On Tuesday night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, a potted history of R&B was in session and it was Pharrell Williams who was teaching the class.
For most casual fans, the singer/rapper/songwriter is a relatively recent revelation thanks to huge chart successes with Daft Punk, Robin Thicke and his own solo album "G I R L." But Williams used the intimate gig (which was streamed live and directed by Spike Lee as part of the American Express Unstaged series) as a way of showing his newer fans that his pedigree goes back for the best part of two decades.
"I'm gonna play some of my old records," he said almost apologetically mid-way through his hour-long set. What followed was a dazzling medley of classics that have been touched by the genius of his production duo The Neptunes including Nelly's "Hot In Herre," Jay Z's "I Just Wanna Luv U (Give It 2 Me)" and Busta Rhymes' "Pass The Courvoisier" which featured a brief, growling cameo appearance from Rhymes himself. The crowd came hoping to be drip-fed some hits, but Williams served up a blitzkrieg.
By his own admission, Williams always been happy to be the guy behind the guy but now, at the age of 41, he is making his way tentatively to the front of the stage. But the baby-faced Virginian has never been a natural extrovert and lacks the poise of a true pop star. His physical performance was largely staid and a bevy of dancers worked through engagingly choreographed routines on openers "Lose Yourself To Dance" and "Come Get It Bae" to help him pick up the slack. Although his live vocals are improving, there are still times when they lack personality. His version of Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like It's Hot" for example had only a fraction of the Doggfather's charisma and it's something that even his already world-famous hat couldn't quite cover up.
Ultimately, Williams' music prevailed thanks to a closing triple whammy of modern staples. First came a T.I. aided "Blurred Lines"- a track which Williams has become faintly embarrassed about due to the accusations of sexism it stirred up. But it's one that he continues to play because he knows it can bring a simmering gig to the boil in an instant. Following that came the still irresistible disco of "Get Lucky" and to end the night, Williams inevitably performed "Happy"- undoubtedly the song of the year so far. Even if Pharrell looked like a chartered account from Iowa and had all the stage presence of a bag of cement, these are songs that could still blow the roof off any venue in the world.
He might have difficulty in convincing people to look at him, but Williams is most definitely a past master at making everyone listen to him. Better that than the other way around.
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