Live

Swing Out Sister | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 23, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Shanachie
• ASIN: B000A0GOMI
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #144,455 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great live album!, August 26, 2005

By 

Tuff munchies (Baltimore, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live (Audio CD)

This is a fantastic new live project that features radically re-arranged versions of popular SOS songs. This album has Excellent live sound quality and impressive musicianship from the jazz back-up group. This could very well be Swing Out Sister's most accessible album ever since the versions here are more soulful than their studio counterparts and the arrangements are contemporary, not dated, like some of SOS's earliest recordings. As such, I would recommend this to anyone looking for a starting point into the music of Swing Out Sister.
As for SOS fans,don't sleep on this one because it's a live album. You've never heard these songs presented the way they are here- simply brilliant!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars VERY nice set -- updated jazz vibe for familiar songs, February 20, 2006

By 

Peace Brotha (Ohio, United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Live (Audio CD)

Swing Out Sister never disappoints me with their musical artistry. I recently had the opportunity to see them live here in Ohio last summer and they were absolutely phenomenal.

This CD basically captures what that set was like. The songs are given the familiar SOS reinvention, paying respect to the originals while creating something totally fresh and inventive. This time, the music is washed in jazzy arrangements that are similar to the Jazz Cafe project, but with more R&B influences.

Corrinne's lovely vocals match her personality and physical beauty, as always. The band and background singers are second to none; another SOS hallmark.

That said, one of the prior reviewers is right about the annoying skips in this recording. Those skips come from improper editing between tracks. For live recordings, there should be NO breaks between tracks (unless there's a fadeout). Someone at Shanachie apparently forgot this, and the result is a disturbing half-second cut-out between songs.

Other than that annoyance, the sound quality of the music itself is decent to very good throughout.

Another disappointment noted by the reviewer is the overall appearance of the CD. It does look like a bootleg. Swing Out Sister is an eclectic group, so one could almost make a case that they wanted the CD to look like that. However, I'm guessing that even the group didn't want the effect to be this drastic, if that's the case.

I would recommend this CD in a heartbeat to any prior SOS fan as well as anyone that appreciates "nutritious ear candy." Please don't blame the group for their label's missteps. Instead, enjoy another masterpiece from this group that has been lovingly creating wonderful and fresh music for nearly 20 years.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Supremely Sublime, September 3, 2005

By 

Marc Vos "Marc Vos" (Universe) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live (Audio CD)

Having listened & enjoyed the metamorphosis of music & style that has become Swing Out Sister over the past 17 years or so, I can safely say that this live release is by far one of their best. It's clear that like all good things in life, time has taken SOS and made them better, in sound and style. I had the great fortune of seeing them live on this tour with a friend who didn't know SOS' music and he completely loved the show as did I. With all of the mundane and vapid music that is currently out in the market today, it's refreshing and relieving to see that SOS is still around to give us that adult contemporary glamourous music that can be an uber-hip soundtrack to anyone's life. The first track on this release, "Surrender/World Out Of Control" is a great intro for Corrine's incredible voice. It sets the stage for the vibe that is clearly Swing Out Sister. One of the tracks that is quite fabulous is when SOS goes into their huge Japanese smash "Now You're Not Here" and then proceeds into a dip of "No Scrubs" from TLC. When I heard it live in Baltimore, I thought... "These guys just couldn't be any cooler." To think that a group heavily influenced by Burt Bacharach is jamming to TLC. Although SOS has a devout fan base and is on the border of being cultish, Their music is a sound that is far from being obscure. It embraces the touch of classical jazz, while infusing traditional R&B, and soul. One of my favorite tracks on this album is "Filth & Dreams" I think it's just the intro and Andy's vibraphone that just gets me. Over all, Corinne & Andy have done their art justice by not selling out and sticking to their artistic guns by making music that has substance and style, which makes them stand out and shine in the music world.