Babyface on the oldies trail

Rod Stewart has done it most successfully. So has Barry Manilow. So have several others. Therefore, what is to stop another successful singer, composer, arranger and producer from recording songs he probably wishes he had written or recorded. Nothing. And that is why there now exists Playlist, the latest CD by the legendary musicman Babyface where he performs 10 songs, eight of which are old favorites. And he must be very happy with the results. So happy that he is now on tour performing numbers from the album plus some of his early hits.

Babyface on tour? I really didn’t think this was possible. He does not need to tour. The guy is after all, big time. Everybody knows Babyface. Although quite versatile and adept with all types of music, he is at his best with R ’n B. In fact, I believe that he perfected the make-out kind of smooth R ’n B sounds we have today with his falsetto vocals, romantic interludes and sexy lyrics. He not only recorded this music for himself, he was also the producer behind some of the biggest selling and most awarded recordings of the past three decades by other artists.

Think I’ll Make Love to You and End of the Road by Boyz II Men; Fire and Rain by James Taylor; Breathe Again and Unbreak My Heart by Toni Braxton; Take a Bow by Madonna; Change the World by Eric Clapton;  Exhale (Shoop, Shoop) for Whitney Houston; If You Believe by Whitney and Mariah Carey; This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race and Thnks fr th Mmrs by Fall Out Boy, etc. He also has hits of his own like Everytime I Close My Eyes, Whip Appeal, When Can I See You, Tender Lover and others. He plays keyboards and guitars. He has his own LAFace record label and is also a motion picture and TV producer.

But for now he is concentrating on Babyface, the singer and will kick off an 11-night Asian tour with a performance at the Araneta Coliseum on Oct. 13. This is the first time that Babyface is visiting the Philippines and the oldies loving Pinoys can rest assured they will enjoy the evening. That is because he will do mostly songs from Playlist. These are Shower the People and Fire and Rain by James Taylor; Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce; Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton; Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door by Bob Dylan; Longer by Dan Fogelberg; Please Come to Boston by Dave Loggins;  and Diary by Bread. His new works in the CD are Not Going Nowhere and The Soldier’s Song.

Tickets are available at Ticketnet outlets at SM Department Stores and at the Araneta Coliseum.

Concerts galore

It looks like every music lover in town will be out taking on a concert come Oct. 13 and that is aside from the Ovation Productions’ presentation of Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds Live! at the Big Dome in Quezon City.

There is pop heartthrob Mark Bautista in his solo show Simply Irresistible at the Aliw Theater in Pasay City. Mark, who has just returned from a six-week US tour, will do songs from his latest album Every Now and Then plus other hits. And guesting in his show will be singing champs Sarah Geronimo and Rachelle Ann Go, bossa nova diva Sitti and Rufa Mae Quinto. Tickets are now available at SM Ticketnet outlets, the Araneta Coliseum and at the Aliw Theater box-office.

Not so far away at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo of the Cultural Center of the Philippines will be the country’s top performing group The CompanY  in Let’s Kick Some Brass, A Big Band Celebration that also features the UP Jazz Ensemble. I have no idea yet as to what The CompanY is cooking up for this event but I am sure that like big band music, it will be bold, jazzy and brassy and thoroughly enjoyable. Call the CCP for ticket inquiries.