Customer Reviews

In Concert 1

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

 

 

This album was originally issued in 1981. It is representative of the early years of Amy Grant's carier, and includes all of her early hits. In the numbers which involve the band her voice is quite subdued by the too loud playing, and this is probably why a previous reviewer had impression of the album being loud.
From today's point of view these are actually the worst moments of the album, with the backing band's "rock" playing being quite out of the context of Amy's more sophisicated music.
The real jewels of this album are the acoustic parts which make up for about the half of it. Amy's voice is hauntingly beautiful, and so are the arrangements. The beckground vocals are truly impressive - quite extraordinary for a 1981 live recording. Add up a very positive and relaxed atmosphere, and you'll understand why I'm giving this album 4 stars. After a while you'll even love the terrible playing of the band.
As a document this CD is a must. Also recommended to all older Amy Grant's fans (the younger ones will probably find it too outdated).

When I first got this CD a year ago, it was all I listened to. I loved it. But when I got IN CONCERT VOLUME TWO, I found myself listening to that more. But this CD is still cool. I personally like the 9-minute long medley (Beautiful Music/Giggle/Old Man's Rubble/Never Give You Up). As well as the 2 original songs (Mimi's House, Singing A Love Song) and the other 6 songs. If you want classic Amy songs live, get this. If you want more intimate songs, get In Concert Vol. 2.

Originally released 1981 by Myrrh/Word Records. I have the 1986 secular edition on A&M Records. This was her first full-fledged tour, supported by Christian duo DeGarmo and Key with their band. "Mimi's House" is about Amy's great-grandmother whose farmhouse she and her sisters frequented as little girls. "Singing a Love Song" is another song that only appears here.

The song listing for this CD shows one of the songs, and the main reason I originally bought it, as being Amy Grant's "Giggle." I have always loved this song and could only find this song on this CD. Unfortunately, the first 4 songs listed on the CD are actually the first track and at least the "Giggle" segment of this track is only approximately one verse of the song long. So I was disappointed that this version of "Giggle" was not even close to the complete song of her earlier CDs but more of a medley version. But THE COMMENTARIES AND STORIES ON THIS CD MAKE THIS CD PRICELESS AND A MUST HAVE FOR ANY BIG Amy Grant FAN!! If you would like to hear the whole version of "Giggle" see Amy Grant's CD "My Father's Eyes" Thank you.

This album reflects a different Amy Grant than the one who continues to record music. But I suppose that anyone will go through some sort of progression over a 15-year span.

The singer on this live album exhibits a simplicity of faith that is winsome and appealing. I couldn't help but wish that I had the pleasure of attending an early Amy Grant concert, as her banter was both engaging and affecting.

In any case, the music ranges from dated 80's to quite compelling. There are some clunkers, like "Walking Away With You." However, "Mountain Top" and "Singing a Love Song" exhibit a degree of musical complexity that somewhat surprised me. I really enjoyed listening to this album, and some of the lyrics are quite powerful.

Though the cheesy synthesizer sound on some tracks prevents me from giving it a 5-star review, I really appreciate this album. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in hearing what Amy Grant was doing in a much earlier stage in her career. Some of these songs, though a bit lesser known than "Thy Word" or "Baby, Baby," are truly outstanding.

Despite the fact that Amy Grant would eventually crossover from a Christian Contemporary artist to a Pop artist, I've always found Amy's music to be reflective of the stages of her life she is going through. This was especially true of Amy's "Pop" era music from her 1990s releases: "Heart in Motion" (1991), "House of Love" (1994), and "Behind the Eyes" (1997). It was also true of her early years work. You will hear a stronger Christian influence on her early works than her later ones, but you will also hear the music of a young woman who is about to enter the world of adulthood. By 1981, Amy would have three solid albums released - "Amy Grant" (1977), "My Father's Eyes" (1979), and "Never Alone" (1980). Amy's fourth release (1981) would be a live album that would encompass selections from her first three albums. This album, 1981's "Amy Grant - In Concert" not only gives a nice portfolio of Amy's early works - it also provides it in a nice live setting.

