Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons know plenty about taking nostalgia to a high level.
The singer with the hard-to-believe falsetto and a long string of hits still has it, even at 84, as was evident Friday night at North Little Rock's Verizon Arena. Valli, as did 83-year-old Johnny Mathis two months ago at Robinson Performance Hall in Little Rock, proved that age doesn't always alter the power of the human voice.
Looking hale and hearty and accompanied by backing vocalists the Four Seasons, four much younger guys, and a nifty nine-man band (two keyboards, two percussionists, guitar, bass, saxophone, trombone and trumpet), Valli packed a 90-minute show full of hits, his and others'.
There was no opening act. Valli came out and got right to work, in fact, with "Working My Way Back to You," followed by the dramatic "Dawn (Go Away)." He then did a 1963 hit that wasn't his: "Our Day Will Come," made famous by Ruby & the Romantics. Later, he spoke a bit about Romancing the '60s, his 2007 album consisting of 1960s hits by other folks, and sang a couple of those: "Spanish Harlem" and a combination of "My Girl/Groovin'."
Later came an even more off-the-wall selection: "Silence Is Golden," a "B" side to the Four Seasons' "Rag Doll," and later a No. 1 United Kingdom hit in 1967 for The Tremeloes.
The crowd of 2,128 enjoyed these detours, but they were there to hear the hits from Valli and the Four Seasons, including "Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'Bout Me)," "Tell It to the Rain" and "I've Got You Under My Skin," which Valli explained was first a song by Cole Porter and made famous by Frank Sinatra. He continued on with "Swearin' to God," "My Eyes Adored You" and "Who Loves You." (That brought fans to their feet, perhaps because it was the finale for Jersey Boys, the musical and movie about the quintet's life and times.)
Another surprise was the choice of "Stay," a 1960 hit by Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs and, in 1977, by Jackson Browne. It was a good choice for Valli to showcase his falsetto, as fine an instrument as it ever was.
Other hits included "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)," followed by his first solo hit, "Can't Take My Eyes Off You," and "Sherry," the Four Seasons' first hit and the first time most American music fans heard Valli's voice. "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Walk Like a Man," "Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby, Goodbye)," "Rag Doll" and "Let's Hang On" completed a show that left fans apparently pleased as punch.
Metro on 11/11/2018