Macy Gray's debut should have fallen between the cracks. On How Life Is boasts everything radio lacks: adventurousness, good humor, insight, quirkiness and a charming oddball quality. But listeners and critics warmed to Gray, and her raspy squeak of a voice and assured songwriting have been a welcome respite from the cardboard-cutout teen sensations and let's-get-it-on R&B soundalikes now crowding the airwaves.

Gray wasted no time Saturday night at New York's Roseland, launching into "Why Didn't You Call Me" with barely a preamble. Her voice filled the hall, easily rising above the claps and disco whoops. The soul inherent in the song was rounded out by well-calibrated DJ scratches, a joyous mix of rock-guitar yelps and funk grooves. Gray reveled in the vibe she created, strutting and working the stage and indulging her penchant for drawn-out storytelling. The deep-soul groove deepened as the show progressed, through the uplifting "Do Something," the Prince-inspired "Sex-O-Matic Venus Freak," the naughty-by-choice "Caligula," the statement of faith "I Can't Wait to Meetchu" and the empowering "The Letter."

Unfortunately, Gray's accomplished songs were sometimes overpowered by her influences. "Sex-O-Matic" felt more like a tribute to James Brown and the Average White Band than a playful come-on. And the soulful, poignant lyrics of "Still," about a troubled but loving relationship, threatened to drown in the Earth Wind & Fire-like horn bursts and Isley Brothers-esque guitar flights.

Yet Gray delivered a winning set filled with musical snippets from a childhood spent listening and absorbing. Songs like "Still" and "I've Committed Murder" conjured memories of bell-bottom jeans, tie-dyed T-shirts and backyard barbecues peppered with the sounds of Marvin Gaye and Al Green. "Caligula" rose above the overblown Eighties rap backbeat, insistent scratching and modal horn lines as Gray firmly led the band through a hard-to-deny groove before both she and the band settled into a nasty, funky rhythm.

It was that anything-goes spirit that elevated "Que Sera Sera" from mere cover to sublime slow-grind blues and made the Joe Cocker "Feeling Alright" break in "Can't Wait" so much fun to recognize and sing alongside Gray's Dee Dee Bridgewater-worthy scats.

The show culminated with "I Try," a coming together of all Gray's controlled experimenting. Call-and-response, blues, Sunday-morning soul and reverberating hip-hop melded to make the song a rouser that defied all categorization, eliciting fists raised in swaying approval and yelps of joy. Gray started out faithfully recreating the album version before segueing into Bob Marley's "No Woman No Cry," replacing the reggae legend's lyrics with her own words of love and encouragement. She then deftly slowed the rhythm even more for the smoky, slinky reading inspired by a recent Full Crew Production backbeat-driven remix. It was an unexpected masterly stroke -- one her hero, Stevie Wonder, would have liked. Gray left the stage, failing to return for an encore but promising with that song to come back with much more to chew on next time.

MARIE ELSIE ST. LEGER
(February 14, 2000)