Read below for more soul music round-ups!
Anna Aarons – ‘In Memory of Amy’ at Pizza Express High Holborn (9th August 2018)
London-based vocalist Anna Aarons performed a two-set gig at Pizza Express High Holborn last Thursday, paying homage to one of her defining musical influences: the late Amy Winehouse. The setlist covered Winehouse’s debut album Frank, her seminal Back to Black, and the posthumously released Lioness: Hidden Treasures. Beginning with ‘Stronger Than Me’, a brilliantly spikey lyric as Winehouse demands strength and sexual aggression from her man, Aarons flexed her muscular, jazz-inflected vocals. On songs such as the hilariously blunt ‘Me and Mr Jones’, Aarons stomped with attitude, while also embracing the melancholic theatricality of ‘Back to Black’. She also shone on cuts from the Lioness album, including a jaunty rendition of ‘The Girl From Ipanema’. Her penultimate number proved to be her most moving. Written by Brian May as a tribute to Freddie Mercury, Aarons delivered ‘No One But You (Only the Good Die Young)’ in memory of Amy. Though written for another musical icon, the lyrics have a poignancy that felt wholly applicable to Winehouse – a life cut too short.
The full band: Josh Ali on guitar, Mehmet Raif on bass, Will Jackson on drums and Ella Murdoch on backing vocals.
Listen to Aarons’ original single ‘Life’ here.
La’Porsha Renae – ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’
The American Idol runner-up has released a modernised rendition of Tina Turner’s smash hit ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’ (1984) as her newest single. Her distinct tone cuts through on this beat and synth-laden cover. It certainly comes together as a viable interpretation, with several nice vocal moments – such as the way her voice breaks at the song’s bridge. However, is it compelling enough to exist alongside the original? Perhaps not.
Peabo Bryson – ‘Looking For Sade’
Sade is unarguably one of history’s most beautiful women. Hence, she is not deserving of this schlock, schmaltzy ballad pumped full of cliches. ‘You are a part of me / You’re my hopes, my dreams, the air I breathe’, a slightly dated Peabo Bryson sings against a faux-Latin arrangement.
(Image Copyright: Anna Aarons, La’Porsha Renae, Perspective Records)
