POP MUSIC REVIEW : Ross Takes the Safe Road at the Pacific

Attention, Diana Ross: Enough already.

You’re in a rut.

For anyone other than hard-core fans, your concert Friday night at the Pacific Amphitheatre was boring.

The problem was pop superstaritis.

Ross isn’t alone in this. It’s a failing typical of veteran middle-of-the-road artists.

After years of accumulating hits, the artists--and this is true, in varying degrees, for everyone from John Denver and Neil Diamond to Kenny Rogers to Dolly Parton--simply serve up the same old, safe show.

The fact that this is Ross’ first U.S. tour in five years hides some of the familiarity, but over the course of two hours it becomes clear that nothing has really changed. It’s the same glamour, glitz, oldies, cornball chatter and endless costume changes.

What stars like Ross do is play to the lowest common denominator--the older, more conservative fans who love the oldies and the schmaltz.

Barry Manilow, with his jazz numbers and musical-comedy trimmings, is someone in the middle-of-the-road genre who has shown some daring. His moves haven’t all been successful, but he deserves credit for showing the attempts.

So why not Ross?

There’s not a traditional pop performer with more potential for a good show than the Motown veteran. When she applies herself on the right material, she’s an appealing singer. She also has personality to burn--though she rarely sets a match to it, preferring to simply bask in the spotlight.

Ross, 45, could also use the backlog of great Supremes material more imaginatively, perhaps dressing a few numbers with new arrangements or interweaving some of the old songs and newer material to make ironic or revealing comments about how we see things differently at various stages in life.

The slender vocalist could leave out some of the tired old material altogether (solo hits as well as Supremes tunes) to make room for a short jazz set or some show tunes she’s never tried before. Or maybe some folk tunes or some African music? Or maybe some ballads with just a piano accompaniment?

The only suspense in the show now is what lavish outfit she’s going to come out in next.

The fans are as much to blame for Ross’ rut as the singer herself. Like fans of most pop veterans, her supporters don’t seem to want adventure or any kind of a challenge. All they want is a comfortable trip down memory lane, with no detours into the unknown, please. Many seem so star-struck that they’re happy just being in the presence of a celebrity of Ross’ magnitude and history.

Knowing this, Ross--accompanied by an instrumental group and backup singers--simply churned out the oldies in fairly rote fashion, from the real oldies such as “Baby Love” to mid-’70s oldies such as “Love Hangover” to early ‘80s oldies such as “Upside Down” and “I’m Coming Out.”

She did do some songs from her new Motown album, “Workin’ Overtime”--but that’s not what you’d call being adventurous. Being adventurous could start by scrapping her corny closing tune, “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand).”

But maybe we’re underestimating Ross’ audience. The 18,700-capacity Pacific appeared only about half-filled. The missing may have sent a message of their own. It’s time for a change.

The tour continues with performances July 19 to 22 at the Universal Amphitheatre.