Date: 01 July 2009
By Terry Kelly
THERE cannot be many performers around who have enjoyed hits spanning more than half a century. But Neil Sedaka has proven his staying power, from the early days of rock 'n' roll to the age of the Internet.
At 70, the Brooklyn-born songsmith, who honed his songwriting skills at the Brill Building in New York with Carole King, remains a class act.
The concert began with footage of a stream of musical greats, from Elvis to Sinatra, who have covered Sedaka's songs.
Performing solo at a Steinway grand piano throughout, classically-trained Sedaka explored his impressive back catalogue, from early hits like Oh! Carol and Calendar Girl to 2009's You Are the Music of My Life.
For me, the highlights were moving versions of Going Nowhere, Betty Grable, the slow version of Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, and The Hungry Years, plus the song Michael Jackson told him was his favourite Sedaka song, Laughter In The Rain.
And there was still room for an encore of the recent massive UK charity hit, Amarillo (Is This The Way To), which had the capacity crowd dancing in their seats.
http://www.shieldsgazette.com/livereview/Neil-Sedaka-The-Sage-Gateshead.5417667.jp
No comments:
Post a Comment