O.C. POP MUSIC REVIEW : Refreshed Desert Rose in Santa Ana

Regret and rebuilding were the subtext; eclectic, bluegrass-tinged country music was the foundation and bluesy rock was the wild card as the Desert Rose Band headlined the Crazy Horse Steak House on Monday.

During the first of the evening’s two shows, leader Chris Hillman alluded to the sense of transition that’s occupying the group, which boasts a string of country hits but now finds itself in the midst of record-company and personnel changes (Related story, F2).

Monday’s show was the area debut of the band’s revamped lineup. The new drummer is Tim Grogan; the group’s original guitar stalwart John Jorgenson has been succeeded by Jeff Ross. Ross resembled a young Jimmy Stewart as he bobbed at the rear of the stage and regularly unleashed furious flurries of stinging notes, followed by an almost apologetic shrug and an “aw-shucks” smile.

Singer-guitarists Hillman and Herb Pedersen, veteran pedal steel player Tom Brumley and bassist Bill Bryson remain in place, delivering the Desert Rose Band’s country-rock hybrid with enthusiasm and aplomb, if not searing passion.

The Southern California-based band’s main weakness is a blandness of delivery, and Ross, with his rock instincts and bluesy leanings, should have an impact here.

Hillman is the primary lead singer, and while his country-rock credentials are unbeatable--the Byrds, the Burritos--his vocals are a little plain. The frequent multiple harmonies--a legacy of both Byrds and bluegrass--help, but added contributions from Pedersen, a more stylish, if tradition-bound singer, would be welcome.

Monday’s set included such DRB country hits as “One Step Forward,” “Hello Trouble” “Summer Wind” and “She Don’t Love Nobody,” and reached back to Hillman’s Byrds days for an encore of Bob Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere.” But the most significant entry might have been a new tune whose refrain--”you’ve given me a second wind”--could be addressed hopefully to the band’s new members as easily as to the object of affection.

Introducing the song, which has a Crosby, Stills & Nash feel with its semi-acoustic instrumentation and tight harmony, Hillman berated himself for listening to the “higher-ups” who advised him to leave it off the band’s last album. The intent performance that followed implied that it would be the last time something like that happened.