Joan Armatrading; Richard Thompson; Susan Werner

By PHIL GALLO

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Joan Armatrading; Richard Thompson; Susan Werner (Universal Amphitheatre; 6, 251 seats; $ 35 top)
 
Band: (Armatrading) Simon Baisley, Natilio Faingold, Gary Spacey Foote, Tim Goldsmith, Jeremy Meek, Prabjote Osahn, Laura Fairhurst.
 

TX:Presented by MCA Concerts. Reviewed July 9, 1996. The emotional core of Joan Armatrading's latest disc "What's Inside" (RCA) -- the single "In Your Eyes"-- provided an equally visceral effect in her 90-minute set Tuesday. Backed by cello, violin and piano, Armatrading stood center stage with a percussion instrument, carefully moving through the sparsely worded ballad with a care not seen in the rest of her performance. That moment, in fact, saved her plodding show, a presentation of old faves and new tunes, from its lack of dynamism. Richard Thompson, conversely, was a boiling pot of emotional turmoil; his explorations of love's wicked ways and spectacular guitar playing left the two-thirds-filled house with a glass half-full. An hour just isn't enough time to absorb all of Thompson's witty, sarcastic and salient observations on life.

Not surprisingly, Armatrading's finest moments came when her guitar could actually be heard as one of several textures rather than part of the instrumental pseudo-funk wash that dominated the bulk of the show. Her new material lacks the conviction of her mid-'70s work and her signature Caribbean-folk sound has reached a homogenization level that has not aged well.

Performing solo, Thompson drew on his vast catalog as well as the three best songs --"Razor Dance,""The Ghost of You Walks" and "Hide It Away"-- from his strong new Capitol disc "You? Me? Us?"

Thompson, hilarious and at times self-deprecating, moved gracefully from stories dark and light with uncanny dexterity, showing British folk music can be a viable export.

Susan Werner, who did a solid job backing Thompson on "Wall of Death," opened the evening with a brisk set of folk-inspired songs. Her knowledge of different guitar styles and ability to bend her husky voice every which way supplied her set with sufficient spiffiness and variety.