Reba McEntire's set at the Las Vegas Hilton covers a lot of bases and a range of musical emotions, all without any pointless production or wasted words.

Not too long ago, Reba McEntire showed up at a Las Vegas Hilton press conference to introduce her occasional touring partners, Brooks & Dunn, as an upcoming Hilton attraction.

The duo thanked her even though they could no longer see her, joking something to the effect of, "Knowing Reba, she's probably in California by now."

The busy efficiency of the singer and sitcom star came through in one of the 28 shows she is doing at the Hilton, the only place she is performing ticketed concerts all year.

The set covered a lot of bases and a range of musical emotions in what Larry the Cable Guy might call a "Git-R-Done" attitude, all without any pointless production or wasted words.

Right up front, in the first time the singer addressed the audience, came the soft-sell push for the social program Habitat for Humanity: "You're asking yourself, 'What do I have to do?' " she noted of the crowd. "Not a dad-blamed thing. You just sit back and relax."

Then it was back to a roster of nearly 20 songs in 90 minutes, most of them tying into her current greatest-hits collection and some of them distilled into medleys to cover more ground quickly.

There were songs that told all sorts of stories, from the cheating spouse ("Whoever's in New England") to the married couple that checks into the Holiday Inn to get away from the kids ("Love Needs a Holiday").

There were songs about babies ("You're Gonna Be"), siblings ("My Sister") and a heart-wrenching one about aging parents in nursing homes ("Moving Oleta").

There were hard country weepers ("Rumor Has It") and soft-rocking foot-tappers with saxophone ("Take It Back").

There were even a couple of autobiographical moments, such as the trip from Oklahoma to Nashville that won the "girl singer" her first record deal in 1975.

But there was also a "produced" finale with "Fancy," complete with narrative video and two costumes that gave the show the closest thing it has to a Vegas-style production number.

It all went down with what you might call a carefully rehearsed spontaneity, represented by the contrast between the singer's apparent casualness -- wearing blue jeans and a vest until the finale -- and the slickness of a giant two-tiered set for the 10-piece backing ensemble, as well as a towering rear video screen and sophisticated lighting washes.

Clearly the set was designed for arena tours, and fans who pay premium ticket prices to see it scrunched into the Hilton are sure to be delighted. For others, the pricey tickets should serve as a benefit, if you can call it that, in weeding out the merely curious who might mistake this stint for one of those Vegas showcases that embrace newcomers with more of a variety approach.

Not that this set doesn't offer a good introduction to McEntire's signature twang, which can be as pretty as Oklahoma hills or as gritty as red dirt. The only real problem was that the size of the band, combined with the arrangements, drowned out a lot of this vocal work when the verses led into chorus; a lot of people leaving the showroom mentioned not being able to understand the words.

Again, though, if you're going to shell out for this one, you probably know them already.