O.C. Pop Music Review : England: Country Worth Visiting

As a longtime sideman to Garth Brooks, Ty England certainly has witnessed his share of hero’s welcomes.

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But the slender Oklahoma native, Brooks’ college buddy who went on to a six-year gig playing acoustic guitar in Brooks’ touring band, was left bashfully beaming and appeared a little shocked when he got one of his own Tuesday night at the Crazy Horse Steak House.

After two fans had bestowed bouquets and kisses on England toward the end of his early set, the newcomer, whose debut album won’t be out until mid-August, seemed to be speaking with as much surprised sincerity as facetiousness when he wondered aloud, “Oh, gosh. You sure this ain’t for Garth, now?”

While it can’t hurt for a rookie mainstream country contender to have a pedigree linking him to the genre’s dominant figure, there was a reason beyond reflected glory for a crowd response that included a spontaneous standing ovation and the kind of wild approval usually reserved for established favorites. As they used to say on Carnaby Street, England swings.

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His strong suit was a natural, unforced playfulness that came across in up-tempo songs full of jumping energy. England didn’t resort to the overt theatrics that have become his old boss’s trademark; his ready grin and the wry glint in his smooth, shiny voice registered a sense of pleasure and fun that was infectious.

Exhibit A was England’s first single, “Should’ve Asked Her Faster,” which has begun to make an impression on the country charts. Co-written by Al Anderson, the former NRBQ guitarist who knows a few things about playing in bars, the slight but amusing ditty is a knowing slice of roadhouse life in which a fellow’s shy hesitation costs him a chance at the cutest cowgirl in the dance hall.

England and his sharp, boisterous six-man band put it across with just the right light and lively touch. The result was prolonged, boisterous applause, which left England smiling and agape until somebody sensibly yelled, “Sing it again!” The audience swarmed over that idea like fruit flies on bananas, and a second performance was compelled. A third command rendition looked like a possibility until England demurred, saying his band wouldn’t stand for it.

“Redneck Son,” another playful track from the upcoming album, and a cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “I Know a Little” gave further evidence of England and his band’s way with robust, rollicking material. “Her Only Bad Habit Is Me” had a similar insouciant effect at a slower, honky-tonk gait.

During the instrumental break in “Redneck Son,” bassist Glenn Snow picked up where guitarist Jimmy Grubbs’ unpredictably cadenced solo ended, and the two executed the handoff with the flair of a medal-winning relay team. Steel guitarist John Norris was another valuable player.

The whole ensemble’s vitality burst forth on the Skynyrd tune, investing the rocker with a swinging rhythmic underpinning. A closing rendition of the Spin Doctors’ rock hit “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” was a bit heavy-handed in its attempt to be funky and hard-rocking, but it put a fitting, high-energy cap on the proceedings.

England was less reliable when he slowed the pace. The voice that lit up playful numbers tended to lack the dimension and intensity needed to draw in a listener on typically fervent ballads.

Obtrusive drumming often obscured the lyrics--including those to “Is That You,” an above-average pop-country ballad in which a widower is both haunted and comforted by the feeling that his dead wife still hovers nearby. England was at his best as a ballad singer on a simple, solo-acoustic reading of “Here I Am,” a plaintive hit for Patty Loveless.

He played the Garth card several times, but most of his mentions of Brooks were natural enough references as he told about his own musical past. It never smacked of exploitation or smarmy name-dropping.

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England wasn’t the smoothest host in the world, his attempted impromptu witticisms sometimes missing their mark or trailing off short of making a point. But this clumsiness was sort of endearing, since the last thing country music needs is another slick star delivering canned patter. Blessed with an audience that embraced him beyond his expectations, England responded with reactions that were genuine.

Nothing about England’s album or show suggests that he can be an envelope-stretching figure on a mainstream-country scene that could use some shaking up. Absent anything unpredictable in his music, we’ll welcome the light, fun touch with which he put an enjoyable spin on the usual sort of stuff.