“Up, Up & Away in my beautiful balloon” is where we want to be, soaring through the riches of the music with seven Grammy, fifteen Gold & three Platinum Record winners Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr. After forty years in the music biz and thirty-nine years of married life together, these 2/5ths of the original “Fifth Dimension” are still struttin’ their stuff. They look and sound great! Opening at the beautiful Café Carlyle to a packed house, deja vu reigned supreme as the nostalgia storybook of their lives unfolded in the “Where & When Medley.” ("In The Midnight Hour"/"Our Love Is Here to Stay"/"Go Where You Wanna Go"/"You Don’t Have To Be A Star"/"Solid Gold Theme"/"High Enough"). A peek into their lives, separate and together; the formation of The Fifth Dimension in 1965 (should they call themselves Versatiles, Mark 5?); their first hit “Up, Up & Away;” late ‘60s – ‘70s their hottest time; 1980’s solo pursuits: Billy — soul, gospel, Broadway and Dreamgirls; Marilyn — Solid Gold TV show, Broadway and Showboat and that’s 40 years in a nutshell!  It was David Geffen who introduced them to Laura Nyro and, as they say, the rest is history! “Wedding Bell Blues” and their first million record seller "…surrey on down to the stoned soul picnic" ("Stoned Soul Picnic") are Nyro greats.

Their act is squeaky clean and polished with lots of information about their career(s) and personal lives. Just what an audience loves to hear!  McCoo’s pure, smooth and supple sound is as good as it gets on “The End of A Love Affair” (Redding) and her hit “One Less Bell To Answer” (Bacharach/David). Billy shows off his gospel and R & B with “Grits Ain’t Groceries” (Little Milton) and “A Change Is Gonna Come” (Sam Cooke). Together they rock with favorites like “Got To Get You Into My Life” (Lennon/McCartney), “You Are So Beautiful” (Preston,Wilson,Fisher), “How Do You Keep The Music Playing” (LeGrand/Bergman) and the Café Carlyle rocked as everyone joined in for the signature song from Hair, “Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In.”

Whether you’re a fan or not, whether you know who they are or don’t, sometime in your years of listening to music you’ve heard one of their hits. This is Las-Vegas style, big time entertainment. The band is something to be reckoned with – Darrell Alston (musical director/piano/vocals), Major Black
(guitar/vocals), Kevin O’Neil (bass) and David Cowan (drums). 

Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. will be at the Café Carlyle until May 31^st.

Sandi Durell
Cabaret Scenes
May 13, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org