Post by undisco_me on Mar 13, 2006 9:18:10 GMT -5
Bingo-wings and wigs galore as Dame Shirley Bassey hauls it all back on stage again for yet another Audience With ITV special. Her explosive guttural splatterings are as thunderous and tremendous as ever, yet the act going no further than it has for probably the last 10 years now. However, minor grapples are churlish complaints, for such a towering diva as the dame herself can certainly still haughtily exploit all strands of glamour available to her, with nothing more than a flicker of a finger. When the trap of self-parody looms all too dangerously the effect can be, inadvertently, ironic amusement. On her signature strut, the “naughty” Big Spender, she swaggers and shakes, when now swinging in her 60’s, is more sack of spuds than sexy 1960’s starlet. When she was brought back (unironically) in the 1980’s by the acclaimed electro duo Yello for the steamy, enchantingly languid The Rhythm Divine, kitsch nostalgia was pleasantly avoided. Unfortunately, that particular artistic gem is curiously omitted for a set that is disappointingly unimaginative. Be that as it may, the preserved and packaged diva is a vocal steam engine all to herself, and oozes her magic here with a tight set, stripped down, with only that overpowering soar to beguile and inspire as it has for over 40 years. Her ballsy (can she be anything else) I Am What I Am, rather than being one big hammy cliché, is a rousing finale. It is affecting and bursting with her trademark, unmistakeable gusto, showing what a great interpreter and timeless artist she really is. One can’t knock an old dame who can still pack her punches, pick herself up and sparkle like no other siren out there. Presenting her sparkling, glossy façade, let’s hope she can keep it that way for some time yet.
