The man who doesn't want to be thought of as anything special once again showed why he is. Alan Jackson came to Denver, Colorado Friday night and played to a noisy, high-spirited, sold out crowd. This down-home, easy-going, small-town, aw-shucks artist totally electrified the audience. The concert was a good, old-fashioned sing-along, the audience was not hanging on every word, it was vocalizing right along with the artist.

Jackson's performance was smooth as silk, his band, the Strayhorns, hotter than Georgia asphalt (as Jackson would say) and his stage production technically excellent. Numerous video screens provided a backdrop for the performers. Scenes from previously produced thematic videos were alternated with closeups of Jackson and his band. At times, the videos were so mesmerizing, one forgot there was actually a live performer to watch. The projected images of Jackson singing provided those in the farther reaches of the arena an excellent view of the musician.

Jackson performed everything from honky-tonk barnburners to slow ballads. He sang most of his older and current hits including "Livin' on Love," "Here in the Real World," "Summertime Blues," "Chattahoochee," "She's Got the Rhythm, I've Got the Blues," "Chasin' that Neon Rainbow," and" Don't Rock the Jukebox." He included some rousing songs from recent CDs such as "I Don't Need the Booze (to Get a Buzz On)" and "I'm in Love with You Baby (and I Don't Even Know Your Name), the latter song title suggested by his brother-in-law years ago.

Jackson also sang one of Hanks Williams' best rabble-rousing songs, "Mind Your Own Business" and covered "A Good Year for the Roses," a George Jones hit, recently recorded as a duet by Jackson and Jones on the Bradley Barn Sessions CD. Jackson even managed to sneak in a little uptempo southern gospel song in between his more traditional hits. One of the best moments in the show came with Jackson's rendition of "Midnight in Montgomery," his tribute to the legend of Hank Williams. Scenes from Jackson's black and white video with footage of Hank Williams' gravestone and shadowy human images were projected behind him as he sang. The performers disappeared in a cloud of fog as the song ended leaving the crowd with an appropriately eerie feeling. This song followed on the heels of Jackson's interpretation of what is perhaps Hank Williams' most well-known song, "I'm So Lonesome, I Could Cry." Jackson's long, lanky build is not only physically reminiscent of Hank but his rich, deep baritone, which is capable of mirroring the inflections and style of Williams, shows that he is the one, current country music artist especially suited to keeping the Hank Williams tradition alive.

Jackson doesn't have a lot of fancy moves on stage, there are no flashing lights or high jump theatrics. He appears in total control of everything around him and exudes the quiet confidence of someone who knows exactly what he's doing and knows he does it well. His occasional casual strolls from one end of the stage to the other were enough to bring screams and sighs from the female part of the audience. He spoke little on stage, stopping only to introduce his band members or the background to some of his songs. Alan Jackson is good for country music. He not only sings traditional types of songs in the traditional way, but he makes listening to old-fashioned classical country music painless for neophyte listeners who would turn off at any suggestion that they were listening to "that old stuff." The steel guitar and fiddle are prominent, the "old stuff" is still there, it's just the packaging that makes it all go down so smooth.

Alan Jackson Concert Review 1998

Mountain West Music 2002