IN BETWEEN show-stopping numbers, Astley was effusive with gratitude and generous with praise. PHOTOS COURTESY OF SOLAIRE
It takes a truly idiosyncratic vocalist to perform songs as musically disparate as Stock, Aitken and Waterman’s ’80s dance staple, “Whenever You Need Somebody,” a 1966 Temptations classic with a fascinating back story (“Ain’t Too Proud to Beg”) and Clean Bandit’s Grammy-winning 2014 dance track, “Rather Be,” and make them sound cohesive in a hefty repertoire of dance and adult-contemporary tunes.
Rick Astley accomplished that impressive feat in his one-night concert at the Theatre in Solaire last Monday, proficiently demonstrating how genuine talent transcends time, genre, musical fads and pop twaddle —with show-stopping flair and panache!
Except for some perceptible frown lines, the singer, who will turn 50 on Feb. 6, has maintained his youthful, lean-and-lithe frame, devoid of middle-age paunch, and accentuated by his unmoving bouffant. He looked dashing in a dapper suit as he happily struck a pose with the giddy, selfie-seeking audience members in the middle of his production numbers.
The British pop star was as playful with his fans as he was effusive with gratitude (“They love me here. Would you still watch if I come here again?”) and generous with praise, noting the Filipino people’s resilience in the face of destructive natural calamities: “This (your country) is a very special place because, despite your problems, you always rise above them,” he says.
Terpsichorean sizzle
Rick didn’t just sing the groove-heavy, dance-floor dazzlers (like “Together Forever,” “My Arms Keep Missing You,” “Take Me to Your Heart” and “Never Gonna Give You Up”) that catapulted him to global stardom, he also covered Pharrell Williams’ “Happy,” Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” and Chic’s 1977 disco ditty, “Everybody Dance,” and gave them added zing and terpsichorean sizzle.
The singer certainly knows how to “sell” his songs—to demonstrate, the wispy old lady beside us tried to contain her excitement during the first two songs in the repertoire, but by the third number (“She Wants to Dance With Me”), she rose to her feet, cheered loudly, turned to us with some hint of embarrassment and said, “I’m going to dance!”
It didn’t take long for the younger members of the audience to jump on the “rickrolling” bandwagon, and jiggle with their older counterparts, who grooved just as hard when the steel-voiced singer launched into his rollicking version of Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk,” made feistier by the gargantuan fizz and musical dazzle provided by Astley’s disarming voice.
More than anything, Astley’s appealingly malleable baritone was the concert’s biggest draw, because it has remained as supple and note-perfect as it was 28 years ago, when he first wowed the pop-music crowd with the release of “Never Gonna Give You Up,” his first No. 1 single.
His deeply resonant voice was in tip-top shape as he navigated his way around the complex bends, curves and curls of his exquisite ballads—from “Cry for Help,” his soul-stirring plea for openness, and his exquisite “When I Fall in Love” cover, to the self-penned “The Ones You Love,” written for his now-23-year-old daughter, Emilie (with his wife, Oscar-nominated producer Lene Bausager), before she was born.
Rick doesn’t need to “overperform” a song’s complex runs to prove his performing mettle, because his cracklingly vivid renditions and interpretive ability are enough to generate awe. His note-belting and range-scaling skills are just as impeccable, and you’ll hardly hear him strain as he reaches for the big notes.
It may sound spectacularly daunting for someone who’s about to hit the golden age —but, for Rick Astley, you can’t go wrong if your prodigious talent is as big as your heart!