A Gogo [Live]

Patty Larkin | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 28, 1999)
• Original Release Date: September 28, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Vanguard Records
• ASIN: B00001NTJ4
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #242,986 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

With her hazy, passionate, expressive alto, and slightly detached, observational lyrics, what's most accessible in Patty Larkin's music is her crisp, earthen guitar work. On the live À Gogo, she strips away the minimal instrumentation found on her studio recordings and proves she's a songwriter-guitarist who can sing. It's easy to be astonished by the instrumental "Banish Misfortune/Open Hand," a spidery exhibition of Celtic/bluegrass fingerpicking played here with a loving precision that feels like second nature. But even on vocal-heavy tracks such as the wistful, windy "Tango" and bitingly literate "Don't," Larkin's rasp flows when the instrument ebbs, like old friends in balanced conversation. She tenderly sings "I Told Him That My Dog Wouldn't Run" (which Holly Cole covers), and her inspired rumble of a voice outshines her fingers on "Me and That Train." But, for the most part, À Gogo is an album about a guitar and its girl. --Sally Weinbach

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like Visiting an old Friend!, December 10, 1999

By 

Rob Jordan (Detroit, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Gogo (Audio CD)

If you have not seen Patty in Concert, please do so! I am a relocated New Englander that has been lucky enough to see her perform on 5 occasions. While I love her studio work I believe that her live performances are where she truly shines! This CD is like a cherished souvenier from her performance. This woman can send shivers up my spine. She can make you laugh, then have you on the brink of tears just minutes later. Just listen to her guitar work! I have not been able to figure out why Patty is not a Superstar. She can play circles around Bonnie Whatsername, and writes some of the most incisive lyrics I have ever heard. Six of the Fourteen cuts on this CD are from "Angels Running" which gets my vote as her best studio release. Listen to "Do Not Disturb" and "Who Holds Your Hand". Guaranteed to turn you into a Pathead! Love Yah Patty!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Patty Larkin on the road and at her best, October 16, 1999

By 

Dave "wasclywabbit" (Jamesville, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Gogo (Audio CD)

It seems that some musicians are at home in the studio with all the click-tracks, reverb and other myriad digitalizing to animate their muse. Others are destined to produce their most poignant and intimate work in college halls and local clubs. Patty Larkin clearly belongs to the latter group. Her newest outing finds her pared down to her acoustic guitar and her voice. Nothing more is needed. While her studio albums have been listenable, the range and subtlety of her voice and her extraodinary acoustic guitar work can only be fully appreciated in the "unplugged" venue. Like her fellow musicians, Bruce Cockburn and Jonatha Brooke, she revels on the road. Having seen all three of them in small, intimate settings, their ability to fill a room with their mere presence, let alone extaordinary performances and raport with the audience, cannot be fully appreciated with all the overlays and tweaking of the best studio production. If any of these three come to your town - or within two hours of your town - go see and hear for yourself. In the meantime, go out and get this CD (and while your at it, treat yourself to Jonatha Brooke, Live). You won't be disappointed.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Captured Essence - Let the collective unconcious awaken., April 28, 2004

By 

Xagan "Xagan" (Hallandale, Fl. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Gogo (Audio CD)

I just saw Patty Larkin live at the Broward Center (Florida) a couple of weeks ago. I purchased the CD at the show. The acoustics of the hall that night were superior (as Larkin noted) luckily so were my seats (3rd row center). This cd truly captures the essence of that live performance (including the perspective from such excellent seats).
Larkin, a truly gifted vocal,instrumental and compositional artist, stands alone in full display on this outing. Both she and the songs are better served by her solitude. Though her abilities in the studio are interesting, her direct live performance is much more powerfull to witness. With this disc, we get a grouping of some of her best songs, given their strongest performances available to date.
Don't Do It, doesn't really work for me (perhaps, I remain too attatched to the Band version). Though still good, I preferred the unprocessed vocal version of "The Book I'm Not Reading", given at the concert, I attended.
My only real complaint, is that the concert lasted well over two hours and the CD doesn't. Too bad, if it did, it might have included some of her entertaining banter. Better yet, would have been inclusion of her "channeling" of Marlena Dietrich, Carmen Miranda, and Ethel Merman. Not to be missed.

Let the collective unconcious awaken.