Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 24, 1995 TAG: 9511270028
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
From his nondescript opening song, ``Renegades, Rebels and Rogues,'' to his by-the-number covers of Merle Haggard's ``Workin' Man Blues'' and Vince Gill's ``Oklahoma Borderline,'' to his uninspired encore of ``The Good Die Young,'' Lawrence was the very essence of ordinary.
Even his between-song come-ons to the audience lacked any kind of originality.
``I want this one to go out to all the rednecks in the crowd!'' he whooped and holler.
``We do have a big house full of rednecks in Virginia, don't we?'' he added later.
And after that: ``Now it's time for the rednecks to get rowdy!''
``Let me hear a big ol' Virginia yee-haw!''
Ho-hum.
Lawrence plays that oh-so-familiar mix of bland country pop and honky-tonk rock that has sent today's country music straight up the middle of the road.
Through a 75-minute set, Lawrence and his seven-member backing band handled this cookie-cutter material with an easy, comfortable professionalism. But there was nothing particularly distinctive about Lawrence's voice, and his band never stretched itself beyond what was expected.
Lawrence and company broke away just once from its standard-issue formula on a slowed-down, fatter version of his hit, ``Running Behind.'' The result was one of the few rollicking numbers of the evening.
Otherwise, the only other place where Lawrence registered as anything except average was in the concert's attendance. He drew a below-average crowd of 2,169.
Lee Roy Parnell opened Wednesday night's show with an hour-long set in the same oh-so-familiar vein as Lawrence.
Where Parnell distinguished himself from Lawrence, however, and from most of today's modern honky-tonkers, was with his guitar playing.
With the exception of Vince Gill, Steve Wariner and Ricky Skaggs, Parnell is one of the few country frontmen who handle their own lead guitar chores.
But his guitar work was about the only part of his act that set Parnell apart. In every other area - singing, songwriting and showmanship - he was solid enough, just not very electrifying.
by CNB