A joyous connection to the soul tradition

Even in a pop world whose mantra is “never say never,” it’s pretty safe to say that no one is ever going to replace Aretha Franklin as Lady Soul.

Ever since the gospel-trained Franklin gave us such landmark hits as “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)” nearly 40 years ago, her fervent, foot-stomping, testimonial vocal style has been the model against which female soul singers are measured.

Angie Stone’s liberating performance Monday at the House of Blues certainly didn’t replace that model, but it offered one of the most appealing alternatives that we’ve seen. Call it simply foot-stomping joy.

During her frequently inspired 90-minute set, the South Carolina native sang about the blessings of love, sometimes with the wariness of a woman who has known hard times, sometimes with the optimism of a cloudless day.

“I fell in love on this album and I got engaged on this album,” she said, introducing material from her upcoming “Stone Love” album and explaining her generous, upbeat mood.

To underscore the point, she went into “Touch It,” an expression of romantic delight that is just an 80-second interlude on the album but which was turned Monday into an extended audience sing-along.

“I Wanna Thank Ya,” which has been released as the first single from the album, later proved even more devilishly fun. It’s a tale of bliss so innocent that it might feel slight in most hands, but Stone, who is joined on the record by Snoop Dogg, sings it with a sunny optimism that defies you to challenge the sentiments.

There may not be a more productive movement in commercial pop in recent years than neo-soul, which has given us such gifted singer-songwriters as Alicia Keys, Jill Scott, D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Macy Gray and Erykah Badu.

But none has produced a more substantial body of work than Stone, whose “Mahogany Soul” album in 2001 was the most striking connection in years with the soul tradition of such masters as Franklin, Curtis Mayfield and Al Green.

The material ranged from the social commentary of “Brotha,” an ode to African American men, to a dynamic expression of romantic struggle, “Wish I Didn’t Miss You.”

At the House of Blues, Stone, backed superbly by 10 musicians and singers, sang both numbers, and it was a sign of her joyful spirit that she introduced “Wish” by saying it was time to have some fun.

True enough, Stone’s rendition emphasized the vitality of the dance-minded beat rather than the darker side of the lyrics, making it a splendid feel-good exercise. Stone can inject a song with grit, but her vocal style tends to be smooth, delivering the words with an almost effortless glide. She lets the crackling energy of the band supply the necessary tension and drama. The new album, due in July, doesn’t have the wide range of “Mahogany Soul,” but it is a worthy follow-up whose best moments reflect the warm undercurrents of Monday’s concert.

In the playful “U-Haul,” a song from the album that she didn’t write and which she didn’t do Monday, she tells a former lover that she’s not only putting her things on a U-Haul but also blocking his number when he calls. The track was co-written and co-produced by Missy Elliott.

Because the album is still weeks away, Stone played only a few songs from it, relying chiefly on numbers from her first two albums, including “No More Rain (In This Cloud),” a signature number from “Black Diamond,” her 1999 debut.

In that tune, she vowed to exorcise the pain from her life and search for healthier experiences, and it’s a journey she chronicles in her music. It’s a powerful lesson that art isn’t rooted just in despair but can also flourish in joy.

Also on the bill Monday was Van Hunt, a young singer-songwriter-guitarist with considerable charisma and an intriguing, Prince-like eccentricity in his writing. Like Prince, Hunt draws from a wide range of influences, including R&B;, funk, rock and pop.

On his self-titled Capitol album, he deals with the eternal pop theme of relationships, finding both comfort and confusion and sometimes coming across as much in love with the drama as with the other person. In “Down Here in Hell (With You),” he asks, “What would I do if we were perfect? Where would I go for disappointment?”

On stage, Hunt’s cool persona and sensual beats served him well, obscuring his limitations as a writer. Hunt’s lyrics are little more than generic fragments at times, and Monday he repeated key lines endlessly but effectively for the cheering audience.

It’ll be interesting to see if he can develop the songwriting skills to match the charisma.