Whispering Pines: Live at the Getaway

Richard Manuel | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 29, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Other People's Music
• ASIN: B000BB03DC
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,669 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Poor electric piano sound is a shame, April 16, 2006

By 

B.Duer (Lancaster PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whispering Pines: Live at the Getaway (Audio CD)

The import version of this CD has several reviews that are accurate, but none mention one problem of which all purchasers should be aware. For whatever reason, Richard Manuel was apparently using an extremely poor sounding electric piano which is so high in the mix, particularly on the initial tracks, that it is hard to listen to. This is a shame because his voice, even when things get sloppy, is endearing as always. His high range isn't really there but Manuel not hitting the notes is still worth hearing. But beware, listen before you buy. The piano sound might be too much for you. As crazy as it sounds, dubbing in a real piano on the tracks would have been worth the effort.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Richard Manuel Tribute, January 11, 2007

By 

Geoff W. Prusak - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Whispering Pines: Live at the Getaway (Audio CD)

You have to be a fan of The Band to truely enjoy this. It is basically a solo acoustic set in a small bar with a few friends who drop in for the set. The piano lacks that funky up-right Band sound that we are used to hearing from Richard, but all of the recordings are of excellent sound quality. Richards voice is actually in great form, considering it was recorded in 1985, just a few months before he committed suicide, and that at The Last Waltz in 1976, his voice was basically shot. He even gives it his best in an encore of Whispering Pines. The dialog in between tracks is good too. Overall it is a fine tribute to a musician whose work deserves the right to stand the test of time.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars But when he was dying, Lord, we let him down, April 24, 2010

By 

Noah Stanzione (South Bend, IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Whispering Pines: Live at the Getaway (Audio CD)

I mean no disrespect to either Janis or Richard by stealing my tagline from "Epitaph," but it does kind of work, doesn't it? Great, soulful talents, gone too soon, and they didn't have to be.

What to say of this album? It's painful to listen to--in both the "good" way and the "bad" way. In the scheme of things wrong with the audio, the tinny piano doesn't make a bit of difference. It's more that, while Richard delivers nicely on an occasional song (Georgia, She Knows, and You Don't Know Me all stand up), there are some wretched moments, too, where Richard's voice and memory are so shot we can hardly listen. I can forgive the overly ambitious attempts to reduce The Band to a piano (like with Chest Fever), or where Richard seamlessly slips into a line from the wrong verse on the otherwise fine Miss Otis Regrets, but he butchers some of the music so badly and, judging from his banter, I don't know that he gets how low he's fallen, or even cares.

In his prime, there was no one better. I'll even trot out a bit of blasphemy and say that when he had it, he could out-Ray Ray himself. But Richard's prime was long gone. It would have been ok if he compensated, if he turned down requests for the songs he barely remembered anymore (as he does at one point in response to a fan shout-out), and if he reworked others to better suit his more limited vocal abilities (like he did for the Last Waltz version of I Shall Be Released, where he scrapped the falsetto).

For the serious fans, this is worth a buy for the occasional moment where he's great on a tune we don't have preserved elsewhere, but some songs are just too painful to listen to. Three stars here might even be too generous, given the totality of the effort. Well, there's no use crying; can't help him now.