POP MUSIC REVIEW : Houston Quick-Steps Through Marine Base

OCEANSIDE — You might think that Whitney Houston at Camp Pendleton makes perfect sense: Her voice is powerful, her concerts are conservative and much of her material is intentionally uniform.

She even managed to revive “The Star-Spangled Banner” as a commercial vehicle. Can’t get much more patriotic than that.

But Houston’s performance at Pendleton’s Ace Bowen Rodeo and Concert Grounds on Saturday, a concert capping celebrations of the Marine base’s 50th anniversary, turned out to be less than inspired. If one were to borrow a title from Hollywood, this wouldn’t have been “For the Boys” but “Take the Money and Run.”

Houston spent only about an hour on stage--the other 20 minutes of the show were dedicated to instrumental breaks and a spotlight number for her brother, Gary Houston, who ordinarily sings backup.

There were no encores and, goodness knows, no attempts to deviate from the hits-laden set list.

Even costume changes were eliminated (other than a switch from a loose-fitting, shimmering mauve pantsuit to a long skirt early on), presumably because it was chilly and because, as the pregnant Houston admitted, she has to take things a bit slower these days. (Husband Bobby Brown, she noted from the stage, was in New York taping “Saturday Night Live.”)

Of course, if the crowd didn’t feel gypped by any of that (and it didn’t appear too disgruntled), then it’s possible that no one minded the absence of genuine enthusiasm and intimacy from songs like “So Emotional” and “All At Once.”

Still, despite intermittent cracks and some less-than-seamless passages, Houston’s voice was its usual gymnastic self, scaling heights greater than the massive chain-link fence that separates the audience from the stage here, and wrapping itself around syllables until they practically popped from her mouth.

A seven-piece band provided measured, able accompaniment and the quartet of background singers added some needed dimension to such songs as “Saving All My Love for You” and to a brief foray into gospel territory that included “He’s Got the Whole World (in His Hands).”

Houston’s was the fourth concert at the Ace Bowen venue, which began booking pop acts this year.

She managed to fill about half the stadium’s 25,000 seats--more than the handful that showed up to hear James Brown or Ringo Starr but far fewer than the near-sellout audience drawn by Reba McEntire and Randy Travis.

No other acts are scheduled.