Customer Reviews

Sings Beatles & Dylan

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

 

 

What is this...Richie Havens does elevator music? Richie Havens works the Ramada Inn??? The voice is there, but the raw, driving, acoustic guitar and conga drums have been replaced with instrumental tracks, including synthesizer, that sound like Yani or Michael Bolton. The producer should be shot. If you're looking for the tracks on this album, find them on another release. "Resume," however is great...the Richie Havens we know and love from the Woodstock era.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing with this. I was so excited to hear Ritchie Havens perform the music of my 2 biggest influences...but I was sorely disappointed. What the other negative reviews have said are correct...that while the amazing voice is still there, the synths and drum machines are horrible.

In my mind, the only 2 tracks that fully capture the true genius of Ritchie Havens are "Working Class Hero" and "License to Kill"...which are stellar, and the only reason this got 2 stars instead of one.

Don't waste your money on this release. It is way over produced and is littered with cheesy synthesizers throughout. I have saved the disc rather than tossing it in the garbage just to get a good laugh every once in a while.

If you want a real Richie Haven's disc, pick up Live at the Cellar Door.

Yep, the whole first half of this is plagued by booming keyboard synthesizers and 80s electronic drum tracks. I hated this when I first got it, disappointed by the production on what should have been this artist's best disc. But I re-listened today and it's not as bad as I once felt. The syn-drums finally drop out halfway through and you get to just guitar and congas on "Working Class Hero" and "License to Kill." The others, though hurt by the electro-drums, are still kind of fun, just like electric piano, the plague of the 70s, sounds kind of groovy in a cheesy way today. Richie should remix this, remove the synths and drums, and replace with acoustic instruments, and he would then have a gem.

Is my 21st Century opinion of what should be a great 1960s tribute. Richie Haven's rich passionate growl and thundering guitar taking possession of classic Beatle and Dylan music was what I was expecting. A shout out and howl to the 1960s, if you will. Little did I think that the most prominent musical era I would hear on this disc would be the artificially indulgent pop of the synthesized machine-drummed 1980s. I wonder if legal restrictions prevented Havens from playing his guitar while recording this music. Seriously, the cheesy synthesizers are a travesty. Hiring Bobby McFerrin to imitate synthesizers on these tracks would only be slightly less annoying. What a let down. What a bummer.

Driving home today I heard an interview with Richie Havens and he played a couple of songs including Here Comes the Sun. So I went on Rhapsody, and when I saw this album I figured that it would be great. It's awful. The only good songs are those that are simply Havens and his guitar. I had a strong desire to be sick when I heard If Not For You. Richie redo this one! I'm glad I had a chance to listen to it and was saved wasting money purchasing such a disaster.

I'm not too sure who thought up using the Synthesizer instead of Richie's powerful guitar but it was not a good idea. The voice is still there but it could have been done better.

I was excited to order this item, only to find it had been produced in 1987 and was part of trying to move Richie onto another, younger, "hipper" audience. The "Here Comes The Sun" is NOT his hit single, but a re-do of the cover he orignally did in the sixties. All in all, I was disappointed in the overall sound and production of the songs, except for one or two Dylan tunes. Only for immense fans.

I owned this disc once before, gave it away, but now, have bought it again. Why? I have to agree with the other reviewers that the pre-recorded instrumentals, the drum machine, etc. are awful. But Richie's singing of the Beetles' songs is what attracts me.

Being a product of the '60's, I'm a big fan of the Beatles as well as Dylan. I first heard one of the cuts off of this CD on Pandora.com, (which is the best radio station on the planet!). In any case, I liked what I heard and clicked on the album title and was lead to Amazon to buy it. The price was great and it arrived right on time. Now that I've been able to listen to the entire CD, I'm even happier that I made the purchase!