Words cannot express how Dita and I felt after seeing Lionel Richie's concert a few nights ago. The man still can saaaang!!! That night, he simply brought the house down. I mean the whole full house down! He sang and sang. He teased you with some balads on piano, commanded the crowd....
I realize this is what differentiates the old schools with the contemporary musicians. The old schools sing live! Real singing. Out of 20ish tunes he sang, no one was played back. Real live throughout two hours of concert duration! I mean... how old is he now? (according to Wikipedia, he's almost 58!) Yet, what we saw that night was someone much younger in his energy and passion to the music.
Although it is not fair to compare him vocally with his 20's vocal cords (the time when he hit the high notes on Easy, for example, with little effort), overall his 'soul' voice was still there and lasted until he closed his concert with the well-known All Night Long, which reminded me of his oustanding performance at the closing ceremony of the 1984's Summer Olympics in LA. The song was just one of his anthems. I repeat... just one of them! Because throughout the night, the crowd sang along with most of his melodious songs, starting for The Commodores era until his recent album, Coming Home. To name the few (they are also my favorites): Three Times a Lady, Stuck on You, Ballerina Girl, Just for You, Penny Lover, and many more. To me, the guy deserves the title of the King of Soul! Those songs he wrote stick to your mind until you die!
I remember how I was introduced to his music. It was through my eldest brother, Manto, who was once a big fan of his. I was only 11 or 12 then. He used to have a complete collection of Lionel's albums which I used to 'steal' from him and listen to them without his permission! (ahahaha...) It's a pity, Manto was not in the concert with us. I wondered if he still likes Lionel like I always do. Although I have literally never been a big fan, I always enjoy listening to him, like how I love listening to Luther Vandross and all the other old-school alikes.
Lionel is a true legend. He has survived the test of time. Although at some point, he was missing from the industry for whatever reason, he proved that the traditional R&B music still has place in the world music map these days amid strong waves from what I call non-melodious music like what we can hear today. Now that he is back and everyone in the house loved him. The true legend obviously knows how to deliver a good concert and makes people feel good about spending their money for such an entertainment. He also knows how to communicate with and command the crowd. It seemed an easy task for him to command all the ladies in the house to sing Diana Ross's part on Endless Love. Such a joyful ambience! In brief, the concert was superb. The only disappointing part (at least for Dita) is that he did not sing her favorite song, Tender Heart (don't worry baby, I'll sing it for you 'live' when we get home! Ahahaha....)
So far, there is no sign whatsoever from him to put his microphone down in the near future. So, I can still look forward to her new album and possibly seeing him live again. A bientot, Lionel! Thanks for such a brilliant concert!
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