Rich Proves He’s Much More Than Just a Clone of Babyface

With long arms stretched out, head cocked down and the brim of his hat hovering over his orange sunglasses, the lanky Tony Rich showed during his impressive show on Tuesday at the House of Blues that he knows how to strike a cool pose.

But Rich is definitely no poseur. The Detroit native is one of R&B;’s most successful new arrivals, with an acclaimed debut album and a Top 10 hit in “Nobody Knows.” And the show proved that he’s much more than a clone of Babyface, with whom he’s often compared. Rich has a strong stage presence and a funky yet often gentle sound that’s all his own.

Accompanied by a taut, eight-piece group that occasionally sounded twice as large, Rich expanded his musical horizons, offering rousing versions of his fully realized album tracks. The beauty of the set wasn’t just the vibrant renditions of such heartfelt songs as “Grass Is Green,” “Leavin’ ” and “Nobody Knows,” it was the expert juxtaposition of shifting moods and color.

The band moved from hot to cool at the snap of Rich’s fingers, one minute loud and bold, with soaring electric guitar riffs reminiscent of Ernie Isley’s melodic wails, and the next quiet and gentle, like something from Prince’s early “For You” period. Rich managed never to become overshadowed by his own sounds--he always maintained control.

“Like a Woman,” a relatively lackluster album track, offered the most pleasant surprise of the night, expanded to include tempo alterations that made it radically different from the recorded version. Breaking things down without warning, Rich let hints of Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)” creep through the chord changes, one minute wild, the next deeply funky, the next laid-back in the groove.

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No matter what the song, Rich distinguished himself with a clear, elegant tenor that easily broke through the mix. Prowling the stage with a cool strut characterized in the lyrics of his song “Billy Goat,” Rich seemed confident and at ease, sometimes picking up his acoustic guitar, at other times sitting on a stool near his piano, always filling the air with melodic, deeply soulful tones.

Second-billed Strangefruit was like a Me’Shell NdegeOcello multiplied by five, with a few dashes of Fishbone added for good measure. Mixing poetic scats with hard, thumping rhythms, the female rock-funk outfit was most effective when the singers spouted free-form poetry while the rest of the group rocked with loud cacophony. They’re struggling to define their voices, but they have the potential to make great music.