Live Oldies Music

As bloated and horrid as he may have looked in 1977, and how so obviously close to the end he was, Elvis just couldn't stop trying to please people as he had done since he burst onto the scene in the mid-1950s and helped revolutionize American popular music. And while I agree ELVIS IN CONCERT isn't really the best place to discover the King (the '68 Comeback, the '69 Memphis sessions, and the '73 ALOHA FROM HAWAII are better efforts), in order to understand him at his most complete, it is a painfully essential document of those last days of touring in June 1977.

I had an inkling, before listening to the album, of what I was in for, as portions of that infamous 1977 CBS-TV special had been inserted into the 2005 TV documentary ELVIS BY THE PRESLEYS, of the King in performance, dripping sweat, perspiring, his voice showing the strain, and still giving every last thing he had in him. Understandably, a great deal of his fans, to say nothing of those in the King's inner circle, hate being reminded of that hideous special because of what it showed. I agree; it was painful just to watch those few snippets in that '05 special. And yet, we see arguably the single most influential figure in American popular music history pouring everything left inside him for the service of a song. This is most poignantly reflected in how he handles the Paul Anka standard "My Way", which became as squarely identified with him as it had always been with his one-time nemesis, Frank Sinatra.

If nothing else, ELVIS IN CONCERT reveals that the man everyone thought immortal was in fact every bit as human as the rest of us, and prone to the kinds of demons that a lot of us are prone to everyday. In his case, of course, he had even worse ones: bad diets; abuse of prescription pills; and, maybe worst of all, a manager that seemingly saw the King as nothing but a cash cow, if turning him into a Vegas lounge lizard and keeping him on the road almost non-stop for the final eight years of his life were any indication. And if he had only been given time to conquer those demons in the manner by which he had revived his career in 1968 and 1969, he very well might have staged another revival. Sadly, of course, that time never came for him.

Thus, ELVIS IN CONCERT, which peaked at #5 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart in December 1977, four months after that tragic day in Memphis, is that final curtain that Elvis sang of facing in "My Way"--a requiem of sorts. And still, the spirit lives on, which is how the King should always be remembered.

Forget about critcs. This is an Elvis original and official testament. If you like... good , if not...., try another thing.... I like it and it makes me happy!!! Cheers!!

As a historical document I suppose the album has merit, but was what a shame this was released. It serves more to show the decline of Elvis more than anything. He should have been in the hospital rather than on stage. It is still enjoyable on some level- I mean this is Elvis we're talking about.

I loved this CD the performance i thought was very good in spite of his bad health his voice never failed him and that was a gift from God and Elvis knew it. That is why he always gave his all to please his fans no matter how bad he felt. This is what sets Elvis apart from all the other musicians in the world he cared and he never forgot where he came from and especially his fans he gave his all that's why i recommend this CD to every Elvis fan who doesn't own it.

Anne

Elvis in Concert is the Soundtrack CD from the Television Special aired a couple of months after Elvis' death. I am an Elvis Tribute Artist and have been engaged in vocal training for the last 6 years. Because of that I can appreciate Elvis' voice and what he does with the songs perhaps better than most. The CD is a mixed-bag. On one hand you will hear one of the most powerful voices outside of an Opera Singer at the upper range of Elvis' voice which hits a High B at the end of the song Hurt. Elvis is a baritone but he is a very high baritone and has tremendous power which is dramatically evident at the Medium High and High ranges. Other examples of this will be heard on You Gave Me a Mountain which has a distinctly revival meeting feel to it, How Great thou Art, My Way, Can't Help Falling in Love (the ending) etc. On the other hand Elvis' voice is unbalanced in the middle range and middle high range from time to time and he even goes flat for a moment on Hawaiian Wedding Song. There are times in this range where he sounds weak. Parts of Hurt are a good example of this. The health issues that would take his life a couple of months later are evidently weighing very heavily on him. If you are a die-hard Elvis fan I would definitely purchase this CD. There are still moments of magic that only Elvis could create.

Most live recordings lack quality sound and seem to reveal mediocre average performances from various artist down throughout history,not the case here on these Otis Redding combined - Live In London and Paris shows on one disc. The rock/soul singer showed up to perform and perform he did in front of enthusiastic European audiences who were lucky enough to purchase a ticket.. Redding is energized, backed by Booker T. and the MG's,a brass section-The Mar-Keys and the guitar licks of Steve Cropper,the rest is Otis all the way,prominently alive and vital,wailing all the hits, RESPECT,SATISFACTION,MY GIRL,SHAKE,THESE ARMS OF MINE -(Redding's first recording),FA-FA-FA-FA-FA(SAD SONGS),listen for the mesmerizing-I'VE BEEN LOVING YOU,and the grand finale,TRY A LITTLE TENDERNESS. Some of these songs are repeated giving a different perspective of Redding's stand out performances of each show. The Paris concert seems to be the stronger set of the two and both combined makes for one helluva compilation,Otis Redding,a man who knew how to sing a song,a 2008 release on Stax/Volt records,with booklet,packaging is a cardboard flip open 'mini' album cover,disc is placed in a secure holder.

