Customer Reviews

Michael McDonald - A Gathering of Friends

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am a major Michael McDonald fan. I've got most everything he's contributed to. So when I saw this DVD I was excited to get it. While I see what they were going for here, the ultimate product is pretty weak. It's basically concert footage of a "pay tribute to Michael" night. The show consists entirely of pairings of Michael with other singers. In most of these the other singer is the one featured, not Michael and oddly they pick tunes that Michael didn't write either.

Jeff Bridges is the MC and while he's a great actor, this guy should never, never sing in public. He's given the stage for an entire number and that's a sore spot for me because one of my complaints is that this DVD contains too few tracks.

The best part of the DVD is the two tunes that Michael does with the Doobie Brothers. Here, he is finally featured as is his songwriting. But the thing that's totally missing from the DVD is anything from his solo efforts, which to me is, along with his Doobie work, his best stuff. "You Belong To Me" a tune written by Michael and recorded by both Carly Simon and the Doobie Brothers is an exception, but he doesn't sing it!

He struggles through two tunes with Kenny Loggins, who again is a great artist, but the numbers are under-rehearsed.

Adding a final annoyance to the show is Soap-Star-Come-Sax-Player Dave Koz, who steps out in "You Belong To Me" doing his best, in typical Dave Koz fashion, to upstage the other musicians. His body language is as corny as his banal sax playing. Oh, and Dave, the song's over, you can stop playing now. The contrast of Koz's live performance and Dave Sanborn's original on that tune is sad.

Moreover, I'd spend your money on Michael's solo CD's. You'll get so much more Michael for your money.

PS. I'm remaining annoymous on this one because I know several of the musicians in this production.

I recently purchased this on video and love it. For Christmas I recieved a DVD player, and I just ordered the DVD.One of the evenings that I saw Michael McDonald was at Great Woods as part of the New York "Rock & Soul Revival" with Donald Fagen,Phoebe Snow, Boz Scaggs etc..I don't recall a night on which I have been happier, I smiled for days after that. This concert makes that look like just a great night. This concert on the DVD features Michael with Doobie Brothers,Patty LaBelle, Patty Austin,Kenny Loggins Jefferey Osborne and Christopher Cross on some of the great hits and some newer talent on the Blues Obsession songs. Jeff Bridges acts as MC for the evening the background singers have Kim Carnes and Amy Holland McDonald(who is also credited as Monkey Trainer) and the band has David Pack of Ambrosia as its Assistant Music Director and David Koz on Sax.The music is great, the performances outstanding, watching it you can see the performers are having as great a time as the audience.A new song for me was "Maria" with Jeffery Osbourne and David Pack. The harmonies are amazaing. This was a great concert on tape, brought back great memories of the time and you get to see this awesome concert most of can only wish we could have seen.....maybe another time. When GOD gave us the gift of Music I believe he gave us Michael McDonald. If you watch this concert you will love it, and at the very least get it to see Michael McDonald with only a slight beard and Jeffery Osbourne with no hair at all.

As I was strolling down the aisle of my favorite music emporium the other day, a very familiar name jumped out at me from the music DVD category. His name was the same but the face couldn't have looked any more different. Michael McDonald not only found a razor blade he is totally happy with (lose the soul patch though) but he also found his greatest collaboraters in Michael McDonald:A Gathering Of Friends. I have been waiting for a Michael McDonald Concert on DVD for a long time and I believe he did it the right way. It seems like Michael's voice has surfaced in 90% of the soft pop music that came out in the 70's and 80's. By bringing the likes of Christofer Cross, Patti Labelle, Kenny Loggins, James Ingram and more together for a night of music taped at the Shrine Auditorium in LA earlier this year, it goes to show you that a great voice singing second lead or backup can be just as dominant as that same voice singing lead vocals on so many songs. I remember a Saturday Night Live skit many years ago showing Michael going from session to session singing on everybody's songs. Well, these are those songs folks. Ride Like The Wind, Yah Mo Be There, On My Own, Heart To Heart and This Is It. You must have heard these songs a thousand times each and the performances are as solid as are his own hits he sings like Minute By Minute and Takin' It To The Streets with the band that brought him, The Doobie Brothers. I have always said that the whiter Michael's hair turns the blacker his voice sounds. Soulful black. At the age of 49 Michael's pipes seem to grow stronger and stronger. This DVD is a must see for any fan wanting an A+ performance from "Mr. Blue Eyed Soul" himself. If nothing else it will be the first performance Michael has made sans mustache and beard since he became a star in 1976 with his first Doobie Brother's album Takin' It To The Streets. The next thing Michael would be to do a full concert reunion with the "Brothers". Thanks for this one.

This is very nice to own for all Michael Mcdonald fans.To see many artists that he has been involved with through the years pay tribute to him was great.He did songs like On My Own with Patti LaBelle,Ya Mo Be There with James Ingram,Also Kenny Loggins is there too.Jeff Bridges hosts the show and even sings a song too.Lots more artists sing and sound great with Michael.Of course the Doobie's came on and did 2 songs and the end was Taking it to the Streets in which everyone came on stage for an awesome finale.I really enjoyed this DVD very much,it was very entertaining and you could see everyone in it had lots of fun making it.