"Amy Grant - In Concert" features 10 songs from the first three albums. The songs are distributed pretty much evenly from the three albums: "Amy Grant" (3 songs), "My Father's Eyes" (4 songs), and "Never Alone" (3 songs). There are also new original songs that had not been released before that are included in the collection. These songs are "Mimi's House" and "Singing a Love Song". "Mimi's House" was a song that was actually written by Amy that is meant to give tribute to her great grandmother (sadly, after the release of the album Amy's Great Grandmother would pass away). These aren't two of Amy's best songs, but they aren't bad either

An important thing is that while this may be "Christian" music, the "Contemporary" aspects of the music are alive and well. The melody sound of many of the songs will be right in line with the "contemporary sounds" of the soft music artists of the late 1970s and 1980s. You will also hear many touches of Country Music in her music. This is reflective of Amy's Tennessee roots. It's not geeky music - it's fun music that you will enjoy listening to.

Normally when there is a live release, I prefer the album to be a live recording from a single concert performance. I prefer it to be delivered in the order in which the songs were actually delivered. By having things from a single night and in order - I feel there is continuity and the magic of the concert is captured perfectly. For "Amy Grant - In Concert", the recordings were actually done over two nights in Oklahoma - one night at at Mabee Hall in Tulsa Oklahoma and one night at the Lloyd Noble Center at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. Despite the two nights, the collection does an outstanding job at giving a feeling of continuity over a single night. One thing that really helps preserve this feeling of continuity is that Amy does an will talk and keep "in touch" with her audience. The only drawback of that is that they could have raised the recording level to be a little higher to hear Amy's voice.

The concert starts off with Amy's first song from her first album - "Beautiful Music". However, there is an interesting twist - this song is actually part of a four song medley. The medley starts off with "Beautiful Music" and then continues with "Giggle", "Old Man's Rubble" and wraps up with "Never Give You Up". This provides for 9+ minutes of music and is a terrific way to start off the concert. The medley does a nice job at bridging two songs from Amy's first two albums - "Beautiful Music" and "Old Man's Rubble" are from her debut album while the other two songs from from.

I like how Amy performs "Father's Eyes" and "Faith Walkin People" back to back. These songs appeared back to back on the "My Father's Eyes" album and I always felt that these were two songs that were meant to be sequenced back to back. While "Father's Eyes" might have been used as a title track for her second album, "Faith Walkin People" is the stronger track. "Faith Walkin People" is a song that has seems to have an slight Rhythm and Blues influence, but at the beginning it almost starts out like a country-western song.

If you listen to Amy's first three albums, you will hear how she has grown musically as an artist. This is evidenced by the live songs contributed from her third album "Never Alone". Amy delivers some very passionate performances with the songs: "Walking Away With You", "All I Ever Have to Be", and "Don't Give Up On Me". "Walking Away From You" also has a slight R&B influence to it and seems very appropriate for a 1980 sound. "All I Ever Have To Be" is a strong song lyrically. It's a slow song and it does have touches of country in it. On this track, Amy also does an a cappella follow-up of something she wrote as a 15 year old. The best song on the collection is the last one - "Don't Give Up On Me". It is a similar sounding country music intro that the opening medley started out with. The style of this song shows a lot of what was to come from Amy in the future. This is a real feel-good song. It's a great way to end the collection.

The liner notes are pretty much of what you would expect from a 1981 release (thin). Lyrics are included for the two original songs - "Mimi's Song" and "Singing a Love Song" (There is a footnote from Amy about her Great Grandmother passing away). This is a nice collection and a great way to get introduced to Amy's early music. Some tracks may still be weak, but I recommend it.

I really like this album, my favorite song is Walking Away With You. I like all of the songs they are very pretty and loud.