Paul Carrack Concert Review
Support Act - Tinlin
London 24-2-2011

Whenever I travel I always check concert listings to see if any worthwhile concert is been held whilst I’m in town. On a recent trip to London, as luck would have it, Paul Carrack happened to be performing so I wasted no time in obtaining my tickets.

A couple of weeks later during my trip I picked up said tickets at the Cadogan Hall box office near to the upmarket area of Chelsea’s Kings Road.  Cadogan Hall recently became a 900 seat auditorium in 2005 built on the site on an old church.  In my opinion a great venue acoustically, although the restricted view from the gallery due to the ominous railings was a bit of a let down.

Moving on to the music, as I arrived after an elegant dinner at a nearby eatery on King’s Road, the acoustic duo Tinlin had started their performance. You never know what to expect with support acts but on this occasion I was pleasantly surprised, with siblings Alex and Rolf’s rich harmonies and infectious songs. They certainly seemed to be enjoying the performance and this reflected into the audience.

Alex and Rolf’s voices mixed with Tinlin’s signature folk style mandolin, and rhythm guitar filled the room and even though it was the first time I’d heard them I found myself tapping time and enjoying their emotively charged songs and performance filled with energy.

Later in the set they also used a Hohner Pianet (Fender Rhodes type keyboard) and Paul’s son percussionist Jack Carrack joined them on Cajon and percussion to great effect. 

Once Tinlin’s set was over and after a short break to prepare the stage the scene was set for the start of the headliner.

Paul and the band walked on casually to a thunderous applause as they started off there set and launched into hits such as the Ace Frehley classic “How Long” or songs from his from his stint in Mike and the Mechanics such as “Over my Shoulder” and my personal favourite “Another Cup of Coffee” from the album “Beggar on a Beach of Gold”.  

Other well known songs included the hit penned for the Eagles “Love Will Keep Us Alive” and the number one hit “I Don't Want To Hear Any more” as well as his own emotive “Eyes of Blue” which was orchestrated with a lovely string section in the style of his new album “A Different Hat”, recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Here he joked as he pulled out his melodica that the little instrument would render the same sonic effect as if accompanied with a full orchestra. I must say however that I was pleasantly surprised at how well it sounded with a little delay effect, I remember having a melodica as a child and it certainly didn’t sound like that!

Gear wise Paul strummed on his usual black Gibson acoustic and alternated to a blond Telecaster for some songs, whilst sitting at his Hammond organ for others. Also notable was the use of two drummers albeit with smaller kits for a very striking sound. This together with the guitar, bass, keyboards, backup vocalist and horn section made for an excellent band, with a tight sound.

An excellent concert indeed.

By Ernest H Slade