There are nights you're not supposed to analyze - unexpected moments when everything seems to fit and you're contented. You don't need to think about it to know that it works.
Paul Overstreet's Monday night performance at Symphony Hall was like that: great music and lyrics, a terrific opening act and an audience that couldn't get enough.Unfortunately, in my job of critic for a night, I was supposed to analyze. And it's not enough to say "the show was great." I had to figure out what made it so enjoyable.
I have some ideas. Overstreet's success as a performer starts with his success as a songwriter. Quite simply, no one else can so consistently write the stick-in-your-mind song with memorable music and catchy, intelligent lyrics.
Overstreet provided his audience (and a hand-clapping, foot-stomping audience at that) with song after song that showcased his immense talent. Some songs got him noticed as a singer, like "Love Helps Those Who Cannot Help Themselves."
Some helped other artists to the top of the charts: Randy Travis singing Overstreet's "Digging Up Bones," "On the Other Hand" and "Forever and Ever Amen." Or Keith Whitley's version of Overstreet's "When You Say Nothing At All."
The voice that sings the song can't mask the author. Overstreet lyrics have a flavor, a stamp of wit and decency that is as clear as the mark left by a branding iron. He writes about fidelity and God and fair play and being grateful for the day-to-day things. For instance, the chorus to "The Richest Man on Earth": "We've got a roof over our head and the kids have all been fed; the woman I love most lies close beside me in my bed. Lord give me the eyes to see exactly what it's worth. Then I would be the richest man on earth."
Overstreet provides a soothing, humorous thread of talk that links his songs and moves the show along. Audiences wish some songsters would "shut up and sing." Not Overstreet. His stories are telling and funny and sometimes poignant. I found I didn't care whether he talked or he sang - both were enjoyable. I just didn't want him to go away.
Pacing is another Overstreet trademark and he moves fluidly from snappy, fast songs like "Ball and Chain" to almost-ballads like "Love Helps Those (Who Cannot Help Themselves)."
But perhaps his show Monday night was so successful because he was casual and unabashedly open. He stood in the almost-full Symphony Hall and told how he gave up alcohol and drugs: "In 1984, I found it is not a weakness to have a relationship with God; it makes you stronger." And he did a rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "God Bless America" that had people wiping tears from their eyes. He's obviously not embarrassed by his love of motherhood, God and the American Way.
Buddy Greene, a successful country gospel artist, got the show off to a stomping, whistling start with "When You're Living Your Life in Jesus Christ." Then he delighted everyone with a demonstration of the harmonica and its many talents, segueing from "Red River Valley" into salsa songs, then to an Irish ballad and on to a heart-stopping train-whistle song. If people still weren't convinced the harmonica is a versatile instrument, his rendition of the "1812 Overture" probably changed their minds.
In years of going to country-western concerts, I've never seen a mainstream country singer talk so openly about his faith in God, as Overstreet did. I wondered if it would turn off some of the cowboys (I know they were cowboys; they wore the hats) in the audience. It didn't.
Getting an encore call in Utah is nothing special; we're a very polite society. I've seen encore calls for pretty bad acts. Monday, the call was very special because the crowd just wasn't ready to call it quits after almost three hours of music. Overstreet was a genuine hit.