There is no mistaking Alison Moyets distinctive, bluesy voice but her musical style has come a long way since her power ballad days.

She kicked off her concert to a sell-out crowd with a melodic and soulful version of Michel LeGrands Windmills Of Your Mind.

Backed by a stunning string quartet, her booming but sweet voice filled the concert hall in a way many of todays more popfriendly stars could only dream of matching.

La Chanson Des Vieux Amants, by Jacques Brel and from her most personal album, Voice, was a succinct lesson in the art of la chanson francaise. It revealed yet another string to Moyets bow and evoked images of Parisian chic.

Tunes sung from her comeback Hometime album varied from mellow, smoky bar sounds to songs with a slightly more Seventies vibe.

Other songs verged on being almost Requiem-like but while folk sound Wraggle Taggle Gypsies O! didnt exactly sound like the basis for a good record, it was surprisingly good and almost catchy.

Moyets cover of Elvis Costellos and Burt Bacharachs God Give Me Strength was a competent rendition.

Cry Me A River by Arthur Hamilton was another good lounge-style track which gave Moyet a chance to show off her divas voice.

Her fans no doubt loved it and as an exercise in showing off Moyets sheer versatility, the set worked well.

But if there is one criticism to be made of Moyet, it is that the majority of her performance lacked anything upbeat or passionate.

As a cure for insomnia, it was great but most of the time Moyet never got out of first gear, which is a shame for someone ofher talent.

Her voice is so diverse and powerful that you feel she should be able to stretch it more with a wide range of speeds and styles.

A return to her power ballads of the Eighties is obviously not what Moyet wants but a few bars of Love Resurrection or Weak In The Presence Of Beauty would have been a welcome addition.