Yoakam Displays Talent, Potential

Buck Owens, a major country star in the ‘60s, may have been right in his prediction Saturday night at the Universal Amphitheatre that Dwight Yoakam will be the next superstar in country music. But remember: Country is a field where marginal talents have frequently scored big--from Alabama to Lee Greenwood.

Yoakam, the evening’s headliner, is a more interesting figure than either of them, but there is often a big gap between making hit singles--even good ones--and being a significant artist, and it’s a gap that Yoakam has yet to cross.

Like his hero Owens (who added a nice nostalgic touch to the evening by coming out of retirement to sing with Yoakam at the Amphitheatre), Yoakam understands the dynamics of country music. At his best, he mixes a tough, rock-conscious beat with honky-tonk tradition for wonderfully appealing records like “Guitars, Cadillacs” and “Honky Tonk Man.”

But Yoakam--who has a sexy, if self-conscious manner on stage--is a limited vocalist who can be way off the mark as an interpreter. Saturday’s examples: a clumsy reading of “Home of the Blues,” an old Johnny Cash hit, or his stiff treatment of “Walking after Midnight,” the old Patsy Cline standard.

The latter was especially discomforting because the opening act, K. D. Lang, sang the same song with almost breathtaking intimacy and power. Besides being a far more gifted singer, Lang has a more daring stage presence, introducing hints of performance art to country music as she prances around in a cowgirl outfit and tries things as campy as singing a song about three cigarettes while sitting at a table staring at an ashtray.

Yoakam--who is blessed with an extraordinary guitarist and producer in Pete Anderson--may well grow as an artist, but the real star of this show was Lang and one suspects she is the one with the best chance of becoming a significant country star of the future.