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THE voice of Frankie Valli soaring over the backing of the Four Seasons has always been a hard act to imitate.
The Jersey Boys had a pretty good stab at it in the West End. Now it seems the Let’s Hang On production has managed to cast a spell over audiences. That was reflected in a near sell-out show.
The appreciative crowd lapped up the old favourites, many of them hanging on to some personal memories as well as some great tunes.
There were one or two surprises; the band’s pre-Walker Brothers version of The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore and a doo-wop version of Blue Moon from early days.
Stephen James scaled the peaks of Valli’s effortless falsetto, the highlight being his glorious treatment of My Eyes Adored You with excellent lead guitarist Dino Buttarazzi accompanying on acoustic guitar.
Can’t Take My Eyes Off You had them all swooning, as did the beautiful Rag Doll.
The arrival of a brass section after the interval pepped up the pace and showed up best on a funky version of Swear to God where the immaculate band was able to show off its musicality.
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