Review: Rea-Loaded delivers a faithful tribute to Chris Rea
Celebrating the music of Chris Rea at The Edge Arts Centre
Rea-Loaded delivered a celebration of Chris Rea's music at The Edge Arts Centre, Much Wenlock, on Friday, taking the audience on a journey through the singer-songwriter's best-loved hits alongside deeper cuts from his blues-rock catalogue.
Opening with the driving The Last Open Road, the highly accomplished musicians quickly established a rock-steady groove that carried through the evening. Frontman Neil Gordon proved an inspired choice, capturing the distinctive gravelly vocals and signature slide guitar style synonymous with Chris Rea's sound, while bassist Sylvin Marc, keyboard player Dave Williams and drummer Ed Taylor provided tight, polished backing throughout. The band's authenticity has earned the approval of members of Chris Rea's own backing band, and it was easy to understand why.
The first half featured favourites including Josephine, On the Beach – complete with an extended reggae-inspired interlude – and Fool (If You Think It's Over), all warmly received by an appreciative audience. After the interval, the band shifted up a gear with the shuffle of Jazzy Blue before delivering memorable performances of Texas, Stainsby Girls, Working on It and Auberge. By the time The Road to Hell brought the main set to a close, several audience members were on their feet dancing.
A standing ovation was a fitting response before the band returned for an encore of Steel Town, superbly performed solo by Neil, followed by a rousing group rendition of Let's Dance. Although a little more audience interaction would have enhanced the performance, Rea-Loaded combined exceptional musicianship with a genuine affection for the material to deliver another successful evening of live music at The Edge Arts Centre.