POP MUSIC REVIEW : The Judds Charm at the Greek

There was none of that “you can’t tell ‘em apart” stuff Thursday night at the Greek as that charming mom-’n’-daughter-foxes team the Judds worked on establishing even more distinctive identities.

Mother Naomi--the songwriter and between-song wisecracker--remained the spunkier of the two, sporting a white party dress and immaculate coif, stepping and grinning up a storm. Less mobile daughter Wynonna--the lead singer--sported more of a look of youthful rebellion this time around with straight hair, bright lipstick, an all-black outfit and a consistently insinuating expression to go along with the sexy growl.

If Naomi was the prissy-yet-carnivorous belle of the ball, then Wynonna was the shy-but-uninhibited girl smoking outside the gym with the bad boys. Pick Victoria Principal to play mom in the inevitable TV movie and Ellen Barkin as the daughter.

For all the lack of interaction between the two, the Judds sometimes seemed less like blood relatives than rivals vying for our attention. Yet win attention and affection they both did. If the visual chemistry seemed diffuse, the simple, heartfelt music came together as swimmingly as ever.

Opening act Carl Perkins (whose fun, no-surprises oldies act was reviewed recently) sat in with the gals on lead guitar on “Let Me Tell You About Love,” the spirited No. 1 country hit he co-wrote for them.

Meanwhile, back at the middle of the bill: There’s a certain breed of Southern rock band nowadays so wimpy they don’t even have the nerve to try to pass themselves off as rock bands, so they put on cowboy hats and fringe and call themselves country . Such a useless exercise in false advertising is Restless Heart--basically, Air Supply with chaps.

The same triple bill treks down to the Pacific Amphitheatre tonight.