POP MUSIC REVIEW : Marshall Tucker Band Shows Same Fire as Original Group

Though there are only two original members left--and though one of them, singer Doug Gray, had a cold that kept him coughing between songs--the Marshall Tucker Band sounded just as fiery as ever at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano on Wednesday night.

The band’s visibility has been pretty low lately, but songs such as “Can’t You See,” “Fire on the Mountain” and “Searchin’ for a Rainbow” aren’t easy to dismiss, especially when given the kind of strong, supple, long-on-improvisation treatments they received here.

Gray, fellow survivor saxman/flutist Jerry Eubanks and the band’s five new members opened with two of the band’s biggest hits from the mid-’70s, “Running Like the Wind” and “Heard It in a Love Song,” and proceeded through an hourlong set that swung from blues to country to rock and back with ease.

The crowd included a number of zealous fans who helped Gray out by taking over whole sections of songs. Even with his ailments, though, Gray sounded strong and gritty, especially during “Can’t You See” and the slow-grinding “Tell the Blues Good Day.”

Equally strong was Eubanks’ flute and sax work. Right from the start, he built a solo on an extended melody line until it dissolved into a guitar part, proving once again that the flute can be integrated effectively into a strong rock mix.

That integration always has been one of this band’s strong points: Who else could factor a flute into songs about cowboys and drifters and not sound contrived? The flute sound, in fact, is a large reason why the band still sounds as fresh as it did when it was touring America with the Allman Brothers in the old days.

Time has brought change, though. Bassist Tommy Caldwell died in a car accident several years ago. His brother, guitarist/songwriter Toy Caldwell, continued with the band for a while but eventually struck out on his own, whereupon the rest of group began to flounder. By 1981, Warner Bros. had released the “Best of Marshall Tucker,” and it appeared that it was all over for these guys, except maybe to finish out their days touring clubs.

In recent years, however, many Tucker classics have been turning up on the radio fairly regularly again--to the point that Polygram Records in Nashville has signed the band, and their first new album in five years is set for release May 17 (a single, “Hanging Out in Smokey Places,” already has done fairly well on the charts).

The band didn’t play any of its new material at the Coach House, but its selection of oldies--powerful, fast-paced songs and yearning ballads--was unbeatable on its own terms. In these days of digital sampling and drum machines, one could certainly do a lot worse.