POP MUSIC REVIEW : THE LENNON IN CONCERT IS JULIAN

The Times did not photograph Julian Lennon at his Universal Amphitheatre concert because Lennon’s attorney demanded that photographers sign an agreement assigning all rights, including copyrights, to Lennon’s representatives.

Watching Julian Lennon’s local concert debut Wednesday night at the Universal Amphitheatre, I tried to imagine what a record company talent scout might have said a few months ago about this young performer’s potential.

My guess is the report to headquarters would have gone something like this: Songs--vaguely commercial, but undistinguished. Vocals--average. Stage presence--limited. Other pertinent notes: He’s John Lennon’s son!

That link to one of rock’s most admired figures isn’t a guarantee of success. The wide gap between the strong critical and weak commercial response to Yoko Ono’s last two albums is evidence of the resentment that can surface when someone is perceived as trying to cash in on a relative’s fame.

Still, there is no question that the Lennon connection is the primary reason Julian, 22, has been able to come up with a hit album (“Valotte”) and a sold-out, three-day engagement at the 6,000-seat Universal Amphitheatre.

On the LP, Julian’s voice bears an eerie resemblance to his father’s, and several of the delicate songs about regret and loss--including the hit single “Too Late for Goodbyes”--invite you to think they are reflections about his late father, even if they are really just expressions of romantic longing.

And there’s obviously a strong emotional attraction in being able to see a Lennon on stage. This doesn’t mean just old Beatles fans wanting to relive moments of their youth, but also young pop fans who have their first chance at embracing--at least indirectly--the Beatles legacy.

Of the two dozen people in the audience whom I questioned during intermission, every one said he or she was at least partially attracted to the concert because of the Lennon heritage.

Terry McConnell, 28, Redondo Beach, said: “It’s like being part of history. It’s as close as I can ever come to seeing the Beatles unless Paul McCartney tours again, and I think Julian’s album is better than anything Paul is doing.”

Added Nancy Romero, 23, Pasadena: “You have to give Julian some credit, but I can’t get over how much he sounds like his father on the record. It’s almost impossible to separate the two in my mind. I hope he does some of John’s songs. . . .”

As it turned out, Lennon did do a synthesizer-boosted, dance-floor treatment of a Beatles number (“Day Tripper”) and two tunes that his father included on an oldies album in the mid-’70s: “Stand by Me,” the richly emotional ballad first recorded by Ben E. King, and “Slippin’ and Slidin’,” one of Little Richard’s most raucous works.

Along with a spirited rendition of “Too Late for Goodbyes,” these oldies--bunched together near the end of the show--seemed to awaken an audience that had been charmed by Lennon’s agreeable manner, but only slightly caught up in the parade of songs from the “Valotte” album.

Clearly, however, it was the history of the oldies that provided the spark, not Lennon’s performance of them. When Lennon went into “Slippin’,” for instance, it was fun imagining his father doing the same song two decades ago in Liverpool. Stripped of that image, though, Lennon’s version was no more gripping than one you’d hear at a college talent show, especially when you consider his eager but awkward stage presence. His vocals offer little hint of grit or character.

Things were smoothest when Lennon sat at the piano rather than roamed about the stage acting out the songs by pointing to his head to illustrate a line about thinking, or pointing to his chest when singing about his heart.

Lennon’s music--delivered live by a vigorous six-piece band that adds considerable muscle to the album’s versions--doesn’t aim for the bounce and innocence of the early Beatles tunes, but for the softer, more adult pop of the group’s later period. The marginal level of achievement, however, leaves the music more closely aligned to the polished but only marginally revealing style of Phil Collins.

Ironically, the closest connection to the ‘60s on Wednesday was to that other British supergroup. There’s an undeniable current of “Let’s Spend the Night Together” flowing through Lennon’s “Say You’re Wrong.”

The best thing about the evening was Lennon’s good-natured attitude. If he had been forced to go through the normal club apprenticeship and had to hone his writing, he might be much more competitive at this stage. But that’s not certain, either. Artistry involves more than experience and age.

History has shown us that most noteworthy performers offer a hint of their personal vision early, and simply refine it as they go along. At comparable ages, Elvis Presley had already recorded “Heartbreak Hotel,” Pete Townshend had written “My Generation,” U2 had made “I Will Follow” and Little Richard had come up with the original version of “Slippin’ and Slidin’.”

There is something winning about the fact that the son of such a key musical and sociological figure could appear so unaffected, but that’s not exactly the same as commanding the stage. He now faces his biggest test: proving that he does deserve a place in the Lennon tradition. The amphitheater engagement, which also features magician-comedian Simon Drake, ends tonight.