Engelbert Humperdinck and Crystal Gayle

Lets face it the popularity of crooner pop that dominated the music charts in the 50s and 60s started to die out when hard rock entered the mainstream. In the 80s orchestras were being displaced by synthesizers; however, the genre of operatic pop is one that can't be easily forgotten nor replaced. There are few if any modern musicians that can capture this classic operatic pop sound. So if you want to hear this style there is a good chance you are going to have to hear it from the pros themselves. Engelbert Humperdink is one of these pros and his live shows do not disappoint. His voice is rich and focused and delivered with such suave that the hearts of the audience will melt away. Humperdinck is in his late 70s but delivers performances that surpass the hour and a half marker. He takes the audience throughout his career highlighting such hits as "Blue Spanish Eyes", "Release Me" and "I Can't Stop Loving You". He even threw in some surprising cover songs as well. He put an interesting spin on rock classics like "Something" by the Beatles and "I'm On Fire" by Bruce Springsteen.
Engelbert not only knows how to pick a setlist he also knows how to organize an amazing backing band. The sheer size of the musicians accompanying him was absolutely incredible. He literally has an entire orchestra at his disposal and if thats not enough he tops it off with a touring choir. These broad range of musicians fill the concert hall with deep rich tones that simply can not be created by anything but an orchestra. During "Blue Spanish Eyes" flamenco guitars were sounding, the tap of wood blocks resonated throughout the venue as well as other interesting percussion instruments, a massive string section underscored and helped build the intensity behind Humperdinck's vocal delivery and the brass section gave the overall composition a needed punch.
These types of performances have become few far and in between and this is not due to loss of demand or a lack of musical impact. It is primarily related to the amount of effort and manpower required to pull off such a feat. However if you do get a chance to witness one of these shows I think you would agree that it is well worth the investment.

I was surprisingly disappointed. The show lasted 1.5 hours, which is typical for Rams Head on Stage in Annapolis, MD, but about 40 minutes of that time in the middle was a huge waste of time. Unfortunately, her sister Peggy Sue, was unable to perform due to illness and I am truly sorry for that, but the "substitute" performer, who was singing her heart out, was simply not what I paid for, and I get that those things can happen, but it just went on and on and on ...

The songs that Crystal sang were wonderful, I just wish she had sung more and spent less time on goofing around. I wouldn't have minded if that time had been spent on telling more stories, that would have been wonderful, but not this other "stuff."