ANDY MACKAY
VENUE QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL, LONDON DATE 26/11/2018
“MACKAY EMERGES TRULY TRIUMPHANT
TONIGHT.”
You have to be either brave or foolhardy (or perhaps both) to premier an ambitious musical work in front of an audience who haven’t heard a note of it yet. But that’s exactly what Andy Mackay is doing here tonight, premiering his new album,
3 Psalms, a few days before its release. For any artist, doing this would feel like jumping off a cliff and hoping to avoid the jagged rocks of apathy. But Mackay does more than get away with it: he emerges truly triumphant. Of course, it helps that
3 Psalms is saved until the second part of the evening, with the first half reserved for orchestral and choral interpretations of Roxy Music classics. Mackay and guitarist Phil Manzanera bookend the stage as the ensemble do a magnificent job reimagining the likes of A Song For Europe and Out Of The Blue. The added musical dimensions help to accentuate the eerie and haunting qualities so often overlooked in Roxy material: this is especially true of In Every Dream Home A Heartache, which is mesmerising. Just prior to concluding the first set with the inevitable Love Is The Drug, Mackay informs us that they will play 3 Psalms right through after an interval, and asks the audience not to clap between the three movements. “Save the applause until the end,” he says. “That is, if you feel like applauding.” You can tell from this remark that he has a certain concern as to how this music will be received. Subsequently, nobody breaks ranks to cheer, as the whole auditorium is spellbound by what’s being presented. The only sound between tracks is that of people clearing their throats; it feels like we’re at a classical recital.
While he remains positioned on the sidelines for the Roxy set, Mackay is more animated when performing his new work, repeatedly striding towards the centre of the stage. He’s as entranced by it all as anyone else here tonight, and with good reason. At a time when many mature progressive heroes are embracing the classical genre, he’s come up with something magical.
Nobody is in any doubt that 3 Psalms is a huge undertaking, especially for vocalist Harry Day-Lewis, who has to sing in English, Latin and Hebrew. But the engaging fluency of the performance is overpowering. Little wonder that, when it’s all over, there’s a vociferous standing ovation. The relief etched on Mackay’s face says it all.
There’s still one more song to come, as we return to the Roxy catalogue for encore Tara. This is a fitting way to wrap up an evening proving not only that Roxy Music classics belong in an orchestral setting, but that Mackay is still making valid new statements.