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3.0 out of 5 stars
More Early Amy - but a slight notch below "Volume 1", June 18, 2009
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). These albums clearly reflected the Christian themes as well as that of being a young woman. Amy's fourth release - 1981's "Amy Grant - In Concert" (1981) would be a live album that would encompass selections from her first three albums. These recordings were done over a two night span in Oklahoma. Later that year, a second live album would follow with additional material from that same two night span in Oklahoma. This one would be entitled "In Concert - Volume 2". Like "Amy Grant - In Concert", "In Concert - Volume 2" continues to provide a nice portfolio of Amy's early works - it also provides it in a nice live setting.
While "Amy Grant - In Concert" did a good job at equally distributing the material from Amy's first three albums, this collection has much more of an emphasis on the newer material at the time of this concert. There are four songs from "Never Alone" and there are four new songs that are released for the first time. The new songs are: "I'm Gonna Fly", "You Gave Me Love", "Fill Me with Your Love", and "Nobody Loves Me Like You". The two strongest songs are "I'm Gonna Fly" and "Nobody Loves Me Like You". Overall I found the new material on "Volume 2" better than on "Amy Grant - In Concert".
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. As mentioned above, like "Amy Grant - In Concert", these recordings were actually done over two nights in Oklahoma - one night 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. Like "Amy Grant - In Concert" - one thing that really helps preserve this feeling of continuity is that Amy will talk and keep "in touch" with her audience. The remastering seems to do a very good job in terms of sound quality.
Also like "Amy Grant - In Concert", there is a medley included. This medley is a three song medley starting off with two of the new songs - "You Gave Me Love" and "Fill Me With Your Love". The medley wraps up with a song "What a Difference You've Made" (from Amy Grant's self-titled debut album). This medley is for the most part a medley of softer songs. Overall, I still enjoyed the four song medley on "Amy Grant - In Concert" better.
If you listen to Amy's first three albums, you will hear how she has grown musically as an artist. On "Amy Grant - In Concert", this was very clear when she delivered material from the "Never Alone" album. That material proved to be her most passionate material on "Amy Grant - In Concert". This is also evidenced on "In Concert - Volume 2". Two of Amy's best songs are "Too Late" and "Look What Has Happened to Me" - both from "Never Alone". This is evidenced by the live songs contributed from her third album "Never Alone". However the strongest song is saved for last - "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do". This is one of the new songs. Amy performs this song as a duet and it proves she is very good in this format.
My review is based on the CD version which includes liner notes. The liner notes are pretty much of what you would expect from a 1981 release (thin). Of the four original songs, the only lyrics that are included are "I'm Gonna Fly". I would have liked to have seen a musician credit for the person who did the duet with Amy on "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do". 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'd still recommend it.
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