The Carpenters’ Story
The Lowry, 6 March 2011
If you like The Carpenters’ music, do go and see this show.
The arrangements are supple and flowing, the band’s playing is tight and on the money, while Claire Furley’s singing is spellbinding. Most of the well-known songs are here, including ‘Close To You’, ‘Rainy Days & Mondays’ and the sublime and delicately elegiac ‘We’ve Only Just Begun’.
That said, the linking narrative part of the show, the so-called ‘story’, was a bit naff and superficial. Either do it properly or get rid of it – that would be my advice. As it is, it is an annoyance, an unwelcome interruption.
According to my companion, Ms. Furley’s outfit in the first half of the show was also a little suspect (‘What was she wearing?’). However, I thought it was fine. We see different things.
In its essentials – the music and the performance thereof – this was a splendid concert. A fitting companion-piece to Justin Bond’s The Carpenters’ tribute last year.
