Incongruous
show
is
harmony
to
Mandrell
By
DAVE
TIANEN
Her
rap,
soul
and
polka
versions
of
"You
Are
My
Sunshine"
proved
it;
few
performers
can
pull
off
an
incon-
gruity
quite
like
Barbara
Mandrell.
Sunday
night
at
the
Riverside
The-
ater,
Mandrell
stretched
her
credibil-
ity
as
a
country
institution
to
the
limit
and
got
away
with
it.
At
times,
it's
logical
to
ask
why,
if
Mandrell
has
so
much
country
in
her
soul,
is
there
so
much
Las
Vegas
in
her
show?
Four
costume
changes,
synthesiz-
ers
and
non-stop
fog
machines
are
not
exactly
staples
of
a
down-home
pick
and
fiddle
show.
Yet,
through
sheer
energy,
high
spirits
and
a
truckload
of
singing
talent,
Mandrell
makes
It
work.
One
of
the
reasons
she
gets
away
with
it
is
that
she's
simply
one
of
the
most
versatile
and
gifted
singers
on
the
country
scene.
She
is
every
bit
as
Music
convincing
on
gospel
or
blue-eyed
soul
turf
(she
has
recorded
with
An-
drea
Crouch
and
B.B.
King)
as
on
"Good
Old
Mountain
Dew."
Mandrell
even
provided
a
dose
of
rock
'n'
roll
in
"Jailhouse
Rock."
There
are
other
even
more
inter-
esting
tensions
in
her
act.
She
tire-
lessly
espouses
God
and
family
(to
the
point
of
showing
home
movies
and
closing
with
"Swing
Low
Sweet
Chariot"),
but
in
the
same
show
turns
around
and
convincingly
renders
that
memorable
anthem
of
the
other
woman,
"If
Lovin'
You
is
Wrong,
I
Don't
Want
to
Be
Right."
When
this
perky,
blond,
ex-gym-
nast
dons
skintight
black
slacks
and
sings
"You
Can
Eat
Crackers
in
My
Bed
Anytime,"
it's
kind
of
like
having
Mary
Tyler
Moore
talk
dirty
to
you.
The
incongruity
is
breathtaking.
Barbara
Mandrell
at
the
Riverside
Theater
Sunday.
Sentinel
Photo
by
Jim
Gehrz
Opening
for'
Mandrell
was
the
Whites,
a
Texas
family
act
consisting
of
Dad
and
his
three
daughters,
sort
of
an
expanded,
patriarchic
version
of
the
Judds.
They
sing
well
and
tell
stories
poorly.