Pop and Jazz Reviews : Armatrading Raucous, Tranquil at Wiltern

Enough of Joan Armatrading as rocker.

Too often during her nearly two-hour set at the Wiltern Theatre on Friday night, the singer-songwriter slipped into an Eddie Van Halen mode on electric guitar, while raucously belting out lyrics, backed by her rocking five-piece band.

Trouble is the fans came to hear some pretty folk music.

For about two decades, Armatrading has been one of the best lyricists in pop music, writing boldly and perceptively about relationships. Songs like “Weak Woman” and “Wrapped Around Her,” from her current album, “Square the Circle,” probe infidelity in haunting fashion.

So when she sings, you want to hear clearly what she’s singing about. At the Wiltern, though, too often you couldn’t. Blame that on the blaring rock accompaniment, which smothered many of her lyrics. Another problem was jazzy, world-beat arrangements that were frilly and busy.

After all this time, Armatrading, a 41-year-old West Indian who was raised in England, remains a vital artist because she continues to mature as a lyricist. She’s now offering sharper insights and painting more vivid pictures of people in romantic turmoil.

Ideally, she should be singing poignant, plaintive ballads with spare, stringed accompaniment. She doesn’t need much more than that husky voice, which Tracy Chapman and Julia Fordham have copied so effectively, to get her point across.

Fortunately, at the Wiltern, she performed enough of those engaging, tranquil tunes to offset the noisy ones.

DENNIS HUNT