The Atlantic Soul Orchestra (ASO) took their sell-out Hideaway audience on a trip down memory lane with two sets of soul classics.
The songs were all either from the Motown or Stax catalogue, the two labels that dominated soul music in the sixties and seventies. The ASO arrangements were similar to the originals and gave little opportunity for members of the Orchestra to play solos. When the opportunities arose, they showed the quality of the musicians. The ASO has eight members: a male and a female vocalist, trumpet, saxophone, keyboard, guitar, bass and drums.
Interestingly, ‘Respect’ featured in both sets; the Otis Reading original version in the first set and the Aretha Franklin cover version in the second set. The music and lyrics had subtle differences in the two versions.
Throughout, the tempo was high and the music kept playing with little time between songs. The quality of the band was high with both vocalists showing they had strong voices. They performed one duet ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’, whilst providing backing vocals for each other on the remaining songs.
Amongst the songs performed were Arthur Conley’s ‘Sweet Soul Music’, Junior Walker’s ‘How Sweet It is’ (which offered the brass section the opportunity to shine), Martha Reeves and the Vandellas ‘Dancing In The Street’, Gladys Knight and The Pips ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’ and James Brown’s ‘I Got You’ and ‘Papas Got A brand New Bag’
This was a nostalgic journey for the older members of the audience and showed just how good the songs still sound forty to fifty years after they were originally recorded.
All the members of the band were excellent but they were not introduced individually to the audience apart from the sax player.
This was a highly enjoyable evening of soul music at its best.
Johns London Music Reviews 