Visit or re-visit the songs locked in the 1970s with your guy guides, the trio with brio and neo-enthusiasm and perennial Bicentennial good feelings. They were kids in the '70s and they kid the era’s trends and their own experiences back in the days of vests with fringe, Bicentennial souvenirs, soothing and catchy sounds pouring out of Top 40 radio stations.  Singers Scott Coulter, Lennie Watts and Steven Ray Watkins (who is also the able one-man-band on piano) era-surf over genres, with their superb harmonies the strong suit of this show that suits their sensibilities, too. Mining nostalgia and its power to be smile-inducing and memory-goosing, they do eschew over-sentimentality or a lazy “usual suspects list” of monster hits, hitting on representative samples that allow the oldies’ smile-inducing, memory-goosing power to still be “Stayin’ Alive.” From that biggie by The Bee Gees to knocking the rocking bejeezus out of a Jesus-themed medley, to a guilty-pleasured waist-deep wallow through disco, they embrace the cheese they haven’t lost their taste for, but find time for a fair amount of richer fare, too. Singing solo, back-up, or – best of all – in soaring three-part harmony, they shine so and shine up some so-so songs.

It’s a feel-good, happy show finding a happy medium between the two extremes of how oldies taken out of the deep freeze of time can be musically microwaved for renewed appreciation.  One extreme would be the temptation to tinker too much and radically reinvent and update so that the trademarks of the ’70s are disrespected and disappear. That doesn’t happen. The other extreme of slavish, uncreative re-creation would feel like a ho-hum hum-along, a near kowtowing karaoke-sounding (shudder) lounge act. Thankfully, they don’t go anywhere near there either. They capitalize on their camaraderie — they’ve worked together before and are pals and could celebrate Veterans’ Day from their years in the trenches of cabaret — and individual strengths. There’s the quick Watts wit and gutsy growl, Coulter’s super-high notes capturing super-sincerity and, of course, Watkins’ kinship with pop pianist-singer-songwriters directness. From Billy Joel’s “Honesty” to “I Honestly Love You,” it all comes off as an honest-to-goodness good time saluting the times and tunes of a decidedly dynamic decade. They strongly make the case that it was a very varied one, too, where songs filled the air and air waves covering a multitude of sounds and style before the thump-thump-thump disco dominated at decade’s end. Witness the reflective, aching song from the musical that would be one of Broadway’s biggest longest runs, A Chorus Line’s “What I Did for Love” and “Love Will Keep Us Together,” together, the latter an uber-bouncy big Grammy winner.

Any show hopscotching across a broad period will start to feel like more of a broadjump event with so many giants or personal faves left out to make room for others. Do you give the nod to Olivia Newton-John or Elton John or John Lennon or John Denver? All those great vocal blends without The Eagles’ soaring harmonies? Would it be a royal pain to try for the harmonies of Queen, is it too early for Prince, and where is pop’s King (Elvis or Carole)? Including Broadway with no '70s Sondheim? And where are McCartney and Manilow and Midler and Melanie and…  mentioning TV without a big, fat medley of TV theme songs?  OK, maybe we have to stay tuned for a Part 2. Those who lived through the times — and have the scars to prove it — will have their wish lists of egregiously overlooked faves. For me, I had my own “Hey-what-about…” list and a couple of full-length numbers with simpler, repetitive lyrics slightly overstayed their welcome-backs. Still, the variety of styles and sounds is what counts, and you can count on this show to show you that. It does. And, wisely, many of the choices really are intrinsically wedded to memories of the 1970s rather than too many that escaped their era and became time-fuzzy modern standards or get confused in the mind with songs from other decades because they were not so much products of he times and trends.

From Stephen Schwartz to Stephen Bishop (Steven soloing warmly on “On and On”) and on and on, it’s a speed run that’s remarkably relaxed. As pointed out in the memory-swapping patter, certain songs snap you right back to a specific time and place, mood and mindset, a younger and/or more innocent you and you see, hear, smell and feel it all again, vividly:

“See the curtains hanging in the window/ In the evening on a Friday night/ A little light a-shining through the window/ Lets me know every thing's all right/ Summer breeze, makes me feel fine/ Blowing through the jasmine in my mind…”

That’s the included “Summer Breeze,” written and recorded by Seals & Crofts.  These kinds of memories light the corners of my mind. (Hey, that reminds me, what about …..)

For those too old or too young to have been true “children of the '70s,” or parents of “children of the '70s” or children born to “children of the '70s” or in some other way somehow escaped much of its ubiquitous music from various sources, including revivals and later cover versions, there’s still a show here for you. Although much informed by the singers and audience having walked a mile in the platform shoes of the period, those less versed in its verses can belatedly become so acquainted with the not-so-antiquated songs. Many, like the embattled hero of the included “I Will Survive,” which Coulter claims he sang in the schoolyard at age six, can’t be killed by time. And the talent and those glorious harmonies make anything sound good, even some dopey songs some will blush to have loved or still do love for old time’s sake. Watts, Watkins & Coulter make it all polished and palatable and pleasing to the ears. And fun. And that’s the way, uh-huh, uh-huh, I like it.

The show continues at Don’t Tell Mama on December 5 and 6.  The three bring their holiday show to Urban Stages on December 8 as part of its December series of ten nights of cabaret events.

Rob Lester
Cabaret Scenes
November 22, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org