POP MUSIC REVIEW : JENNIFER HOLLIDAY AT WILTERN THEATRE

Jennifer Holliday is a Big Effect singer in the theatrical mold of Patti LaBelle, Aretha Franklin and, even, Barbra Streisand. She’s got a voice that can knock down walls. The problem is you don’t always need a wrecking crew to get the job done.

At the Wiltern Theatre on Friday night, Holliday mercifully used subtlety and understatement where other singers would have gone for the full-throttle effect. That should have guaranteed a successful evening, but it takes more than a sparing and intelligent vocal approach to be an effective singer. You also need good songs.

Holliday, who earned a 1981 Tony for her role in “Dreamgirls,” has a tendency to waste time on wimpy, nondescript pop tunes, when the songbooks of composers as varied as Cole Porter and Stevie Wonder abound with full-ranged, sophisticated material that would be ideal for her.

Holliday is best known for her prowess with gospel/R&B; material, but she demonstrated on “Good Morning, Heartache,” the Billie Holiday number, that she is equally at home with deep-rooted, blues-based emotions.

Still, her showcase song remains “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” a searing, gospel-tinged declaration of obsessive love. Songs like that don’t come along every day, and neither do the kind of singers who can do them justice.

Also on the bill was Howard Hewett, the ex-lead singer of R&B;/pop trio Shalamar. Hewett likes to cast himself in the lover man mold, but he was most effective on a falsetto-laced gospel song called “Say Amen.” Despite his early ‘80s success with the group, he seems far from a polished, confident solo performer.