Customer Reviews

Live In New York

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A recent Esquire Magazine had an article, The Ten Best Songs You Didn't Hear This Year. Taking off that, I say, do you know Jonatha Brooke? You should! What a voice. What a song writer. One of the best.
This album, Live in New York is a marvelous way to get to know her. It comes with a CD and a DVD and it is a great show. Try it and try Jonatha, you can't go wrong.

I found this to be an excellent, career spanning package. Featuring songs from most all periods. JB and the crack team of musicians deliver on all levels. Great, blending harmonies. Dynamic instrumentation.
I have been a fan since her days as part of the Story. You could find Jonatha's name as singing backup on many songs throughout the 90s.
Her strong songwriting and playing are the perfect compliment to her vocal prowess.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching the concert on the DVD. Jonatha shines with her charm and wit that makes you appreciate her talents even more. The venue provides the live vibe wihtout losing the intimacy.
As a bonus, there is a CD of the concert so you can enjoy the music while you're on the move.
Get this now!

Hearing Jonatha Brooke live makes me realize what a talented musician she is. The arrangements and harmonies are complex and really interesting. I'm not crazy about all the songs, but I very much appreciate her as an artist with something to say. I also like the DVD of her live performance.

I've been a fan of Jonatha's for a long time. By rights, this woman should be a major star, but her music is just a little quirky for the mainstream (which is one of the reasons I love it). Having the DVD included with the CD is just so wonderful! Definitely a major bargain.

Wow, what a record - and a feast for the eyes, too. Ms. Brooke really does it this time. A true melodic original. Beautiful vocal work, just amazing harmonies, great mix of uptempo rocking stuff and quiet ballads (wonderfully sequenced), super-tight band, wonderful stage presence, superb audio production. Lead electric guitarist Goffrey More is a powerhouse. Multi-instrumentalist and backing/co-vocalist Ann Marie Milazzo excels. Seven years after I bough Ms. Brooke's first live CD, I thought I'd renew this pleasant acquaintance. I ended up buying one of the best live CDs in my entire collection.

like most people, i have a long list of artists that i wish would put out a live cd/dvd. i can finally cross jonatha brooke of my list. i did see her for her tour out in california, at the coach house. i have owned her live cd for a few years. i am ecstatic to have this new recording.
"because i told you so" is one of my favourites of hers and since it is now on three albums, it must be one of hers as well. unfortunately, westpoint isn't included (my other favourite).
"deny" which is an unreleased song is gut-wrenching, especially when you know the backstory.
there is a great mix of songs from her career. the song "gilded cage" from "the angel in the house" isn't available on the dvd, however it is available on i-tunes. another gem.

the sound is crisp and beautiful. the band is hot to look at. and overall it's a total joy to watch and listen to. i catagorize jonatha as one of my "90's chick singer/songwriters". this is not to be anything but a complement. i love intelligent lyrics, moving music, and passionate voices...and that is what that particular period in music gave me. love her love her love her

Before purchasing this product from Amazon, I downloaded the Crumbs video from iTunes. I loved the performance and found that its origin was from this collection. So I immediately purchased it and can't stop watching the DVD that accompanies the CD.
Being a musician, I really enjoyed the performance, especially the musicianship and the "tightness" of the band . . . what a team! I was especially amazed at the musicianship of Anne Marie Milazzo (what a voice!) and the effortless leads laid down by Goffrey Moore. The filming, sound and editing are superb!
Larry H.

I saw her perform in Philly and everything that the other reviewers on this page say is dead-on. Her songs are gorgeous: beautiful harmonies, great vocal lines, thoughtful lyrics. The best moments in her songs are when the meaning of the lyrics are reinforced by beautifully dissonant two and three part vocal lines. She seems to love counterpoint, and the interweaving of two lines over some complex harmonies (at least for a pop song) makes for some great moments.

There are poets, there are singers, there are songwriters, there are musicians, there are arrangers, there are performers and then, there are artists, like Jonatha Brooke. True artists are able to gather all the tools and disciplines necessary to create in a given medium, and then, willingly, plumb the depths of their own souls to create works that are so much more than the sum of the parts, and that touch us in some of those places in our hearts, that we were sure we had completely defended.

What can you say about someone who can fly over, under and around our well-constructed emotional walls and touch us with kindness, compassion, and understanding before we know what's hit us. Someone who can remind us of the myriad places and times we've betrayed and abandoned ourselves, and each other, and still have the love and wisdom to forgive and accept us.

Jonatha Brooke is a true Singularity. Life is one way before you experience her work...and changed forever afterward. She allows us to see what is possible in the musical performing arts genre, and how discipline really is the key that unlocks true freedom of expression.

Once in a blue moon, someone comes along, and reminds how things could be done, if there were just enough time, enough patience, enough commitment and enough courage to do it "Right".

Having watched Jonatha, perform as a soloist and with various band configurations, in a number of venues over the years, I can tell you that she's even better live than on the Live DVD...which is saying a hell of a lot. The DVD is spectacular, in every way. It is, quite honestly the best live recording I've ever heard or seen, and I've been in the biz for 40 years. What's most impressive to me, however, is the exactness and precision in every detail of every song. There are no mistakes and there is no jamming here. Every tune is honed and sanded until it is the perfect vehicle for the message it is intended to convey. Then it is performed that way, the best way she and her band know how to perform it, night after night after night. This is the ballerina in Jonatha. Imagine improvising the steps in Swan Lake. Unthinkable.

One could think that this might make it difficult to stay interested enough in the music to make it exciting to play, over and over again; but the imaginative crafting of each song allows it to carry both the audience and the performers to different places each and every time one hears them. The density and complexity of what is being expressed here, make each exposure a journey of new discovery. Haunting melodies that are impossible to get out of one's head for days.

Spontaneity comes in the joy and exuberance of sharing, with each band member and the audience, a very precious gift, in the best way they know how to wrap it. She pours herself and her soul into the songs, and, as a result, like crystals, the songs are able to hold, store, and reflect that energy and intensity, and feed her...and us...every time we listen.

It is of paramount importance to Jonatha that her audiences feel like participants in the events she choreographs. She disassembles the wall between audience and performer with wit and humor and playful banter. She shows us, instead of telling us, "If I can do this...so could you, in whatever medium is right for you. Show up, be present, do the best you can every time you have the opportunity." And in her lyrics:

"You're the one evading hope, side-stepping every inkling
That the good guy, the early bird, the one who tries, the one who tries Again....WINS"

My wife worries that I'm obsessing or that I have a crush on Jonatha. What's actually true is my complete respect and admiration for Jonatha's commitment to excellence and to Life, as expressed in her ever-growing body of work. I only hope she records another fifty albums. My wife will have to deal with it. She knew, after all, she was marrying a crazy musician.

At a recent show in Boston, someone asked me why Jonatha wasn't a Huge star already. I responded that I though the reason was that her songs actually made people Feel things, and that we've decided, as a culture, perhaps as a species, that Feeling is not something we like or are willing to do. Thank you Jonatha...again and again and again, for encouraging us to do it anyway.

Great quality. Very little crowd noise.
Favorite tracks - Crumbs, Inconsolable, Landmine