Upstairs at The Gatehouse.
The real joy of 1960s music – and the secret of its lasting popularity – is that the melody almost always sits at the top of the texture, unlike so much of the bass-driven stuff which has come since. The lyrics were clearly articulated too. Add to the mix those wonderful full circle skirts supported by layers of stiff gauzy petticoats and you’ve created a crowd-pleaser, if nothing else.
Neil Sedaka was an astonishingly prolific songwriter in the early 60s and this vehicle for his music provides plenty of those early songs, along with some later numbers. And the presence of a fine four-piece band (led by MD Oliver Hance on keyboards) ensures that every one of them comes off with chirpy panache ….
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