These Songs for You, Live!

by Donny Hathaway

Overview

Few musicians gave more to their audience than Donny Hathaway. Capable of leading the section or letting the crowd take him away, a man whose sensuality oozed out of him on-stage but who also aired his struggles with despair and social unrest, Hathaway really had no comparison in soul music, or even pop music in total. (His closest kin, Sam Cooke, was the only one who possessed a similarly transcendent voice, gloriously simple yet with enormous depth.) Fans of latter-day soul music's most cathartic figure previously had two avenues to enjoy Hathaway in a live context: the brilliant original album Live from 1972 and the valuable document In Performance, issued in 1980 after his suicide (perhaps the most tragic death in pop history). Atlantic/Rhino's breathtaking compilation These Songs for You, Live! combines roughly half of those LPs and bolsters the program with six unreleased tracks (only some from the same concerts) and an interview. The results prove that, arranging skills aside, Donny Hathaway reached his peak facing not a mixing board but an audience of living (and often screaming) people. Compilation producers Dave Nathan and Barry Benson start out with a pair of light pieces, Hathaway originals "Flying Easy" and "Valdez in the Country," before beginning the heart of the disc, a selection of inspired covers. The choices are all formidable (though for a variety of reasons), including Carole King's "You've Got a Friend," the Hollies' "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin' On," and the Beatles' "Yesterday" (the latter, astonishingly unreleased, takes its place as one of the most gorgeous versions ever recorded of the most performed pop standard of the 20th century). No one could deny that these pieces are soaked in melodrama, though Hathaway's spirit and fire transcend the pathos so completely that in his hands they're transformed. His own "Someday We'll All Be Free" is another gorgeous performance, this one leavened by his alternate modes of piano playing, gospel arpeggios in the beginning but meaty jazz solos later on. These performances, all recorded between 1971 and 1973, provide the most compelling proof that it was Donny Hathaway who reached the pinnacle of true gospel-soul. ~ John Bush

Product Details

Release Date:	09/27/2019
Label:	Music On Cd
UPC:	8718627230350
Rank:	32277

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Donny Hathaway   Primary Artist,Organ,Piano,Vocals,Keyboards,Piano (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Mike Howard   Guitar,Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Cornell Dupree   Guest Artist,Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Phil Upchurch   Guest Artist,Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Richard Tee   Guest Artist,Organ,Vocals (Background)
Earl DeRouen   Vocals (Background),Congas
Myrna Summers   Vocals (Background)
Fred White   Drums,Vocals (Background)
Willie Weeks   Bass,Guitar (Bass),Vocals (Background)
J.R. Bailey   Vocals (Background)
Ronald Bright   Vocals (Background)
The Interdenominational Singers   Vocals (Background)
Joe Newman   Trumpet
Judy Clay   Vocals (Background)
Al Jackson, Jr.   Drums
Sylvia Shemwell   Vocals (Background)
King Curtis   Sax (Tenor)
Chuck Rainey   Guitar (Bass)
Cissy Houston   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Tom Fly   Audio Engineer,Engineer
Frank Hubach   Audio Engineer,Engineer
Jerry Wexler   Audio Production,Producer
Arif Mardin   Audio Production,Producer
Earl DeRouen   Composer
Ed Howard   Composer
Stevie Wonder   Composer
Gary McFarland   Composer
Bobby Scott   Composer
Leon Russell   Composer
Leroy Hutson   Composer
Howard Albert   Engineer
Jimmy Douglass   Recording,Remix Engineer
James Douglass   Recording
Lynn Goldsmith   Photography
Rachel Gutek   Design,Art Direction
Sheryl Farber   Editorial Supervision
Jim Cummins   Cover Photo
Ginger Dettman   Project Assistant
Al Kooper   Composer,Lyricist
Daniel Hersch   Remastering
Tim Scanlin   Project Assistant
Walter Lowe   Composer
Arkadiusz Jankowski   Design Assistant
Louis Savary   Composer
Edward Howard   Composer
Franklin Moss, Jr.   Composer
Carole King   Composer
Donny Hathaway   Arranger,Composer,Brass Arrangement
David Nathan   Liner Notes,Compilation Producer
Gene Paul   Recording
Steve Woolard   Project Assistant
John Lennon   Composer
Ron Albert   Recording
Marvin Gaye   Composer
Ray Thompson   Engineer,Recording
Renaldo Benson   Composer
Al Cleveland   Composer
Paul McCartney   Composer
Steven Chean   Project Assistant
Bill Inglot   Remastering
Bob Russell   Composer
Bobby Russell   Composer
Bobby Warner   Editing
Barry Benson   Compilation Producer