Customer Reviews

Evening With Barry White

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"I'm here, baby. I'm ready, baby." Indeed, the Maestro of Love has taken the stage, all set to do his thang. Make sure the kids are out of the house, disconnect the telephone, and turn off the lights. Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to get busy, courtesy of An Evening With Barry White.

Recorded on 9/9/99 at California's Arrowhead Pond during what became the late legend's final concert tour, White delivers his signature brand of soul with the consummate services of the Love Unlimited Orchestra.

Commencing with a sequence of classic jams, White sounds in superb form, his cavernous voice eliciting rapturous cries from the women in attendance. The symphonic seduction of "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up" sets the tone for the show. At the song's conclusion, the sumptuous music drops to a throbbing bass groove for "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me". A gut-busting drum solo then segues into "I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More, Baby," which White performs to the hilt, effectively turning this concert hall into one giant bedroom.

Steeped in lush string and horn arrangements, a selection of ballads resonates especially well. White lets his voice soar on "Oh What A Night For Dancing" and "Playing Your Game, Baby," both of which feature swelling crescendos. On his masterful version of "Just The Way You Are," he croons for over eleven minutes, making it this album's ultimate slowjam.

While the audience sounds utterly thrilled throughout the performance, it goes ballistic during some of White's biggest hits. For example, "Practice What You Preach," his resurgent hit single from the mid `90s, sounds even more enticing and than the original rendition. And "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe" not only brings the crowd's enthusiasm to its crest, it also yields White's most astounding vocal performance.

As the only live album of his career, An Evening With Barry White makes for an appropriate souvenir of the man's considerable talents. His proficiency as a songwriter, producer, arranger, and vocalist are all evidenced in this performance. What's most apparent, though, is the mutual appreciation Barry White shared with his audience. Without a doubt, the Maestro of Love will be missed.

I have been a fan since the first Barry White record. Whenever he came to the Netherlands on tour I saw the concerts.

I have always enjoyed those magnificent concerts and have always wondered why a live album was never released. I could never understand this, especially when you consider the fact The Maestro did tour with a 40 piece orchestra including a string section.

Thanks to the Barry White estate we now have the opportunity to listen to

The Maestro during one of his best live performances. So finally my dream came through. Thanks to the Barry White estate for giving this to all the Barry White fans all over the world.

His version of "Just the way you are" brought tears to my eyes, especially the part where he interacts with the audience.

All tracks are a true Barry White momentum for me and this CD should belong in every Barry White fans collection.

Whenever I hear this CD and close my eyes I see the The Maestro perform again on the Ahoy stage in the Netherlands.

A true musthave! A 5 ***** plus from me.

Rinus Dost

The Netherlands

To be honest Barry sounds a little ill to me,(singing way behind the beat)

But it's still Barry,the band is live, and tight enough that you look over the small stuff. I'm glad this was captured before his passing.

one of the great ones.

Quite frequently "live" albums can be a disappointment to fans of singers and groups which use a lot of studio processing on their albums and singles.

This is not the case with Barry White. In fact, after playing all his hits over and over again on the radio in the 1970's (as a DJ), I enjoy this CD a lot MORE than listening to his original versions.

There's something I can't put into words. He's singing from down deep in his soul. The loose style and vocalizations are BETTER and RICHER than those original "perfect" versions.

This is the REAL Barry White...feeling good to be back home in LA and filling this performance with love. That's no cliche! Barry's been through a lot in his life since the 1970's when he originally recorded many of these songs. You can feel real emotion in this 1999 performance.

As another reviewer said, we're lucky to have this performance saved for eternity for future generations to appreciate.

This DVD brought Barry White back to life for me. I enjoyed the commentary from his family and was saddened to hear how he was treated towards the end of his life. I could have gone for a lot more of his live performances though. As far as I'm concerned he was a musical genius. Anyone who can write, arrange, conduct and then on top of that SING with that wonderful voice of his rates a very high score with me. Thank you for putting the video together. Whenever I played Barry's CDs for other people I always referred to him as MY Barry. It is very sad that he has left us but his music will live on forever.

The more I listen to this, the more I enjoy it. The band sounds pretty amazing for a live recording (thank you for a good mix Mr Perry) and the line up of songs is well thought out. Unless Barry did more than one tour with Earth Wind and Fire (who followed him at the Pond on the night of this recording) then this is the tour where my concert was canceled because of his poor health. So it's maybe not surprising that Barry's performance is sometimes not as sharp as it used to be. But if you are a BW fan, then I think this is well worth having in your collection.

I'VE BEEN A BARRY WHITE'S FAN SINCE I WAS A TEENAGER IN THE 80'S. I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATEND TO HIS SHOWS FOR SIX TIMES HERE IN BRAZIL. I ALSO HAVE THE BOOK, AL THE LONG PLAYS, ALL THE CD'S AND THE DVD'S.

IT WAS A GREAT SURPRISE OPENING THE WEB PAGE OF AMAZON.COM, TYPING BARRY'S NAME AND SEEING THAT THIS CD WAS BEING RELEASED. I IMEDIATELY BOUGHT MY CD.

IT'S GOING TO BE MY BEST CHRISTMAS GIFIT.

THE ENVIROMENT ON THIS SHOW IS ALSO WONDERFUL. IN THE BEGINING, WHEN BARRY SALUTE'S THE AUDIENCE IS SOMETHING MORE THAN BEAULTIFUL. THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT YOU ONLY COULD FEEL WHEN YOU WERE ENJOYING A BARRY WHITE'S CONCERT. THE ATMOSFERE WAS ALWAYS THE BEST. AND, IN THIS TIME IT WAS NOTHING BUT THE EQUAL: EXCELLENT!!!

BARRY WHITE IS NOT ONLY A NAME; IT'S ALSO A SINONIM OF EXCELLENCE AND HIGH QUALITY. EVEN HAVING UNFORTUNATELY PASSED AWAY, THE MAESTRO CONTINUES TO GIVE US HIS BEST. GOD BLESS HIM FOR THAT.

I SINCERELY WISH THAT THIS CONCERT COULD BE RELEASED ON DVD OR/AND BLU-RAY FORMAT. IT WOULD BE FANTASTIC!!!!

BEST WISHES TO ALL BARRY'S FANS

INÁCIO LOIOLA FROM RIO DE JANEIRO - BRAZIL.

Where is the DVD??? We live in a video era...so, where is the video concert?!...........

I had the pleasure of seeing Barry White live in concert back in the early 90's at the Fabulous Fox Theater in Atlanta. The performance proved to be one of the highlights of my life, with White in full form, backed by The Love Unlimited Orchestra and the three-member girl trio Love Unlimited.

When I learned of the existence of the live recording, made in '99, I had to make the purchase in order to relive the memories and also to complete my collection of White albums, already owning EVERY one in his discography.

It is surprising that after such a long career, White didn't make a live recording prior to this release, but, it is still worth the wait. Of course, fans will, no doubt, grumble that some of his hits are missing but the ones that are present are some of his standards and the songs for which he will be forever remembered.

The recording is clear, with White's voice in good shape, considering his age.

Like most of his fans, we just "can't get enough" of Mr. White and this album is definitely a must-buy.

I thought this was a DVD, when I got it I was like you got to be kidding me.Who wants to hear it live when you can see it live.