Richie Stephens (at left) and Ken Boothe perform at 'Take Me Away' a concert with Richie Stephens and Friends, held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, Knutsford Boulevard, New Kingston on Sunday, May 29. - WINSTON SILL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
IT MAY be a bit premature, presumptuous even, but Richie Stephens and Friends' Take Me Away concert was the show of the year.
Delivering on every aspect that makes a show a must see from a good line up, to a timely start, to great performances and a few surprise artistes thrown in for good measure - the show lived up to and even surpassed expectations.
Opening the show, Stephens started with his recent hit, Wheel And Come Again before moving into his 90's collaboration with the late Garnett Silk, Fight Back. As he grooved into Lady, Lady, Lady he had the audience singing and swaying along. After a beautiful rendition of There's No Me Without You, he closed the segment with one of his best known covers Wildflower which he dedicated to his mother.
After a brief performance by Heather Cummings a member of the hard working back up singing trio Lloyd Parkes, minus the bass guitar, took the stage. In his incarnation as singer, he took patrons down memory lane with his 70's hit Officially before performing Reservation For Two and a more recent song The Woman Is Nice.
An equally nice woman, Della Manley delivered her usually mellow stylings of her hit Bitter Sweet as well as a cover of Norah Jones' Don't Know Why.
The pace picked up a bit with the energetic John Williams and his "reggaeised" violin version of popular gospel song Stomp and a version of Luciano's It's Me Again Jah which he renamed It's Me Again Lord.
And then it was time for class personified, as Pam Hall took the stage. Opening with her rendition of Perfidia popularised locally by Phyllis Dillon, she then moved into Hard To Be A Woman. Hall opened her rocksteady renditions with yet another Phyllis Dillon classic Don't Stay Away and the Pegasus ballroom became a dancehall. She soon moved into First Cut Is The Deepest, then Dawn Penn's You Don't Love Me (No No No). Slowing the pace down, she called Stephens back on stage and they both sang Baby Come To Me.
DOWN HARMONY LANE
Shortly afterwards the audience was taken down harmony lane as Lukie D, Singing Melody and Thriller U, (LUST) took the stage. Opening with an homage to the heavenly Father, they crooned Let It Be before moving into Run Free and Sweetness Of Your Love and ended with Rosanna.
The harmonising continued with Brian and Tony Gold who sang Can You and Irresistible before being joined on stage by LUST and Stephens for a soulful performance of I Wanna Hold Your Hand.
After the brief intermission, Cummings and Stephens performed his most recent hit Take Me Way before Ernie Smith took the stage and delivered hit after hit. From Life is Just for Living, One Dream, Duppy Or A Gunman, to Tears on my Pillow, patrons lapped it all up.
More veteran hit makers were to come, as Smith was followed by Ken Boothe. Ever the consummate performer, he reeled of Train Is Coming, I think You're Nice, Everything I Own and Try a Little Tenderness with his customary dropping of legs and spins.
After brief impromptu performances by Coco T, George Nooks and Shaggy, the show soon closed as Stephens was joined on stage by the Bethel Baptist Youth Chorale to perform Father I Love You. And at shortly after 11:40 p.m. a well satisfied audience went home.
Yolande Gyles
