Customer Reviews

Live! An Evening with Crystal Gayle (CD and DVD)

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

 

 

If you have been waiting for a live CD - look no further! This live CD and DVD combo is fantastic. You can listen in your car or watch the great DVD. It features Crystal, sister Peggy Sue and her fantastic band. Rare treats on the concert are a rousing performance of Green Door, Ready for the Times to Get Better, Brown Eyes and some songs you may not be familiar with but are fantastic such as Midnight In the Desert, More Money and That's What I Like about the South. The DVD has a really special treat...a picture show set to music, an interview with Crystal, Peggy Sue and Herman in Butcher Hollow in which Crystal sings a beautiful song without any music. If you LOVE Crystal, you'll LOVE this DVD. For those who have always wanted to go to a concert, this is as close as it gets!

I have met Crystal after a few of her concerts and she is as sincere in person as she comes across on stage - a rare trait in many performers! Buy this and you will enjoy it!

this cd--dvd-- is just what i have waited for--the god given talent of crystal gayle is proven to be one of the best this world has to offer--soothing, pleasing, and undeniably one of the best voices this planet has to offer---the jazzy green door, the classic dont it make my brown eyes blue and many other favorites prove crystal never left. this is one voice you can listen to all day and night and never tire of--she pulls you into the song with her and you cant help but become one with the angelic voice of crystal gayle--a must have

I bought this album after attending one of Crystal's concerts here in Las Vegas. It rocks!! Sound quality is excellent and the packaging is very attractive. It's great to finally have Crystal live! Audience is very enthuseastic and appreciative and they seem like a friendly crowd as the camera pans over them from time to time. The band is excellent and I was very impressed with the musicianship on the song, Green Door, my personal favorite. On the down side, the CD could have been edited a bit better, as her intro is cut and some applause fades out like a track at the end of a record. The DVD is filmed great although Crystal's choice of dress could have been better! Minor gripes considering this is a well made, very entertaining package, performed with the grace, class and beautiful vocals we have always gotten from Crystal. Recommend highly!!!!

WOW....What a great set.Crystal Sounds better than ever and looking good.
The full length DVD was worth the price.Mostly songs from early on,there
is some new material like"MIDNIGHT IN THE DESERT" She did for radio
talk show host Art BEll of Coast TO Coast AM that he signs off with.
she also did"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW MY NAME" a very important tribute
to our troops and how she would like to thank them for what they do.
very good song.MY FAVORITE is"THATS WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE SOUTH".
Well done Crystal,Huge fan.

Prime Cuts: Everybody's Reaching Out for Someone, Half the Way, Talking in Your Sleep

Her patented knee long tresses and her supple voice that expresses both vulnerability and verve make Crystal Gayle country music's unmistakable gem. However, country radio's recent ignorance of her is itself a heinous crime. Yet, witnessing her legions of ebullient (though polite) fans who still hung on to this diva's very word on this live disc is redemptive. Recorded with a 5.1 surround sound grandiloquence, "Live! An Evening with Crystal Gayle" is this Kentucky native's first live CD. As with most of such endeavors, Gayle does parade through some of her big hits such as "When I Dream," "Half the Way," and "Wrong Road Again" augmented by a couple of her sister's Loretta Lynn hits plus three tracks previously not available on any CD. Vocally, this Grammy winner is still meridian with the occasional shortness of breath that comes with the catching up of age. Striking also is the versatility of the backing musicians as they are able to transit in an inconspicuous way from some of Gayle most rustic songs to some of her more jazzy excursions.

The hits are the highlights here: Roger Cook and Bobby Wood's delicate cheating lament "Talking in Your Sleep" still exudes the kind of ache that few ballads can communicate today. "Half the Way," Gayle's 1979 crossover smash, has been stripped of its original urban cowboy's cheesy gross, giving it a delightful acoustic feel. While the set encores with Gayle giving a berceuse-like read of her signature hit "When I Dream." The most surprising entry has to be "Everybody's Reaching Out for Someone," an uncharted single from Gayle's 1990 "Ain't Gonna Worry" CD. With its cordial melody and its embracing lyrics, "Everybody's Reaching" certainly brought some toe-tapping moments for the quite reserved audience. However, a swath of hits and lesser album cuts have been curtailed in favor of a couple of Loretta Lynn's hits namely "Blue Moon of Kentucky" and "Coal Miner's Daughter." Sure, Lynn helped launch Gayle's early career. But, after Gayle's most extensive catalog, do we need to reprise Lynn's material? Also in place of Lynn, Gayle has brought in another of her sister, Peggy Sue Wright to duet with her. Unfortunately, Wright's limited and extremely aged vocals are at best an embarrassment.

Of the newer tracks, "More Money" again a duet with Wright, is charming. A humorous propulsive number with a jazzy slant, "More Money" interestingly comes from Sandy "When I Dream" Mason, Benita Hill and Pete Sebert. The other two newer cuts are patriotic-themed, "You Don't Know My Name" and "Midnight in the Desert," both of which express different perspectives of war. They are by no means revolutionary and they pale compared to some of Gayle's former hits. A short interlude displays producer Jay Patten singing an ambrosial self-composed bossa nova-tingled "Old Songs." An accomplished jazz musician himself, Patten sings with vivace. The evening ends with a medley-like Gospel tribute with Gayle singing short snippets of old favorites such as "Somebody Touched Me," "I'll Fly Away," "I Saw the Light," and "Jesus on the Mainline." However, grievous though is the omission of Gayle's post 1990 material: it would be advantageous to attempt a medley of her recent cover of standards.

An added bonus is the accompanying DVD; this allows us to view the concert for ourselves. Often Gayle's dialog is right on without becoming long colloquies. However, of concern is the graying audience, what has become of the younger folks? Nevertheless, "live" sets like greatest hits for an established artist often misfire, as there is not enough space to include the wimps and wants of fans. With that considered, this is a fetching CD--Gayle still looks and sounds excellent. With class and elegance synonymous with her performance, this CD affirms that Gayle is still country music's gem.

I have been a long time fan of Crystal Gayle but I wish some of her latter works from the albums Nobody's Angels, True Love, Three Good Reasons, Caged the Songbird, Nobody Wants to Be Alone,and Holloywood Tennesse were included. Several of the last compilation releases include only "hits" from her earlier work. Having Peggy Sue sing back up is nice but she should stay in the background. That extra time given to Peggy Sue to warble can be used better with a few more Crystal classics. With so many talented songwriters out there, Crystal needs to record new material
and make new hits. That's my 2-cents.