POP MUSIC REVIEW : Garth Raises $1 Million, Modestly : Brooks Avoids Self-Congratulation in L.A. Riot-Relief Concert

Garth Brooks continues to amaze.

The biggest-selling recording artist in all of pop these days raised an estimated $1 million for L.A. riot-relief activities by giving two benefit concerts at the Forum.

For many entertainers, that kind of dramatic move would have been accompanied by some sort of self-congratulatory action on stage.

The options were obvious because we’ve all seen them employed so often: the mayor walking out with a plaque or representatives of the beneficiary group stepping out to receive a check or, at the very least, a speech by the artist himself.

Brooks, however, let his actions speak for themselves Friday night--and it was all the more welcome on the heels of the uncontrolled egotism of so many pop and movie stars during those endless inauguration week festivities.

“We didn’t come here to make speeches,” Brooks said early in the first concert. “We came to raise some hell and have some fun . . . as always.”

Going to extremes to avoid the obvious, Brooks didn’t even use “We Shall Be Free” as a centerpiece in the 90-minute concert.

The 30-year-old Oklahoma native was in Los Angeles the night the riots began last spring and was moved to write “We Shall Be Free” with Stephanie Davis. Its call for racial, religious and sexual tolerance was so controversial in conservative country music circles that some country radio stations refused to play it.

Instead of saving the song for the end on this special night or bringing out a 50-piece gospel choir to join him, Brooks and his six-piece band performed it early in the show, which is apparently its normal position.

It’s not that Brooks was downplaying the song or skirting controversy. In interviews, he speaks freely about his feelings, including his understanding of how people can feel so disenfranchised that they would loot and burn to express their anger. At the Forum, however, he showed restraint and let the song convey the message.

Brooks closed the 90-minute concert instead with “The Dance,” a warmly philosophical song of struggle by Tony Arata that was especially touching in the context of the benefit.

Brooks’ good taste was an encouraging sign that he is adjusting well to the pressures of stardom.

Country music has come a long way since the days when the parking lot at the Forum prior to, say, a Willie Nelson concert was rows of pickup trucks and empty beer bottles.

On Friday, you were as likely to pass stretch limos and mineral water bottles as you headed into the arena. Inside, too, things have changed. Many of the excited fans pacing the aisles leading to the stage were young marrieds or teen-agers rather than grandmas and grandpas.

It’s Brooks’ enormous appeal that helped lead to country music’s unprecedented popularity and the expanded demographics that have followed, but all that success now poses his biggest challenge.

The danger after reaching a superstar level is that some begin devoting their energy to holding onto commercial standing rather than the musical and personal qualities that led to their success.

Brooks isn’t a classic, character-rich country singer a la Merle Haggard, but he chooses songs wisely, reflecting on love and dreams in ways that seem unusually intimate and true.

Equally important, Brooks, who now sports a beard, has shown the ability to sing those songs with a conviction that cuts through the commercialism and spectacle of pop music to connect strongly with his audience.

He may bring the energy and flash of rock to his performances, but it’s the warmth of his shared confidences--in songs such as “Unanswered Prayers” or “Somewhere Other Than the Night”--that make him unique.

But how long can he maintain that Everyman innocence--especially when fans no doubt will be weighing his every step to see if there has been a change?

Was it only natural, for instance, for Brooks to tell his audience Friday that he and his wife have brought their 6-month-old daughter on the road with them for the first time? Or will asides like that begin to be viewed as manipulative?

Similarly, was it a gimmick when Brooks--who is on an eight-month break from touring to be with his family--asked the audience at the end of the show to please not forget him while he’s away? Or was it the natural impulse of a man who has been blessed beyond his wildest dreams?

In the end, Brooks can only be measured one night at a time--and Friday his restraint and taste deserved high marks indeed.