POP MUSIC REVIEWS : Country’s Strait His Vintage Self

Some things have been going on in the previously predictable world of George Strait.

The Texan, who dominated country music sales for much of the ‘80s, is suddenly no longer an automatic chart-topper, and a less-than-capacity crowd was on hand for his concert at the Pacific Amphitheatre on Saturday.

But there are also some artistic stirrings. Strait is having a go at acting in the upcoming film “Pure Country,” and the new soundtrack album features some of the most vital singing of his career. It finds him working with new musicians and tapping some new songwriters, such as L.A.’s Jim Lauderdale.

So what kind of effect did all this upheaval have on Strait the concert performer Saturday? Not the slightest.

It was vintage Strait at the Pacific, polite and stiff, efficient and bland. It’s as if he’s sealed off from experience in a fantasy bubble of country verities, impervious to pain, struggle and doubt.

Strait still has the benefit of the consummate Western swing group of the day behind him, and his even-tempered voice seems fine on such emotionally weightless tunes as “All My Ex’s Live in Texas”--unless you compare his approach to the fun that a superior singer such as Mark Chesnutt brings to the similar “All My Old Flames Have New Names.” And lyrics with an interpretive challenge, like Merle Haggard’s “The Bottle Let Me Down,” are simply beyond Strait’s grasp.

Strait’s crusade to return traditional elements to country a decade ago required determination and a purity of vision, so it’s ironic that the changes he wrought now threaten to leave him in the dust. Intriguing artists are streaming into action, and against that competition, Strait simply lacks the performing instincts to be a memorable entertainer and the vocal range and ambition to be a revealing artist.