Alexander O'Neal
Arriving a little late but ready to burn, Alexander O'Neal carried the torch for live and in-your-face soul and funk stylings. Good that he does as we have lost James, Luther, Ray, Wilson, the Temptations originals and now Levi Stubbs. First impression : what a strong, clear, characterful voice this man has. Second : terrific band, including three backup singers, three keyboardists (hence string and brass elements of arrangements well-covered albeit by synthesis), a king-of-the-backbeat drummer with a crisp snare sound and an inventive guitarist. The bass-heavy tunes were particularly well-served by this ensemble, though O'Neal was careful to give his vocalists plenty of space and recognition.
As a performer, Alexander sings the songs with spirit but also throws in brief stories, backgrounds and explanations and better still, it is all shot through with dark humour. A good stance because some 'soul' singers have taken affection and faux sincerity too far and marched their acts straight into the cornfields. No danger of that with O'Neal, he seems too canny.
Songwise the setlist was quite a treat. 'All True Man' was linear and soulful and showed off the chorale to particularly good effect. Throughout the show the band sound was rich and deep. Over some of the intro's the band fed in Chris Jasper-style (Isleys' keyboardist) tones as O'Neal spoke. When he called for an organ break at one point, there it was instant gospel. His 'Hearsay' album is in retrospect a sound treatise on human behaviour, it's all there in the lyrics - jealousy, bitching, heartbreak, insincerity. 'To Make You Love Me' had the crowd whooping as did a gentle roll through early hit 'If You Were Here'. Acoustic guitar from 'Kevin from Toronto' made this a delight for the ears and took the edge off the Eighties trademark Jam&Lewis factors of squeaky synths and echoey drums.
It was worth turning up to hear his strident take on 'What Is This Thing Called Love'. By the time he hit 'Criticize' over a fullflow band thump, Alexander was inviting audience members onto the stage to groove with him as he put the guitar man into electric solo mode and instantly the group seemed to turn into Mother's Finest (that's a compliment, by the way),
A frantic 'Fake' and then he was gone, but not before throwing in S Wonder's 'Happy Birthday' for a swooning female fan. A quality act in a good setting.
Pete Sargeant www.fairhearing.co.uk