Alan Jackson pays homage to ‘old country’ musicians

BY EILEEN BRADY
THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER

Alan Jackson brought his “take back country music” campaign to Springfield Friday, playing several remakes, including three from his latest CD “Under the Influence,” a tribute to country traditionalists. 
Jackson’s 90−minute set began with a simulated scan of radio stations, stopping at one "old country" singer after another: Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Patsy Cline, Charlie Pride, Ray Price. 
The Prairie Capital Convention Center stage was sometimes enhanced by a backdrop of portraits of a couple of those musicians and a few others who influenced him. 
Jackson’s Springfield concert comes two days after he and George Strait appeared on the Academy of Country Music awards show to sing “Murder on Music Row,”

a defiant song about pop-crossover musicians stealing airtime from legends such as George Jones. 

Jackson also stood up for Jones at the Country Music Association awards in September after Jones boycotted that show because he was asked to shorten a performance of his single “Choices.” Jackson closed his own “Pop a Top” by playing part of “Choices.” 
The 41-year-old Jackson had a traditional country fan in Brett Feger, 15, a sophomore at Lanphier High School who on Monday convinced his mom, Joanne Feger, to take him to his first concert. 
“I like some of the new stuff, like Brooks & Dunn, but I like old country, too,” said Brett, who became a country music convert after spending time listening to it at his uncle’s house. His favorite Alan Jackson tune is “Chattahoochee,” which came late in the show, right before the encore of “Mercury Blues.” 
Wearing red boots, a black Western shirt and carefully pressed but ripped jeans, Jackson opened the show with “Gone Country,” followed by 20 more songs that make up the majority of his 1995 “Greatest Hits Collection.”
He kept the small talk to a minimum, taking a few sips from a milk jug of water — not the industry-standard Evian. He introduced guitarist Tommy Rutledge, who grew up in Petersburg, admitting he had thought a “Happy Birthday” balloon gift from a fan was intended for him until he realized Sunday is Rutledge’s birthday. 
“He wants to do something for y’all, his hometown crowd,” Jackson told the half-full convention center, followed by a Rutledge banjo solo. 
Opening act Brad Paisley also stood on the traditional country soapbox, telling concert-goers right away, “That’s all you’re going to hear, I promise.”
Paisley, 27, named Top New Male Vocalist at Wednesday’s ACM awards, played a medley of “songs that got us here,” including Roger Miller’s “King of the Road,” Buck Owens’ “Act Naturally” and Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried.” It was a gutsy move for an opening act to eat up his limited time with cover songs. 
Paisley was part-singer, part-comedian in his 50 minutes, dedicating “to all the psychos in the audience” his song “It Woulda Never Worked Out Anyway,” about a scorned lover who scares off any other potential suitors. 
His other amusing songs “Sleepin’ on the Foldout” and “Me Neither” were injected between the more serious “He Didn’t Have to Be,” Paisley’s first No. 1 hit.