The “Let Us In” concert at the Ryman Auditorium tonight was billed as a fundraiser for the Women and Cancer Fund, so let’s begin with a link to their site and a way to donate to the cause.
I’m sure it was a good cause, but it was also an odd evening. This was marketed as a tribute to Linda McCartney, and a concert featuring the music of Paul McCartney. Yet each guest artist was invited to perform his or her own material along with a pop classic written by Paul.
That meant McCartney’s music was at best just half of the evening, and there was very little flow to the show. Phil Vassar came out in a Sgt. Pepper-esque jacket, did one of his country hits, a reinterpretation of “Lady Madonna” and then an inexplicable version of “Help Me Make It Through the Night.” My thoughts exactly.
Not that it was a bad night. The artists, including former Wings guitarist Laurence Juber were all talented and earnest. It just felt like you were driving down the highway with someone who kept switching off the Beatles station to sample something on the pop country channel.
The Blue Sky Riders closed the show in a way that reflected the entire concert. We wrote here about the Blue Sky Riders’ debut last spring at the Tin Pan South Festival in Nashville. It’s a remarkable trio of singer-songwriters, including Kenny Loggins, Gary Burr and Georgia Middleman.
They did two original songs, including the anthemic “Dream,” and a lovely version of the rarely-heard “Junk,” from the first McCartney solo album. So far so good.
Their final song was “Help!,” a John Lennon song. Yes, we know that McCartney’s name was on the credits, but that was just the terms of the partnership.
As Lennon said of the song, “I just wrote the song because I was commissioned to write it for the movie. But later, I knew I was really crying out for help. So it was my Fat Elvis period.”
Most promising is a new CD out tomorrow featuring a selection of McCartney songs (no “Help!) bearing the same name as the concert.
Artists include Juliana Cole, Jeff Daniels, Kiki Dee, Tommy Emmanuel, Steel Magnolia, SheDaisy and more.