SharePaul Carrack with special guest Lauren Ray performing his 2019 Tour at The Royal Concert Hall Nottingham on Thursday 14th February 2019
Images and Review by Kevin Cooper
Paul Carrack, the man with the golden voice, returned to Nottingham last night to play before a packed Royal Concert Hall and with his talented six piece band, delivered a set that was littered with songs from his latest album, These Days, and an array of his greatest hits.
Opening the proceedings with just her keyboard and a spotlight was the delightful Lauren Ray who filled the auditorium with her wonderful natural and pure vocal delivery on songs from her first album We Will Need Courage, with the likes of Drive and Unexpected Man which showcased her writing abilities, whilst new songs from Woman In The Arena went down just as well, with a set highlight being Irreplaceable.
Finishing with the very moving Come To Me, Ray had convinced this audience that she is a bundle of natural talent.
Carrack needed no introduction and as he took to the stage wearing his obligatory hat and opened with Late At Night and with its subliminal saxophone playing from Steve Breighton, it set the bar high for the rest of the evening.
Satisfy My Soul and Tempted came very early on whilst Eyes Of Blue gripped this audience with Carrack’s soulful voice. An acoustic interlude saw him with his son Jack and guitarist Andy Staves on bass deliver the beautiful Let Me Love Again, All That Matters To Me and Life’s Too Short which had everyone clapping.
New songs from his latest album were very well received, especially Life In A Bubble, Perfect Storm, the reggae tinged title track, These Days, and Amazing with its simply brilliant guitar work.
Taking the audience to the finishing line was Love Will keep Us Alive dedicated to the late Glenn Frey of The Eagles fame, an epic Bet Your Life and the songs that had everyone on their feet, The Living Years and How Long.
For the encore it had to be Over My Shoulder and a stalwart of any Carrack performance, Marvin Gaye’s soulful classic What’s Going On that brought to an end a master class in modest, precision-honed musical craftsmanship.
