Live Review: The Corrs – 19th October 2017 – Royal Albert Hall, London, UK
5 min read
The return of The Corrs is something we thought we would never witness again at one point. After selling millions of records thanks to globally successful albums including 1995’s Forgiven Not Forgotten, 1997’s Talk on Corners and 2000’s In Blue, the band decided to put the themselves on indefinite hiatus and pursue solo careers and raise families. Andrea released a couple of moderately successful solo records; Sharon emerged from the sidelines to release a couple of records of her own and tour the world with her violin in hand while Caroline took time out to raise a family and brother Jim shut off from the public eye completely. It was in 2015 that the band made a very welcome and long overdue return to the pop scene with a U.K. tour and the release of White Light, their first studio album in a decade. Two years on and we are on the verge of a follow up to White Light in the shape of Jupiter Calling and to celebrate the release of the bands latest effort, the sibling quartet took over the exquisite settings of London’s Royal Albert Hall to debut some of their new material. But it wasn’t just a family reunion to celebrate the release of Jupiter Calling; the band are also raising their glasses this year to their multi-million selling sophomore album Talk on Corners, the record that produced some of the bands most successful hits including Only When I Sleep, their cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams and What Can I Do.
The very special performance was met with a very warm welcome by fans who flooded the venue for an nice and early 7.45pm start time. No support band was required for last nights show; the band providing a weighty near-3 hour set for fans for this very special pre-album release event. As the siblings and their longtime band members – guitarist Anthony Drennan and bassist Keith Duffy – emerged from the side of the stage to a deafening applause, Sharon on violin and Jim on piano led the way into a brief yet gorgeous intro before new track Bulletproof Love saw Caroline on drums and front-woman Andrea on ukelele join the fun.
During the opening half of the performance the band delivered some of their more successful hits; stellar performances of early single Forgiven Not Forgotten, What Can I Do, complete with Jim’s tin tin out remix guitar work, and In Blue’s Radio all receiving a warm response from the audience around Talk on Corners album track Little Wing, more recent single Bring on the Night and one of the bands most successful hits, Runaway filling the venue with a dressing of Irish nostalgia.
New songs including Son of Solomon and Road To You were given the crowds roar of approval and sat confident between the immigration themed Ellis Island with its progressive rhythm and pitch-perfect harmonies and a handful of solid instrumentals such as Lough Erin Shore and Joy of Life which closed the first half of the show and was rewarded by a standing ovation; every pair of feet in the venue rising and every pair of hands clapping along with the band; principally Sharon who led the outfit through the sets masterful instrumental inclusions with precision and grace.
All members of the band showcased their many musical talents during the course of the show; often rotating around the stage to take their turn at using one of the many instruments dotted around the majestic Royal Albert Hall stage but it was Andrea and Sharon who stole the show; Sharon dressing each song with gorgeous backing vocals and her truly remarkable violin playing, giving each of the bands hits their signature string seasoning while Andrea delivered each number with her distinctive vocals and skipped around the stage in flat shoes and with one of several tin-whistles that sat beneath her microphone in hand and ready for use.
After a break of about 15 minutes, the band resumed the show; this time in gorgeous, glittery outfits, diving into another new number from Jupiter Calling, Butter Flutter. Latest single S.O.S found a home in the second half of the set and offered a hint at a very promising upcoming Jupiter Calling release with this radio friendly appeal while Talk On Corners hits So Young, the albums lead single, Only When I Sleep and the angst fueled I Never Really Loved You Anyway had the crowd belting along to their favourite Irish foursome with adoration. It was during the second half of the show that Andrea seemed to get her second wind; her confidence on stage took an evident rise with the pint-sized leading lady delivering some of the most powerful vocals of the night during stunning record quality performances of Talk on Corners numbers Queen of Hollywood and Only When I Sleep and White Light, the title track from the bands 2015 comeback release; showing fans that not a drop of skill or enthusiasm for her craft had been lost in the bands 10 year break.
With a three track encore made up of Fleetwood Mac cover Dreams, the international hit and the bands most recognizable single, Breathless and a phenomenal, full-throttle closing of instrumental Toss The Feathers, all of which had the whole venue on there feet and chanting along to the outfit who danced around the stage with enormous smiles on their faces, the band sent out a very humbled farewell to their crowd and made their exit from the Royal Albert Hall stage.
It’s been about a decade since Renowned For Sound last saw The Corrs play live; a performance at Hammersmith Apollo supporting the release of Borrowed Heaven to be exact, however, despite a weighty chuck of time away from the international stage, last nights performance signaled a band still on top form and ready to take over the world of pop once again! A stellar performance from one of pop music finest!
Setlist:
First Half:
Bulletproof Love
Forgiven, Not Forgotten
Radio
What Can I Do
Road to Eden
Bring On The Night
Son of Solomon
Little Wing
Lough Erin Shore
Summer Sunshine
Ellis Island
Dear Life
Runaway
Joy of Life
Second Half:
Butter Flutter
Only When I Sleep
Queen of Hollywood
S.O.S
White Light
So Young
I Never Loved You Anyway
Encore:
Dreams (Fleetwood Mac cover)
Breathless
Toss the Feathers
::: RenownedForSound.com’s Editor and Founder –
Interviewing and reviewing the best in new music and globally recognized artists is his passion.
Over the years he has been lucky enough to review thousands of music releases and concerts and interview artists ranging from top selling superstars like 27-time Grammy Award winner Alison Krauss, Boyz II Men, Roxette, Cyndi Lauper, Lisa Loeb and iconic Eagles front man/songwriter, Glenn Frey through to more recent successes including Newton Faulkner, Janelle Monae and Caro Emerald.
Brendon manages and coordinates the amazing team of writers on RenownedForSound.com who are based in the UK, the U.S and Australia.
Yes I was there and your review really was accurate. Thank you