Customer Reviews

Out There Live

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album collects some fantastic performances. Dar plays with a talented band that on many tracks adds beautiful flourishes and improvised touches to songs that now sound more interesting than their studio versions. ("As Cool as I Am," "The Ocean," and "Iowa," the last with a new guitar solo, all stand out; "Are You Out There," unfortunately, loses quite a bit of its ethereal charm and now sounds more like a traditional folk song.) The sound quality also merits praise. The excellent recordings here contain more "oomph" (for lack of a technical term) than Dar's studio albums, providing increased clarity and presence.

All that being said, this album has some serious problems. For whatever reason the applause at the end of each track is faded to absolute silence before the music on the next track begins, effectively shattering the illusion that listeners are being treated to a preserved Dar performance. I have never heard a live album that appeared so fully cut-and-pasted.

Moreover, this unquestionably needed to be a two-disc set. The inclusion of Dar's song introductions and banter with the audience is laudable, but the few songs (really only two) featuring them only serve to remind listeners of how many must have been snipped out. A second disc would have allowed these important bits (the biggest appeal of seeing Dar live) to be preserved in addition to featuring more songs. No performer would go on stage for only 70 minutes for a regular show, so why should anyone consider a 70 minute live album adequate?

Dar Williams gives a great live show, and the idea of bringing that home in the form of a live album is very appealing. But it's difficult for most artists to shove the excitement and emotion of a live show into a CD, and Dar is no exception. Out There Live is a very nice collection of Dar's songs. I think that most of the versions on this album are at least as good as the ones on the studio albums. And the tidbits of between-song banter we're given are entertaining. But it really doesn't convey the magic of a real Dar Williams show. I just don't think that feeling can be communicated on a CD.

Buy Out There Live and enjoy it for what it is: a bunch of great versions of Dar's best songs. But don't expect it to be a substitute for going to a show.

Like death and taxes, live albums seem to be inevitable pieces of any recording artist's discography whose career spans more than 10 years. They serve to fill in the gaps between studio albums and also act as an interim greatest hits collection (which will invariably follow 2-3 years later). But what are they really for? Some artists never seem to come across as well in studio albums as they do live (Cheap Trick and Peter Frampton come to mind immediately). Others illustrate just how much of an artist's appeal is just studio magic.

Dar Williams is one of my favorite entertainers. She has the rare ability to make even a large crowd feel intimate and friendly, and her banter is always quirky and endearing. Though an experienced performer, she still seems a bit awkward and hyper in front of an audience but she always seems genuine and sincere, which is a refreshing change from many performer's scripted exchanges. The trouble with this album is that very little of the magic of Dar's live performances comes across.

Many "live" albums are so touched up and tweaked so much that they might as well be studio albums with audience noise dubbed in. "Out There Live" isn't one of those: it sounds like an off-the-board recording. I admire Dar for taking this warts-and-all approach. This album features a slightly hoarse sounding Dar delivering fine (if not really inspired) performances of her best known songs. The mix pushes Dar out in front of the band, so sometimes the overall sound is a bit murky. Because the tracks fade out the cheering tracks it feels less like a concert album than a collection of live tracks.

So how do I rate this album? It pales beside both her studio recordings and her live performances. But it contains sixteen wonderful songs from one of the finest songwriters of her generation. If you are new to Dar's music this is as good a starting place as any (although it will likely lead you to buying all her studio albums anyway). If you know Dar's work this album is a satisfying but not essential addition to her discography.

I saw Dar Williams live in concert and this CD transmits some of that energy, and certainly gives a good introduction to her music...enough to make you want to hear more. Check out "Honesty Room" for more bare-bones, acoustic material. She is a true talent, with music that can be appreciated over and over.

While I've never really been a huge fan of live albums, I really enjoy this disc from Dar - not a seamless concert but rather a collection culled from what seems to be different shows. Included amongst the songs are some of the introductions and descriptions she offers when performing, which provide at least a peek into what a Dar concert is like. But there aren't too many of those and they're not too distracting, allowing the music to speak for itself.

