And a Good Time Is Had by All

Credit this Nashville band with trying to inject some character and idiosyncrasy into country music instead of recycling the usual commercial formulas.

On its second studio album, BR5-49 continues to page through the history book, applying solid musicianship and a lively, infectious spirit to honky-tonk, rockabilly, and some stylishly played western swing.

But the band’s two singer-songwriters, Chuck Mead and Gary Bennett, lack the vocal depth and character to make BR5-49 more than a particularly skilled bar band with a well-developed playful streak.

Missing from “Big Backyard Beat Show” is the distinctive, original vocal personality and instrumental daring you get from a couple of kindred, tradition-steeped acts from our own Orange County backyard, Chris Gaffney & the Cold Hard Facts and Big Sandy & his Fly-Rite Boys.

Taken on its own terms, BR5-49 has its charms. The album starts unimpressively as covers of Buck Owens’ lovelorn honky-tonk number, “There Goes My Love,” and a swaggering Bobby Rydell oldie, “Wild One,” fail to achieve the requisite ache or fire. With the schmaltzy ballad, “Storybook Ending (If You Stop Believin’),” BR5-49 dips a toe into tepid mainstream waters.

It recovers nicely with “18 Wheels and a Crowbar,” a humorous, rhythmically trenchant account of a trucker with a murderous case of road rage. BR5-49 (the band takes its name from a phone number in an old “Hee Haw” skit) maintains its good connection for the rest of the album, showing a light touch with western swing and wistful Tex-Mex music. Accordion ace Santiago Jimenez Jr. (Flaco’s brother) brings a bittersweet lilt to “Goodbye, Maria,” the song of a suicidal spurned lover.

The band shows it can rock confidently with a good-time sprint through “Seven Nights to Rock,” a fun Moon Mullican oldie previously covered by Nick Lowe.

BR5-49 demonstrates that merit can be relative, depending on the standard of comparison. Set against most of country music’s major-label output, it’s a refreshing splash of traditionalism and off-center sensibility. Compared with any number of roots-conscious acts operating outside the mainstream on independent labels, it’s not very special.

* BR5-49 plays Monday and Tuesday at the Crazy Horse Steak House, 1580 Brookhollow Drive, Santa Ana. 7:30 and 10:15. $20. (714) 549-1512.

Ratings range from * (poor) to **** (excellent), with three stars denoting a solid recommendation.