POP MUSIC REVIEW : Country Baritone Schneider Proves Endearing as a Solo

Strip away the band, the backup singers and the fancy arrangements? Few performers can stand such scrutiny, but a few actually benefit from the streamlining. John Schneider is one.

At the Crazy Horse Steak House in Santa Ana Monday night, Schneider was armed with only an acoustic guitar. His baritone took on a warm intimacy that was light-years away from the overblown near-melodrama that has characterized his records.

In a crisp, pinstriped button-down shirt, jeans and beige Western-style blazer, Schneider projected a boyish charm, dividing his time almost equally between chats with the crowd and renditions of such hits as “Country Girls” and “Short Walk From Heaven to Hell.”

He occasionally forgot a word or hit a bad note, whereupon he looked up, grimaced and said “oops”--further endearing himself to his audience.

Some hits were conspicuously, but wisely, omitted, such as “It’s Now or Never,” a 1981 Top 40 tune originally sung in almost operatic falsetto. A tender, regret-filled reading of “At the Sound of the Tone” was a highlight.

The evening left one convinced that Schneider, who first attracted attention as Bo Duke on “The Dukes of Hazzard,” deserves his country stardom, that he truly respects this kind of music and that he is more than just another piece of TV beefcake with a big voice.

If he would just play a little more (the set was only 14 songs long) and talk a little less, his solo acoustic settings could continue to help him make strong and serious statements about his music.

At one point, Schneider was joined by singer-guitarist Michael Stanton for a rendition of a gospel song, “With Your Hand in Mine.” Stanton’s reedy voice made a nice contrast to Schneider’s soft, comfortable-as-a-flannel-shirt delivery.