The series debuted with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

CHICAGO (AP) – Soundstage, the PBS series that put viewers in the front row of concerts by artists ranging from Bob Dylan to the Temptations, is back on television after being muscled out 18 years ago by the music video.

Those behind the series hope its raw approach – no glitz, just music – appeals to those put off by the record industry’s focus on glamour.

“The bet on our part: The fans are intelligent enough to appreciate the art of performance,” said director Joe Thomas.

The new series debuted Thursday with a performance by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Future performers in the 13-part weekly series include country star Trace Adkins, rockers Sonic Youth and pop singer Tori Amos.

The hourlong shows are taped in front of a live audience at the WTTW-TV studios in Chicago. The Public Broadcasting Service affiliate, which also produced the original series, keeps editing to a minimum. Performers are encouraged to talk with the audience, and if artists make mistakes, the cameras capture it all.

That formula is similar to what propelled the original series, which ran from 1974 to 1985. It was groundbreaking when the normal way musicians reached television viewers was to lip-synch a hit or two on programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.

By contrast, Soundstage gave fans hourlong concerts from big names – Aretha Franklin, Benny Goodman and more – in an intimate studio environment.

“It was a little more off-the-cuff kind of talking and playing,” said 50-year-old Steven Kay, who owns the Vintage Vinyl record store in Evanston and was a fan of the original Soundstage. “It was the kind of show where you got to know an artist deeper and more personally than if they just appeared on the Smothers Brothers Show and played a few songs.”

It still is, only this time Soundstage is shot with high-definition cameras and digital surround sound. The producers hope the new technology helps better capture the look and feel of a live show.

“There were cameras all over the place,” said Lee Loughnane, member of the band Chicago, whose Soundstage performance will air July 26. “No flash pots, no dancing girls, no background singers. We just did our thing.”

With the first season in the can, WTTW and partner HD Ready, a suburban video company, are planning for a second. Singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow will be taping next week, Thomas said. Randy King, WTTW executive television producer, said the station is working to schedule groups such as Coldplay, A Tribe Called Quest and Radiohead.

Not everyone believes such a performance series can last. Audiences used to slick music videos might think concerts fall flat on TV, VH1 executive Bill Flanagan said.

“The single thing that makes a concert most compelling is that you’re in the room with the artist,” Flanagan said. “When you put that on TV you’ve almost lost that.”

But singer Michael McDonald, who performed on the old series as frontman for the Doobie Brothers and appears as a solo act on a new show, sees a place for Soundstage.

“So much of what we see today kind of harkens to stage productions of ‘Guys and Dolls,”‘ McDonald said. “(Videos) have got all the dancers and all the stuff going on that kinda creates an ambiance that sort of distracts from the music.

“With Soundstage, you get that kind of view into what is the core of the musical performing act.”

AP-ES-07-08-03 1604EDT

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