Advertisement

POP MUSIC REVIEW : Singer Sandi Patti--The Evolution of a Bible Belter

Share
SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Unlike most of the other performers who have had million-selling albums from an evangelical Christian base, inspirational singer Sandi Patti makes few strides toward pop ecumenicalism.

Patti focuses primarily on songs of worship and praise and proceeds in concert from the assumption that her audience is made up entirely of the faithful. Her appearance on Tuesday in the heart of Hollywood at the Pantages Theatre was no exception to the bold game plan.

Said a characteristically jubilant Patti, introducing the show with her usual brazen cheeriness, “We are here to celebrate the Prince of Peace . . . the Wonderful Counselor . . . the King of Kings!”

Advertisement

In a town where those descriptions could just as easily be understood to mean Lenny Kravitz, Dr. David Viscott and Paul the King of Big Screen, respectively, Patti may be taking more of a risk in assuming that her entire audience is running with her than she does when she puts on the same show in Middle America. But probably not, judging from the upraised hands and scattered hosannas through the hall.

The operatically voiced, sunnily dispositioned Patti, 34, represents an unusual collusion of elements: Beverly Sills meets Dr. James Dobson, maybe, with influential assists from Barbra Streisand, Bill Cosby and the Bill Gaither Trio.

She’s a mother of four--the whole family came out on stage--and looks the part of the young matron. Her appeal to suburban homemakers is immeasurable. Even in a glittery turquoise gown, even fronting a full orchestra, even gifted with one of God’s great voices, she’s clearly one of them , just another devout working mom out on the town for an evening.

The joy and torment of motherhood was the primary starting point of her between-song comments, which would commence anecdotal (“Don’t skate in the living room! You’re going to skate over the baby’s head!”) and get heavier (prayers in the midst of storms, such as her son’s near-fatal accident).

In the midst of all this pointed hominess, Patti is a smart entertainer and consummate professional with an honestly warm, funny, ingratiating personality, able to foster the illusion of instantaneous intimacy with an audience--which may be a greater gift even than her formidable soprano.

But it is the voice that’s the selling point. It did not disappoint, even when squandered on songwriting unworthy of it. Her material--mostly in an alternately bouncy and balladic adult-contemporary mold, backed by orchestra, piano and synthesizer--is uneven and treacly.

Even by Christian pop standards, the lyrics cover an extremely narrow range, with far too many numbers full of unimaginative regurgitations of glorious stock “praise phrases” free from much meaningful human context. (One moving exception was the title song of her new Word/Epic LP, “Another Time, Another Place,” performed as a duet with opening act Wayne Watson.)

Advertisement

But the way she swoops through the material rarely fails to impress, and she’s grown more savvy at modulating her voice, picking dynamics and holding back. Famous for picking songs that climax with emotional key changes and ear-piercing high notes, Patti has this time combined most of those more dramatic numbers into a couple of quick medleys, which makes for a decidedly less overblown evening.

Inevitable highlights for the audience included the now-rote “Friendship Company” segment, in which all kids were invited on stage to sing, sway and gesture cutely; and a black gospel tribute, complete with choir, in which Patti acquitted herself admirably, even if Tramaine Hawkins won’t be losing sleep.

Though Patti nearly filled the Pantages, a bigger share of her audience probably lies in heavily evangelical Orange County, where she performs tonight and Friday at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Advertisement