This 2008 release brings together two 1967 performances from London and Paris respectively. The March 17th set from London was originally issued by Atlantic in 1967, but as far as I can tell the Paris set from March 21st has never been available before, and certainly not in its entirety - oddly enough, since it is the best of the two.

Otis Redding is backed by Booker T. and the MGs here, and they have brough the Mar-Keys horn section along, too. And Redding himself in top form, delivering each performance with incredible urgency and fervour.
The London set is only seven songs to the eleven recorded in Paris, France, and a couple of those performances are either extraordinarily wild and urgent, or simply rushed and sloppy, depending on your point of view. I was never very fond of "Satisfaction" played as a soul tune, no matter by whom, and these two performances haven't made me come around on that one, but the Beatles' "Day Tripper" lends itself well to this treatment, and the London version is particularly juicy.

And, well, everything else is pretty much indisputable. Backed by the powerhouse that was Booker T. Jones and the Memphis Group, and a churning, pulsating horn section, Otis Ray Redding, jr. was the master, delivering up-tempo soul stompers and emotional ballads with equal vigour. Here he tears through a series of incredibly energetic performances, from a fiery rendition of Sam Cooke's "Shake", to his own "I Can't Turn You Lose", and even the slow tunes, like "Try A Little Tenderness" and "I've Been Loving You Too Long", burn the house down.

If you think the London set is perhaps a bit up and down, sit tight for the Paris set, which is one of the finest, most exhilarating performances ever captured on tape, the equal of anything the great Otis Redding ever did. Not to be missed!

Everyone has their own taste. For me, Otis was the greatest male vocalist ever. Period. As part of the touring Stax review, no artist got hour or more long sets, so these are actually (I think) the longest sets of the review shows. Hyperbolium did an excellent overview of the history and show details - much thanks.

All I can add is pounce. Otis' vocals are mixed front and center, but the band mix is very clear and crisp (Booker/MG's, MarKays - you simply do not get any tighter.)Both sets are on fire, starting with the MC whipping the audience into an early frenzy. Throughout the crowd response is audible and I think they kind of liked it ;-)

No highlights for me, just two red hot sets. And each Try a Little Tenderness goes higher and higher with the MC exhorting the crowd and Otis repeating the chorus over and over and over - it becomes a religious revival type experience. Fans know. The man sang with passion and all his soul. He put it all out there, every last ounce.

What a great loss. Otis uniquely was bridging R&R and R&B/soul, and his performance at Monterey opened the door to a large new audience. Who knows where it would have went from there. If anyone is not familiar with him, this is a great place to start. Then backtrack to his superb studio output and many other available live performances. There are also a couple of great DVD's - Remembering Otis and The Legacy of Otis Redding - to see the man do his thing. There will never be another like Otis Redding, and Stax/Volt has released a real treat here. I hope there is more to come...

Redding's live performances of the mid-60s are surprisingly well documented. Individual pieces of his work on Stax's package tours of Europe can be heard on Live in Europe, The Stax/Volt Revue, Vol. 1: Live in London, the Ace Records collection 1,000 Volts of Stax, and the DVD Stax/Volt Revue Live In Norway 1967. His stateside performances have turned up on several Monterey Pop artifacts, and two albums worth of tracks document his shows at the Whisky A Go Go (1 2). What separates this new release from the rest is the full picture of Redding's set at the top of the Stax ticket. Stretching to over an hour, the nineteen tracks collect performances from back-to-back concerts in London and Paris, showing off not only the incendiary songs, but the excitement of the shows, from Emperor Rosko's name-spelling introduction in London to the climactic renditions of "Try a Little Tenderness" that leave both audiences chanting for more.

Heading up a bill that featured Arthur Conley, Eddie Floyd and Sam & Dave, and backed by Booker T. and the M.G.'s and the Mar-Keys, Redding's headlining slot found the party already well under way. Even so, his introduction was enough to take the crowd to a new level of excitement. With the M.G.'s kicking off the pulsing intro of "Respect," Redding hits the stage like a soul hurricane at full speed, pulling the band into the cyclone with all his might. In the shorter London set he slows for a cover of "My Girl," burning with emotion on what had been his first hit single in the UK. The band plays more grittily than Motown's funk brothers, with the Mar-Keys' horns stretching to hit high notes and Redding scatting to close the song. The rolling drum and horn intro of "Shake" elicits a cheer from the crowd, dialing up the electricity as the crowd shouts along to Redding's exhortations.

