Steve Tyrell
That Lovin’ Feeling
Feinstein’s at the Nikko, San Francisco, CA, April 16, 2015
Reviewed by Steve Murray for Cabaret Scenes
Everything about Steve Tyrell’s new show will be familiar to his fans—his saloon crooning style, the friendly chit chat banter, the unadulterated easy-listening arrangements and, now, the songs of the mid ’60s/’70s that helped shape a generation. A sweeter time is remembered in tunes like “Up on the Roof,” Neil Sedaka/Phil Cody’s “Laughter in the Rain,” “Stand by Me,” “On Broadway” and his new CD’s title track, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.” Who can’t go wrong with songwriters like Carole King/Gerry Goffin, Jeff Barry, Leiber and Stoller, Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, whose sound fueled the radio airwaves before the onslaught of heavier, more electric rock ’n’ roll.
Buoyed by some excellent guitar riffs by longtime collaborator Bob Mann, Tyrell mixed in some bread-and-butter Great American Songbook numbers to balance out the decades. Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne’s “It’s Magic,” 1934’s “What a Little Moonlight Will Do” and Cole Porter’s “All of You” added some upbeat light jazz/R&B rhythms to the evening. In over four decades in the business, Tyrell shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
