Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 25, 1995                   TAG: 9503290007
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: B-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

COUNTRY'S QUEEN HAS ARRIVED ... AND ARRIVED ...

Or should we say entrances?

Reba, as the current queen of country music is called, arrived on stage for her concert Friday night at the Roanoke Civic Center in the back seat of a big yellow taxi, a real one, and emerged to the opening riff of "Fancy," her remake of the Bobbie Gentry oldie.

The scene was a take on her video for the song, and as in the video, Reba emerged in a black dress and coat. She sang awhile, then whipped off the black to reveal the fanciest of flashy red dresses underneath.

The song then ended with Reba center stage flanked by shooting sparklers and reveling in the crowd's wild response.

Now, that's an entrance - but it was only one of many.

Her second entrance came a few songs later after a video-screen visit from Vince Gill, who talked about his friendship with Reba and the songs they have done together. Meanwhile, Reba quietly slipped off stage, only to reappear in vintage style singing her duet with Gill, "The Heart Won't Lie," and wearing fluorescent green fringe while rising by elevator to the second level of her two-story stage.

After that, Reba made what seemed like a dozen more entrances during her nearly two-hour show, always in high style. Each time, the audience of 7,540 dutifully cheered her on. In addition, she carried along a stable of dancers that helped her act out many of her songs, almost like videos. They also provided distraction while she was offstage changing costumes or preparing for her next arrival.

But in the end, what do all these dancers and entrances add up to?

By far, Reba puts on the most lavish production in country music. By far. In fact, she just keeps topping herself with each new tour.

The question is just how much is too much, how far overboard can Reba go before the music becomes an afterthought?

How many entrances can one concert handle?

Maybe the answer will come the next time she tops herself.

Opening Friday night's show was newcomer Tracy Byrd.

Best known for his boot-scooting hits, "Lifestyles of The Not-So Rich and Famous" and "The Watermelon Crawl," Byrd delivered a solid, if not terribly original, 45-minute set of modern honky-tonk, which is being cranked out of Nashville these days like bulk sausage.

His up-tempo numbers were catchy and danceable, his ballads had the standard dose of country sentimentality, and his voice was stronger than many of country's recent newcomers, although he isn't what you would call a distinctive stylist.