Her voice, which has a cuddly sweetness but not much muscle, sometimes failed her. She battled a dreadful sound mix that often buried her under the pounding rock of her nine-piece band, and at first she seemed dwarfed by the colossal arena stage. But she worked hard, prancing enthusiastically around in sexy leather outfits, using her endless supply of charm and affability to create a down-home intimacy. Foot-stompin' rock ruled the evening, though Twain was most effective when she toned down the beat and turned up the poignancy, crooning ballads like From This Moment On and her hit single You're Still the One.
Nashville has never seen anything like this 32-year-old Canadian. She's thumbed her nose at country tradition, flaunting her fashion-model face and Baywatch-beauty figure in sexy music videos, playing mostly music that's low on twang and heavy on boogie riffs and rockabilly beats. Music City is no hotbed of feminism, but that hasn't stopped Twain, who appeals to more independent types with anthems like (If You're Not In It For Love) I'm Outta Here! and Any Man of Mine.
It's hard to know what to make of Twain. Scrape away that glitzy defiance and there's a layer of sentimentality and girl-next-door vulnerability underneath. But the disparate parts add up to an artist who knows how to turn audiences on.
By Dennis Hunt, Special for USA TODAY
