ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, May 3, 1996 TAG: 9605030093
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
There was a wailing horn section, more soul than a plate of catfish and collard greens and an ambulance waiting in the wings to rush the singer to the hospital on chance that she went into premature labor.
Yep, it was just another country music concert Wednesday night at the Salem Civic Center.
Not hardly.
This was Wynonna, seven months pregnant and stepping out in fine style and with brass and brawn and punch from the long shadow of her former, more country-fried incarnation as one-half of The Judds.
``You have to forgive me,'' she explained. ``I'm feeling real fat and sassy right now.''
For the record, Wynonna showed no signs of early labor. The ambulance was only a precaution. But her soulful break-away from the past was for real. This was Wynonna giving birth to a whole new Wynonna.
It shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone who has followed her career since she and her ailing mother, Naomi, called The Judds quits in 1992. Wynonna has worked hard since to carve a distinctive musical identity for herself as a solo act.
But for anyone expecting something leftover from the Wynonna of old, well, let's just say the transformation is now complete. About the only holdover was the country-sincere sentimentality that was a central theme to the success of the Judds.
Wynonna also possesses some of her mother's playfulness when interacting with an audience.
The similarities stop there. She didn't play any Judds standards.
And musically, it was a concert of solid soul. Call it Wynonna's rolling, rollicking, rocking, soulful, rhythm and blues revue. Backing her was a punchy, three-man horn section that kept the show jumping, and a super-smooth trio of backup singers that nearly upstaged their boss.
Country, it wasn't. Highly entertaining, it was.
Like the best plate of catfish and collards you've ever heard.
The only real disappointments were the less-than-packed-house crowd of 3,537, and Wynonna's relatively brief set. She only performed for a little more than an hour. Pregnant or not, it wasn't enough.
The opening act Wednesday was the country band Blackhawk. Like too many of Nashville's cutesy, cookie-cutter newcomers these days, Blackhawk proved in its nearly hour-long show to be nothing remarkable.
Lead singer Henry Paul vaguely echoed rocker John Hiatt in voice, only with more of a pop sheen. Otherwise, the group was pure formula - punctuated by catchy yet forgettable songs, decent yet unelectrifying harmonies and standard-issue, high-energy country picking.
All-in-all, better maybe than mediocre. But not by much.
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