Live at Ledbetters [Live]

New Christy Minstrels | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 11, 2000)
• Original Release Date: April 11, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Collector's Choice
• ASIN: B00003W0XJ
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #450,019 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Walk The Road

2. Vayivan

3. Listen, I'll Sing You The Blues

4. Elijah Rock

5. Charleston Town

6. That Choc'late Ice Cream Cone

7. Good-Time Joe

8. Saturday Night

9. Jamie

10. (The Story Of) Waltzing Matilda

11. Tani

12. Glory, Glory

13. Oh! Michael (Michael Row The Boat Ashore)

14. Oh, Miss Mary

15. Hoy (Spanish 'Today')

16. A La Claire Fontaine

17. Same Ol' Huckleberry Finn

18. Bonus Track 1

Editorial Reviews

CD, featuring the New Christy Minstrels.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Live From Ledbetter's" A Lively CD, April 30, 2000

By 

Robert M. Beck (Norman, OK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live at Ledbetters (Audio CD)

The "Live From Ledbetter's" CD is a must-have item for every New Christy Minstrel fan. Recorded over a three-day period during April, 1964 -- at the height of the group's popularity and creative vigor -- this collection captures the Christies at their best and has something for every musical taste. Featuring several step-out performances by individual Minstrels -- Karen Gunderson's soulful "Listen, I'll Sing You The Blues", Barry Kane's traditional flamenco "Tani", and Art Podell's hilarious "Waltzing Matilda" alone are worth the cost of the CD -- the 13 live, internationaly-flavored songs are a great trip down memory lane for those fans fortunate to have attended a Christy concert during the early- to mid-'60s. For those fans who never had the opportunity to see the group perform at its zenith, they are a golden opportunity to experience the Christy "magic". An added bonus are four more songs the Christies recorded shortly after the live performances, and a folk song performed by Minstrels Podell and Paul Potash before they joined the group. All-in-all this is a collection of songs you'll play over and over.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Have to have it, April 30, 2000

By 

Marleen Brooks (Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live at Ledbetters (Audio CD)

I once read that Randy Sparks wanted to put together a baseball team of folksingers, people who could perform as individuals and as a group and sound great both ways. This album shows how well the New Christy Minstrels pulled that off. If all you ever knew was "Green, Green," you only got the "full group" side. You missed Art Podell's "translation" of "Waltzing Matilda." You missed Karen Gunderson's smokey blue "Listen While I Sing you the Blues." You missed Barry Kane's knock-your-socks-off "Tani." This album caught them and more. It's a "have to have" for folk music fans.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Bloom Is Off the Rose, May 30, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Live at Ledbetters (Audio CD)

Long left in the vaults after its recording, Live From Ledbetters is a new find even for seasoned NCM fans.

This album was recorded just after the Christies had crested the wave. Absent are Dolan Ellis, whose voice helped create the classic NCM sound, and, notably, Randy Sparks himself. Nevertheless, Live From Ledbetters features much of the familiar Christy sound, with, however, more solo work, and some departures from the style of previous albums.

Perhaps the most fascinating thing about this album is the liner notes, which offer insights into the group's internal dynamic, and detail the derailing of the classic NCMs. Here perhaps for the first time is an account of the growing animosity toward Sparks by other members over the choice of material and a piece of the action.

A slight something is missing from this album. Maybe it's the result of the absence of Sparks and Ellis. Maybe the internal dissatisfactions were starting to affect the group's sound. Certainly the recordings could have been mixed better--audience applause is too loud and some of the performers are not loud enough. The liner notes credit Sparks with particular expertise in grouping the voices to achieve optimum blend: maybe his absence shows up in this respect too. Yet much remains to enjoy.

Randy Sparks obviously played a role in the classic group's demise. Yet his songwriting and arranging were so integral a part of its success that without them it would be pointless to talk about the New Christy Minstrels. The other members themselves made indispensable contributions, yet it was Sparks who put the New Christy Minstrels together in the first place, selecting each unique voice to create an ensemble whose sound is so much a part of the personal heritage of many of us. I feel like shouting back over forty years, ordering them to get along and work things out, and telling them all how much they have meant to me.