Pop Music : Nancy Wilson--Lady’s a Survivor

Nancy Wilson’s concert at the Wiltern Theatre on Saturday had the loose and easy feeling of an evening among old friends. Looking slim and svelte, constantly reaching out to her receptive audience, she ranged back and forth between rocking rhythm tunes and stretched-out jazz ballads.

Among the best were her readings of songs such as “Lover” and “A Song for You,” in which her warm and husky sound was on prominent display. She was even better on “Guess Who I Saw Today,” a sardonic story song perfectly tuned to her Lady Survivor performing persona.

Less attractive were some of the repetitious rhythm tunes, which tended to evoke a more aggressive Wilson style. For all her achievements, she still occasionally has a disconcerting tendency to minimize her most attractive qualities with a hyperactive shouting that can overpower a song.

But the program (in which she was ably accompanied by Lou Matthews on piano, Jeff Littleton on bass, Roy McCurdy on drums and a trio of backup singers) had less to do with individual numbers than it did with the recognition of a lifetime in music. On that basis, it left little to be desired.