Solo Linda Perry Still Has More Fun

If Linda Perry were a publicly traded corporation, she would have been forced by now to fire herself as CEO. In market terms, the San Francisco-based singer’s stock has turned to junk since she divested herself of her hit band, 4 Non Blondes. The lone 4 Non Blondes album, released four years ago, has sold an estimated 1.6 million copies in the United States. “In Flight,” Perry’s solo debut this year, has just sold a wing-clipping 11,000.

But what’s bad for business has been good for Perry’s artistic soul as she substitutes moodier, more personal songwriting for the obvious blooze-rock moves and surface flash of 4 Non Blondes. And her declining fortunes in the marketplace don’t seem to have done her spirits any harm. Playing to perhaps 200 people at a half-full Coach House Friday night, Perry looked like the happiest trouper in show biz during a strong concert powered by her impressive pipes and the high drama inherent in her new songs.

Even with her new dimension, Perry’s derivative music and blandly declarative lyrics are no match for the songwriting of her sometime sound-alike, Johnette Napolitano. Still, Perry’s material was sufficiently varied in style and dynamics to carry most of a nearly two-hour show. This tiny tomboy diva in a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey was an undeniably commanding figure who could knock you back with the force of her now raspy, now high and piercing voice, or draw you in with the offhanded friendliness of her manner and the pleasure she took in singing and performing.

* Linda Perry plays Thursday at the Roxy, 9009 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. 8 p.m. $10. (310) 278-9457.