Billy makes a first-class comeback

BILLY DEAN, Sandy Amphitheater, Saturday.

SANDY — Fatherhood has been good to country singer Billy Dean. His latest hit, the tender "Let Them Be Little," and title of his latest album, made its debut at No. 8 on the Billboard country charts. And when he came to the Sandy Amphitheater Saturday, it was to a sold-out crowd.

That's a good sign for somebody making a comeback after a six-year hiatus. And on Saturday, Dean didn't disappoint.

Energetic and upbeat, Dean seemed to be enjoying his time onstage.

The first half of the concert concentrated on Dean's older material — "Billy the Kid," "Somewhere in My Broken Heart," and "That Girl's Been Spying on Me," to name a few.

He also threw in a fun little unpublished gem titled "She Left a Dear John Letter on My Old John Deere," and a cover of James Taylor's "Steamroller," its gritty blues feeling a bit softened by Dean's style.

After intermission, Dean began with a couple of dedications, playing solo on his acoustic guitar. The most interesting one was his quiet, country rendition of "I Am a Child of God," dedicated to a friend from Salt Lake City who had recently passed away. Dean said he had introduced him to lots of nice LDS people, which seemed to please the crowd, some of whom rose to a standing ovation.

Then he moved on to material from his newest album, "Race You to the Bottom," "This is the Life," "Swinging for the Fence," and, of course, "Let Them Be Little."

Most of his material is quite good, but some of it, such as "Mountain Girl," isn't as strong. His newer songs have more of a rock feel, with more raw energy than the older material, and his performance reflected that.

Dean finished the set with his rousing version of "Thank God I'm a Country Boy," and as an encore, he went back to solo-acoustic for "You've Got a Friend." When he came to the line, "You just call out my name," a bunch of people in the audience yelled, "Billy!"

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E-mail: rcline@desnews.com