9 p.m. left alone late at night pining about lost beauty -- and bitter breakups. . "Ch ar m ed," beginning its sec- ond season, will ultimately take the torch from Southern Cal and continue pursuing issues important to only a very few (those people don't actually exist). It's a good thing that the producers are finally fes- sing up and respecting the over-looked minority that is witches. The best part about a story revolving around a coven of witches living in San arter powers io stop an sorts or War- locks, demons and terrestrial baddies they encounter. And this is not even a Darren Star creation. This season's premiere episode finds the three Halliwell sisters at the autum- nal equinox, which is also their one- year anniversary of becoming witches. The super-demon, Abraxas (who lives on the "aerial plane," by the way), steals their "Book of Shadows," the tome in which they find all their spells. (In witch-dom, this is really bad - it's like Donna Martin having all her credit cards taken away). The triumvirate must join together, get in touch with their inner-witches and remember all the spells they've ever used to fight all the bad guys that are thrown at them. More than fighting demons, this show represents a renaissance of two of the most beautiful TV actresses in recent memory. Shannen Doherty and Alyssa Milano make this show entirely watchable. Nobody really cares about wicca -- that is, the teens that watch this show is directed couldn't tell you what the word means. But tits and asses aside, the two Los Angeles Times *get the feeling that Garth Brooks too much time on his hands? ou might think so after hearing his st album or watching his NBC spe- on Wednesday night. t's not enough that the country music has already sold more albums in the ited States than any other solo artist in ory. He now wants to be a pop-rock as well. rooks has such a loyal country fan - t the new album, "Garth Brooks e Life of Chris Gaines," will oubtedly add millions to the singer's but a lot of people are going to be ing their heads after they hear this rding. ust what is going on here? In the album, which was to be eased Tuesday by Capitol Records, ooks assumes the role of a fictional p-r ck star, Chris Gaines, and he sings t of songs in various styles that e been popular over the last two des, from R&B to rock. The excuse for all this is that Brooks ll play the doomed pop star Gaines in he Lamb," a yet-to-be-made movie t is scheduled to be released late next r The album is a way to introduce us to character before we actually see him the screen; it's an imaginary "greatest s'llection from Gaines. But the suspicion is that Brooks, who long spoken about his love for such p-rock acts as Billy Joel and James ylor; has been dying to make an album like this for years. And the marketing genius that lives inside Brooks certainly knows about the value of widening his demographics beyond the country field. About the only crowds Brooks doesn't go after here are rappers and alt-rockers. It's a daring step, and he's using the television special to explain himself. In fact, the program is akin to an elaborate electronic press kit - the kind of music- and-interview video that record compa- nies send to the media to promote a new album. In the hourlong show, Brooks does a few songs from the album - as himself, not in the character of Gaines (who looks as if he goes to the same hairstylist as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince). He also offers a few words - a lot of words, actually - of explanation about the project. Brooks tells us he can under- stand how some die-hard Garth fans are going to pass on this music, and he for- gives them. "If they choose to sit this one out, I can't complain," he says. "We've had a wonderful decade thanks to them and God, and hopefully there is some- thing we can bring them in the future that we can dance again to." But Brooks is also quick to urge everyone to stick around. After all, he says excitedly, there's an awful lot of Garth in Chris. That may be so, but there's also an awful lot of almost every other best-sell- ing male artist of the last 15 years in Chris as well, andthat's the problem with the music. Gaines may prove to be one fascinating dude on film, but he's a pret- ty dull one on record. Brooks (as Gaines) may be saluting a lot of strong pop-rock visions in these songs, but he doesn't have any strong point of view himself. There's one song in roughly the biting country-rock style of the Eagles, one in the smooth R&B manner of Babyface ("Lost in You," which is already a pop Top 10 hit), one with a trace of Motown funk and a couple that are very Beatles- esque. Trying to touch all demographic bases, Brooks-Gaines even has two faux Dylan songs - one ("Main Street") in the style of father Bob's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" period and one ("Unsigned Letter") that sounds so much like son Jakob and the Wallflowers. that it could have been an outtake from "Bringing Down the Horse." Brooks has never been a great singer, but he has become the most successful figure ever in country music because he is a remarkable communicator, able to express the simple, deeply rooted emo- tions of such songs as "The Dance" and "Unanswered Prayers" with such absolute conviction that he touches country fans the way Bruce Springsteen touches rock fans. For all that has been written about the electricity of Brooks' high-energy, rock- inspired concerts, the heart of his coun- try connection rests with the perception of him as an honest Everyman. As Gaines, Brooks steps from that role,sand his limitations have never been more apparent. Ctesofthiie W9 Alyssa Milano bewitches In "Chamed" imbue each of their characters with a bit from their previous roles. Doherty's Prue is still the same bitch that got Brenda Walsh knocked off the air. Milano's Phoebe is filled with the light good-heartedness that was wrapped into every moment of Samantha Micelli (Mona was much more scary than the beasts in this show have ever been...). Without "Charmed," next year might have been especially lonely. And yes, this season is a bit sour for the few of us still devoted to the swank ZIP code, but the bitter pill will go down much easier for all with the help from this witchy sugar. 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