Customer Reviews

25 Years of #1 Hits - Arista Records 25th Anniversary Celebration

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3 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Plenty of pop music's finest appear and perform here to pay tribute to Arista Records' founder and uncanny finder-of-hit-singles Clive Davis. This tribute was originally broadcast on NBC in 2000.

This DVD includes excellent solo performances by Annie Lennox, Sarah McLachlan, Toni Braxton, and Patti Smith, as well as hits medleys by Barry Manilow, Aretha Franklin (via satellite), and Whitney Houston. Whitney was particularly spectacular here. The show opened with Santana, who was red-hot as of 2000 with #1 hits "Smooth" and "Maria Maria." He performed both, the former without Rob Thomas but the latter with The Product G&B.

Mr. Santana exemplifies both of Clive Davis' major achievements in pop and rock history. At Arista, he brilliantly resurrected the careers of several artists who had slipped from pop prominence. Santana had not made the singles chart since 1985; other stars enjoying comebacks at Arista included Dionne Warwick and Franklin. At Columbia in the late sixties, he was responsible (all or in part) for bringing Santana, as well as Janis Joplin, Sly and The Family Stone, and Earth, Wind & Fire to the label. This helped free the label from Mitch Miller's rock-loathing stranglehold, a process begun by John Hammond with Bob Dylan's signing years before.

This show exclusively featured live performances from acts still signed to Arista at showtime. That means, disappointingly, that such former Arista heavyweights as the Bay City Rollers, Air Supply, Melissa Manchester, underrated goddess Lisa Stansfield, the Thompson Twins, Ray Parker, Jr., and Eric Carmen are relegated to taped snippets of old videos of some of their hits. (These are all presented as "#1 Hits" even though many of them fell somewhat short of the top of any actual charts. That's showbiz, kids.)

Among those not mentioned at all were the Alan Parsons Project, Taylor Dayne, or Al Stewart. The venerable Kinks, who also enjoyed a huge comeback with the label from roughly '77-'85, were relegated to one of those #1 snippets (for their #6 hit "Come Dancing").

There are four fine "bonus performances" not listed on the back of the disc. Dionne Warwick's performance of "I'll Never Love This Way Again," with Barry Manilow on the piano, is fantastic. She shows that she can sing with power, yet not be overpowering (hint, hint, "American Idol" finalists). Monica does a beautiful version of her (actual) #1 hit "For You I Will." The other bonus songs are an upbeat Santana instrumental, and Deborah Cox's dance anthem "Nobody's Supposed To Be Here."

There could have been even more bonus material included. As it was on TV, the finale "That's What Friends Are For" is picked up halfway through, then marred by the closing credits for its last 2 minutes. Songs from British boy band Westlife and hip hop wannabes LFO were reduced to brief clips. Fans of Kenny G will be annoyed to see the G-man's one big moment here ("Songbird") immediately reduced to background music for a(nother) film-clip tribute to Clive. Finally, it seems that Manilow (with and without Warwick) was on stage more than what appears here, and to deny us every second of that is just...so...wrong...

Speaking of showbiz, Clive Davis left Arista shortly after this broadcast. He was replaced by R&B kingpins L.A. Reid and Babyface. Then he went on to form J Records, now home to Alicia Keys, O-Town, and veterans Rod Stewart and Luther Vandross. In 2001, golden boy Manilow decided to leave Arista, which is presently having trouble getting you and me to buy the latest records from Whitney and Toni.

Overall, though, fans of any of the performers here should pick this baby up. Mr. Davis' 25-year run at Arista was a rare time of pop music excellence and it is commemorated nicely in this DVD.

I was lucky to find and get this item. This includes great performances by such great "Arista" artists as Santana, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Puff Daddy, Toni Braxton, etc. I did enjoy their live shows performing their #1 hit songs including Maria Maria/Smooth(Santana), I'll be missing you(Puff Daddy) and For You I WIll(Monica). It also was sweet to see Barry Manilow and Dionne Warwick singing. Mr. Manilow in particular was outstanding here. It brought me back to 70's and 80's with good memories.

Between songs there were some footages about Arista hit songs during last 25years. I could see some of my favorite artists such as Air Supply and Eric Carmen. As I was so glad to see them, I thought their performances in full length should had been contained in this DVD.

The picture and sound quality is great. The special features including extra live tracks are enjoyable. If you like to see live shows especially by Arista artists, you will enjoy this... always!

