John Lloyd Young
Soul Songs
Feinstein’s/54 Below, NYC, January 27, 2022
Reviewed by Ron Forman
John Lloyd Young chose a different theme for each night of his week-long engagement at Feinstein’s/54 Below. On the evening I attended the theme was Soul Songs, which did not preclude him from singing a few songs that he is best known for based on his Tony Award-winning portrayal of Frankie Valli on Broadway in Jersey Boys. Young has a big voice with an incredibly wide range and the ability to use different vocal colorings to match the style of the song that he is performing. Music Director Tommy Faragher’s voice blended nicely with Young’s on their duets, and his rocking piano work brought frequent applause from the audience.
Young opened with a medley of Sam Cooke hits including a very lively “What a Wonderful World.” It was followed by a boisterous “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me.” After telling us he was going to do a song his parents danced to, he and Faragher combined for a very Platters-ish medley of “My Prayer” and “Only You.” A story about meeting Jerome “Little Anthony” Gourdine and his anxiety about having to perform one of Little Anthony’s hits with Anthony in the audience, was followed by Young belting “Hurt So Bad.” A soulful “Since I Fell for You” was followed by his reprise of a song he performed many times on Broadway, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” which had the audience clapping along. After a very amusing story of smoking a Havana cigar with Smokey Robinson in Cuba, he performed the Robinson hit “Ooh Baby Baby,” ending on a very high note. He closed the show with a medley of “Working My Way Back to You” and “Sherry” that brought the entire audience up on its feet singing along.
