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Wynonna Judd at Club Nokia

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The singer only rarely shows her true self in song.

Wynonna Judd (like any good diva, she dispenses with the surname career-wise) knows how to cover the musical bases, and there's no question that remarkable voice of hers can handle country, pop balladry, rocking blues, soul and gospel.

So how is it that as she approaches 45, a milestone she mentioned several times during her first concert of the year at Club Nokia on Thursday, she still hasn't developed into something more than just an impressive vocalist?

Not that it mattered much to the rabid crowd that filled about two- thirds of the 2,300- seat theater. Judging by her remarks from the stage, it doesn't matter to Wynonna either. She said she's quit reading reviews and paying attention to chart numbers, and from now on she's just out to have fun.

Well, most cover bands in dive bars around the world have fun too. But the artists whose songs they're covering are those who forged their passion into an indelible musical identity, like Elvis, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette and the others whose music Wynonna salutes in her latest album, Sing -- Chapter 1, released earlier this month.

It's not that she can't put a distinctive spin on this stuff. Her gospel-drenched vocal technique is capable of magnificent things. But after Wynonna told the audience she'd be taking them on a musical journey, she proceeded to conduct one of those whirlwind “If it's Tuesday, it must be Belgium" affairs that provided little more than a pit stop at any of her stylistic destinations.

What's missing is a defining musical vision. Alison Krauss, for instance, is another country-rooted singer who generally doesn't write her own material either. She's seven years younger than Judd but has demonstrated in any number of the projects an intensely focused expression of where she wants to take her listeners.

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