Redding included two British Invasion hits in this set, working the Beatles' "Day Tripper" and the Stones' "Satisfaction" into Stax-styled soul shouts. The former found Redding weaving his way in and around the lyrics at double-speed with the horn section on his tail, the latter revs up Redding's soul testimony to a frenzy. The London show closes with a tour de force seven-minute version of "Try a Little Tenderness," opening with melancholy horns that segue into the opening stanza from Redding and organist Booker T. Jones. It's the calm before the storm, as the song rises to crescendo after crescendo, sustained for three minutes by the emcee and crowd's invitations for more, and culminating with most of the Stax revue joining in the finale.

The Paris program opens similarly to London's with a call-and-response introduction and the pounding intro of "Respect." Unlike the London show, which had a curfew, Redding's Paris set was longer, and kept up the pulsing rhythm with "I Can't Turn You Lose" before turning to the showcase ballad "I've Been Loving You Too Long." The song's starts and stops leave the crowd breathless, and Redding's vocal pyrotechnics elicit both shouts and applause. The set list reprises several selections from London before adding a somber version of "These Arms of Mine" and closing the show with yet another barn-burning version of "Try a Little Tenderness."

Remixed from the original multitrack masters (recorded originally by the legendary Tom Dowd), the results are crisp and punchy, with Redding's vocals forcefully at the fore and the Stax band solidly underneath. The disc is delivered in a digipack with a 16-page booklet that includes period photos and poster art, and liner notes from Bill Belmont, Ace Records' Roger Armstrong, French author Jean-Noel Orgouz, and M.G. guitarist Steve Cropper. Redding's return to Europe was a triumph, and his stage patter showed deep appreciation for his audiences as he playfully acknowledged "it's good to be home." Home for Redding was anywhere that people loved soul music, and at the height of his powers there were few who could unleash anything more soulful than this. [©2008 hyperbolium dot com]

Simply: one of a kind singing with one of the best support bands of all time.

As a Temptations fan, I must honestly say I was disappointed in the quality of the live recording overall, and there was static pop in the CD I purchased. There are a few of the live recorded songs that were fine, but several others like Hello Young Lovers did not have a good balance between the music and vocals. In most cases the music was overbearing comparatively speaking. It is possible that the Temps were not up to usual standard that night as the background vocals were not even balanced either, e.g., one could hear the 1st tenor and baritone, but no second tenor or bass. The live portion of this CD was not as good as other albums the Temps have done prior to this one and others later.

GOOD EXCEPT THE COPA SIDE LIVE WAS NOT PRODUCED WELL THE MUSIC WAS OFF AT TIMES THE BACKGROUND NOSIESWAS TOO MUCH AND DAVID RUFFIN WAS NOT THE LEAD SINGER ON THIS ALBUM IT WAS DENNIS EDWARDS HE DID A GOOD JOB .EDDIE WAS STILL AT HIS BEST.BUY IT

AS A PROUD OWNER OF THE ORIGINAL LP LIVE AT THE COPA I WAS VERY INTERESTED TO GET THE CD VERSION OF DENNIS EDWARDS DEBUT WITH THE TEMPS. THE ALBUM IS AS GREAT AS IT WAS IN 1968 HOWEVER UNLIKE THE ALBUM THE SONG I'M LOSING IS NOT ON THE CD, A TERRIBLE OMISSION AS IT WAS THE CLOSING NUMBER OF THE SHOW AND A FANTASTIC RENDITION. HAD IT BEEN ON THE DISC I WOULD HAVE RATED IT FIVE STARS, IT IS WORTH BUYING THIS OUT OF PRINT RECORD FOR EDDIE KENDRICKS SINGING WITH THESE HANDS AND PAUL WILLIAMS FIRST LIVE RENDITION OF FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE.

