Newsday
February 11, 1993, Thursday, NASSAU EDITION
A Classic Old-School Belter
SHIRLEY BASSEY. If all you know about her is "Goldfinger," then you don't know much at all about her.
The internationally beloved singer concludes a three-night engagement with comedian Mario Cantone at Carnegie Hall
at 8 tonight.
TO THOSE ON the outside looking in, the devotion of Shirley Bassey's fans is fascinating to watch. A steady stream
of cellophane-wrapped roses, boxes and tchotchkes poured onto the Carnegie Hall stage Tuesday night from the time
Bassey took the stage.
Young, old, male, female, black, white - all of them wore what Tom Wolfe once described in a somewhat different
context as "that glistening look" as they showered their icon with offerings. Then, too, the glow may
be little more than the reflected glare from Bassey herself, still sinuous and svelte at 55, and resplendent in
a gown with a diaphanous top and, appropriately,
a gold-lameV base. Under the wave of such love, she had to spend time between numbers maintaining her composure,
holding back the tears.
This transaction of passion may surprise those who know the Welsh-born Bassey only from her 1964 hit recording
of the theme song from "Goldfinger." But her reputation is made of bigger, sturdier stuff than that.
She is a world-class belter of the old school, riding the melodic line of her songs with unapologetic grandeur.
Each big, fat note she sends out practically invites the listener to crawl inside and curl up.
So if you're looking for subtlety, look elsewhere. Ditto if you seek a song itinerary that ranges far beyond that
which you hear on the elevator ride to the dentist. "Wind Beneath My Wings," "How Do You Keep the
Music
Playing?," "Hey Jude," "Hey, Big Spender" and "I (Who Have Nothing)" were all
delivered over-the-top. And far beyond.
Still, if she were just a glamorous set of tungsten tonsils, she wouldn't have the following she does. Bassey really
knows how to connect with the crowd, without being too obnoxious about it. When she does her patented "Kiss
Me Honey, Honey Kiss Me" to solicit smooches from the males in the front row, it seems both shameless and
sweet at the same time.
And while her range rarely strays from the upper reaches, its deployment rarely sounds mannered or affected. In
fact, when she pulls out the stops on soft-pop standards like "Something" and "I Want to Know What
Love Is," it conveys a sense of discovery that the conventional show-stoppers don't. She's a little corny.
She's more than a little glitzy. But you don't last
as long as she does if you're a fake. And Shirley Bassey is no fool's gold.
By: Gene Seymour