‘Good News’ Proves True for Kathy Mattea and Fans

If Kathy Mattea ever performs her country material with the same spirit she pours into her Christmas songs, fans will have cause to rejoice.

Until then, it’s basically promise unfulfilled for the veteran Nashville singer.

The Nativity-themed second half of her holiday concert Friday at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts had a much greater impact. Playing to a near-capacity crowd during the first of a two-night engagement, Mattea and her six-piece band (plus two backing vocalists) simply glowed with charm, warmth and emotion during their 70-minute tribute to the birth of Jesus.

Following the lackluster first half and a 20-minute break (during which Mattea changed into a long, regal red and gold-sequined jacket over a black blouse and pair of pants), the singer returned to inform the audience she was going to perform Christmas songs that “embrace the true meaning of Christmas to me--that come from a deeper place.”

Hence, no “Jingle Bells,” “Joy to the World,” “Deck the Halls” and the like. Instead, Mattea offered the soulful, gospel-tinged fare drawn from her 1993 Grammy-winning “Good News” album, plus a few reworked traditional holiday songs.

Mattea is no Cissy Houston nor CeCe Winans, but nevertheless captured the glory of such spirituals as the bluesy “Baby King” and “Talkin’ About Jesus,” whose striking harmonizing by Suzy Wills and Lynn LaVigni made Odetta’s popular version pale by comparison.

When sufficiently inspired, Mattea pushed her pleasant but seldom gutsy contralto to a richer, more rewarding place. For instance, after describing “Mary, Did You Know?” as her favorite Christmas song, she left no room for doubt with the wondrously dramatic way she sang the line: “When you’ve kissed your little baby / You’ve kissed the face of God.”

Other heavenly moments included the Old English hymn “Brightest and Best,” the spare, piano-flavored “Good News” and the lovely, crystalline harmonies that elevated “Christ Child’s Lullabye.”

“Troublesome” was the operative word for Mattea’s opening hour of hits and selected songs from her forthcoming “Love Travels” album. Whether her pop-based country tunes are inherently too thin or whether she’s grown bored with singing them so often, Mattea couldn’t muster the same kind of creative spark that fueled her splendid songs of the season.

Frequently, Mattea’s delivery failed to carry the weight of the lyric. Wayne Kirkpatrick’s edgy “Clown in Your Rodeo,” a tale of struggle for personal independence, calls for an angry or defiant tone. Instead, she sang it smoothly, and with a smile.

Another mismatched pairing of song and singer was “455 Rocket,” Gillian Welch’s and David Rawlings’ freewheeling ode to the excitement of falling in love with an Oldsmobile that smokes. Instead of burning rubber, Mattea’s conservative rendition was like being stuck in neutral.

Several other songs (“Nobody’s Gonna Rain on Our Parade,” “Time Passes By,” the new “Sending Me Angels”) floated by uneventfully. Still, Mattea managed to hit the mark on two powerful selections.

She and five of her bandmates huddled around a single microphone for a stirring a cappella offering of the gospel hymn “My God Called Me This Morning.” Seeming totally immersed, Mattea proved that she can indeed wrap herself around a vocal and take proud possession of it.

Bob and Linda Halligan’s “Love Travels” had delivered a much-needed spark of energy earlier in the set. The upbeat, anthem-like number soared as Mattea unleashed her sturdy vocals over Jonathan Yudkin’s expressive fiddle playing and Bill Cooley’s sharp guitar leads.

It’s a shame she doesn’t cut loose like that more often.