A music composition is always more than the sum of its parts. In other words, a really good piece of music is more than itself, sort of like a prism which you can see from each facet a single totality…..The music of Award Winning Symphonist Randy Edelman is even more than that…
In the quaint, historic and artistic coastal city of Newburyport Massachusetts, anchored on a rich Maritime heritage, lies the Fire House Arts Center. The celebrated theater was built in 1822 as a Markethouse and Lyceum and served as a central fire station from the mid-1800s until 1980, until it was restored as a center for the arts. The brick facade building and town served as a perfect venue for the illustrious composer to perform the soundscape of his life as he built his own career brick by brick, and his future by brick and neon….
The unprecedented rainfall plaguing the east coast continued to drench the “Weekend In New England Tour” with a soaking joy. Upon the arrival into the coastal lifestyle town of Newburyport, the weather seemed to magically let up leaving only the scent of the rain behind. As he entered the town he caught sight of an enormous billboard type sign which loomed in front of rocky beaches of New England with his name Randy Edelman…and he felt completely welcomed …..
Fans gathered early on with great anticipation of what became a concert and performance that can best be described by one word…”GRAND.”
Often the success of a great musician is similar to that of the center of the Earth; it weighs nothing but draws everything else to him. In a musical performance, when consensus is that the person on stage is having a good time, even if they’re singing a song about breaking up. As a performer, Randy is transparent, and reveals himself on stage “in that moment.” His charm is that he himself never knows what song he’s going to play or what story he’s about to tell…until it happens…and his strength is his sensitivity. He’s an innocent with confidence and eloquence. The point of Randy’s music is discovered in every moment of him playing it and the audience listening to it.
He presented songs covered by the top pop and R&B artists of all times, “Blue Street” (as recorded by Blood, Sweat and Tears), and emotional “You” (recorded by The Carpenters), “If Love Is Real” (recorded by Olivia Newton-John), “The Laughter and the Tears” (Recorded by Dionne Warwick), “The Woman on My Arm” (the last song recorded by Bing Crosby before he died), and of course “A Weekend In New England” (recorded by Barry Manilow). He showcased his own charted hits as well “Uptown, Uptempo Woman”, “Concrete and Clay”, “Pretty Girls”, and a beautiful array of others.
As one of the most popular Hollywood motion picture and television soundtrack music architects on the planet, he electrified the crowd with two over-the-top film medleys including the scores from “Ghostbusters ll”, “My Cousin Vinny”, “The Mask”, “Billy Madison”, “Kindergarten Cop”, “Twins”, “Gettysburg”, “Dragonheart”, “Beethoven”, “While You Were Sleeping”, “MacGyver” (from the hit TV show), and “Last of the Mohicans” (which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. The applause was loud and insistent. Applause is not an opinion but rather a feeling of love for the artist…and Randy Edelman was and is loved and valued.
In a riveting grand finale Randy performed “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, and it was like shooting a cannon with a big noise. In a quiet way Randy skids in broadside in a cloud of smoke….and the crowd proclaims…”Wow, What a ride”……