HERE ARE SOME ACCOLADES TO THE MAN WHO DIRECTED THE BAND AND ARRANGED THE MUSIC DIRECTION OF THE LIVE SHOWS- MR CORNELIUS GRANT. HE WAS NOT ONLY THE LEAD GUITARIST, HE WROTE A FEW OF THE TEMPS BIG HITS SUCH AS "I KNOW iM LOSING YOU AND YOURE MY EVERYTHING. MY COUSIN NORMAN ROBERTS WAS THE DRUMMER AT THAT TIME. LIVE SHOWS SPEAK NOT ONLY FOR THE TALENT OF THE SINGERS, BUT FOR THE MUSICIANS WHO READ THAT SHEET MUSIC NOTE FOR NOTE AND COULD WRITE MUSIC AS WELL. MR GRANT HAS BEEN A FRIEND OF MINE SINCE 1961. THIS IS FROM A PHILLY INTL STUDIO MUSICIAN

The series of 2 Classic Albums 1CD has brought back into catalogue a lot of lost Motown gems, usually in state of the art mastering and at a reasonable price, and is to be applauded for that. In some cases, it falls short of the ideal, and this is the most striking example I have encountered thus far. To start with, there is the choice of pairing. Live At The Copa was the group's eighth album, from December 1968, and their second live album. With A Lot O' Soul preceded it by three album in August 1967. In between came The Temptations Wish It Would Rain and In A Mellow Mood, both of which share another pairing in the series. Go figure.

More crucially, both albums are incomplete. Two key songs are common to both original albums, (I Know) I'm Losing You and You're My Everything, both major hits for the group. Firstly, (I Know) I'm Losing You is dropped from the end of Live At The Copa, as the applause from the preceding title is hastily and peremptorily faded. Apart from destroying the flow of the original conception of the album, it makes that track unavailable on CD.

Secondly, the studio version of You're My Everything is criminally absent from With A Lot O' Soul. Although this track is available on a number of compilations, its censorship from its rightful original album placing is unforgivable. No reference is made to these cuts, although both titles are shown in the replica sleeves from the original albums as reproduced inside the booklet. As the CD has a playing time of 72:15, both could have been included.

Live At The Copa marked one of the first concert appearances of Dennis Edwards in place of David Ruffin, and took place at the Copacabana in New York at an unspecified date in 1968 (some further details would have been welcomed). It shows how quickly and successfully he integrated into the group. The set mixed familiar Motown material with Broadway standards popular with the sophisticates of the day (an audience being wooed by Berry Gordy), and mostly taken from their In A Mellow Mood album. The recording is jinxed with technical shortcomings, mostly frequent microphone clickings and a badly distorting overload during I Wish It Would Rain, though there are also some very clumsy edits between songs, notably after The Impossible Dream. Whether the latter were on the original album, and so are excusable on grounds of historical accuracy, or are further examples of butchering by the re-issue compilers is unclear.

The Temptations With A Lot O' Soul is a classic Temptations album on many levels - the line-up, the producers and arrangers, the songs - and regarded as among their best of their "old style" releases. Although most of it was produced by Norman Whitfield, there are three Smokey Robinson productions of his own songs (recorded over the summer of 1966), including a cover of Marvin Gaye's Now That You've Won Me; one produced by Frank Wilson; one by Ivy Jo Hunter; and unusually one from the Holland/Dozier/Holland team, Just One Last Look. This is very much in the style of the Four Tops, who did also record an unreleased version in 1967. Two of the others are also in arrangements reminiscent of the Four Tops, the single (Loneliness Made Me Realise) It's You That I Need (originally a single for Eddie Holland in 1963) and Sorry Is A Sorry Word, an Eddie Holland/Ivy Jo song consigned to the B-side of All I Need. The mastering of the studio album is very good, although All I Need does lose a few seconds from the original album version.

The range of the band is shown to excellent advantage and though David Ruffin is quite deservedly the most prominent lead vocalist, Paul Williams is given No More Water In The Well, Otis Williams leads Don't Me Send me Away (both Smokey songs), while Eddie Kendricks sings both Save My Love For A Rainy Day and Two Sides To Love. David and Eddie shared the spotlight on You're My Everything, had it been included.

I hope Motown continue to activate the catalogue with these priceless re-issues, but that they learn from the rather botched job they made of this important release and perhaps prepare a corrected version.

Any version of the 1968 Comeback Special is essential. I am not a dyed-in-the-wool Elvis fan, but I must say that the set does have some of the most electrifying unplugged sessions in the history of rock music. Tiger Man, Lawdy Miss Clawdy, and That's All Right are just unbeatable.

Memories and If I Can Dream are "second to none". The gospel medley Where Could I Go But To the Lord/Up Above My Head/Saved is inspirational and top notch.

There is nothing new to say about this release, but it is a necessary reaffirmation that this particular work of Elvis is a must have, as well as the 1969 Memphis sessions that would enable Mr. Presley to reclaim his throne. Long live The King!

I found this cd to be entertaining because its the actual concert in audio form.Elvis doesn't care if he forgets the words to some of the songs or not(which he actually does)or rambles on about nothing, as long as he swivels a little the crowd goes crazy. Its his world and he can do whatever he wants and thats evident on this cd because his band mates have his back too. It has some of my favorite Elvis songs on here and thats why I purchased it. I like the live effect. For the big Elvis enthusiast, I'm sure you already own this and the DVD and everything. If not, shame on you.

