Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham are two of the principal architects of the southern soul sound: white men who wrote some of the greatest soul standards, including James Carr's Dark End of the Street and Aretha Franklin's Do Right Woman. This rare tour is in support of the re-release of their live album, Moments From This Theatre, on which they reclaim their greatest hits.

The record is lovely; the live show is more problematic. Oddly, they seem to be playing the songs in the same order as they appear on the album, creating a niggling feeling of performance by rote. With the first few, it becomes obvious that the fire and tension of the best known versions has been muted, replaced by a more reflective passion. After a few more, however, the laid-back, countryish style becomes tedious. Despite their songwriting chops, neither is a particularly adept musician: Penn strums blandly on his acoustic guitar, Oldham noodles away on his organ, swaddling the songs with reverence rather than injecting dynamism. Sure, Penn has a rich, expressive voice, but it lacks danger or surprise, particularly in these soporific settings.

The between-song banter, such as it is, doesn't help. Penn and Oldham mumble at each other in a well-rehearsed way. Stories about the gestation of the music rarely get more gripping than, "And I said, 'I think we need another verse here,' and he said 'OK.'"

Slumbering when it should smoulder, this is soul largely bleached of its magic. Talking about the songs at one point, Penn hits the nail on the head: "We were pretty good, but then the black singers would get hold of them..."

· At St James's Church, London W1, on June 1. Box office: 020-7381 0441