O.C. POP MUSIC REVIEWS : Carter Still Leans on Rich Family Tradition

As third-generation heir to the Carter dynasty of country music, Carlene Carter faces a daunting challenge: She must step beyond her rich family tradition to stake out an artistic vision of her own.

She offered hints of doing just that on “I Fell in Love,” an album she released last year. But Sunday night at the Bandstand, she was still leaning too heavily on that rich tradition--and on country cliches--to take the great leap forward. Instead of showing us where country music is going in the ‘90s, she gave, for the most part, a refresher course in where it has been.

The same weekend that mother June Carter and family were appearing across town with stepfather Johnny Cash (see accompanying review), Carlene and her solid backing quartet did venture into territories where the rest of the family never treads. But even those areas have been explored--and exhausted--by such country rockers as Emmylou Harris and Lone Justice.

Still, Carter played her hourlong set with exuberance and apparent ease. Wearing a low-cut, fringed mini-dress and an ever-present smile, she was both playful and relaxed. Her band--bassist Mike Pyle, drummer Kevin Wells, singer/guitarist David Holt and keyboardist/accordion player Randy Leago--was crisp and steady (though some of Holt’s solos were as trying as most heavy metal guitarists’).

During “I Fell in Love,” Carter and company were joined by Benmont Tench, co-writer of the tune and keyboard player with Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers. It proved to be the set’s high point, drawing an uncharacteristically enthusiastic ovation from the largely stoic crowd.

Carter’s between-song patter often fell painfully flat throughout the show. After a failed attempt to invoke audience participation, she automatically told the crowd anyway that “you were great. You were perfect.”

“I love California,” she added, as if on cue. Such stilted moments only served to further dilute her performance--and made one wonder if even in 1991, the Carter family’s older generations might still have more to offer in live performance than this latest generation.