For the most part, the collection is very balanced, with songs from all of Dar's albums, although her first, The Honesty Room, is not as well-represented as the others - the exclusion of You're Aging Well is my only complaint and, I think, a real loss. The pieces that are included illustrate Dar's range and highlight her fantastic lyrics - it's kind of a 'best of' album performed live with a few unexpected songs thrown in.

Any fan of Dar's music will appreciate this disc, and those who are not as familiar with Dar or who haven't seen her in concert will at least get a general idea of what her shows are like. My only criticisms of the CD aren't really flaws - just things that, as a hugenormous fan of Dar's, I wish she'd included - even more of her dialogue, a few other songs, etc. But even though I love all of Dar' s music, I do not often really like CDs of live music (with the notable exception of Van Morrison's One Night in San Francisco - brilliant!), so I was actually a rather tough audience for this one and was really surprised at how much I like it! While nothing can fully recreate a Dar show, this CD offers a glimpse into one while also providing a nice compilation, terrifically performed, of Dar's wonderful music.

Dar Williams through her evocative, probing, and keenly intelligent songs always takes one on a journey of growth toward full humanity (with the bumps), whether in compassion, spiritual or societal view, self-knowledge, or gentle humor. As lovely as her voice and sound are, her work is decidedly not background music. Dar would be a rare jewel in any generation of artists, but her work is particularly needed today, and in the present Renaissance of folk, or singer-songwriter, music, Dar is, in my view, the leading light. "Out There Live" not only provides a wonderful sample of her songs but also shares her kind and witty presence through spoken introductions. There is great congruence in the inclusion of songs according to some of the themes in which Dar shines: self-knowledge and growth through therapy and life experience (e.g., "What Do You Hear in These Sounds," "After All," "Spring Street"), undesrcoring of the full humanity of women ("As Cool As I Am," "I Won't Be Your Yoko Ono," "Iowa," "When I Was a Boy," "The Babysitter's Here"), and the complexity of relationships with others and the world ("If I Wrote You," "The Ocean"). Like her concerts, the live CD is an embrace--of serenity, challenge, and affirmation, a kind of therapy or magic, and Dar is very present, very generous in it. I highly, highly recommend this CD, as a true gift to yourself or a friend. In particular, I hope that it lands in the CD players of many young people, who need such a boost, such a lark!

Dar Williams...beautiful strong feminine voice. This album moved me more than almost anything else that I have listened to in the past year. Hearing her live is exciting because it is raw and beautiful, not overlayed with unwanted information. It is true, honest and beautiful. This album truly brings across the idea of live performance. It is crisp, yet not overdone. I can honestly say there is not one track on this album that I do not like.

I have seen Dar Williams live on several occasions, and this CD captures her at her best --- not something that can be said for all LIVE albums. Fidelity is excellent as well. Highly recommended.

I first encountered the music of Dar Williams in college. I was flitting around looking for new music in the shared directory and ran across some Dar songs. I was very impressed. I like the folk sound to her music and I ran across some songs that became some of my favorites: "As Cool As I Am", "The Christians and the Pagans", "What Do You Hear in These Sounds," and "Are You Out There". I wanted to buy one of her cds, but the songs I loved were all on different albums. Then I found the live album that works like a greatest hits album. The songs that I love were on the album...and I also got a chance to experience some more great songs, including "The Babysitter's Here". I've never seen Dar Williams in concert, so I can't comment on the live experience compared to the live album....but I'm very glad I bought this.

I'm terribly repulsed at the 'mediocre' review Ms Weinbach and other reviewers have given Out There Live. This collection of spectacularly performed songs are new and rich verisons of Dar William's already diverse rrepertoire.

I got this CD out of the blue for Christmas, and promptly lost it two days before New Year's (so sad, so sad). I still haven't found it, but luckily, the first thing I do when I get a CD is record it on my computer, so I still have the wonderful performaces by Dar.

I am also disappointed about the track listing given on Amazon.com. It sadly misses the introductions Ms Williams gives for 'I Won't Be Your Yoko Ono', 'Are You Out There' and 'The Babysitter's Here', giving Out There Live nineteen tracks, not sixteen. The intos are not only funny and witty, but 'The Babysitter's Here' now makes my mother teary-eyed.