Customer Reviews

The Best of Sammy Davis Jr. Live

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased this DVD for my husband, and he was very happy with it. It was the complete concert which took place in Germany, and was excellent. We would highly recommend it to anyone interested in Sammy Davis Jr.'s music. He was a vibrant showman and very exciting to watch. It was definitely worth the price. And unlike the more expensive version, this one is formatted for use in our DVD machines in this country and Canada.

MY LIFE REVOLVES AROUND SAMMY DAVIS JR. MY LIFE'S THEME SONG IS I'VE GOTTA BE ME. IT IS THE FIRST SONG I LISTEN TO ON MY IPOD AS I GO TO WORK. I HAVE WAITED A LONG TIME FOR THIS DVD OR ANYTHING THAT WAS A CLEAR SOLO PERFORMANCE OF THE MAN! I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF THIS DVD FOR I HAVE SEVERAL CONCERTS OF SAMMY ALONE AND WITH OTHER AND THIS WAS GOOD. THE POWER WAS THERE BUT SOMETHING IS MISSING AND I FEEL IT LIES WITH THE ORCHESTRA OUTSIDE OF JAMES, CLAYTON AND GEORGE. I THINK THEY JUST COULD NOT FIND THE GROOVE ON THE UPTEMPO NUMBERS. LADY IS A TRAMP IS CHAMP AS IT ALWAYS WAS WHEN SAMMY LAID HIS VOCAL ON IT!! ONE OF MY FAVORITES BY SAMMY IS WHAT I DID FOR LOVE JUST GREAT, I LOVE HOW HE BREAKS IT DOWN AT THE END! IT IS ALWAYS NICE TO SEE SAMMY DANCE FOR I THINK HE WAS ONE OF THE BEST RHYTHM DANCERS I EVER SEEN. THE IMPROV STUFF IS WAS NEVER BETTER AND THERE ARE GREAT RECORDED EXAMPLES OF IT. THEN THE EPIC MR. BOJANGLES WAS AS IT ALWAYS WAS OUTSTANDING BECAUSE I FELT THOSE CHILLS I AM USE TO FEELING WHEN SAMMY DAVIS JR SINGS IT! THIS DVD IS WORTH ANYONE'S MONEY BUT IT TAKES A TRUE SAMMY FAN TO SEE AND FIND THE MAGIC! I FOUND IT BY JUST WATCHING THE MAN AT WORK!

Pure adreniline ! This show proves that artists with real talent get better with age.
Even if your not a die hard fan like myself,You will love this concert.

Sergio

While the name "Best Of", implies a collection of various clips from different performances, be rest assured this is ONE FULL LENGTH START TO FINISH CONCERT. The performance is about an hour long. It stars Sammy Davis Jr. and features a very talented drummer. I happen to own many many concert DVD's & blue-rays of many different genres. Simply put, not only is this the best DVD concert I own, it ranks among the best concerts (of any genre)I have ever seen. Sammy Davis Jr. = the greatest entertainer ever. It's just simply amazing how talented this guy was. As much as I like some of the other crooners and entertainers of that "by gone era", in reality, none of them could hold a candle to Sammy, and they knew it. In fact I have shown this DVD to several people, both musicians and non-musicians, young and old, none of which were "fans", but everyone agrees - some even teary eyed(like me in parts...). After showing(off) this DVD, I have created some new fans.