What can I say that hasn't already been said about this collection? While some can debate if this is the definitive "Elvis at his best" performance, no one can dispute the raw passion that he puts into each of these songs, and it's that passion that lifts these versions of his hits to a new level. Not that this is just a hits collection - the songs that I was unfamiliar with prior to first seeing the TV Special ("Trouble/Guitar Man", "Gospel Medley", "Road Medley", "If I Can Dream") are equally powerful. The fact that half of the songs are performed with a backing orchestra/singers that sound anything BUT rock'n'roll (a flute is played during "Don't Be Cruel"!) makes it even more amazing that this set rocks as hard as it does! As for the songs recorded for the sit-down portion of the show - believe whatever hype you've heard about them, they are amazing. The only thing that tops hearing them is seeing them on DVD.

I'll include a few nitpicks just for fun (and I must stress, they're nitpicks):
(1) I still cringe everytime I hear Elvis talk about how much he likes the new groups, "like The Beatles and The Beerds (Byrds)". The fact that he didn't know the correct way to pronounce The Byrds' name leads you to believe he wasn't as in touch as he may have thought he was!
(2) The musical interludes from the production numbers, especially the vaudevillian interludes during "Let Yourself Go", are just as distracting on CD as they are on the DVD of the special. Late '60's television variety show - 'nuff said.
(3) Charlie Hodge - his over the top shouts and laughter at stories he's probably heard Elvis tell dozens of times makes it sound like he's trying too hard to be seen/heard. Just listen to him howl the second time Elvis does his "there's something wrong with m'lip" routine. I realize this may be seen by some as part of the charm of the set; but Elvis seemed to be doing fine without his canned laughter.

That said, just buy this disc, along with the DVD of the Special itself. Because as I said before, the only thing better than hearing these songs is seeing them performed by The King himself, in all his foot-stomping, sweat-covered, leather-clad glory!

To say that Elvis' 1968 NBC-TV special was a "comeback" would be kind of understating the matter. The truth is that it was more like an out-and-out resurrection. For much of the 1960s, the man they call the King was being overtaken by younger disciples like the Beatles, while he was forced by his penny-wise, pound-foolish Colonel of a manager to make largely appalling B-movies that destroyed his considerable potential as an actor--that and the equally appalling songs he had to do in those films that almost ran his music career into the ground. He had begun to make strides back toward his roots earlier in 1968 with "Guitar Man" and "U.S. Male"; but it was indeed that TV special that sealed the deal.

And the soundtrack taken from that landmark show gives us the proof that Elvis could bring himself back from B-movie Purgatory and to the top once more. Encouraged by the show's director Steve Binder to be the "real Elvis", rather than the Colonel's puppet on a string, Elvis got back together with his good friends Scotty Moore and D.C. Fontana to resurrect the "good old days" of "Heartbreak Hotel", "Trying To Get To You", and many other groundbreaking 1950s masterpieces in what would later be deemed "Unplugged" territory. This is music that, in the words of rock music critic Greil Marcus, bleeds; and Elvis was clearly enjoying himself. But there was even more. Not merely content to just revive old standbys, the King gives us the Mac Davis-penned ballad "Memories", one of his best vocals (and, strangely, only a #35 hit in April 1969).

And as it was June 1968 when he did this project, right after the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, Elvis, defying the Colonel's plot to do this whole thing as a Christmas special, went ahead and poured everything he had into the inspirational "If I Can Dream", which, in reaching #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 just a few weeks after the special had aired, became the man's biggest hit since 1965's "Crying In The Chapel." The album, meanwhile, hit #8 on the Billboard Album Chart, laying the foundation for his Memphis and Nashville albums of the next few years, and showing that he was still a vital force.

Listening to this recording, as it was with many of Elvis' late-era albums, it is hard not to feel a certain sense of melancholia amidst the triumph. He never stopped trying his damnedest to make great music or give his all and then some (witness Madison Square Garden in 1972, and ALOHA FROM HAWAII in 1973), but the Colonel's bizarre decision to make him basically a Vegas lounge act in the 1970s made even less artistic sense (if that's possible) than the B-movies of the 1960s did; and this routine, combined with the excesses to which Elvis was all too prone, went lethal on him on August 16, 1977.

But for all his faults, there's no denying that when he was doing what God put him here to do, Elvis could not be beat. And this recording, plus the special to which it was attached, is proof of that. Long live the one and only true King.

Elvis is a man possessed in this rockin' classic. You can tell he woke up out of his Hollywood-induced coma provided by his manager and hit the ground running, launching his late 1960s and early 1970s revival and re-established himself as a viable musical artist again after spending years recording average movie soundtracks.

