{"id":41286,"date":"2008-12-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-12-31T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/donny-hathaway-live\/"},"modified":"2008-12-31T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2008-12-31T00:00:00","slug":"donny-hathaway-live","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/donny-hathaway-live\/","title":{"rendered":"Donny Hathaway Live"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some artists, like Oscar Peterson, are known for their brilliant piano work.\u00a0 Others, like Marvin Gaye, are remembered for their amazing vocal ability and interpretation of melody.\u00a0 Still others, such as James Brown, are known for their electric stage show and magnificent ability to lead a band.\u00a0 Donny Hathaway is known for all three, as brilliantly displayed in his 1972 live album Donny Hathaway Live<\/i>, recorded at the Troubador in Hollywood and the Bitter End in New York.\u00a0 In Live<\/i>, Hathaway\u2019s voice and keys soar over one of the tightest rhythm sections ever recorded, which includes the famous Willie Weeks, the Hathaway-proclaimed \u201cbaddest bass player in the country.\u201d <\/o:p><\/p>\n

Consisting mostly of cover songs, Hathaway, a prolific composer in his own right, chose to showcase the talents of fellow songwriters such as Carole King (\u201cYou\u2019ve Got A Friend\u201d) and the aforementioned Marvin Gaye (\u201cWhat\u2019s <\/i>Going <\/i>On?\u201d) with interpretations that would be unjustly considered in terms of being worse, better, or equal to their original but should only be described as uniquely Hathaway\u2019s and supremely beautiful.\u00a0 Consequently, Hathaway and his crew are able to master the art of the jam with their renditions of \u201cThe <\/i>Ghetto\u201d and \u201cVoices <\/i>Inside (Everything <\/i>is <\/i>Everything),\u201d which, despite being over ten minutes long, never cease to be interesting.\u00a0 The jams become particularly poignant during Hathaway\u2019s extended Rhodes keyboard solos, which are reminiscent of the greatest jazz keyboardists of the 20th century. The highlight of the album is Hathaway\u2019s rendition of \u201cJealous <\/i>Guy,\u201d\u00a0where he turns John Lennon\u2019s somber ballad into a funky yet tearful gospel-inspired lament that lucidly conveys the regretful nature of its lyrics.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/o:p><\/p>\n

The album is not perfect, though.\u00a0 Its token ballad, \u201cHey Girl,\u201d tends to drag.\u00a0 It starts out like any other R&B ballad and morphs into a somber and ultimately boring rendition.\u00a0 But the rest of the music is so electric, so energizing and so soulful that this mistake slides by almost unnoticeably.\u00a0 The album achieves a mastery of flow rarely seen and the songs, handpicked by Hathaway, speak to people\u2019s most cherished concerns: their community, their livelihood and the ones they love.\u00a0 Recorded seven years before his tragic suicide, Donny Hathaway Live <\/i>stands as a testament to the power and ferociousness of one of soul music\u2019s most influential pioneers.<\/p>\n

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