Aural Fixations

RADNEY FOSTER
Are You Ready For the Big Show? (PureSpunk/Dualtone)
Radney Foster is a spit-and-polish perfect example of the musical genre that's come to be called "Americana." The Texas native/Nashville resident draws on various American roots music sources, mainly country and rock but also blues and folk, for a hybrid sound that's smooth and easy without being soft and wimpy. He writes uncomplicated but smart songs that balance craft and heart in equal measure. They have the kind of hooks that work in a variety of arrangements, from hardcore C&W to pop rock. He's got a warm, instantly appealing baritone and fronts a band sporting tasteful guitars, tinkling mandolin, lush Hammond organ and a drum kit made up of scrap metal. He's sensitive yet tough, clever but honest, firm yet yielding. His songs are openly emotional but tasteful about it. He sounds like he was created by divine will to lead the Americana movement.

So what's the problem with the live Are You Ready For the Big Show? It's got an even mix of Foster classics like "Just Call Me Lonesome" and "I'm In" and new material like "Leaning on What Love Can Do" and "How You Play the Hand." It's got a tight, well-rehearsed band and an enthusiastic audience recorded at Austin's venerable Continental Club. There's nothing wrong with the performances, which are professional but limber enough not to sound sterile. Yet somehow this record just doesn't soar. The energy level is consistent throughout, but never rises above a genial enthusiasm. His songs don't wallow in clichés, exactly, but the preponderance of love songs with well-worn phrases like "Nobody Wins," "We Know Better" and "I'm Used to It" shows a certain lack of imagination. When he does break the mold on the narrative "Went For a Ride," he nearly drowns in his own earnestness. But the biggest problem is that the band is so tight and the arrangements so polished there's no room for the kind of happy accidents that often make a live performance special. Foster's sound works fine in the studio, where slickness can be an asset, but on stage the lack of rough edges eliminates any "you are there" ambiance. Just compare the two versions of the new tune "Tonight." The live version that opens the disc is amiable but inconsequential, but the studio version that appears as an unlisted bonus track packs real punch. Needless to say, it should be the other way around.

There's absolutely nothing explicitly wrong with Are You Ready For the Big Show? It's solid, sincere and possessed of a heart as big as Dallas. Fans will love it and curiosity seekers will get a good idea of Foster's sound. But in a field crammed to bursting with artists armed with these same attributes, it's difficult to point to Radney Foster as an example of the best of the best. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Jim Lauderdale, Rodney Crowell, Bruce Robison