Where can you start and where can you stop. These songs are excellent from top to bottom and you can feel the energy just oozing out from everywhere. It makes you want to just get up and dance and crank the volume up all the way! I would recommend this album to anyone who loves raw and unplugged rock.

Elvis just rocked big time and sang his heart out in this -- reviving his image. What more can you say?

About 14 months before the Monterey Pop Fest, a very successful GA based soul singer and his entourage were sent out to influence the multiple changes occurring on the music scene in Southern Cal. New discoveries and incredible record deals seem to happen every week, especially after a band played the Whiskey on the Strip.

Great tunes played a bit differently than the version's you can hear from 1967. Wow......it really took the crowd a while to get warmed up to him, as you can tell from the clapping. This CD - as well as the Live In Europe - is the kind of music and power those of us growing up in the deep south were used to experiencing, even if the soul group was NOT nationally recognized. Catch the wave!

Simply Awesome. If you're not moved by this live version of "These Arms of Mine" you have no soul.

This 1966 recording is one of the main items in Otis Redding's too-brief legacy. A bit ragged, sure, but all the more intense and powerful for it, and even though it's only 35 minutes long, it doesn't feel particularly short. There is just so much energy in these 35 minutes, and you're almost out of breath when it's over!

Grittier and sweatier than Sam Cooke, or shall we say grittier than what Sam Cooke was allowed to record five to ten years earlier, Redding's output was of an immensely high quality, and here he is in front of an enthusiastic crowd at the Whisky A Go Go, a nightclub in on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood.
The rough-voiced Otis Redding is backed here by his usual touring band, and he tears trough fiery, pulsating renditions of several of his best and best-known songs. He wrings every bit of emotion from slow, intense numbers like "Just One More Day" and "These Arms Of Mine", and he burns the house down on up-tempo raves like "Mr Pitiful" and gritty soul stompers like "Respect" and "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag".

He delivers "I'm Depending On You" and his own classic 1965 single "I Can't Turn You Loose" with incredible passion and urgency, and if the tough backing band with the rumbling rhythm section is less stylish than Booker T. and the MGs, who backed him in the studio and at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, they are no less energetic, and the seven-man horn section is a driving, pulsating steam engine.

"In Person at the Whisky a Go Go" is one of the great soul records of the 60s, and no soul fan should miss it. Or its equally wonderful companion volume, for that matter, "Good to Me: Live at the Whisky vol. 2".
Both are highly, highly recommended.

for some reason, I've always preferred the Otis Redding live recordings to his studio work. He was undoubtdedly one of the greatest live performers ever, and his live albums capture some of that, if not all of it. The Monterey Pop Festivel recording is great as well (in addition to having some great live Jimi Hendrix on side 1).

It's easy to understand how people can arbitrarily give this album 5 stars based on the genius of Otis, the man, THE BIG O. But unfortunately, although the man himself is in top form at this juncture, the band isn't up to snuff.

The track selection is fine, and the band handles capably enough, but they're not on equal footing, both in regards to performance and recording; the mix is a little unbalanced. Far better is his "Live In Europe" release, and (if you can find it) his "Live At Monterey Pop Festival".

When "The Seeds at Merlin's Music Box" first came out I had it. At the time I thought it was a great album. Now...if it's true that they just recorded it in a studio and then added the "crowd sound" afterwards,I'd have to say it was a bit shady. As for the "bonus" tracks, some are a bit seedy and I could have done without some of them. I like "Mr. Farmer","900 million people (all making love)", and "Pushing too hard" but all in all, I probably would not get anymore of there music.

A wonderful cd. The original 5 temps are my favorite. this cd is worth the price just for Paul"dont look back". GREAT.

I'm only 18 years old and I love the Tempts! This group is amazing! I love all the songs on here. You can hear everything clearly. David saying "Thank Ya!" throughtout the songs! Yesterday/What Now My Love was beautiful I loved that track! He sang so beautifully effortlessly! The girls screaming for Paul when he's singing Don't Look Back I could just see him smiling at them! Uhg I wish I was there but This album really made you feel like you were right there at the Roostertail. I think this is one of the best live lp's the tempts release I also think that if you like this lp you have to get live at the copa! whoo! that lp it incredible. buy these two lp's you will not be disappointed if you are a true tempts fan!

Wow, remastered. Have to get it. I still remember being in the 8th grade playing drums in my basement in the South Side of Chicago. All of the kids on the block would peek through the block windows to hear me beat to 'Don't look back'. It is an unbeliveable album. Must have. I am curious about the video. I know this had to be recorded on flim somewhere. I wonder who has it and when will it be release!

