Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Leon Russell - Tuesday 3rd August - Jazz Cafe, Camden

A trip to the Jazz Cafe to see Leon Russell - an artist who has the "legendary" tag pinned to him and is likely to acquire more UK prominence in the near future when his duets album with Elton John comes out. Surprisingly, there was absolutely no mention of that collaboration during the 80 minute set (straight through - no encore) of Southern bluesy guitar and piano with a bit of storytelling thrown in for good measure.

Starting with his most recognisable song, Delta Lady, the sound and vocals weren't great, but did improve. You have to say, that whilst his piano playing was good, the vocals were that of a 68 year old. A fair few cover versions were thrown in later which kept things enjoyable, but this was a pleasant if not outstanding evening. In summary, I'm glad I've seen him - but suspect this will be a one-off for me.

Set (Included)
Delta Lady
Hummingbird

A Song For You
Wild Horses
A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
Georgia On My Mind
Jumping Jack Flash / Papa Was A Rolling Stone (Medley)
Great Balls Of Fire / Roll Over Beethoven (Medley)

1 comment:

Paul G said...

I couldn't agree more.
From the opening vocals on Delta Lady I knew this was going to be a disappointment. I gave it an hour then left Not my favourite venue either and downstairs the sound was just too loud for comfort.Such a shame as the guy is a legend (great memories of the Mad Dogs tour).