Customer Reviews

Whispering Pines: Live at the Getaway

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This album is for the true "Band" fan, or for a fan of Richard Manuel. Quality isn't the best, but this performance is raw and driven beautifully by Manuel's voice.

A Good Buy.

This snapshot of Richard Manuel could have been magical. Instead, due to limitations in equipment (a very tinny, electric piano) the performance suffers on this disc. As a huge fan of Manuel's I had hoped for a better farewell performance. His candid voice is not well matched with the instrument this time out.

As noted by other reviewers, the electric keyboard in the upstate New York bar that night was an abomination, sounding like a kids' toy rather than a real instrument. But Richard Mauel struggles with it cheerfully, and with the help of former Band mate Rick Danko and ex-Eric Burdon and the Animals guitarist Jim Wieder, he manages to deliver good performances. His voice-- that distinctive nasal version of Ray Charles-- comes through, even when he forgets the words or can't quite get the falsetto going. A cryin' shame that this is the best we have from the man late in his short life.