It’s not easy to do Lennon songs. As no one sings like Lennon naturally, trying to sound like him can seem parrotty and parody-ish. But if you sing in your own voice and style, people might complain you don’t sound like the actual Lennon. Yet John Waters, his musical collaborator Stewart D’Arrietta and the Liverpool Band achieve a good balance between acting and natural performance.
The five-piece group started their Fringe show large with an impressive version of Lennon’s greatest masterpiece, “A Day in the Life”. It’s hard to follow that, but they did.
From the get-go, the joy of doing these songs was visible on Waters’ face. In his highly successful show Looking Through a Glass Onion, he imitated Lennon’s voice and mannerisms. In the The John Lennon Songbook in Concert, Waters was more himself, bantering with both the audience and brilliant keyboardist D’Arrietta and sharing what he loves about Lennon’s songs.
For instance, it was interesting to learn about the impact “Strawberry Fields Forever” had on a teenage Waters, riding his pushbike under gloomy skies in England’s Middlesex: “It elevated me to somewhere better.”
The show’s second song, “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night”, kept the energy going, and the 1974 hit that Elton John sang and played on was perfect for showcasing D’Arrietta’s formidable keyboard skills – he doesn’t tickle the ivories as much as shake them into a frenzy.
The third song, “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”, was a mellow contrast to the previous number. Indeed, such contrasts between the rock-out and softer songs, between The Beatles’ hits and Lennon’s solo songs, demonstrated clever sequencing and generated variety and unpredictability.
In “Come Together”, D’Arrietta took the lead vocals and did an effective bluesy rendition that channelled Tom Waits. After “All You Need is Love”, the group did a cracking version of “Revolution”, and the electric guitarwork showed the Liverpool Band’s chops. Among many other songs, “Imagine” and “Starting Over” were executed beautifully.
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At the risk of sounding all Mean Mr Mustard, minor criticisms were that the backing vocals could have been louder in “Ballad of John and Yoko”, and Waters’ recounting of how a five-year-old Lennon chose his father over his mother wasn’t quite accurate.
Any road, Waters and crew performed the stellar show with love, gusto and sensitivity, and displayed the result of playing Lennon material for 30 years – a top-shelf show with magical songs. To paraphrase Waters, he and his co-performers elevated us to somewhere better. And all they had to do was act naturally.
The John Lennon Songbook in Concert was presented at The GC (Grand Central at the Arts Theatre). Its Adelaide Fringe season has now ended.
Read more 2023 Adelaide Fringe stories and reviews on InReview here.
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