POP MUSIC : Country Music--Beyond Garth

Now that millions of pop fans have embraced Garth Brooks, many of them are probably eager for more country heroes. At least that’s what Nashville is hoping in an era of unprecedented country sales.

Record companies are flooding the market with new country acts, hoping to cash in on what they see as a major shift in mainstream taste. They hope pop fans who find it hard to relate to pop’s dominant hard-rock, dance and rap styles will find country’s emphasis on life’s everyday trials and dreams more involving.

Buyer beware.

Few of the horde of country hopefuls possess even a fraction of Brooks’ electrifying showmanship and warmly convincing persona. Yes, this guy--as a live performer at least--may just be the country Springsteen.

So who will be the new country stars of the ‘90s?

Here are 10 possibilities. They are still long shots at this point to shape country music a la Merle Haggard, George Jones and Emmylou Harris. Still, they show enough promise--especially the five artists on the first row--to be placed in the forefront of the new crop.

Some--notably Alan Jackson and Vince Gill--have already achieved almost as much attention as Randy Travis, Clint Black and Dwight Yoakam, who were left off the list because their careers are so established. Unlike Travis and Black, however, these artists’ best work appears to lie ahead. When artists have more than one album, only the best is cited.

Alan Jackson

“Here In the Real World”

(Arista)

This tall, lanky Georgian with pin-up good looks sounded so understated on this 1989 debut that it was easy to overlook him. But that understated charm has proved to be part of his appeal. Jackson’s best songs--including “Here in the Real World” and “I’d Love You All Over Again,” both from the debut collection--have the same warmly affectionate tone as such Brooks hits as “Unanswered Prayers.” Bonus points: Jackson writes most of his own material, which is extremely helpful because material is as important in country as pitching is in baseball.

Vince Gill

“Pocket Full of Gold”

(MCA)

Gill, who also writes most of his own songs, has been around a long time, but the vitality of his music increased so much after moving to MCA two years ago and working with producer Tony Brown that it makes sense to think of him as an emerging artist. He sings in a smooth, disarming way that could make him connect strongly with the pop audience that has discovered Brooks. The album’s title song, a tale of infidelity, has bittersweet twists, but the album’s most compelling moment is Gill’s show-stopping vocal on “Look at Us,” a tale of romantic good fortune.

Travis Tritt

“It’s All About to Change”

(Warner Bros.)

Tritt has an explosive edge that with artistic growth could shoot him past all the competition. He has a hard edge to his vocals and a cocky, self-assured manner (think of the early John Cougar Mellencamp). Tritt understands the way teasing word play and humor can be used to mask pain. Sample lines from a Tritt song bound to be a classic:

You say you were wrong to ever leave me alone

Now you’re sorry, you’re lonesome and scared

And you say you’d be happy if you could just come back home

Well, here’s a quarter, call someone who cares.

Mark Chesnutt

“Too Cold at Home”

(MCA)

This Texan arrived in 1990 with a valuable endorsement. “Country music has seen quite a few male singers in the last few years,” George Jones wrote. “But I think this boy . . . is the real thing.” Chesnutt didn’t write any of the songs on the album, but he has an excellent sense of material. The title track is the good-natured tale of a guy with marital troubles looking for some relief in the neighborhood tavern:

These old dog days of summer

Lord, I’ll be glad when they’re gone

It’s too hot to fish

Too hot for golf

And too cold at home.

Sammy Kershaw

“Don’t Go Near the Water”

(Mercury)

You know someone has a feel for down-home country when he mentions Hank Williams in the first 30 seconds of his debut album and sings with so much of the honky-tonk authenticity of George Jones that it is almost chilling. Kershaw displays all sorts of vocal twists and turns in this highly rewarding collection. Like Chesnutt, he doesn’t write his own songs, but that didn’t stop him from finding a solid bunch of tunes. A standout: Larry Bastian and DeWayne Blackwell’s “Yard Sale,” about a divorced man watching his memories being carried away.

Shelby Lynne

“Tough All Over”

(Epic)

When a young singer goes from Charlie Rich and Johnny Cash to Duke Ellington songs in a single album, she either has remarkably eclectic tastes or she’s confused about musical direction. The intriguing thing about Lynne is that both options seem to apply. There is something electric about her, however, and the future is bright if she can just find the right emotional tone.

Kelly Willis

“Well Travelled Love”

(MCA)

There’s a hint of rock that seems to fit Willis’ perky vocal style and may help lure pop fans as well as country ones. In this 1990 debut, she moved appealingly from the sassy rejoinder of Mas Palermo’s “My Heart’s in Trouble Tonight” to the romantic adventure of John Hiatt’s “Drive South.” But there’s a problem. The new album, “Bang, Bang,” doesn’t really have a lot of bang.

Mark Collie

“Hardin County Line”

(MCA)

Collie’s not from Bakersfield, but there’s a bit of the old Buck Owens and early Merle Haggard instrumental wallop in several of the tracks on this debut package. He matches the beat with some vocals that, while lacking Kershaw or Tritt aggressiveness, declare their independence from the Nashville herd. Collie also displays in his best songs a wry mixture of humor and heartache.

Joe Diffie

“A Thousand Winding Roads”

(Epic)

Where George Jones’ bite was the model for most of the male artists on the list, Diffie leans more to Merle Haggard’s subtlety. You can almost feel some of Haggard’s Tulare dust blowing through such nostalgic tracks as “Home.” Diffie, who writes some of his own songs, isn’t flashy, but there is craft in material ranging from Western swing to honky-tonk lament.

Trisha Yearwood

“Trisha Yearwood”

(MCA)

Her current country hit is the robust “That’s What I Like About You,” but she seems most promising on slower tunes, including the romantic masquerade “Like We Never Had a Broken Heart” and the despairing, jukebox-tailored “Victim of the Game” (by Garth Brooks and Mark Sanders). The challenge is to define her artistic turf--a challenge even Brooks still faces.