POP MUSIC REVIEWS : Little Richard’s Voice Gets Lost in the Mix

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO —  At the Coach House Sunday night, 61-year-old rock legend Little Richard was ill prepared. What could have been a true rock event was instead a frustrating, uneven display of talent and pique.

His band showed up hours late for its sound check, only doing a cursory one when the show should have already started. The result was a shortened performance, numerous microphone and feedback problems, and, even at its best, a sound mix that obscured what people had come to hear--Richard’s voice and piano.

Only on the quieter songs could you hear his voice clearly above the din of his six-piece band. His splendid piano work was even more buried.

The set included several of his better burners, including “Good Golly Miss Molly,” “Lucille,” “Jenny Jenny,” a breakneck “Ready Teddy,” “Long Tall Sally” and a slowed-down version of “The Girl Can’t Help It.” He also covered Larry Williams’ “Boney Moronie,” Chuck Berry’s “Rock & Roll Music” and a bit of Jimmy Reed’s “Baby, What You Want Me to Do.”

The show’s momentum was continually derailed by Richard stopping, sometimes in mid-song, for spoken digressions. It was maddening because amid the awful sound and Richard’s own erratic showmanship it was clear that the talent that shook rock into consciousness three decades ago remains intact.