POP MUSIC REVIEW : Bare Lends No Dignity to Common Man

It is no wonder that country music in the ‘80s is plagued with image problems, given the sort of Conan-macho attitude and leering stage demeanor demonstrated by Bobby Bare at the Crazy Horse in Santa Ana Monday night.

Anyone who can make jokes about incest, make repeated references to women’s breasts and underarm hair, and who would sing a supposed lament about a cowpoke who has sex with cattle, hardly qualifies as an adult, let alone a performer of any value.

Bare comes off as little more than a cheap imitation of Merle Haggard. Both sing of the common man; the difference is that Bare doesn’t allow him any dignity.

Indeed, Bare can be vulgar to the point of repulsiveness. That he is responsible for some of the most poignant country songs of the ‘60s (he won a Grammy for best country and Western recording for 1963’s “Detroit City”) seems more an accident than a testimony to any artistic vision.

In any case, at the Crazy Horse such classic ballads as “500 Miles,” “Shame on Me” and “Four Strong Winds” were lumped into a tired-sounding medley, and even “The Green, Green Grass of Home” got a half-hearted treatment. Even more puzzling was the cheering response from the fans, who talked through most of these songs.

Only during the two encores--notable for their lack of lewd references and thrown-away emotions, did Bare prove that he can still be an engaging entertainer when he wants to. Even then, his rendition of Guy Clark’s “Desperadoes Waiting For a Train” was a bit heavy-handed. Still, there was enough humor injected into the story of “The Jogger” to make it enjoyable.