Customer Reviews

Have You Heard - Jim Croce Live

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having purchased some really bad concert DVD's, I was not sure what to expect here. While you can definitely tell that this is old video, I was surprised and excited by the audio and video quality. Jim Croce brings a depth of emotion and warmth to his performances.

Three songs are not played live in concert, but show photographs and video footage of Jim with his family. This is deeply moving. The live recordings are not of one concert, but a variety of formats. Although it was obvious that some of these recordings were for TV, these recordings brought back memories of the coffeehouse era. Just two guys with guitars singing into microphones. Jim Croce talks before some of the songs. There is nothing to interfere with the enjoyment of the music. This DVD creates the experience of actually being there. There is direct access to every song. The 16 songs are 52 minutes long. The bonus features are 21 minutes long.

Ingrid gives a 52 minute commentary. She describes how she and Jim Croce met and how she fell in love with him. She talks about Jim's life and career. She tearfully describes their last conversation and reminds us that Jim Croce was not the only one to die in the plane crash, that guitarist Maury Muehleisen died with him. (Road manager Dennis Rast, booking agent Ken Cortese, comedian George Stevens, and pilot Robert Elliott were killed in this crash.) The 21 minute commentary by A.J. Croce discusses getting to know his father as a person through Jim's music and interviews of those who knew Jim. He talks about the bonus features included in the DVD.

Seeing Jim Croce brought back the profound sense of loss of this wonderful man and tremendous talent. This over 2 hour DVD is an intensely personal and intimate picture of Jim Croce the man, husband, father, and friend, and Jim Croce the musician. This tribute to Jim Croce is a reminder to us of how brief life is. "Have You Heard - Jim Croce Live" is a tremendous DVD and I highly recommend it.

I remember being about 7 years old and seeing Jim Croce on PBS' Soundstage show. I was struck by his melodies even then. The first rock album my mom bought for me (I guess I'll call it "rock" for convenience's sake) was the album You Don't Mess Around With Jim that, of course, included the title track which I loved and which initially turned me on to Croce in the first place. But I loved all the songs. Songs like "A Long Time Ago," "Box #10" and "Dreamin' Again" from the Life and Times record got to me then and still get to me now. Croce's stuff never, ever gets old. To finally be able to see Croce and his guitarist, Maury Muelheisen, on this amazing DVD is more than a treat. It's a poignant look at what was and perhaps what might have been.

The defining moment of the DVD for me is during my favorite Croce song, "The Hard Way Every Time." It's a song that, as things tragically developed, turned out to be the writer's own eulogy. The song describes a life lived with plenty of failures and setbacks. However, after the last few words of the song: "And in looking back/At the faces I've been/I would sure be the first one to say/When I look at myself today/I wouldn't've done in any other way," someone in the audience starts to clap, but suddenly stops him/herself. In that brief moment, something very subtle, but also very triumphant, happens. It's difficult to explain, but confidently standing by and claiming one's life, and not discounting the tragedies that shaped one's character as much as if not more than the triumphs, is, to me, the very essence of being truly and honestly human. Croce, amazing artist that he was, captured that idea in a few lines in a two-minute song, and someone in that audience of long ago 'got it.' It's a beautiful moment that, for me, encapsulates this man's attitude and his short but wonderful and creative life.

I wish that Croce's CD's would be released in their original studio song sequences and packaging (although the 50th Birthday Collection comes pretty close in terms of the sequencing), but as long as the man's music is available in some form or another, someone will be out there to discover it and marvel at the tunes and lyrics that Croce was able to write. And now, we have this excellent visual document. Well done and, Ingrid and A.J., if you discover any more, put it out! You have one sure buyer in me.

The long-awaited "video document" of Jim Croce is out and it delivers the goods. On the DVD are many wonderful, intimate clips of Jim and his guitarist Maury Muehleisen performing Jim's greatest hits, gathered from television broadcasts. These clips haven't been seen publicly since the early 70s and the experience of seeing Jim and Maury "alive" thirty years after they died is absolutely incredible. One absolutely unforgettable moment in the clip of "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues" is when Jim and Maury end the song and then stand before the television camera smiling at each other just before fadeout, neither man knowing the fate awaiting them. There is no sense of doom or impending tragedy on this DVD, just a celebration of Jim Croce and his music by those who loved him most.

Each clip is presented apparently complete and unedited as they were originally shown. Jim's widow Ingrid offers commentary (along with Producer Nick Redman) on a separate audio track during the main feature, and son A.J. Croce does the same during the special features.

This DVD is an absolute must for any Jim Croce fan. To view it is to see the man live right before your very eyes.

awesome dvd. I never seen him live and this dvd picture and sound are excellent. Only one word of warning if you let older females listen to it, you end up having to get yourself another one because they are not giving it back. HaHa

Jim Croce was my idol. I learned fingerstyle guitar listening to his album "You Don't Mess Around With Jim" over 30 years ago. When I heard the news of his death I was devestated. I was like Don McLean in American Pie when he talked about the day the music died, referring to Buddy Holly's plane crash. I had all of Jim's albums, including the one with Ingrid. I knew all of his songs. I made it a point to watch every time he was on TV (Midnight Special, Tonight Show, Helen Reddy Show, In Concert ... ) After he died I discovered that he had performed 100 miles away from where I lived the night before the crash. I've been kicking myself ever since because I never got to see him perform live. Now 30 years later, thanks to Ingrid and A.J., I am able to watch Jim and Maury perform some of their hits in remarkably high quality video on this new DVD. In addition I have learned much about Jim's background from the interviews with Ingrid, Randy Matthews, Loggins & Messina, and A.J. For example, I never knew that Jim and Cheech Marin were planning on making a movie together. That would have been great.

