Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 7, 1993 TAG: 9305070494
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
And surrounded by parts of his favorite classic cars: an old Ford pickup truck, a '57 Chevy, a Thunderbird. Jackson is a car nut.
He appeared comfortable, too, as he ran through his impressive stockpile of country hits racked up in just four short years. Some of the best in Nashville.
He was relentless.
"Chasing That Neon Rainbow," "Someday," "I'd Love You All Over Again," "A Lot About Living and a Little About Love," "Wanted," "Dallas," "Here in the Real World," "Better Class of Losers." Should we continue?
The 5,939 people at his concert Thursday night at the Roanoke Civic Center loved it. Jackson, in turn, was impressed by their enthusiasm, commenting that they acted like a weekend crowd - and it was only Thursday.
He was typically aw-shucks thankful, as well.
To single out any one song during his nearly 90-minute set would be unfair to the others. There was not a weak song in the group, even when Jackson strayed into gospel with "What Kind of Man, Jesus Said" or dipped into some of his lesser-known album cuts, like "Dog River Blues."
Slow songs and fast numbers were equally strong.
Jackson wore jeans, a white straw cowboy hat and a plain black T-shirt. He has his moustache back now, after shaving it off earlier this year.
The car parts were part of a stage design that also included dual video screens behind the stage that projected live shots of Jackson and his five-piece band intercut with some of the singer's music video clips.
The setup kept things interesting, visually.
Not surprisingly, Jackson ended with his two biggest songs, "Midnight in Montgomery" and "Don't Rock the Jukebox," during which his trademark giant inflatable Wurlitzer rocked back and forth behind the drum kit.
He encored with "She's Got the Rhythm and I've Got the Blues" and "I'm Gonna Buy Me a Mercury (And Cruise It Up and Down the Road)."
With the best hair in country music, Billy Dean opened Thursday's show.
Dean turned in a solid 45 minutes of his own, mixing his brand of bouncy country pop with an equal portion of standard Nashville ballads.
Of the ballads, "Somewhere in My Broken Heart" was the best of Dean's offerings. It best suited his voice, which does the job, but isn't among the stronger or most distinct set of pipes in the business.
Dean also did well with his set-closing, "If It Hadn't Been You," which he bravely performed on acoustic guitar without the help of his five-piece backing band.
Of the up-tempo material, Dean gets high marks for "Trying to Light a Fire in the Dark" and a kicking cover of "Steamroller." Both songs had the women screaming anytime Dean jiggled or shaked.
Dean definitely benefits from his good looks.
And, oh yeah, the hair. It looked great.
by CNB