Long before this album/cd first came out, my brothers and friends always considered the Temptations the greatest singing group of all time. All you have to do is listen to the women scream during this incomparable show. That says it all. The black groups today can never ever compare. What has happened to the romance and soul?

I remember when this was first released and how excited I was to be able to hear The Tempts live.
I was only ten years old at the time so the only time I got to see them was around the Christmas holidays when the Motown Motortown Revue came to the Fox Theatre in Detroit.
Anyway this recording gives a hint of their ability to entertain and enthrall onstage.
BTW- A 'live' version of 'My Girl' from '65 is on their 'Lost & Found' joint, probably the first time they'd sung it live.
The performance is nearly flawless save for David's voice cracking toward the end of 'Yesterday/What Now My Love'.
Anyway IMO one highlight is 'I Wish You Love' with Eddie on lead.
This is a very,very well recorded release.
Crisp and never muddy or distorted.
I haven't tried it on either a surround, 5.1, 6.1, or 7.1 system, just plain stereo but the audio information it contains is excellent.
Especially considering when it was recorded.
The Tempts are front and center and you can tell when they switch positions, not just leads but when Melvin and Paul
change places with Eddie and Otis on 'My Girl' for just one example.
That is to say you can tell who's standing next to whom and all that.
The audience is primed and enjoying the show and their comments and reactions ( grunts, shrieks, screams etc.) are clean and clear.
I wouldn't call this a 'Desert Island' must have but if you were to have to choose between this and say.....the latest new R N B joint then get this.
Sure its a short program but well worth the time and money.
Exciting, professional performances and recording.
There should be more material like this by them and others from this time period including The Marvellettes, Otis (Redding),Aretha, Gladys Knight & The Pips, The Supremes (never saw them live unfortunately), Marvin etc.

If you like Sam Cooke, you would love this cd. It's Sam Cooke at his best live at the Copa!

I once owned Live at Harlem Square, but it was stolen out of my car a few years ago. I saw this was available for download, so I gave it a go. This is okay and everything, but the energy Cooke and his band has at Harlem Square it literally ten times what they've got on this album. As soon as I got done listening to this, I put the order in to have Harlem Square mailed to my house.

Listen to "Copa" and "Harlem Square" back-to-back and you'll hear a difference but no phoniness. Sam Cooke was the best. With his talent, charm and good looks, who knows what he would have contributed.

An amazing record and one that is interesting from a historical perspective;
the prograam was tailored obviously for the trendy tastes of the day, which would have been the mainstream, folk craze as embodied not only by Dylan (blowin in the wind is covered) but also Mitch Miller (a hootenany joke is made during If I had a Hammer) and his prime time sing alongs.
Sam is the master truly. Great spirit and effortless sounding singing.

This is by far the greatest live "cabaret" set and believe me I have them all including Jackie Wilson,Darin,Deano and Sammy D to name but some.It even surpasses anything by ol blue eyes himself.
Cooke ignites, after Sammy Davis Jr's introduction into a stomping vegas style version of "best things in life are free" and the show takes off. he has a way of injecting beautiful life into what could be seen as old and hackneyed material. Sam sings Frankie and Johnny,Bill Bailey and If I had a Hammer and makes his the definitive versions.You really feel you are in a front row seat in this legendary club back in 1964.What a shame Sam would not live to see out the year.He was gunned down months later at a Hollywood motel. He lives on in performances such as this and "Live at the Harlem Square Club" which is every bit as good as this but rawer and more "gutbucket,down home" in style. ESSENTIAL

This concert dvd of the temptations is awesome. I watch it every night. Thank you for the safe delivery to my home. I cant wait for the next one. The Temptations have always been the number one group in my book and always will stay that way. God Bless Them all.

Bonnie

As a fan, I always appreciate whatever is out there, but as a fan, too, this is not a very good concert.
A much better one is this: Temptations in Hamburg, 1976. I have it on DVD. I guess it is bootlegged, because I have never seen it for sale anywhere. The concert was cut for length and shown on German TV, 45 minutes total.
The show is great: over half of their last great album ("A Song For You") and their last GREAT tenor (Glenn Leonard) and their last year with Dennis from his first stay with the group. It is the end of an era with the Tempts and with R&B singing overall, as disco and white rock dominate to excess. Dennis sings "Memories" near then end and I can just hear him also saying his actual goodbyes to the group and fans as well. The group is very jumpy and disco-y, but they still have that magical precision and class. Otis even sings well - twice! And the cutaways to the "beautiful" German girls are hilarious - they are all horses. Only one dude in the whole audience was moving to the music. But they did clap a lot!
If you take this as a bookend to the 1973 Live in Japan CD, you have a wonderful view of their last great years. Everything in this concert is right, and it is truly the end.
Folks - THIS is what you want to be seeing.

