Jeff Spevak Democrat and Chronicle columnist

(September 24, 2004) — So we had a '70s soul fest Thursday night at the Auditorium Theatre, with Angie Stone bringing us the sensuous sophistication of Roberta Flack and Chaka Khan. And we had Anthony Hamilton channeling Bill Withers and Bobby Womack.

But waitaminute... who's this Japanese Marvin Gaye?

Toshi, who opened the evening, didn't even rate a mention on the posters. But this guy has supposedly sold more than 10 million records. And the unconventional-looking soul singer has the goods.

Too bad he only sang for 20 minutes.

Mostly, it was a big night on the town for this almost-exclusively African-American crowd of about 1,500, dressed from elegant to hip-hip. And they were clearly here for Stone.

For a few years now, Stone has been fingered as the next Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill or Mary J. Blige: A hip-hop, neo-soul queen. That hasn't happened, but it's not Stone's fault.

While other keyboard chanteuses such as Alicia Keys have soared to the top of the charts quicker, Stone has been laying a pretty strong foundation. A native of Columbia, S.C., she was scrambling about in the background for years before the release of her three solo albums – Black Diamond, Mahogany Soul and the new Stone Love. She's been heard with the rap group Sequence, as lead singer for the R&B funk group Vertical Hold and as a backup singer and songwriter for D'Angelo. She's written lyrics for Blige and played saxophone in Lenny Kravitz's band.

And D'Angelo, for those keeping score, is also the father of Stone's son, Michael.

Wearing a cobalt-blue top and rhinestone-studded blue jeans, the retro-Afroed Stone headlined a night that was pure Philly soul. She has a big voice, but many of the new R&B singers share that same gospel upbringing.

Stone also has a sense of where the music came from; her "No More Rain (In This Cloud)" samples Gladys Knight & the Pips' "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)."

But while modern influences are on their records, their was little of that Thursday. Yet another R&B singer with a gospel background, Hamilton was a natty-looking fellow in gray suit, red shirt, brilliant white shoes and tan fedora.

When he whipped his jacket off, he drew ooohs from the women, although you suspect the diminutive Hamilton isn't cut from the same hardwood as Usher. Nevertheless, as he started juking around the stage like the son of Michael Jackson and Sammy Davis Jr., the crowd began picking up steam.

Late in his show, he had waded deep into the crowd, getting people on their feet, then climbed back onstage for a rousing call-and-response of "I love you" on his set-closing "Coming From Where I'm From."

They're one notch below the neo-soul stars. But if anything is to be learned from a tour featuring Stone, Hamilton and the Japanese Marvin Gaye, it's this: Sometimes the cream lies just below the surface.

JSPEVAK@DemocratandChronicle.com