Whether you’re talking about her looks or her voice, there’s only one way to describe 66-year-old Diana Ross — timeless.
Last night at Ross’ Radio City Music Hall concert, the Queen of Motown brightly chirped, “Remember the good old days? Memories . . . Tonight is truly about memories.”
The well-dressed, mostly middle-age audience agreed, and did remember during Ross’ greatest set, reacting as they were hearing the soundtrack of their youth played live.
The 90-minute set touched all the bases of Ross’ incredibly successful career — from her tenure as the center of the Supremes to her solo career.
While the set wasn’t a straight chronology of hits, early in the show Ross offered a quartet of winning Supremes classics. She started with “Reflections” and worked through “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “Come See About Me,” and “Stop! In the Name of Love.”
There was never a question of the power these old tunes still pack: just about everyone in the audience was singing along and doing the traffic cop hand-jive that’s become an integral part of “Stop! In The Name of Love.”
From her solo songbook, Ross was equally impressive, working the Music Hall with disco-era hits that made the mirror ball spin at clubs in the early ’80s, including the anthem “I’m Coming Out” followed by the syncopated “Upside Down.” That jumpy funk unglued young and old from their seats.
The romantic ballads — “Touch Me in The Morning” played early and “Endless Love” played late — seemed to be the numbers that made the couples “ooh,” “aah” and lean toward each other.
And what’s a Diana Ross concert without the quick, spectacular costume changes.
The first frock flip took just 2 1/2 minutes. Subsequent wardrobe adjustments were as fast or faster, as she plowed through a parade of flamboyant Bob Mackie-like sequined, spangled, flouncy gowns in primary colors.
Ross, who’s been strangely silent on the loss of her pal Michael Jackson last June, indulged her own memories at this show, dedicating “Missing You” to the King of Pop and performing his “You Are Not Alone.”
On stage, everything seems easy for Ross, even doing the challenging Billie Holiday song “Don’t Explain.”
But even for a diva’s diva, singing goodbye to Jackson seemed hard.