Megastar Dolly Parton drew an eclectic crowd for her performance at the House of Blues on Saturday. Photo by John Locher. Parton touched audience members with her intimate performance of "I Will Always Love You." Photo by John Locher.

Dolly Parton delivered pitch-perfect vocals during a playful, 90-minute performance at House of Blues Saturday night.

But the country legend's show suffered severely from poor choices in material and sterile backing arrangements more reminiscent of elevator Muzak than her hardscrabble roots in Appalachia.

Touring in support of her album of her upcoming album of hippie-era covers, "Those Were The Days," the busty blonde mainly split her set between pop and folk gems ("Crimson and Clover," "If I Were A Carpenter") and the country-pop hits that made her a crossover star ("9 To 5," "Here You Come Again").

However, Parton, 59, shone brightest about a third of the way through her 19-song set when she abandoned the cloying slickness of her 7-piece band and three backup singers for a handful of sparely accompanied numbers.

In this stripped-down setting, standouts ranging in time from 1971's venerable "Coat of Many Colors" to 2002's "These Old Bones" came alive, as did Parton's between song banter about her barefoot beginnings in the Tennessee's poverty-stricken Smoky Mountains.

"We had running water when we'd run and get it," she quipped, drawing laughter.

Parton's jokes, stories and warm demeanor between each song lent the show an air that alternated between intimate and irreverently ribald. Shortly after emerging onstage, she explained her band's throwback attire was a tribute to the '60s classics they would be performing.

"That's kinda why we're all dressed like hippies," she said. "I look more like a hooker, don't I?"

The comment garnered howls from a unique audience. For every straight couple sporting cowboy hats, there was a gay couple holding one another as they sang along. I'm not sure there have been this many ecstatic gay men together in one room since Cher retired.

What may seem like an unlikely fan base may be explained by Parton's self-described resemblance to a drag queen. On Saturday, she emerged onstage in a glittery purple getup showcasing her legs, garishly complementing the signature big hair, giant earrings and bright makeup.

During corny run-throughs of "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" and "PMS Blues," Parton battled what must be the most perplexing issue facing all performers who play Las Vegas: concertgoers who shell out wallet-whopping sums for tickets only to end up yakking throughout a performance.

I was alternately annoyed and fascinated by the gall of the tipsy, brunette cowgirl chattering incessantly near me as she giddily ignored increasingly hostile calls to "Shut up."

Yet Parton won back even her attention with late '70s hits "Here You Come Again" and "Two Doors Down" before turning to uber-hit, "I Will Always Love You."

Whitney Houston's 1992 cover may have been a chart-smasher, but Parton showed she still owns the song, penned three decades ago as her bittersweet goodbye to duet partner Porter Wagoner. Parton eschewed Houston's melodramatic interpretation in favor of a simple whispered intimacy that left some fans in tears.

Unfortunately, a three-song encore saw her returning to more interpretations of '60s material.

While her show-closing performance of John Lennon's "Imagine" showed off still impressive vocal chops, stabs at The Byrds' hit "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and Bob Dylan's "Blowin' In The Wind" were insipidly flat.

Here's hoping Parton returns again with a smaller band and more material like the traditional country and bluegrass albums that marked her return to form five years ago before this year's detour into pop pap.