POP MUSIC REVIEW : Boy Howdy’s Bland-New Habits

Hail the conquering heroes. Orange County’s Boy Howdy returned on Monday to the Crazy Horse, where it has spent countless nights as a faceless house band--and this time it had a national hit of its own to play.

Sadly, at the early show, it immediately was apparent that along with its newfound commercial success, Boy Howdy has picked up some of the same bad habits that hamper countless other hit bands’ performances.

Even though this was a hometown crowd, with members’ wives, children and numerous friends in the packed house, lead singer Jeffrey Steele indulged in a series of generic greetings (“How ya doin’ tonight?” “We need you to clap your hands on this one!” “Anybody see the Super Bowl yesterday?”). To paraphrase an old saw: “If you don’t have anything fresh to say, don’t say anything at all.”

And it’s not as though this band doesn’t have anything of interest to share with its fans. The Boy Howdy saga has all the elements of a humdinger TV movie of the week. After years of playing other people’s hits at the Crazy Horse and other country clubs in the Southland, the quartet attained modest chart success with its first album, “Welcome to Howdywood,” and first single, “A Cowboy’s Born With a Broken Heart.” Then, just as the momentum was building, tragedy struck.

Drummer Hugh Wright was hit on a freeway after stopping to help another motorist. Proving that a little five-month coma can’t keep a good man down, Wright fought back and recovered while the band hung together, primarily for his sake.

Its reward? Even greater fan and radio acceptance. The band’s current single, “She’d Give Anything,” has reached the Top 5 of Billboard’s country chart.

The only thing missing from this tale is an unqualifiedly triumphant ending. But then, this tale is far from over.

In Boy Howdy’s favor are its strongly melodic songs, its rich, sometimes unexpected three- and four-part vocal arrangements and, especially, not one but two stunningly talented lead guitarists, brothers Larry and Cary Park.

*

With a house-afire version of “If This Is Love,” a set-closing cover of the Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” and a Bill Monroe bluegrass instrumental, the Parks evoked memories of nothing less than Emmylou Harris’ standard-setting Hot Band at its peak (though the Monroe number lacked the mandolin that Cary has used in the studio to great effect).

What the group needs most is concentrated effort on its lyrics. The first album’s songs hinged on commonplace visual images and turns of phrase that were salvaged, partially, by unpretentious vocal enthusiasm. But on the new six-song mini-album, the tendencies toward form-molded sentiment are more pronounced. There is little concrete sense of time, place or character in the original material, most of which was written or co-written by bassist Steele.

In one unrecorded song that Steele dedicated to his wife, he sang, “There’s something about her/I can’t put a finger on.” The best songwriters take the time to figure out exactly what it is, and share it with their listeners. The best songs make you feel as if the writer has lived your life. Too often, Steele’s are vague enough to fit everyone’s life--and consequently they fit no one’s.

*

Steele sings in a clear, attractive tenor but doesn’t exploit whatever nooks and crannies it holds. Both Park brothers, in their respective turns in the vocal spotlight, were more distinctive.

Still, personality doesn’t always develop instantly, and with only two albums (one and a half, really) behind it, Boy Howdy has plenty of time to bring its potential to fruition--as long as it doesn’t get seduced by the dark side--the play-it-safe side--of commercial success.