This is the DVD release of the TV broadcast from May 2000. It collects a wide assortment of Arista stars past and present including Santana, Witney Huston, Dion Warwick, Barry Manilow, Air Supply, and Sarah McLachlan. McLachlan's haunting rendition of "Angel" was a particular high point, as was Manilow's all-too-brief medley of songs. The only complaint I have about this disc is the complete lack of extras. It appears that in the rush to get this released immediately after broadcast, someone forgot to take advantage of the DVD format and provide us with backstage footage, outtakes, extended performances, etc. Are we looking toward a Special Edition release any time soon? Probably not, so take advantage of what they have to offer here.

Being quite possibly the biggest Whitney Houston fan in the world, this was the last DVD standing between me and the completion of my collection. I wish I would've purchased this DVD sooner. The Whitney performances are absolutely amazing. She proves on this night why she is the greatest voice of all time. Her stage presence is magical, her vocals flawless, and her beauty radiates from within. She revitalizes old favorites like I Wanna Dance With Somebody and How Will I Know with new beats and arrangements. She takes I Believe In You & Me and I Will Always Love You to new heights. It's amazing.
While I bought this DVD with Whitney in mind... the whole concert is excellent. Barry Manilow, Aretha Franklin, Sarah McLachlan, Puff Daddy, Toni Braxton, Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, Santana, and Kenny G shine on this DVD. Also being a fan of concerts on DVD, it is rare to find one this entertaining, and in which the artists sound so good. It just goes to prove that Arista's artists are truly talented. This is a must have if you enjoy good music. You won't be disappointed!

For all of those people who think that whitney lost her magic, they need to see this performance from 2000 (at the height of when she was supposedly in very bad shape). this DVD is excellent. the highlights are annie lenox singing why (she nails it like ive never seen), deborah cox singing nobody's supposed to be here (not televised), and the ultimate whitney houston performance.

Whitney starts off by singing the best versions of i wanna dance with somebody and how will i know back to back. she looks absolutely amazing and moves like youve never seen her. she controls the stage like no other has - ever! then she sings the beginning of i believe in you and me and moves into the best performance of i will always love you that i have heard. she holds every note longer than usual and adlibs soooo well in this rendition. you honestly have to see it. some people say that her divas live version was her best, but i like this one for sure. she ends by singing a very good version of my love is your love (one of her newer songs - a multi-platinum single). she stole the show.

bottom line -BUY this DVD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you wont be sorry.

Absolutely fabulous. So many great performances topped off by Whitney Houston.
She is a little "rough" and Bobby Brown is his jerky self!

Product was in excellent condition and arrived in a timely manner. I'd order from this seller again!

I was at the live taping of this show at the Shrine in L.A. Although I've yet to see the DVD, I'm curious if they cut the part where Whitney begins her performance and almost trips and falls before recovering. To me it was pretty clear that she was on something. Can't quite remember if they had to re-shoot her opening or if it was edited out for the broadcast.

When this show aired on TV there were a number of absolutely haunting moments. A couple are caught here: Annie Lennox "Why", Sarah McLachlan "Angel", and Toni Braxton 'Unbreak My Heart." Unexplainably absent are the Jennifer Holliday "And I am Telling You" and Patti Smith and Fred Sonic Smith acoustic version of "People Have The Power". Both of which were part of an AIDS tribute that left the live audience and TV audience in stunned silence for their sheer brilliance and pure emotional power.

This DVD is edited to hell. Very few performances are left wholly intact and overall it is re-edited more toward an MTV, minimal attention span audience, rather than a true music fan. It is a waste of money. The majority of tracks are parts of poorly edited montages and the choice of performances is truly odd (P. Diddy lip synching and an overblown horrendous version of "Missing You" with his "yeah, yeah" - "put your hand in the air" crap). And Whitney, for all her glorious talent, was clearly beginning the down slide of her self-destructive, crack addict slope. Powerful singing, but, with Bobby Brown running on stage like a fool trying to get some spotlight, you need only know the rest of her stoy to see how sad and pathetic the situation was. Dionne Warwick - not a big favorite of mine was edited to a chorus of two of her biggest songs and the true finale - an all star "That's What Friends Are For" (remember it was an AIDS benefit) inexplicably was edited in mid-song with credits rolling over it. A bloated, out of breath Aretha Franklin yelps her way through "I Knew You Were Waiting" and "Freeway of Love" before giving equal time to the whooped up refrain "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus" AND she wasn't even a live portion of the original show. Jesus!

If you are looking for a copy of the stirring TV broadcast. This ain't it. Then again, it was repackaged from "The Arista 25th Anniversary Celebration" to "Arista 25 Years of #1 Hits." It's light on hits and shows "Arista the forgettable years." What a complete letdown. Don't bother with this let down. I felt ripped off and angry after viewing it - having seen the original. Pass on this crap.

This a very good show. Highlights are Toni Braxton, Barry Manilow, Santana and Whitney Houston.