Colvin Delivers Originality While Respecting the Past

Too many contemporary singer-songwriters confuse transparent affectation with originality as they slur, growl, sneer and intone off-key throughout the course of an album or a concert.

That makes Shawn Colvin--with her gorgeous voice and natural instinct--a rarity on the current folk-pop scene. Opening a two-night stand at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano on Saturday, Colvin was in full command of her considerable talents as a singer, songwriter, guitarist and interpreter of outside material.

Her voice varying from a delicate vibrato to a swooping, yodeling falsetto, she performed a selection of old favorites (“Diamond in the Rough,” “Wichita Skyline”), intriguing new songs from a forthcoming album (“The Facts About Jimmy,” “Trouble”) and material by Tom Waits, Paul Westerberg, the Police and David Ball.

Her songs demonstrate the influence of Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Judy Collins, yet at the same time Colvin’s music always comes off as fresh, inspired and emancipated from slavery to the past. She rises above the alterna-pandering that runs rampant among her singer-songwriter peers with work that is genuinely, ingratiatingly timeless.

* Shawn Colvin plays Wednesday at the Strand, 1700 S. Pacific Coast Highway, Redondo Beach, 8:30 p.m. Sold out. (310) 316-1700.