COUNTRY IN CONCERT AT SEMO FAIR

Country music artists Aaron Tippin, Janie Fricke and Restless Heart have never been afraid to take a chance.

Tippin's third and most recent album underscores that notion. Tippin also feels strongly about being in touch with his audience.

"Call Of The Wild" is a collection of emotionally intense testimonials on the themes of hard work, unshakeable devotion and unblinking pride in self and place. Not only did Tippin co-write all of the songs, he also tested them in the field while on tour.

All three groups will be performing at the SEMO District Fair. Restless Heart will be on stage Sept. 15, Fricke Sept. 16 and Tippin Sept. 17.

In Tippin's eyes, fans are an artist's touchstone. "If an artist doesn't know what works for him, he's not doing something right," said Tippin. "He should be the most in-touch person there is. He's out there on stage every night. He hears the audience scream when he does a good song, and he hears them clap politely when he does a bad one."

Even more essential to the fan-pleasing formula, Tippin maintains, is finding one's artistic identity and then projecting it clearly to the listeners. "It's the artist's obligation to create great songs," he said. "I used to think that being a singer/songwriter was a whole lot tougher than being a singer. But I've found out that even though writing is more work, it's a whole lot easier when you're getting ready to put an album together. You don't have to scan all over town, hunting for songs that will say something just like you want to say. It's important that you said something exactly like you wanted to."

Restless Heart, which has gone through some changes of late, operates under the same guidelines. The band was criticized for selling out to rock when it produced its "Big Iron Horses" album. "Last year with the Big Iron Horses album, we had two records that crossed over into the pop mark, "When She Cries" and "Tell Me What You Dream", and immediately started getting quite a bit of flak from some of the major weight-carrying radio stations across America," said bass player Paul Gregg, who is joined by drummer John Dittrich and guitarist Greg Jennings to make up the current roster of Restless Heart.

"When we crossed over for a few songs, I felt it was only for the better," said Jennings. "Some times radio stations choose to punish you for doing something different. We felt it was something we needed to do at the time and we haven't changed our attitude on that."

Restless Heart has been rewarded for its strong convictions. In "Matters of the Heart", the band's current album, the single "When She Cries" went to No. 1 on the pop charts last year, surpassing Whitney Houston and Eric Clapton."

Said Gregg,"So far as Restless Heart's position in country music right now, it's a little shaky. But I'll tell you this : There's nothing I can do or say about the records we've released. We've been a little left of center and contemporary since Day One. And Actually, that's what kept us in the mainstream of country music."

Restless Heart's mass appeal can be traced to songs like "Let the Heartache Ride," "That Rock Won't Roll", "A Tender Lie", "Mending Fences" and "Big Dreams in a Small Town."

With band members Larry Stewart and Dave Innis gone from Restless Heart, the remaining trio feels even closer than before. "I think we're more of a cohesive unit," said Jennings. "The chemistry has been there since the beginning and has not left. I think the change has been better for everybody involved."

Janie Fricke, who has forged a career that has included awards, television shows, appearances and touring, is now ready to do something for herself and her fans.

"My fans have asked me to do a gospel album for years," said Fricke. "And now I'm at a point where I'm able to put it all together. It's meant so much to me to make this album at this point in my career and in my life."

Her newest album, "Crossroads", is a collection of Christian songs which cover a wide variety of interests from gospel standards to contemporary songs to negro spirituals. Fricke treats each song with the meaning and inspiration that comes from a deep-rooted belief in God.

The title of the album comes from the little church down at the crossroads near her childhood home in South Whitley, Indiana, where she attended church with her family. "It's gone now," said Fricke, "but my older sister and I used to sing duets and hymns up at that church, called Boonville, and my mother would accompany us on piano. The area was mainly for farm families, so there were only 15 or 20 people there on Sundays, and you'd see the same faces sitting in the same seats every Sunday."

It was at this tiny church that Fricke began her singing career. He sister harmonized in alto with Janie's melodic soprano. Later, Janie and her sister began singing in area coffeehouses.

Fricke's newest album on Branson Records, a division of Intersound Entertainment, is of the same award-winning quality as songs like "Don't Worry 'Bout Me Baby", "He's A Heartache," and "Your Heart's Not In It."

She has won Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year award for two consecutive years and the Academy of Country Music Top Female Award.

Her heart and soul are revealed in traditional songs like "Amazing Grace", "Old Rugged Cross" and "Were You There". She takes a different turn with Eric Clapton's inspiration song "Tears In Heaven". Although it is not a traditional Christian song, Fricke was touched by its meaning. She dedicates the song to Clapton and his family. "It meant so much for him to be able to write and perform that song after his son's death," she said. "I saw the video and just knew that I had to put it on the album."