The Temptations Live in concert, for me is a must have. It shows the diversity of their personality, their ability to entertain, and their dance was soo, soo, outstanding. If you want to see just how awesome their danceing was get this dvd. The quality of the dvd is not the best, but for me it is still worth having.

Having grown up listening and having watched the original 5 in concert, I hoped to see the same magic, sadly I didn't. I saw these Tempts live around this time (1983) and I haven't returned to any of their concerts since. Why do groups think that singing the old songs at a faster pace, improves the song. Don't they know we want it the way it was.... The original way. Dennis sings Dennis songs great: PAPA WAS A ROLLING STONE: but not David's songs Dennis' way. There are highlights: OLD MAN RIVER: Melvin Franklin still had it. CAN'T GET NEXT TO YOU: TOO SHORT, JUST MY IMAGINATION: NOT BAD. Well we get whats available, lets hope the MOTOWN vaults let loose with some good collections. The new Dvd The Temptations: THE DEFINITIVE PERFORMANCES 1965-1972 gave me the shot of nostalgia I needed.

It is wonderful. I am glad I made the selection. I have shared it with many of my friends, who also concur!!!

The Everly's harmonies have always stood out, but never more so than live on stage. Add to their enormous talent the overwhelming emotion of a reunion, after years of not speaking to each other, and the result is electric.

After so many years of recording and touring together, it's no wonder that they're able to pick up vitually where they off. This is the sound of polished performers who'd honed their act for years. It might be a bit slick, but in a way that only such hugely talented performers can ever accomplish.

In the end, it's great to hear so many classic hits reanimated through the magic of live performance, and it's great to hear Phil and Don singing together again.

This was recorded at the Everly Brothers reunion concert at Albert Hall on September 23, 1983. It was a really great show, with the boys singing almost all of their old hits, in great two part harmony. Seriously, this is an awesome concert, and all Everly Brothers fans should enjoy it.

On holiday in the Spanish island of Ibiza a few years ago, I would walk down a quiet street every morning on the way to the local shop to buy a newspaper. I passed by a small tavern, which at 10.00am wasn't open for business but was being prepared for the day ahead. I remember the same music being played from within the tavern, reaching the street and filling the air with wonderful songs and harmonies. It was the Everly Brothers' greatest hits. The original recordings of classics such as All I Have To Do Is Dream, Walk Right Back and Bye Bye Love remain the best examples of male harmonising in popular music (with the Beach Boys a close second). The Everlys enjoyed years of tremendous success and are an acknowledged influence on artists that followed them such as Simon and Garfunkel. By 1973, the brothers - never the closest of friends - had become so distanced from each other that an on-stage disagreement, following years of arguing, saw the duo divide and pursue solo careers. Ten years later, they reunited and performed a much-anticipated reunion concert in London. Naturally, this was recorded and has been released on several record labels in the subsequent years. Was it worth the wait? The answer is yes, but with some reservations. The harmonies are as glorious as ever, remembering that in some cases, the now middle-aged brothers are attempting to duplicate their teenage voices from 25 years before. Where the CD is less impressive is when certain songs (Till I Kissed You, Love Hurts and others) require verses sung solo. There are attempts at noticably different phrasings from the original recordings during these segments. It doesn't work: in an effort to be different, inadvisedly high notes are attempted, and the feel is that there is a high degree of improvising, none too successfully. Back to these songs' choruses, they sound completely in tune and as good as ever. In pop music terms, this album amounts to Da Vinci repainting the Mona Lisa. I don't regret buying this album but I know that, like the Spanish bar owner, I prefer the original versions.

Back in the early days, listening to the radio, it wasn't ever clear how absolutely beautiful these two brothers sound! No two brothers can harmonize as smooth, soft and mellow as the voices of the FABULOUS EVERLY BROTHERS! Excellent cd, I want the video of this performance. Another excellent cd is "songs our father taught us.

The essence of perfect harmony has been distilled onto these two discs, capturing the live reunion in September of 1983 at London's Royal Albert Hall. Although it's a bit of a puzzle as to which concert actually got recorded (likely both), it really doesn't matter, because this is as good as it gets.

The single CD version omits far too many of the superb medleys, and in any event, why would you omit any of this concert? The brothers are singing better than ever, they're backed by a crack band of seasoned pros, and the recording is ALMOST flawless.

If there's any complaint, it's that the recording level is lower than it should be, but that's a minor problem at best.

All the hits are here, and in a lot of ways, they're performed better than the originals. Absolutely essential.