POP MUSIC REVIEW : BENATAR, MATE COOKING ON A LOW FLAME

Pat Benatar and her husband, guitarist-songwriter Neil Geraldo, appeared last week on “The Today Show” to explain that motherhood and family life haven’t diluted her music. “You don’t lose your edge just because you barbecue,” she pointed out.

Cute. But their recent work--particularly Monday’s concert at the Forum--makes it apparent that the not-so-dynamic duo have lost something. Maybe it’s just that Benatar and Geraldo now travel closer to the middle of the road, trading even their mildly menacing elements for greater radio air play, MTV eye play and record-store action.

There’s no denying that Benatar is a powerful singer who can leap tall octaves in a single bound. And for all her artistic transgressions over the years, she was surprisingly likable on stage, partly because she no longer uses sex as a weapon. (She nearly sabotaged this affability during “Love Is a Battlefield,” though, by briefly re-creating that silly shimmy from the video). Meanwhile, the band--augmented by the Uptown Horns--locked into some feisty rock grooves, anchored by drum demon Myron Grombacher, who often presided over his kit standing up.

But it all added up to a pretty tame evening, underscored by the sameness of Benatar’s hard-rock hits. Benatar has carved out her own niche, specializing in emotionally undernourished frat-rock for the teen set. Benatar’s material is so innocuous these days you could bring your mom to the show and she’d probably like it. Indeed, the audience was peopled with older folks who weren’t there just to chaperon their kids. Maybe you should stay away from the barbecue, Pat.

Singer Joe Lynn Turner, who earned his rock stripes fronting Fandango and Rainbow, opened with a slab of blustery pomp-rock. Throughout his 40-minute set, he demonstrated the same kind of vocal ability and presence that characterized those earlier stints. That is, not much.