Post by Emerald City on Mar 1, 2005 18:04:37 GMT -5
Mary Wilson's jazzy turn still Supreme
By Robert Nesti
Sunday, February 27, 2005
``Remember Blinstrubs?'' asked Mary Wilson to the sold-out crowd at Scullers on Friday night. It was 40 years ago that Mary Wilson first came to that long-gone Boston club as a member of the Supremes; and some present even acknowledged seeing her there. For better or worse, the 60-year-old singer will always be a Supreme, which may account for the liberal dose of the group's biggest hits she peppered through her hour-long set. The abundant baby boomers in the audience were certainly appreciative, a number even joining her on stage for an impromptu love-in during ``Stop! In the Name of Love!''
What was refreshing was how Wilson brought a more soulful belt to the songs that remain more familiar through Diana Ross' more breathy interpretations, even putting a jazzy spin to ``My World is Empty Without You.'' Still the fact that Wilson felt it necessary to turn the set into a mini-tribute to the group turned the evening into something closer to one of those retro oldies shows than a showcase to her still considerable vocal prowess.
Her voice may have wavered some, but she is a thoughtful jazz interpreter who would have benefited from more jazz and less pop. (``I tried to keep it jazz,'' she quipped. ``Don't blame me,''she said after she was swamped by her fans onstage.)
Her a cappella rendering of the classic ``Strange Fruit,'' the song about a lynching made famous by Billie Holiday, was hauntingly effective; as was her touching version of Eric Clapton's ``Tears in Heaven,'' which she made more personal by telling the story of how she lost one of her children more than a decade ago Best of all was her no-holds-barred ``I Am Changing,'' the anthem
from ``Dreamgirls,'' which she dedicated to Florence Ballard, her fellow Supreme who died in 1976 in relative obscurity.
Her swooping, gospel-inspired delivery brought goose bumps, and cannily framed her recollections of her early days with the most classic of 1960s girl groups.
By Robert Nesti
Sunday, February 27, 2005
``Remember Blinstrubs?'' asked Mary Wilson to the sold-out crowd at Scullers on Friday night. It was 40 years ago that Mary Wilson first came to that long-gone Boston club as a member of the Supremes; and some present even acknowledged seeing her there. For better or worse, the 60-year-old singer will always be a Supreme, which may account for the liberal dose of the group's biggest hits she peppered through her hour-long set. The abundant baby boomers in the audience were certainly appreciative, a number even joining her on stage for an impromptu love-in during ``Stop! In the Name of Love!''
What was refreshing was how Wilson brought a more soulful belt to the songs that remain more familiar through Diana Ross' more breathy interpretations, even putting a jazzy spin to ``My World is Empty Without You.'' Still the fact that Wilson felt it necessary to turn the set into a mini-tribute to the group turned the evening into something closer to one of those retro oldies shows than a showcase to her still considerable vocal prowess.
Her voice may have wavered some, but she is a thoughtful jazz interpreter who would have benefited from more jazz and less pop. (``I tried to keep it jazz,'' she quipped. ``Don't blame me,''she said after she was swamped by her fans onstage.)
Her a cappella rendering of the classic ``Strange Fruit,'' the song about a lynching made famous by Billie Holiday, was hauntingly effective; as was her touching version of Eric Clapton's ``Tears in Heaven,'' which she made more personal by telling the story of how she lost one of her children more than a decade ago Best of all was her no-holds-barred ``I Am Changing,'' the anthem
from ``Dreamgirls,'' which she dedicated to Florence Ballard, her fellow Supreme who died in 1976 in relative obscurity.
Her swooping, gospel-inspired delivery brought goose bumps, and cannily framed her recollections of her early days with the most classic of 1960s girl groups.