The audio and video are surprisingly good considering that they are from the early 70s. Numerous photos and home movie clips are worked into the video with voiceovers by Ingrid and A.J. to add context. One track that I really enjoyed presented Jim (sans mustache) and Ingrid doing one of their songs (Spin, Spin, Spin) in a TV taping from the late 60s. A.J. tends to ramble a bit in his narration over the special feature videos. Also, I would have enjoyed seeing a short segment with Ingrid and A.J. as they look today. You never see their faces on the DVD.

Being a big Croce fan, there are things I remember that weren't included in this DVD. Cashman & West (Jim's college friends who helped him get his recording deal with ABC) did an interview after Jim died where they recalled their days with him. Jim was turned down by numerous labels because he sounded too much like James Taylor (another great example of how the recording industry is full of morons). Then there was the intro (I think it was on the Midnight Special) where Jim introduced Speedball Tucker by telling a story of pulling his rig into a truck stop and trying to look cool by leaning up against it after he got out, only to burn his hand on the white hot chrome muffler. These would have been great additions. Maybe in a future version some of these additions can be included. In the meantime I can't imagine any true Jim Croce fan passing this one up.

If there are indeed good old days in music, forever gone, they must be the days of Jim Croce. There is still good music making nowadays, no doubt, but the simplicity, intimacy and above all warmth of Jim Croce's songs is sadly a thing of the past.

Although I have long been listening to Jim Croce, this DVD offers my first "live" experience with Jim on stage. What an experience!

This has a good mix of videos on it ( leans a little more to the story songs), though it is probably limited some by what Ingrid could obtain after fighting for 30 years for rights to Jim's stuff. The price was very cheap and the quality was GREAT! The atmosphere of the songs is fantastic with Jim and Maury Muehleisen sitting and playing great acoustic guitar. It will make you feel like you are back in 1972 or 1973 for a while, and you'll forget that they both are gone, and when it's over you'll be glad that they still live through the music, and that you have a piece of it. It is so much better seeing it performed than just listening to the CDs. Don't miss this. It was much more than I expected, and unlike some inexpensive DVDs, this has some nice extras. If you are a Croce fan and like Maury's playing as much as me, check out www.maurymuehleisen.com/main.html run by Maury's sister Mary (a great person).

In the 30+ years since Croce's tragically untimely death, just as he reached the peak of a popularity that seemed sure to last for decades, he and his accompanist were killed in a plane crash just as they were finishing up a grueling tour that seemed likely to be the last such time he'd be away from his family for such an extended period. The tragedy to his fans and lovers of good music is one thing; the loss to his wife and son cannot be calculated.

His recordings have been re-released several times in different formats, and are always a wonderful blend of folk, pop, rock, blues, and country, dished up with equal portions of humor, pathos, romance, wistfulness, and nostalgia, always told through a remarkably mature perspective for someone who died at age 30. This former truck driver was a man's man, but his intellectual and emotional depth was rare, and it shines through in the many great tracks included here. The sound is usually in mono, since these were early '70s TV broadcasts and no stereo recording was done for that format, but some interludes are in stereo as we see sweet moments of Jim and his family in photos and film.

For a longtime fan like me, this is absolutely precious. It's such a joy to see Jim in action after all the years of having to just recall seeing that famously character-filled face in motion, and all I remember is here: The wonderful stories he'd tell about his songs, the crystal clarity of two acoustic guitars that were always meant to be together, and the robust voice of a man who could make you laugh one moment and cry the next with his story songs and sheer raw emotion of love lost or never fully achieved.

This is a treasure. Don't miss it.

being a fan of Jim Croce for many years, It was without any hesitations that I bought the dvd. I am really glad that I did. Because by looking at him when he sing, I could tell that he is very happy to be alive. He had happiness in his eyes, It is rare to see a man like him nowadays, somebody that is really to love.

The dvd has most of the songs that I like. Naturally It has Bad Bad Leroy Brown, and many more. But one minus point, my favorite tune was not done live, I mean the one titled ''I have to say I love you in a son'', It was only played like on a cd. Too bad. Besides that little thing, everything is perfect, His wife explained how was his life with him, his son did the same. It must have been really nice to have known him.

Having the DVD, plus some cd and some lyrics, I can say that he is and will be forever in my mind. What a shame that he died so young. I speak french, I am sorry if my english is not as good as it should be but I think that anybody interested in good music should buy this. A great dvd with a great singer with great songs I

In a word, my friends, this DVD is a gem! It's really good. Also, the 50th anniversary double CD has several excellent songs I hadn't heard before.

This musical Gnome concludes that it deserves an extra, sixth star!