Vegas a popular place to stage a comeback
Las Vegas is just a tour stop for D’Angelo, but take it from Axl: It’s a city for comebacks. For better or worse.
The reclusive singer’s long-rumored third album “James River” is turning into another “Chinese Democracy,” the Guns N’ Roses album that took even longer than the wait for “Batman Begins” to erase memories of “Batman and Robin.”
As D’Angelo draws strong reviews from other tour stops, he can take comfort – or caution – from other Vegas comebacks:
■ Sly & The Family Stone: The reclusive Sly Stone reuniting with his Family Stone was a surprise booking at the Flamingo in 2007. But Stone should have asked J.D. Salinger: Sometimes it’s better to ride the legend than shatter it. Stone’s relatively brief time onstage, during which he informed the crowd “I been makin’ babies,” didn’t impress enough to make anyone miss him.
■ Guns N’ Roses: Purists can quibble that Axl Rose and Whoever shouldn’t be using the name if Slash and Co. weren’t invited. But Las Vegas party monsters had several New Year’s Eves at the Hard Rock Hotel to hear “Chinese Democracy” songs live before they could hear them on album. Axl’s Guns have now signed on for a 12-show run at the Hard Rock starting Oct. 31.
■ Toni Braxton: The Flamingo thought it had found an overlooked gem when it signed the ’90s superstar to a residency in 2006. It soon became apparent why the gem hadn’t been picked up: Her voice was a fractured memory of what it used to be.
■ Donny and Marie: Neither Osmond ever went away, but they just hadn’t shared the stage as adults until 2008 at the Flamingo. (What is it with the Flamingo and comebacks?)
“Donny alone is an entity and Marie alone is an entity. But Donny and Marie is a brand,” Donny explained at the time. Correctly, it turned out. The sibling rivalry is still a big hit, even if you suspect the two still only see one another when they are on the same stage.
■ Joe Frazier: The return of a boxing great’s less-known singing career turned out to be a sad, brave last stand. Frazier died a few months after this battered turn in the Las Vegas Hilton’s Shimmer Cabaret.
■ Shania Twain: Braxton’s vocal issues may cast doubts upon this ’90s superstar’s scheduled comeback at Caesars Palace on Dec. 1. But the money already spent on advertising suggests it’s a safe bet that Twain’s vocal condition, dysphonia, is behind her. Taylor Swift fans not saying, “Shania who?” That’s a different bet.
Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.