Live on the Double Planet [Live]

Michael Hedges | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Windham Hill Records
• ASIN: B000000NGZ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #110,255 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't be put off by the "New Age" label..., January 22, 2000

By 

The Sanity Inspector (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live on the Double Planet (Audio CD)

...this man is no bong artist. And this disc is anything but aural wallpaper. Michael Hedges was easily the most exciting and entertaining performer in the Windham Hill stable. I saw him a couple of times, once on Halloween. He came out in a wig, pumps and miniskirt.

For those who are new to his music, he is an acoustic guitarist. But, that's something of a misnomer, as his "acoustic" instrument is miked-up, flanged, and reverbed enough to swallow the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. His axe probably has more electronics in it than Jimi's Strat did. His songs featured him using both hands to play double lead lines, or fast and furious strumming, or swooping portamentoes, or smacking the guitar's body with his ring. Usually a combination of these. He wrung more tenderness, power, good cheer, and even majesty out of this instrument than anyone else I ever heard, thanks to the electronics AND his talent.

His originals here, other than the novelty "Funky Avocado", are rather stately ballads or tone poems. Of the latter, "Breakfast in the Fields" is a standout. At one of his concerts, he took a couple of minutes to explain how this tune came to him from his studies of Bartok. It's too bad "Rickover's Dream" is not included here, though.

A highlight of his act was his "super"-acoustic cover versions, and this disc doesn't stint with those. There's an impressive "All Along the Watchtower," a sexy "A Love Bizarre", and a hilarious sing-along version of "Come Together."

His early death was tragedy, of course. Buy this disc, and you'll see why someone you don't hear on the radio can still be considered a legend.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Accurate for the Era, September 2, 2003

By 

Mad Dog "maddog6969" (TimbuckThree, Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live on the Double Planet (Audio CD)

I was fortunate to see many of Michael's shows around the time this was recorded and also got to sit down a few times and talk with him about what he was trying to accomplish with the live recordings. His previous studio album (Watching My Life Go By) had been the first to include vocals, which had not overly impressed the bosses at Windham Hill. So they sent him on the road to do some live recordings, hopeing it would be a learning experience that would eventually yield better studio vocal performances.

For those of you that didn't listen to Michael at the time, many fans seriously disliked Watching My Life Go By, much in the way ardent Dylan fans revolted when he went electric at Newport. Hedges fans just wanted to hear Michael play his Savage Myth Guitar and keep the vocal parts trimmed down to the introductions. But Michael had a vision for his future and a big part of it included singing to compliment his Heavy Mental approach.

I guess I wasn't the typical Hedges fan - I enjoyed his singing, mostly because of the spirit of joy that he experienced while singing. Some of the songs on this set are not my favorites, but they were staples for his concerts in this era. To me, this disc is like sitting through the first half of one of Michael's shows, complete with the crowd energy he was capable of generating with ease.

Also included here are two cover tunes (Love Bizarre and Come together). His live shows often included three or so cover tunes such as the above or possibly Pinball Wizard, Emminence Front, Let's Get It Up, She Drives Me Crazy or Sofa, among others. I always got a kick out of hearing him cover tunes - I mean, think about how many solo acoustic acts have successfully covered AC/DC, Prince, the Who and Frank Zappa? But this just goes to show how versitile and gifted Michael was. I'm so happy to have had (and to have taken) the opportunity to see so many of his shows early in his career. His later tours were also excellent, but these were before the loss of innocence, while he was very hungry for success. That hunger also meant that the negative feedback he got about his vocals was difficult for him to take. But rather than receeding into a shell and reverting back to all-acoustic material, he continued to sing. I believe that this was the right decision. Singing while playing live gave excellent counterpoint to his instrumental works and, in his own words: "Gave me a few minutes to relax, then to focus more intensely on the instrumentals".

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An authentic original. Sadly missed., November 26, 2003

By 

NJC (Maine, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live on the Double Planet (Audio CD)

You ever had that feeling after deciding to be adventurous and plunking down $17, that you wished you'd played it safer? I had this feeling with this CD--for a day or two at most. It grew on me like few CDs have, until it became THE CD of the summer in which I bought it, and one of my very favorites of all time. It's original without being self-indulgent, technically astounding without losing the music, full of different moods, a great live ambience, and even humor. I adore it. I missed hearing Michael Hedges in person, and now I'll never get the chance (it was one black morning indeed when I heard he'd died). Don't you miss this CD.