POP MUSIC REVIEW : If Anyone Can, Chaka Khan : With Her Great Voice, the R&B; Singer Manages to Turn So-So Material Into Worthwhile Show

It has been a while since Chaka Khan had a major solo hit, so it wasn’t surprising that songs from the veteran R&B; singer’s recent past didn’t figure in her show Thursday night at the Coach House.

But Khan, at 38, proved that she remains a strong contender. Backed by a well-honed, seven-member band, she turned in an alert, confident performance highlighted by her customary vocal adventurism. Oldies from Khan’s days with the ‘70s rock-soul band, Rufus, and from her subsequent solo career made up the bulk of the 80-minute set. (Khan didn’t sing “I’ll Be Good to You,” her Grammy-winning duet with Ray Charles from Quincy Jones’ “Back on the Block” album.) But four unreleased songs from a new album-in-progress showed that Khan isn’t merely looking backward.

One of the drawbacks of her two most recent albums of new material, “C.K.” (1988) and “Destiny” (1986), was a tendency toward busy, overly synthesized production. The best of the new batch of songs sprinkled through her Coach House set was “I Want,” a welcome return to funk basics.

The song featured spare, spiny and rhythmically insistent backing. Khan’s vocal simmered with slurry phrasing that charged the song with dreamy sexual anticipation. She was less coy, but no less effective, during “I’m a Woman (I’m a Backbone),” one of a long string of Rufus songs that made up the show’s middle. Leading Khan’s band was guitarist Tony Maiden, a former Rufus member. Some of the Rufus tunes were tossed off quickly, including a truncated version of “Tell Me Something Good” that marked the show’s only truly listless moment. But “Stop on By” got a full, extended treatment that showcased Khan’s band in all its sleek proficiency.

Two of Khan’s new songs were mid-tempo numbers too reliant on heavily synthesized arrangements (her band featured two and sometimes three keyboards players). A new ballad, “This Time,” was typically schmaltzy fare, but Khan seized on its most interesting element--the determination of a couple bruised by past love affairs to make this one work--and invested the number with believable yearning. She also transformed “Through the Fire,” a similarly treacly and stentorian ballad, into an expression of convincing romantic ardor. Too often, Khan had to exert her striking voice to put spark into middling material. What she needs most are songs that would be worth hearing even from a less-gifted singer.

Khan, the anti-Sinead, performed under a Gargantuan corona of hair that swirled around her head like a foamy, cresting whopper of a wave. It must have been hot under all that foliage, because she kept making vigorous use of an old-fashioned hand fan. Khan managed to convey a sassy but controlled persona with a few brief between-songs quips. A steady smile signaled her pleasure with the way things went. It seemed brightest during her call-and-response interchanges with two excellent female backing singers--one of the attractions that made the show worthwhile even when the material was below par.