Michael Bolton, BIC

WE have had such a fantastic run of top class shows at the BIC's Windsor Hall lately and Friday's Michael Bolton concert was yet another stunner.

The Grammy award-winning soft rock balladeer demonstrated just why he has earned himself a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and sold a whopping 53 million records.

The bulk of his show featured his hits of the 90s - a mix of blue-eyed soul with a gruff Joe Cocker-style delivery.

Songs like Otis Reading's (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay and Soul Provider and the gutsy I Said I Loved YouBut I Lied. But sandwiched between them were tracks from his latest album Bolton Swings Sinatra, which, not surprisingly, were entirely different.

Yes Ol' Blue Eyes had been given the unique Bolton stamp but my enjoyment of these came largely from the phenomenal musicianship and panache of his band - they were sensational.

Bolton's vocal style, however, was not entirely suited to numbers like New York, New York, That's Life and Fly Me to the Moon. The original feeling of the lyrics felt lost.

When he returned to his hits like Steel Bars, Time, Love and Tenderness, How Am I Supposed To Live Without You and How Can We Be Lovers he took on rock god status. The entire BIC audience (men and women alike) went home blissfully happy.