LIVERPOOL EMPIRE - 26 FEBRUARY, 2004
('DAILY POST' - Review by Andrew Judge)
"Barbara Dickson went back to her roots and took a very happy audience with her. The award-winning singer from Dunfermline is on a mini-tour - five dates only - and played her penultimate show for the "good people of Liverpool".
It is a creative concert trek where Barbara decided from the outset to perform some of the traditional Celtic songs that mean so much to her - but there was something for every dedicated Dickson fan. The first half was dedicated to the weaving, lyrical musical heritage of her upbringing and was an enjoyable start to a diverse two-hour plus show.
She opened with a faultless acapella version of the classic song 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face', giving it a whole new texture. Aided by her on stage "orchestra" of three: Neil on piano, Troy on pipes and Jerry on guitar, it was a celebration of the talent and personality that has taken Barbara from the provincial folk clubs to the West End.
She spoke fondly of "Blood Brothers" and sang the Willy Russell classic 'Easy Terms' with all the poignancy that has won her portrayal of Mrs Johnstone wide critical acclaim. Of course, Barbara owes a lot to the musical "John Paul George Ringo...& Bert" which started at the Everyman in 1973. Barbara also delivered two Lennon and McCartney songs through her own beautiful interpretations of 'She's Leaving Home' and a soaring 'In My Life'.
There were plenty of her own hits to enjoy. 'Another Suitcase In Another Hall' from "Evita" to 'The Caravan Song'. And on cover versions she was striking - notably Stephen Bishop's 'Separate Lives', a hit for Phil Collins. Barbara regards the tour as "an experiment" with all genres covered from "The 7 Ages of Woman" theatre production to her own tribute to Brecht.
She joked with the wide age group audience and spoke about how the English don't seem to like their folk music as, for the Scots she simply smiled as she sang 'The Skye Boat Song'.
Barbara's carefully planned and structured show was joy from traditional start to finish and with a fair slice of her brilliant back catalogue in between."