This show was filmed in 1985 in Germany. Surprisingly and sadly, he died only five years later in 1990 from cancer. In all regards, he is in top notch form in this DVD and (here)he sure looks like he has many years left to go...In addition, he really does look good here - snazzy, well dressed etc., unlike his "look" from the 1970's... And unlike the great Frank Sinatra, whose voice "changed" as he aged, Sammy's stayed consistant as did his energy, overall. His look may have changed and evolved over the years, but in this DVD, he has more of that stylish/classic look, that many of us prefered...Overall, while I still prefer his 1960's stuff, we have to take in consideration the fact that this DVD has the best audio and video quality available and this IS STILL A VERY VERY GOOD performance. The video and sound quality are excellent and will be acceptable to all of the "philes" out there. I may be wrong, but I believe I read somewhere that his wife had this peformance digitally remastered when it went to DVD. I own many hard to find DVDr's of his concerts - from the 60's through the 80's. While he always put on a great show, because of the poor video, I regretfully can't think of any I would (highly) recommend other than a B&W Amsterdam BBC concert from the 60's, but that's in Pal vs NTSC... There is also good & quality performance available on the DVD from: The Ultimate Rat Pack Collection: Live & Swingin (CD & DVD) that I would also HIGHLY recommend. The DVD w/ Liza Minelli & Frank Sinatra is okay but beyond that, trust me, those DVDr's( iOffer bootlegs) should be reserved for only the biggest fan, due to their poor sometimes aweful video quailty...So this DVD, The Best of Sammy Davis Jr. Live, is the only thing the public has. Luckily, this is very good & satisfying in all regards! I wish & hope that Mr. Davis's estate will invest and work on restoring/remastering some of his FULL LENGHTH performances - an HBO special from Mexico and a Boston Pops performance he did immediately comes to mind and there are many others. Unfortunately it is my understanding that "video" is harder to restore than "film" and the afore mentioned were likley shot in video and then there needs to be demand & funds...so we'll see....

Anyways, get this today. I couldn't recommend this DVD any higher to those that enjoy & appreciate quality entertainment. You will not be disappointed. They don't make em' like this anymore...Energywise, it starts slow and then builds and builds and builds and then has an incredible finish, just the way a good show should.

Btw, the incredible drummer featured in this DVD is also Tony Bennett's drummer in the more recent DVD, Tony Bennett's Wonderful World: Live in San Francisco (2002)

EDIT: Here is the DVD's track list

1 WHEN OR WHERE
2 NEW YORK, NEW YORK
3 WHAT I DID FOR LOVE
4 CANDY MAN
5 I'M SINGING IN THE RAIN (singing & tap dancing)
6 AS LONG AS SHE NEEDS ME(WHAT KIND OF FOOL AM I)
7 THE LADY IS A TRAMP
8 IMPROVISATION: I'VE GOT YOU UNDER MY SKIN/GIRL FROM IMPANEMA + MORE (absolutely amazing!!!)
9 I'VE GOT TO BE ME
10 FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE
11 AS TIME GOES BY (impersonations)
12 MR. BOJANGLES

Sammy's years of experience, love of performing, rapport with everyone around him, and unlimited talent make this a wonderful concert. He sings, dances, does impressions, kicks up the band, ad libs and obviously charms the enthusiastic audience. There's more Sammy here than usual(no guest fillers), but still not enough;making it two hours instead of one would be the only thing that would improve this great show. Fine sound and picture. A timeless treasure!

All young people should check out one of the first soul greats...

One of the most honest performers EVER!

With the possible exception of Danny Gans, Merv Griffin, and Carrot Top, Sammy is the absolute best entertainer the world has ever seen. He could do it all--sing, dance, tap-dance, impressions, juggle, and that old black magic that he did so well. That cat was out of sight, and I mean that sincerely, Babe!

One of a kind! That's about all you can say about Sammy Davis, Jr.

But he was so good, and just seemed to be absolutely driven to entertain his audience such as they had never been entertained before, and he pretty much succeeded.

With all the strikes against him, he simply persevered, and prevailed.

When you've got that much talent, I guess you're just bound and determined to let it all come out, and he certainly did that.

The quality of audio/video is best and reflects good German Engineering work.
Performance by Sammy Davis reflects the
man who loved his work. Just buy it and
enjoy the show.

Let me state my bias upfront - I am an unabashed Sammy Davis fan. If you are like me and collect all things Sammy, buy this DVD. If you are new to Sammy and are wondering what his live performances were like, this DVD is not a good example. One of Sammy's best qualities as a performer was his ability to connect with his audience. On this night his performance was always a beat behind. He seemed to be trying too hard. Now, I repeat if you are a Sammy fan and have seen him perform a number of times - watching the wheels turn as he tries to "get" his audience is interesting and might give you added insight, but if you are new to him this performance looks lackluster.