Following a false start, in fine showbiz fashion, Brian May whipped up the highly expectant audience into a frenzy by introducing legendary guitarist James Burton. With Ronnie Wood, Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter, May, and his protege Arielle, they began tonight’s set, with the Leo Green Orchestra on belting form, as May took over vocal duties on Hello Mary Lou.
IMAGES: Graham Boynton
WORDS: Paul Davies
Notably, May bowed in an ‘I’m not worthy’ style towards Burton during his inimitable ‘chicken pickin’ guitar solo run. It was one of many such rare moments as stars of the guitar lined up to pay homage to, and witness at close quarters, the legendary Burton’s guitar technique that influenced their younger selves to pick up and learn the guitar.
This evening’s compere, Cerys Matthews, reeled off a long list of mind-boggling statistics which included Burton playing on over 5,500 songs. As further proof, Albert Lee rocked up to magically play on That’s All Right with Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter, as this show’s ever-present wingman, sitting next to Burton as they unleashed an explosive version of Jerry Lee Lewis’ Great Balls Of Fire, one of rock ‘n’ roll’s early universal songs on which Burton played on.
As part of the ‘Wrecking Crew’ studio band Burton played on so many seminal recordings including The Monkees records and Micky Dolenz made an appearance singing I’m A Believer, Alternate Title and a dreamy Daydream Believer. The ‘Wrecking Crew’ theme continued on an exceptional Glenn Campbell tribute led by the charismatic country star Steve Wariner who nailed Gentle On My Mind segueing into Galveston and Wichita Linesman, Rhinestone Cowboy and Southern Nights. It was a ten-gallon hats off moment that stunned tonight’s audience with Burton and Wariner trading guitar chops.
Unbelievably, the best was to arguably come as a blue-suited, pork pie hat and blue reflective aviator sunglasses wearing Van Morrison was escorted onstage via torchlight to reel off a couple of bouncing tunes from his recent skiffle LP. With Ronnie Wood joining in on Blue Suede Shoes and It Takes A Worried Man, the sight of Wood and Morrison leaning into each other and clearly enjoying themselves was another magic moment to end tonight’s first mesmerising set.
Singer/Guitarist Arielle started the second set with a beautiful vocal on Elvis’ Love Me Tender accompanied by Burton, May and Baxter as Can’t Help Falling In Love (from Elvis’ Blue Hawaii movie) and Nancy Sinatra’s These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ also gave a sense of the classic masterpiece’s that James Burton enhanced with his guitar playing. On an evening when many, many showstopping moments occurred, John Oats – looking an incredibly cool 75 years of age – added to the history of this ‘theatre of the stars’ with superb heartfelt renditions on Elvis’ Don’t Be Cruel and Little Sister. Then time seemed to be suspended as, launching into Hall & Oats’ hit She’s Gone, Oats delivered a vocal masterclass on a sublime arrangement. It’s incredible to think how Brian May organised all of these stars to gather together, rehearse and nail all of these various arrangements into the fabric of this theatre’s unrivalled memories.
Chicago alumnus, Jason Scheff, son of Jeff Scheff bassist in Elvis’ TCB band, played his bass and blasted his sweet voice through a couple of tunes with Brian May firing off set to stun guitar solos on Chicago deep cut 25 Or 6 To 4 as, the ever-present, Tommy Emmanuel and Paul Schaffer, on piano, revelled in this exalted company. Being in aid of The James Burton Foundation which provides guitar donations and music education for those in need, it was fitting to see younger guitarists grasping their opportunity to make an impression as UK Young Blues Artist Of The Year 2023, Toby Lee, rose to the occasion with the best backing band he will ever likely have on his self-penned Lie To Me. Tommy Emmanuel’s solo spot on acoustic showstopper, Old Mother Hubbard, set up Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter who reeled in the years on Steely Dan’s Rikki Don’t Lose That Number and Black Friday. Yet again, it was another momentous cameo to witness one of the original ‘Dan guitarists perform these one-off tunes. An extended improvisation on Here Comes The Sun and Change The World ensured that this show overran its curfew by ten minutes or so, and with James Burton re-joining proceedings, with Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram adding his exquisite guitar tone during the final changeover, Brian May returned with his ‘rock is a river’ speech as he introduced 11-year-old ‘guitar god in the making’ BGT’s Harry Churchill to kick off final song Johnny B Goode. In doing so, he slightly brought down the age range of all twenty-five players who answered the call to pay personal homage with their musical talents to inspirational ‘guitar god’ of them all, James Burton, who played out tonight’s once-in-a-lifetime sensational show as the curtain came down on an unforgettable evening.
On an evening when many stars aligned to pay tribute to James Burton, special mention must be made to infectious bandleader, Leo Green, and his assembly of musicians, and backing singers, who glued together the musical backdrop for every artist to shine as bright as diamonds during a performance that will go down in musical folklore and join the rarified legendary nights at The London Palladium.
