It was all aboard the soul train last night at The Lowry Salford for a journey from its 1960s origins through the heydays of the 1970s and 1980s.
Some of the biggest names on the soul scene have their music covered by a group of six enthusiastic performers.
It’s a brilliant playlist which includes Michael Jackson, Barry White, Tina Turner, he O’Jays, Lionel Ritchie and Chaka Khan.
Unfortunately as a big soul fan I was left disappointed with the singers.
It was all a bit holiday campish and at times cringeworthy. Let’s face it: if you are going to sing Arthur Conleys ‘Sweet Soul Music’ you have to do it justice and I am afraid they didn’t!
Although most of the vocals were ok none were particularly good which is a shame as the source material was top notch.
The saviour of the night is Gwen Dickey of Rose Royce fame making an appearance and performing her well-known hits ‘Car Wash’, ‘Wishing on a Star’, ‘Is it Love You’re After’.
She still has a beautiful voice and great stage presence although I felt not a long enough set performing only four songs.
The costumes are great and true to the era and had myself and my mum giving a slight nudge and grin to each other as we remembered the elaborate fashions first time round.
The choreography is a bit hit-and-miss; you can see what the performers are aiming for but there are a few missed steps.
The Soul Legends show is full of legendary music which is easily recognisable but the show on the whole is more like a cruise ship cabaret act.
Having said that a large proportion of the audience were up on their feet dancing throughout so I guess it has the entertainment factor.
I would say this is more a sing-a-long soul show and not for die hard fans of the genre.
