Customer Reviews

Live at the Cellar Door

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

 

 

This somewhat hard to find Ritchie Havens CD combines two 1970 performances-- The Cellar Door in Washington, DC (now defunct), and the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Ritchie Havens puts so much heart and soul in to each song it will make your hair stand up (then, I've never heard of a concert where he didn't).

As usual, Havens does more covers than originals, but every song he plays becomes a Ritchie Havens song. Especially great are his Helplessly Hoping (Stephen Stills), his famous version of God Bless the Child, and Dolphins, a song which he popularized as far as I know.

Another bonus to this as opposed to a greatest hits collection is his "narrations". Havens is gentle and funny, and tells stories like no one else. Buy this CD, see him live, gawk at his underrecognized talent.

I have an Internet-only radio station that plays this album. I also have these cuts on different music mixes I carry on CD and i-Pod and I never tire of the soft, gently explosive sound of this great musician.

While I was unable to see Richie "Live at the Cellar Door" in Washingon, DC, I did get to see him twice at the Birchmere in nearby Alexandria, VA. It was the first time in years my oldest son and I got excited about the same music.

Buy it because it sounds great or buy it because it has some wonderful human reflection, or buy it just because it brings on such sweet nostalgia, but buy it. You'll be glad you did.

One other thing, go to Richie Havens dot com and look at some of the wonderful artwork he has done. He also has lots of nice gear there, too.

All best.

-Lee

I love this album, I've listened to it a thousand times. The music, the stories, his voice, his lyrics are special, they are unique, and fun. This album led me to see him perfom at the "Bottom Line" in the West Village with Tin Tin, and the performance we saw was nothing short of astounding. Live at the Cellar Door was of course recorded years ago, still the aura that Ritchie Havens gives off on record or in person is that of warmth, respect, love, friendship, and passion, what else is there?

I love Richie Havens as a perfomer. However, I found his live releases to be pleasant, but infuriatingly unsatisfying. Havens performed at lot of classic shows in the late 60s, early 70s such as Woodstock(1969), Isle of Wight Festivals(69 & 70), Atlanta Pop Festival(1970), any Fillmore East show, etc. His classic strumming and poignant vocal power captured the spirit of the late sixties hippie rock generation. Unfortunately, Havens seemed to pass up the chance for the public to hear the showstoppers. This live album and ON STAGE (1972, currently not available on CD) is made up of mainly slow/moderate tempo tunes that really do not epitomize what Havens made famous. A lot of them are covers. Many are good versions, but they are not from classic shows.I really want a live release that is a complete show from a classic concert or venue. One radio interviewer a few years back asked Havens if he ever planned to release his Woodstck set in its entirety, but he avoided the question and changed the subject. Strange. CELLAR DOOR does have its moments, and is from 1970, a classic year, but the entire show should have been released to make it completely worthwhile.

This disc had me right from the first song and didn't let up. As someone who has seen Richie Havens perform live this CD manages to capture the warmth and gentle spirit that Richie possesses and showcases his frenetic strumming style on the acoustic guitar. This CD was culled from two performances, one in 1970 at the Cellar Door in Washington D.C., and the other from 1972 at the Santa Monica Civic Center in California, and the liner notes explain that the previously released live version of "Here Comes The Sun" became a radio hit but the rest of the performance was shelved and not released until years later. Although the majority of the songs Richie plays on this disc were written by other songwriters (George Harrison, Stephen Stills, Bob Dylan, The Band, Fred Neil, and even one by Billie Holiday) this disc introduced me to Richie's own song "No More, No More", which I hadn't heard before and found to be very moving. There are several moments on this disc that are just too beautiful for words. Although the majority of the songs here are more low key and relaxed as opposed to a "Freedom" type rave up that didn't bother me one bit. The mellow nature of this disc really hits the spot every time I put it on, and as always Richie's voice is nothing short of phenomenal. The tracks where he talks to the audience also really reminded me of when I saw him live; he still does his humorous monologues at shows these days, and they always manage to make you smile while making you think. This CD really captures the strengths of Richie Havens as a performer and I would recommend it if you are a fan or are looking for an introduction to his music.

I saw Richie Havens perform recently in Ft. Lauderdale and was highly disappointed by his largely incoherent ramblings, choice of mostly unfamiliar material and glacial pacing. Totally different from my memories of when I first saw him perform, about 15 years ago, on Miami Beach, at the short-lived Stephen Talkhouse. It was at that concert that I first purchased Live at the Cellar Door on cassette.

Replacing that aged tape with the CD of this wonderful album helped rekindle the memories of Richie Havens performing in his prime. His voice is in fine form, the amusing spoken intros are seemingly extemporaneous and the songs and guitar playing are classic. If you're a fan, this album is a must have.

Since Woodstock, the best way to hear Richie Havens is live. The Cellar Door recordings are a great example of that. He recorded "Here Comes The Sun" there. That live recording has been a hit ever since, and is one of the ways we know Havens' music. If you want any recording by Richie Havens, this one should be included.

I was expecting a tour d' force such as Mixed Bag. Not to be fulfilled. The songs are slowed down to the pace of dirges. Two tracks are wasted on 60's-esqu banter with the audience--once is enough, but after once, you'd rather have 2 more songs. Get a studio album. They are all great.