BARBARA DICKSON - ST. DAVID'S HALL, CARDIFF
(Western Mail - 19th March, 2005)
'SHOW BARBARA THE WAY TO NUMBER ONE'
Barbara Dickson has enjoyed a varied and successful career since starting out in the folk clubs in her native Scotland.
After some pop music hits in the mid '70s she appeared in the hit musicals Blues Brothers, Chess and Evita through the '80s and into television with Band of Gold in the '90s with brilliant effect.
On this occasion she was backed by a superb four-piece band with Troy Donockley, who arranged and produced the album, showing his versatility on guitars, Uillean pipes, tin whistle, harmonium and bodhran.
An atmospheric and haunting sound topped off by Ms Dickson's powerful vocals with beautifully controlled emotion was a spellbinding concoction and the smoke effects gave an eerie feel to the performance.
Barbara's voice seems to get better with age and the purity came through when singing the Corpus Christi Carol and Eriskay Love Song stunned a disappointingly small crowd.
Mixed in with songs from the new album were some songs from American songwriters James Taylor and Tom Waits which although favourites of Barbara did not go down too well with the punters.
But her 1979 hit Caravan Song sounded as fresh as the day it was released and brought the audience to its feet.
If Tony Christie could hit the No 1 spot next week with Show Me The Way To Amarillo, there's surely a case for re-releasing this Mike Batt written number which sounds a certain hit to me.
We were treated to Barbara's interpretations of songs by The Beatles and The Everly Brothers and a couple of Bob Dylan numbers, Don't Think Twice It's All Right and Blowing In The Wind from an album she made of the great man's songs.
She is simply one of the better British female singers and much better with the songs she grew up with than the boring old show numbers she got bogged down with some years ago.
Forget any preconceived ideas you may have of her being a singer in musicals settling for the easy life and going nowhere.
This performance was fresh and sassy and right up there with the best of modern music.
(Eric Burton)
