Pop & Jazz Reviews : Don Henley Offers a Country Lesson

With the Eagles, Don Henley specialized in country-flavored rock--mixing the emotion and character of country with the sophistication and edge of rock. In fact, several of the group’s pop hits were also country radio favorites.

So one of the most appealing aspects of the Walden Woods benefit concert on Tuesday at the Universal Amphitheatre was the chance to see Henley as part of a genuine country music lineup.

In the first of two concerts aimed at raising money to preserve the Massachusetts acreage that inspired Henry David Thoreau’s writings, Henley made a brief, three-song guest appearance during Clint Black’s closing set.

Backed by Black’s band on “Desperado,” “Lyin’ Eyes” and “The Best of My Love,” Henley showed how comfortably those classic Eagles songs fit into a country setting.

More importantly, he indirectly offered an important lesson for a country music world obsessed with figuring out who is going to follow Garth Brooks’ unprecedented assault on the pop charts.

It’s such a pervasive question that almost every country concert these days has the feel of an audition. Besides a set by the veteran Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Tuesday’s bill featured four contenders: Black, Trisha Yearwood, Mark Chesnutt and Billy Dean. And none passed.

Black, Yearwood and Chesnutt are excellent country vocalists, but none showed the individuality or originality to seriously challenge Brooks, who combines winning showmanship with disarmingly honest vocals and material.

Though the sultry Yearwood exhibits some pop ambition, she needs to find a distinctive vision. Black and Chesnutt, meanwhile, stay within the traditional country boundaries currently embodied by George Strait. Dean is a clear notch or two below them.

Ironically, the one person who would have passed the country audition was Henley, because his songs speak with a character and depth that none of the show’s other artists even approached. He might not be in Brooks’ class as a stage personality, but he underscored the importance of great songs--an aspect of Brooks’ success that’s often overlooked amid the guitar-smashing flash. If Henley were just starting out, he might be the one to make a run at Brooks. But a new Henley seems as hard to find as the next Brooks.