The O’Jays offered up a wealth of nostalgia, but with strong vocals too.
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Last night, Philadelphia soul legends The O’Jays occupied Theatre Royal Drury Lane, currently home to 42nd Street, for a special ‘one night only’ concert.
As with any legacy artist or group, I was concerned that the concert would be fuelled solely by nostalgia. Call me a cynic, but I’m sure a large proportion of the audience were less interested in hearing high-quality musicianship, and more invested in singing along to 1970s Philly soul classics in the presence of the group who originated them.
Fortunately, however, the group was on very good form. Eddie Levert in particular can still rouse audiences with this full-throttle gravelly belt. The group was supported by a strong live band, with an impressive horn section.
They tackled most of their greatest hits, albeit many were condensed into vignettes and medleys. I was sadly denied the full six minutes of ‘Stairway To Heaven’, but the brief segment performed was passionately sung. Other highlights included the paranoid ‘Backstabbers’, and the irresistibly funky ‘For The Love of Money’. The sound mix combined with audience singing drowned out the group slightly on the uptempo, disco numbers – but it was undeniably crowd-pleasing fun.
While the set was fairly predictable, the opening certainly surprised. Images of the African continent, the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, and racial violence and unrest in the United States were presented on a screen as the theatre filled with smoke. Each member of The O’Jays (Eddie Levert, Walter Williams, and Eric Nolan Grant) walked out individually, singing the haunting chorus of ‘Ship Ahoy’ – an epic re-telling of African slaves being transported through the Middle Passage. Levert later explained that they chose ‘Ship Ahoy’ to put into perspective the success of The O’Jays given the historic (and still very present) oppression of African-Americans.
There were a handful of decidedly political moments throughout the night, with Levert expressing his distaste for the current occupant of the White House. This prompted an audience member to signal to Levert and shout ‘no politics’ – a bizarre interaction which the group nipped in the bud with a performance of ‘Love Train’ (indeed, a political song but inoffensively so).
Supporting The O’Jays was Natasha Watts, an independent artist who has toured with Gladys Knight and has been featured on tracks with Cool Million. I reviewed Watts singing Janette Mason’s re-arranged soul covers here, and was fortunate to hear Watts’ original material last night. Her clear tones and elastic range soared on a selection of mellow yet funky tunes.
(Image Copyright: O’Jays Gigs Inc.)
