Customer Reviews

The Last Concert

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Those who saw Rosemary in concert will recall her warmth, spontaneity with her audience, and total involvement with her music. Fortunately, due to one of those fortuitous happenings, a recording of her final concert was made in Honolulu. The Honolulu Symphony Pops Orchestra, anxious to obtain a recording contract, needed some sample recordings to show how well the orchestra sounded. This recording therefore exists as such and whilst showcasing this talented Orchestra to great advantage, more importantly included the late, great Rosemary in top form at the end of a vacation in Hawaii; a place she had loved since the `50's.Surprisingly enough, her previous "live" recording had taken place at the London Palladium around fifty years previously, during her early pop-star period, so the fact this new and final recording exists is pure chance, and it provides a magic opportunity to hear Rosemary just one more time.She was promoting her new album, SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY, so with Big Kahuna reprising his studio conducting duties, it was inevitable she would feature selections from it like HAPPINESS IS JUST A THING CALLED JOE, ROCKIN'CHAIR, YOU GO TO MY HEAD and the title song, as well as other standards from the American Song Book - I'M CONFESSIN THAT I LOVE YOU, JUST IN TIME and OL' MAN RIVER. All are flawlessly interpreted, with the icing on the cake being some interlinking sections of dialogue expressing her humour and thoughts about her favourite people - Bing Crosby and Sinatra, with THE SINGER dedicated to Ol' Blue Eyes. Most powerful of all is her GOD BLESS AMERICA, performed just two months after 9/11, and an emotional experience for so many reasons.

Rosemary was a cherished performer and this final recording will help to ensure her great talent will never be forgotten.

If you are a fan of Rosemary Clooney -- this is a "must have".
If you only know her from the 50's -- this is a "must have".
The lively, young, exuberant Rosemary Clooney of the early years never left. After a sad passage in her career, Rosie came back as strong as ever -- but there was a deeper understanding of the lyrics that she chose to sing. This album shows without a doubt the effect that singing before live audience can have on a person of great talent. This is Rosie at her best. At 74 years of age this lovely lady is still communicating with her audience. This is the "basic" Rosie at her best. This is the only "live" concert recording of the Clooney voice. And it is a necessary addition to any "pop" collection. We lost her far to soon.

Rosemary Clooney - The Last Concert is a beautiful CD, and interesting that it is one of her few live recordings. Miss Clooney is in excellent form, she sounds much better than her last "in studio" recording. Her "live" renditions of the songs on this CD are flawless - just amazing for her age. Finally, her closing rendition of "God Bless America" is like hearing the song for the first time, and quite moving. Thank you Concord Records for releasing this fitting swan song to The Girl Singer. We will miss you Rosemary.

A terrific and moving close to a brilliant career. I didn't know what to expect, but Ms. Clooney is in very fine form here, singing with her band and the Honolulu Orchestra to an enthusiastic audience. I'll listen to this one over and over. Thank you Rosemary.

I'm one of the rare lucky people who was there in person on that night. This recording brings it all back. Ms. Clooney needed help walking onto the stage, and had to perform sitting down. The minute she opened her mouth, all doubts were erased--her body may have been on its way out, but the voice was stillthere, with more emotional intensity than ever. What a rapport with the audience. Everyone in the audience seemed to share the knowledge that this was probably the end, and her rendition of "God Bless America" in the post-Sept 11th world, given that shared realization, created a moment that no one in that live audience will EVER forget. I was so happy when I saw this CD available and knew I could now relive those moments whenever I wanted to. Clooney lives on. This CD is a treasure.

THE LAST CONCERT is undoubtedly the one that will remain as the finest tribute to a lifelong career of a consummate artist. At an age when most singers are resting on their laurels--and those who aren't might rethink what they're leaving behind as their final legacies--Rosemary Clooney is in top form.

This album points out what a magnificent rapport she had with a live audience. The energy she absorbs shows in the delivery of songs that might not be attempted by lesser talents. "Ol' Man River" for one.

If she had recorded only this particular production of "You Go To My Head," this album would be a keeper. Never, even on her last studio album, has it been done so well. The arrangement is extraordinary, the band is exceptional. And Rosie is Rosie at her best.

Close your eyes and let her whisk you away to a stage in balmy Hawaii. It's amazing, the effect a terrific band and a live audience have on her performance. "You Go To My Head" and "God Bless America" are worth the price of the album. What a cap on an extraordinary career. The lady's got class.

Rosie at her best! Just buy it and enjoy a singer with great heart, warmth, musical sensitivity, and timing. Love it!

In a long and amazing career, Rosemary Clooney gave us many, many wonderful moments and this cd is no exception. I think this is without a doubt the perfect legacy for Rosemary to have left us. Words can't describe the sadness and joy I experience when I listen to this album.

A Grammy would be a fitting legacy for the immortal Rosemary.

This recording of Rosemary Clooney's last concert in Honolulu is a serendipitous event. Her visit in November 2001 to her beloved islands coincided with the Honolulu Orchestra's need for a demo tape, and thus we have a lasting memory of Rosie at the last and still going strong.
Her voice is strong and melodic; the notes come so effortlessly that you don't realize what incredible range she has until you try to follow along. While she didn't try to hit the high notes like she used, Ms. Clooney still nailed every note that she attempted, and imbued them with extraordinary warmth. Her conversational dialog between songs is also captured, for which I'm forever thankful! Rosemary Clooney was a bright, funny woman with a biting sense of humor. Thank goodness some of that liveliness was captured here.
The CD ends with her performance of "God Bless America". The hair literally stood up on the back of my neck; her voice infused the song with life and truly expressed her hope for grace for a post 9/11, shell-shocked country.
This is an amazing, bittersweet recording. Within two months, Rosemary Clooney entered the hospital for treatment for the lung cancer that would claim her life in June 2002. She leaves behind an incredible body of work, and a grieving extended family of everyone who ever heard a single note that she sang.
I was raised in Kentucky listening to Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Rosemary Clooney. She's been part of the soundtrack of my life since birth. Miss Rosie, I'll miss you. The world was more beautiful for your presence, and strangely quiet without you. Thank goodness we have this recording to break the silence.

This CD as other's have indicated is such a bitter-sweet affair. This would be Rosemary's last recording prior to her death at the age of 74.

I normally do not like "live" recordings - but this is the exception to the rule! Rosie's monologue with the audience shows just how funny she really was -I loved her remark about her nephew George! The orchestra is just sensational and her voice is just as strong as ever.

Her voice has never changed over the years and either did her ego. Like so many stars who "hit it big" they tend to let their fame "go to their head", but not Ms. Clooney. She was an extremely funny, generous, gracious, and most importantly talented person.

While she started in the business back in 1940's I prefer the recordings she started with the Concord label in 1977. It has been said that her "comeback" that year put Concord Records on the map; but with Rosie's style and grace she credited her comeback to Concord Records! She was pure class.

I may had been one of her "youngest" fans at a mere 38 years of age - but I think we can all agree - she was truly the one and only "Girl Singer" - You will always be missed Rosie!