Photos by Andy Argyrakis

When it comes to crooners, England’s Engelbert Humperdinck is amongst the world’s most revered and longest-running, who even at 86, keeps recording and rolling down the road exactly as he’s done since the late 1950s.

In fact, when he turns 87 on May 2, the balladeer will release yet another new album, “All About Love,” which as its namesake implies, is filled with romantic remakes, fresh takes on his own standards and a few similarly-themed duets.

Humperdinck brought that very essence, alongside all the previous classics, to the stunningly restored and acoustically ideal Rialto Square Theatre, where for 90-minutes, he wowed a capacity crowd of varying ages, thanks a ton of current movie and television appearances, including the Marvel Universe series “Moon Knight,” Netflix’s “Umbrella Academy” and Brad Pitt’s “Bullet Train.”

Willie Nelson’s “Funny How Time Slips Away” was an appropriate place to start considering how long he’s been entertaining, though the headliner and a much younger five-piece band continued to dazzle through the decades of Carl Belew’s “Am I That Easy To Forget,” Elvis Presley’s “Girl Of Mine” and mounds more he personally popularized.

“Quando, Quando, Quando” was one such gem, while Humperdinck put just as much of a personal stamp on the newly selected “If You Don’t Know Me By Now,” initially cut by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, and later, Simply Red.

There was a slice of country come Toby Keith’s “Don’t Let The Old Man In,” the R&B of Barry White’s “You’re The First, The Last, My Everything,” Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band’s “Old Time Rock And Roll” and a Latin-flavored take on the constantly covered “The Power Of Love,” suggesting there truly wasn’t anything the headliner couldn’t conquer.

The gorgeous “The Last Waltz” laid the groundwork for a mega medley of so many more memories, though his signature “Release Me” naturally closed the main portion of the night, likely presented for the millionth time, but with a renewed passion, thanks possibly in part to the Rialto singing along.

They sure don’t make artists like Engelbert Humperdinck anymore, yet he’ll forever go down as a one-of-kind interpreter who can still spin anything that comes across his legendary lips into pure gold.

For additional information on Engelbert Humperdinck, visit Engelbert.com.

Upcoming concert highlights at the Rialto Square Theatre include The Mavericks (May 18); Patti LaBelle (May 19); Dave Mason (May 24); Eddie Griffin (Jun. 30); Dave Wickerham (Jul. 3); Simon Gledhill (Jul. 6); Killer Queen (Jul. 11-12); Trey Kennedy (Jul. 13); Travis Tritt (Aug. 10); The Australian Pink Floyd Show (Sept. 12); Skid Row and Buckcherry (Sept. 20); Kevin James (Sept. 21); Justin Willman (Sept. 23); Kevin James (Sept. 26); Josh Gates (Oct. 21); Hairball (Oct. 27); Wayne Newton (Dec. 14) and The Rat Pack Is Back (Dec. 16). For additional details, visit RialtoSquare.com.

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