Sophie Choice in Roxy Debut

At last, a Madonna for people who don’t dance.

In her Los Angeles debut at the Roxy on Thursday, touted newcomer Sophie B. Hawkins molded several pop-music archetypes into her unique persona, but the one that came out on top was the Ambitious Blonde, full of erotic charge and with severe tendencies toward self-glorification.

This is one case where the ambition should be a little more bland.

The New York singer, whose “Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover” is one of the year’s notice-serving hit singles, balanced her indulgences with some humor, and her undeniable charisma helped carry her through some of the show’s problem areas. But the hour-plus set was wildly uneven, veering from moments of concentrated emotional power to silly, affected miscalculations.

To say that Hawkins came on strong is putting it mildly. A confident, loose yet theatrical presence, she bantered with her fans in the brash, broad manner of a Bette Midler. Later, when she glared angrily at a backup singer’s scene-stealing vocal, she flashed some of the playful spirit Bruce Springsteen generates with his band members.

But Hawkins (who appears at San Diego’s Street Scene tonight and at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano on Monday following a second night at the Roxy) also wants to be a little Prince, it appears, and she has the same sort of problems he does in reconciling currents of carnality and spirituality.

That’s a worthy challenge that’s engaged some of rock’s greats through the years, but despite Hawkins’ unmistakable sultriness and apparent depth of spirit, her efforts were limited to shallow bump-and-grind and a remarkably incoherent frenzy of percussion-driven, strobe-lit, floor-crawling lust.

Wearing a white T-shirt and black tights, Hawkins fared better when she let the eroticism rise naturally from her music--a sophisticated and often intriguing exploration of the human spirit’s deepest longings. “Lord, I want my dignity again,” she sang in “Before I Walk on Fire,” underscoring exactly what was missing from her more desperate overtures.

But at the same time, she’s a charmer on stage and an often terrific vocal stylist, combining eccentric phrasing and a radical dynamic range into a daring, exaggerated style. Hawkins’ band--whose three prominent women members provided a lot of the evening’s spirit--added punch and edge to the atmospheric, borderline New Age style that dominates her debut album.

Hawkins’ show finally built to a peak with “Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover,” then lost momentum again before the encores, which distilled her weaknesses and strengths: a superficial treatment of the Stones’ “Gimme Shelter,” with the singer wielding a studded belt a la Mick’s whip, followed by a penetrating, touching, anthemic take on David Bowie’s “All the Young Dudes.”

Hawkins transformed the latter into a bittersweet testament to individuality, and for once material and presentation combined in a true grandeur of spirit.

Dylan’s Do: Bob Dylan will be joined by Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Sinead O’Connor, Tom Petty, Neil Young and John Mellencamp in a concert marking Dylan’s 30 years as a recording artist on Oct. 16 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Each artist will perform a selection of Dylan songs in the show, being hosted by Columbia Records, which signed the ever-enigmatic singer-songwriter in 1961 and released his debut album in 1962.

More stars are expected to join the lineup soon, with most speculation centering on Bruce Springsteen. The concert will be aired live in the U.S. on pay-per-view cable television and on radio.