Judy Collins at The Sage 9th Feb 2010

Definition of a true class act
JUDY COLLINS
The Sage Gateshead

FOLK music legend Judy Collins gave a stunning demonstration of vocal precision and stagecraft for her appreciative Tyneside audience. Excavating a back catalogue stretching back half a century, Collins proved that a quality artist can brush away the years in performance.

Opening with her hit versions of Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now and Ian Tyson’s Someday Soon, the US folk queen never put a foot wrong during a 90 minute show studded with standout moments, performing highly complex songs with ease and grace. Early folk favourites like Golden Apples of the Sun and Maid of Constant Sorrow sat easily with sensitive readings of Leonard Cohen’s Suzanne or Stephen Sondheim’s Send in the Clowns.

Accompanied by a 12-string acoustic guitar and a piano player, Collins evoked memories of her radio producer father with Lorenz and Hart’s Where or When, while Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Danny Boy, during which she coaxed the audience to sing, were unexpected delights.

Vocal highlights included her self-penned Since You’ve Asked, Anathea (which inspired Bob Dylan’s Seven Curses) and a memorable reading of Jimmy Webb’s Paul Gauguin in the South Seas.

It may be a cliche, but Judy Collins is the living definition of a class act.

TERRY KELLY