Pop Music Review : Sounds of Blackness: Not Its Usual Show

When in peak form, Sounds of Blackness can blow the roof off any club. But on Monday the roof of the House of Blues was never in any danger.

Although the large ensemble, which uses a gospel format to sing all kinds of black music, occasionally generated blasts of gospel-style fervor, there were no genuinely electrifying numbers--and for this group, electrifying has become routine. Though the harmonizing was far from ragged, it wasn’t nearly as crisp as usual.

But even a relatively lethargic Sounds set has more energy and boasts more high-caliber singing than most R&B; shows.

Standing side by side and backed by a combo, the 13 singers wailed mostly R&B;, gospel and hip-hop. There were only hints of jazz, and the major foray into blues was surprisingly limp. The show showcased inspirational material from the group’s current album, “Africa to America: The Journey of the Drum,” such as “I Believe,” “The Harder They Are the Bigger They Fall” and “A Place in My Heart.”

A model of democracy, the group rotates lead singers, though Ann Bennett-Nesby gets the most leads. Normally just a cut below Aretha Franklin, Bennett-Nesby didn’t wail with her usual intensity on Monday.

On some songs the group was clearly hampered by the standard House of Blues sound problem--a drop in quality anywhere outside the main floor--which seemed more severe than usual.