Engelbert’s Performance at SPAC Deemed Naughtier Than Last Year’s

by Marilyn Nason, The Post-Star, August 23, 1971

Much naughtier than a year ago, Humperdinck drew 10,000 last night at Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

The excellent singer with the handsome physique has become an unusual type of performer altering his style to straight sex symbol in just a year. He repeatedly observed last night, “I really am being very naughty tonight, aren’t I?” and he was right.

Yet it would seem he needs little of this, possessing the fine voice and personality that have brought him this far. Perhaps too much club work has taken its toll. But the audience certainly didn’t seem to object. In fact, they applauded and shouted wildly at everything he did. He had to make the usual wild backdoor getaway from the screaming crowd last night.

An Entertainer

There is no question he is as strong a performer today as a year ago but he seems more intent on being an entertainer with emphasis on comedy and audience participation than being a straight singer. Humperdinck sang all the songs that have made him famous, got instant recognition from the audience, and even successfully combatted a rainstorm that came up just as he started the second half of the program.

The singer exchanged comments with the audience, using exactly the same phrase, “What is it, my love?” to shouts from the audience that his fellow performer Tom Jones had used at SPAC several weeks ago. In fact their styles are extremely similar in too many ways.

At one point, he selected two women from the audience using them in a number that, naturally enough, involved his kissing each several times. Yolanda and Gilda were their names.

Repeated Impressions

Humperdinck repeated his last year’s impressions of Jerry Lewis, John Wayne and Jones. He began the show in
black tuxedo with vest and, as expected, soon discarded jacket, vest and tie and gradually kept unbuttoning the white shirt as the show wore on.

He is a fine, hard-working performer with one heck of a voice and magnetic smile and personality so his future in show business should be assured. I only wish he would sing more and leave the comedy to the comedian traveling with his show, Jack Wakefield, who handled that department adequately as part of the first half warmup act.

Lovely Trio

The Three Degrees, a trio of lovely young girls quite similar to The Supremes, opened the show and they were simply great. They sing well, have harmony and rhythm down to a science and should do very well in years to come. They employed some interesting lighting for a bit of choreography that made them look like a speeded up movie. It was most effective with their outfits, black hotpants with jackets, heavily covered with silver scrollwork.

They also backed Humperdinck for the second half. Laurie Holloway led the 25-piece orchestra.

It was far from a young crowd, at least in the theatre, where the women definitely outnumbered the men.

Tonight at 8:30 it will be a complete change of pace with hard rock music by Leon Russell.