Album of the week - Donny Hathaway ‘Live’

Let’s be real; the vast majority of live albums are forgettable and/or non essential. They can be really great for one listen, but very few stand up to repeated plays. Maybe my opinion on this has changed in the YouTube era, as practically every artist can be seen and heard with minimal effort. It’s far more satisfying to see the artist in action, and it fills in the gap for performances we couldn’t see in real life, or serve as a nice memory of those we have.

However, there are some live albums that capture power, majesty, and an artist at their peak. They are often performed for a vocal audience that pushes the artist to highs that they didn’t quite capture in the studio. Donny Hathaway Live is the ultimate example of this magic. It’s probably my favorite live album of them all.

Side one was recorded at LA’s legendary Troubadour, and side two was captured at the Bitter End in NYC. Each side features performances that bring obvious, massive joy to the audiences that were fortunate enough to be there. Every moment is brilliantly performed and sang. Donny’s keyboard and vocal prowess has never been captured better, and his version of John Lennon’s ‘Jealous Guy’ is one of the most powerful, transcendent covers ever captured to tape. The only Donny Hathaway original here is his immortal ‘The Ghetto’, but it doesn’t matter. He makes every song here his own.

These are dark times, and albums such as this are life affirming reminders of the good in the world. It’s a horrible tragedy that Donny’s life was cut so short, as one can only imagine how much more joy he had to give to us all.