Two Dialects, One Interpreter: Clint Holmes Unites “This Thing Called Love”

Which two love interpreters were connected by singer Holmes and his musical collaborator, Jeffrey Neiman? None other than Cole Porter and a much younger Paul Simon, whose career was just getting underway when Porter died in 1964.

To make sense of this union, more unexpected than the recent pairing of Paul Simon with Sting, you have to learn the ingredients of Holmes’ musical stew. Start by listening closely to the lyrics.

Beginning with Cole Porter’s “You Never Know,” the connections between these seemingly dissimilar writers begin to come into focus. When Cole Porter asks, “Is it the good porterhouse or just a steak?” it’s in the same whimsical vein as Simon’s reply when the Devil calls his name in “Loves Me like a Rock:” “’Now who do you think you’re fooling?’”

In a brashly positive review last fall, veteran reviewer Rex Reed called Clint Holmes (Twitter @ClintHolmesLV, Facebook) then starring in his Stop this Train show, a refreshing voice in the generally anemic world of cabaret.” Though this anemia has yet to afflict the Landmark in a big way, which manages to give Broadway and cabaret performers equal voice with folk and rock artists, this near-cohort reviewer must agree with Reed. Sadly, the silo that is the American Songbook seems to attract a dwindling number of capable artists.

Holmes grew up outside Buffalo, but the path to his 2013 BroadwayWorld.com New York Cabaret Award “Best Male Celebrity Vocalist” wasn’t exactly an Amtrak downstate ride. But somehow it’s turned out well for the New York native. A few days ago, when Liza Minnelli gave a surprise performance at New York’s Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle, she brought along what BroadwayWorld called “her celebrity friends, including Michael Feinstein and Clint Holmes.”

Success by attribution and notable friendships notwithstanding, assessments of a mature singer ought to be based as much on the selected repertoire as the number of octaves in his range or that Old School metric, number of albums sold. Putting the “dappled and drowsy” of “Feelin’ Groovy” together with the “Delightful, delicious and de-lovely” of the also alliterative Porter piece showed the Holmes – Neiman strategy at work.

A light brush-and-cymbals version of “I’ve Got You Under my Skin” and a Bossa nova take on “I Concentrate on You” were immediate audience-pleasers. Starting Simon’s “Still Crazy” as spoken rumination was effective in a different, highly original way.

The quintet’s “Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover” arrangement was reminiscent of Sinatra – Nelson Riddle collaborations. (This and several other arrangements may have been better served by a larger venue, perhaps, better equipped to handle the full breadth of sound delivered by the two percussionists.) A similar interpretation was given to Ella’s “It’s All Right with Me” (“There’s someone I’m trying so hard to forget / Don’t you want to forget someone, too?”) and equally ambivalent “Get Out of Town” (“Be good to me please / Why wish me harm / why not retire to a farm?”).

Simon’s “Late in the Evening” began with a triangle rhythm, but by the time Holmes got to “Well I guess I'd been in love before / And once or twice I been on the floor,” the arrangement had morphed into a Big Band version perhaps modeled on the one Sinatra and Riddle introduced in ‘56.

In this creative effort by Holmes, there were inevitable times when the craft of Paul Simon’s lyrics were difficult to match. For instance, a likable and confident rendition of “Night and Day,” was paired with “I’d Do it For Your Love,” with its accomplished Simon imprint: “The sting of reason / The splash of tears / The Northern and the Southern / Hemispheres.”

Holmes is an energetic singer whose style, while he took the stage in a Las Vegas-style sharkskin suit, has not been corrupted by casino appearances. In the classic “So in Love” from Kiss Me Kate, Holmes nails the syllable joy in “love with my joy delirious” so perfectly that it stood out as the best single note of the evening.  Musical Director Jeffrey Neiman (who provided piano and diverse Roland RD700SX samples) and Clint Holmes proved that This Thing Called Love deserved its award as the NYC Bistro Award for Show of the Year at Café Carlyle. When Holmes first brought This Thing to life, New York Times reviewer Stephen Holden puzzled about the pairing of Simon and Porter: “What do these composers have in common? Not much when you think about it. Mr. Simon’s knotty reflections with their undertone of whimsy and Porter’s besotted romanticism are poles apart.”

But he acknowledged the creative urge that juxtaposed them, called Holmes “a brainy showman whose sensitivity to lyrics is matched by his fearlessness as performer.”

Backing Holmes and Jeffrey in this effort were two percussionists, a very active Richie Rodriguez mainly covering effects, and Jess Gopen handling the rest. Covering the deep end was Steve Beskrone on electric bass.

Back to that juxtaposition. Cole Porter’s unexpected rhymes were wry and refined. In “Anything Goes,” “old hymns” is paired with “bare limbs.” Simon is also wry. Take his question, "Where's my wife and family? What if I die here? Who'll be my role model?" This soul-searching question is mated to a jaunty penny whistle-packing musical frame.

Clint Holmes is a confident, yet gracious performer. He is one of a few Landmark performers to directly address and thank the audience, sound crew and support staff -- and to gratefully ask to return again one day.

Holmes, perhaps, like Simon’s “Al, looking for “a shot at redemption,” is finally jubilant, as “he is surrounded by the sound, the sound / Cattle in the marketplace / Scatterings and orphanages” and, finally a deliverance – in lyrics, that take flight some distance above its rock idiom. There are “angels in the architecture / spinning in infinity.”

Had he been present on this occasion, Mr. Simon might have instead written, “Singing in infinity.” And to Clint Holmes, perhaps, a line from his “So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright”:

I can’t believe your song is gone so soon. I barely learned the tune.

Landmark News

On this busy weekend, the Landmark is hosting a Doo Wop Benefit concert (May 16), Iris Dement (May 17) and the Band of Long Island (May 18). The annual gala, scheduled for November 8, will feature Norm Lewis -- with whom Clint Holmes was dining the day after Holmes’ Port Washington appearance.

Reviewer: Mark Underwood @darkviolin @knowlengr