This is really a great concert. I was in the audiance (on the floor, dead center, about 10 rows back...) when they taped it at the Shrine in LA. It was a concert given in honor of Michael's lifetime achievement award from Yamaha as part of the annual NAMM convention. I really, really enjoyed the concert, but I am dissapointed that they rearranged the song order (to the person who said it was horrible, it didn't really open with on my own.) and cut so many performers. In addition to what is on the DVD, Ray Charles, the Wilkensons (sp?), most of steely dan, toto, and a bunch of other performers were there. The concert was about two and 1/2 half hours, so you can see how much was cut out. The show was plagued with wireless mic problems, which was probably why they had to cut so much. Oh well- thats what happens when you're live with only one performance! It was still a good show.

This DVD is really worth buying, the man with the blue eyes really puts on a show here!! The first song (on my own) sounds like he is a bit nervous (the sound isn't that good..) but after this song it keeps getting better and better. It rocked my world with the fifth song, 'Ride like the wind' with Christopher Cross. The sound in general is very good (DTS) and for a Michael-fan (which I'm sure there are a lot) is this a Must-have!!
So, go on and buy, you'll never regret it!!

I've appreciated McDonald's song writing and singing ever since he joined the Doobie Brothers in the late '70s. Although he has fallen off the Top 40 Rock charts in recent years, he has established a loyal following amongst the adult contemporary and lite jazz categories. His voice is so unique it is recognizable on dozens of top 40 hits that never mention his name - but it is his voice that puts songs by Christopher Cross, Toto, Kenny Loggins and others - over the top. Every one of his concerts that I have attended have been great musically, spiritually and often later - romantically. Listening to his songs never gets old, whether on radio or on CD. This concert, although way too brief, clearly shows his talent, humility and humor - and also why he is so highly regarded amongst his peers. If you want a concert DVD that you will be playing over and over - and never tire of, this is the one. It will become the crown jewel of your music collection.

This is a wonderful concert which features great musicians and of course, Michael McDonald. He sings Grammy winning hits with stellar musicians such as Patti LaBelle ("On My Own"), James Ingram ("Yah Mo Be There"), Christopher Cross ("Ride Like the Wind"), Kenny Loggins ("Heart to Heart" and "This is It"), Patti Austin ("You Belong to Me") and the Doobie Brothers ("Minute by Minute" and "Takin' It to the Streets"). He also sings with some lesser known musicians. The only bad song is the one sung by Jeff Bridges (!) -- I was wondering what's he doing singing here on this concert. Otherwise, this is a dream concert come true. If you are a fan of Michael McDonald, you will definitely love this DVD. The sound and picture quality are excellent and the DVD is very reasonably priced. Very highly recommended!

The Highlight's of this DVD are Mcdonald's duet's with James Ingram,Kenny Loggins,Christopher Cross. Patti Austin does a great job with (YOU BELONG TO ME). I was looking forward to seeing Mcdonald sing with Ray Charles but for some reason it was left off along with Brian Wilson give the Yamaha Award to Michael Mcdonald at the end of the program. No bonus footage i.e. interviews deleted songs. Preformers who did not make the cut Steve Winwood, She Daisy ,Crystal Bernard & Billy Dean ,The Wilkinsons ,Boz Scaggs.

This could have been great, all the pieces were there-- I mean, anything with Michael McDonald is great-- but it could have been SO much better. There are some HUGE holes:

1) They get James Ingram, Patti Austin and Michael McDonald together on stage and they don't sing their #1 hit "Baby Come to Me"?? How does this happen? I mean, it's the only thing Patti Austin is even famous for! Instead we have to sit through her rendition of Michael McDonald's "You Belong to Me" which was also a hit for Carly Simon, who probably cancelled at the last minute.

2) Put Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald on stage and have them not sing their biggest hit, "What a Fool Believes", which won Grammys for Song and Record of the Year? What idiot chose the set list? Also, I saw Kenny in concert and he blew the roof off with "Heart to Heart", but here he seemed afraid of outshining Michael. He deserves an "A" for decorum, a "C-" for the performance.

3) Why edit out the parts between the songs? That's the reason it's on DVD, so we can skip over that stuff the second time we watch it. But I didn't watch the concert just to hear Michael sing... I wanted to at least see what he's like conversing as a normal human being (without reading anything scripted by MCI)

HOWEVER, there are some great highlights:

1) James Ingram struts his amazing voice on a stirring rendition of "Yah Mo Be There." He is the man. Where did he go? He needs to come back. He even made Patti Labelle look weak.

2) Getting to see Christopher Cross seemingly find his old talent during a rendition of "Ride Like the Wind" proved quite enthralling. And when they did the "Ba Badda Ba" section, it sounded amazing.

3) The fact that Tommy Johnston relegated himself to tambourine and backup vocals really meant a lot, to me, at least. I always wondered if he felt jealous that Michael came in and redefined the band's sound. But here he seemed totally supportive of his bandmate and that was touching to watch. Rumor has it the band stuck around and played "Listen to the Music" at 1am. Can't end a show without it.

4) Is that Steve Winwood on stage at the end? And Kim Carnes on backup vocals? Talk about swallowing the ego...