Live at Carnegie Hall [Import, Live]

Harry Belafonte | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 30, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import, Live
• Label: RCA Victor Europe
• ASIN: B000006SUU
• Also Available in: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,691 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #6 in Music > World Music > Caribbean & Cuba > Calypso
  • #21 in Music > World Music > Caribbean & Cuba > General AAS
  • #21 in Music > World Music > Caribbean & Cuba > General

Track Listings

1. Introduction/Darlin' Cora

2. Sylvie

3. Cotton Fields

4. John Henry

5. The Marching Saints

6. The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)

7. Jamaica Farewell

8. Mama Look a Boo Boo

9. Come Back Liza

10. Man Smart (Woman Smarter)

11. Hava Nagila

12. Danny Boy

13. Cucurrucucu Paloma

14. Shenandoah

15. Matilda

Editorial Reviews

bin 15110. Remastered reissue, part of RCA's Living Stereo series, for the esteemed vocalist's 1959 live concert recording. 19 tracks: 'Introduction/ Darlin' Cora', 'Sylvie''Cotton Fields', 'John Henry', 'Take My Mother Home', 'The Marching Saints', 'Day O', 'Jamaica Farewell', 'Man Piaba', 'All My Trials', 'Mama Look A Boo Boo', 'Come Back Lisa', 'Man Smart (Woman Smarter)', 'Have Nageela', 'Danny Boy', 'Merci Bon Dieu', 'Cu Cu Ru Cu Cu Paloma', 'Shenandoah' and 'Matilda'.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Contains the full songlist of the original LP, not edited., August 9, 2005

By 

Mary Whipple (New England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Live at Carnegie Hall (Audio CD)

Recorded on two nights in April, 1959, this CD contains the full concert--all nineteen songs--unlike a previously released CD of this concert which omits four songs. Singing work songs and traditional folk songs for the first half of the concert, Belafonte switches, after the intermission, to novelty songs and some of the most famous of all his international folk songs before concluding, as he so often does, with "Matilda."

Opening with "Wake Up, Wake Up, Darlin' Cora," Belafonte holds key notes for several extra beats, prolonging the song's wailing sadness and stunning the audience with the song of a man who has been treated like a "dirty dog" and who now leaves "Darlin' Cora" behind as he takes to the road after a confrontation with his boss. With his strong, slightly husky voice and ability to hold a note till tomorrow, he follows this with a Leadbelly song, "Sylvie," in which he changes the lyric from a work song to a jailhouse plea. The tempo increases throughout this set through "Saints" and "Day-O," then slows for the sorrowful "All My Trials," an old Bahamian lullaby which became a sixties protest song.

In the second set, he begins with the calypso novelty song, "Mama Look at Boo Boo," in which he plays the role of a man whose children say "My daddy can't be ugly so," a statement that is so ironic for Belafonte that even he is chuckling throughout. "Man Smart, Woman Smarter," continues the fun and the calypso beat, with hand-clapping preparing the audience for four foreign folk songs--"Hava Nageela" (one of his most famous and most requested songs), "Danny Boy" (sung almost completely a capella), "Merci Bon Dieu," and "Cu Cu Ru Cu Cu Paloma," a charming Mexican song in which the orchestra makes bird sounds throughout.

Controlling his volume from a whisper to full-out wailing and the tempo from a slow ballad to wild calypso and street dance (in "Saints"), Belafonte is at his peak here, in total control of his audience. Though he usually sings with simple accompaniments, here he uses, on occasion, the full orchestra ("Saints," "Mama Look At Boo Boo"), incorporating trumpets ("Cu Cu Ru Cu"), strings, and flutes ("Come Back Liza). Though Belafonte was a star before this concert, this performance made him a superstar, a household name throughout the world. n Mary Whipple

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some technical details and comments, July 24, 2006

By 

Brian A. (San Francisco Bay Area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live at Carnegie Hall (Audio CD)

Tracks flow into each other with no "silence" between; its just like the "Living Stereo" black vinyl Long-Play records. All of the content on the LPs is indeed here. Awesome.

Sound quality is quite good. CDs were issued in Germany in 1993 (performance dates were 19 & 20 April 1959). There are no markings on the CDs indicating remixing, remastering or other processing. Despite this, the sound is a little more "natural" than my LP transfer which had that circa-1959 bass richness. This may be just coloration in my turntable set-up and the CD gets it right. There is minor tape hiss in the background noise. The dynamic range may have been increased. The CD allows me to hear more in the music than I ever heard before (musican banter, HB's breathing etc).

The CDs are a great replacement to the LPs transfers I had on my iPod. (I'm not sure yet if I'll miss the ticks and pops from the needle. It was kinda cool on an iPod.)

Regarding musicality; the other reviews have said it all. I agree that this is one of those rare recordings where everything is perfect. It is unthinkable that this concert could even have one second edited from it. I love this concert. It is genius.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best live album ever, January 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Live at Carnegie Hall (Audio CD)

I used to listen to the LP from my parents when I was a kid. Now I have the double CD and I love it so much... it is so great. I had the good fortune of seeing Belafonte twice live in concert (in 1989 and 1998) and he is just one of the best "entertainers" in the world. Get this double disc set NOW ! (not a Pink Floyd, but a Tina Turner fan !)