Review: John Lennon Songbook

Thought I’d tell you all about a superb concert I attended last night at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. It was part of the European Capital of Culture events taking place in the city throughout 2008. If you hadn’t figured it out, the concert featured the music of John Lennon and was performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra with singers Curtis Stigers, Claire Martin and Mark McGann. Many of John’s great hits were performed, including Beatles songs as well as his solo work. Between songs, Mark narrated the story of John’s life as photos were projected onto a large screen at the back of the stage behind the orchestra.

As a Curtis Stigers fan, his performing at the event was the initial attraction, but I was also keen to hear a different sound to Lennon’s songs through the orchestral interpretations. I certainly wasn’t disappointed. The orchestra was fantastic and just about every song they performed made the hairs on my arms stand up with excitement. I was also blown away by Claire Martin’s voice. I knew the name, but I’m not familiar with any of her work. She’s a jazz singer with an incredibly strong yet very smooth voice.

Each of the three singers took various turns performing with the orchestra and accompanying band, sometimes performing duets with each other and occasionally all three would sing. In the first half of the show, songs included “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away”, “Ticket To Ride” and “A Day In The Life”, before heading to the interval with “All You Need Is Love”, sung by Curtis, Claire and Mark, with a little help from the audience during the chorus. As the song faded, the three singers joyfully marched off the stage, still singing, and were followed by all the members of the orchestra, most of who were still playing. It left only the conductor, John Wilson, directing an empty stage.

After a twenty minute interval, everyone returned to the stage for the second half of the show which began with a stomping rendition of “I Am The Walrus”. Later, Curtis and Claire dueted on one of my favourite John Lennon songs, “Two Of Us”. This was by far the best version of this song I’ve ever heard. Claire’s harmonies with Curtis, combined with the orchestra, was exquisite.

The story of John’s life continued, telling of the end of The Beatles, how he met Yoko Ono, became a father and found real happiness in his life. Curtis performed “Love” and “Jealous Guy” as the concert headed towards its conclusion. The story ended with a drum beating the sound of the gunshots that ended Lennon’s life so tragically early. There was only ever going to be one song that could be played after that, “Imagine” – its message needing to be heard today more than ever. All three singers were again on stage and at the end everyone in the audience was on their feet applauding them and the orchestra.

After lengthy applause and cheering, we got an encore with a repeat of “All You Need Is Love”, this time with even more of the audience singing and clapping along. The appreciation seemed to overwhelm everyone on stage and they had to return three times to take a bow.