Stanley: Slow Start but a Smokin’ Finish

Anticipation ran high for Ralph Stanley’s concert on Tuesday at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Orange. It was the legendary banjo picker’s first local appearance in nearly five years, and his Grammy-nominated “Clinch Mountain Country” album is No. 1 on the bluegrass charts.

So why was the first half of the show by Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys so frustrating? Too much wasted time.

Rather than drawing from the revered Stanley Brothers canon, much of the show’s first hour spotlighted the comparatively lackluster solo material of the Clinch Mountain Boys, especially 20-year-old singer and rhythm guitarist Ralph Stanley II.

Even worse was some cornball shtick that failed to tickle the funny bone.

Fortunately, redemption followed the intermission.

The acoustic-powered sextet simply smoked in a pair of spirited numbers, especially the instrumental “The Clinch Mountain Back-Step.”

A series of stirring spirituals followed, highlighted by an a cappella version of “Glory Land,” the perennial crowd favorite “Rank Stranger” and “The White Dove,” a gripping tale mourning the death of two parents that was recorded by the Stanley Brothers in 1947.

The 71-year-old Stanley, whose distinctive tenor rings as true as ever, dedicated the finale, the bittersweet “Hills of Home,” to his late brother Carter, who surely was smiling from on high after hearing such a heartwarming tribute.

* Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys play Feb. 20 at McCabe’s, 3101 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. $18.50. (310) 828-4403.