** Erykah Badu

LIVE

(Kedar/Universal)

For all the good things about Erykah Badu's platinum-plus debut, there was always something contrived -- not to mention a little daffy -- about her Billie Holiday inflections, Earth Mama head scarves, and Afrocentric mysticism. Now, only seven months after Baduizm, this 26-year-old soul singer lays that criticism to rest in a live set that proves she's a lot daffy. Sporting butterfly wings on the album cover, baring her pregnant belly on the back, and dropping oddball monologues throughout, Badu is so completely and fascinatingly enwrapped in her act that questions of how and why she developed her image become moot. It proves she shares more with a self-constructed pop weirdo like Prince than a natural original like Lady Day. Unfortunately, as with most pop artists, her idiosyncratic charm works best with either visual effects or studio polish attached. The wonderful new song "Tyrone" gets that polish in a bonus remix, but with everything else, you probably had to be there.

-- Franklin Soults