POP MUSIC REVIEWS : Lawrence: Pleasant but Not Distinctive

Imagine: country music . . . unplugged!

But there it was, right in the middle of Tracy Lawrence’s performance on Saturday at the Universal Amphitheatre: four acoustic songs to demonstrate this smiling Texan’s unwavering faith in country music.

“Ain’t it great to love country music as much as we do?” Lawrence asked the crowd.

Unlike so many working in country music today, Lawrence has been unwilling to drift very far from the genre’s roots and into crossover pop. No lasers, muscles or fancy dance steps here. On Saturday, Lawrence and his band, nicknamed Little Elvis, even played a faithful version of Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried.”

Even so, Lawrence has yet to find a distinctive voice of his own. His new “I See It Now” album is heavy with sentimental country formulas, songs of upbeat hokum like “God Made Woman on a Good Day.” That may keep him on the charts, but it’s unlikely to create any lasting music.

Free from the slick production of Lawrence’s albums, the seven musicians of Little Elvis were able to demonstrate some personality and soul in their playing. Mostly, though, the show was full of feel-good balladry, with Lawrence in his jeans and black cowboy hat singing the praises of his chosen style with comments like: “Country music is good for all that ails you!”

Support act Aaron Tippin used many of the same formulas, including a similar nasal twang. The result was the same: country music that was pleasant enough, but just as easy to forget.