Mandrell's
cool
country
is
smooth
but
not
slick
By
TINA
MAPLES
Journal
entertainment
critic
Barbara Mandrell
can
kid
all
she
wants
about
being
"Country
When
Country
Wasn't
Cool."
Thanks
to
27
years
of
practice,
cool
--
as
in
clean,
lean
and
sophisticated
-
was
exactly
the
condition
of
country
music
Thursday
evening
when
the
38-
year-old
music
veteran
brought
her
show
to
a
sellout
crowd
of
2,500
at
the
Riverside
Theater,
where
she
returns
Friday.
With
a
crack
eight-man
band
that
allowed
just
the
right
amount
of
recklessness
into
its
careful
arrange-
merits
and
a
light
show
that
bathed
the
stage
in
an
artistic
arrangement
of
striking
colors,
Mandrell
has
assembled
a
package
that
is
every
bit
as
polished
as
that
of
another
long-
time
colleague,
Dolly Parton.
But
thanks
to
Mandrell's
no-
nonsense
manner
and
utter
lack
of
coquettishness,
she
cuts
a
wide
swath
around
Parton's
cloying
slick-
ness.
The
slim,
blond
singer
joked
and
genuinely
listened
to
the
audience
while
accepting
a
stream
of
gifts
ranging
from
roses
and
candy
to
stuffed
animals.
She
performed
only
the
title
song
and
two
others
from
her
latest
album,
"Sure
Feels
Good,"
a
surprisingly
restrained
promotional
effort
for
her
first
album
on
the
Capitol
label.
Mandrell's
comfortably
scratchy
alto
did
justice
to
her
newly
recorded
cover
of
WayIon
Jennings'
meaty
"Just
to
Satisfy
You,"
as
well
as
her
own
older
hits
such
as
"Sleeping
Single
in
a
Double
Bed."
That
song,
with
its
cornily
mourn-
ful
title and
the
surprise
of
an
upbeat
tempo,
is
typical
of
Mandrell's
good,
unsentimental
song
sense.
When
she
does
fall
prey
to
country's
maudlin
tendencies,
as
in
the
contrived
rhymes
of
the
shameless
weeper
"Child
Support,"
her
new
single,
she
saves
herself
by
refusing
to
let
a
sob
slip
into
her
voice.
Since
she
performed
for
only
slightly
more
than
an
hour,
many
of
her
hits
could
only
be
touched
upon
in
a
17-song
medley.
Such
a
format
can
leave
fans
feeling
cheated.
But
unlike
singers
who
gloss
over
med-
leys
like
the
necessary
evils
they
are,
Mandrell
took
her
time,
putting
her
voice
firmly
on
the
pulse
of
every
song
without
fumbling
for
transi-
tions
or
the
proper
emotional
tone.
A
spirited
bluegrass
tune
set
Man-
drell
off
on
a
wind-sprint
across
the
stage,
demonstrating
her
proficiency
on
banjo,
saxophone,
slide
steel
gui-
tar
and
pedal
steel.
But
not
even
that
high
point
could
match
the
inspired
fire
she
invested
in
a
pair
of
coun-
try-gospel
songs,
with
help
on
soul-
ful
vocal
harmonies
from
her
band,
the
Do-Rights.
Mandrell's
show
got
off
to
an
appropriately
down-home
start
with
a
half-hour
set
by
Andy
Andrews,
an
Alabama
comic
with
a
tremendous
hooked
nose,
an
appealingly
boyish
presence
and
an
annoying,
incongru-
ous
slick
of
hyper-styled
blond
hair.
Andrews,
who
has
perfected
his
squeaky-clean
material
on
hundreds
of
Caribbean
cruises,
knows
how
far
Journal
photo
by
Jack
Orton
Barbara
Mandrell
sang
to
a
capacity
crowd
at
the
Riverside
to
take
quaint
country-isms
like
"pig-bitin'
mad"
before
becoming
a
parody
of
himself.
However,
he
would
have
gauged
his
talents
better
Thursday
had
he
stopped
before
a
bit
of
physical
comedy
that
was
needless
and
silly,
but
not
overly
damaging.