Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ambitious, Eclectic and Timeless., August 21, 2000
This 1973 release stands as a testament to the creative genius that was once the rule, not the exception, in black popular music. The opening orchestral sweep of "I Love The Lord, He Heard My Cry" (Parts 1&2) may surprise some fans who only remember Donny Hathaway as Roberta Flack's duet partner. Composed by this young man and recorded around Christmas 1972, no black male singer, before or since has even come close to such an ambitious introduction to an album, it's simply a stunning piece of classical music that bears repeated listening. His most important political song, "Someday We'll All Be Free" follows and is still so powerful, you'll get goosebumps and feel a definite sense of pride and strength from it's message, and Donny's impassioned delivery. My 2 favorite tracks are next up, the jazzy, breezy, "Flying Easy" and the outstanding, relaxed and equally jazzy instrumental "Valdez in The Country". These two numbers alone warrant owning this delightful album, they simply must be heard to be fully appreciated, their beauty will simply envelop you! The ballads on "Extension Of..." are all stunning, heartfelt declarations of love and passion, and performed with such fervor they'll bring tears to your eyes. The best of these are "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know" and the easy grooving "Love, Love, Love" that floats on a bed of warm, buttery bass guitar, vibes and congas that wouldn't sound out of place on Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On". Also of special note are "Magdelena" featuring a saloon style, upright piano and an arrangement right out of the 20's, jaunty horns and all, and "The Slums" a sequel, of sorts, to the classic "The Ghetto", with the hardest, funkiest groove on the LP, nodding your head to this one is mandatory! I almost can't listen to this album some days because it only reminds me of the treasure we lost when Donny Hathaway ended his own life at the tender age of 33, cutting short one of the most promising and brilliant careers in music history. His work takes on a special poignance when listened to now, and makes one wonder what might have been. Thankfully, he left us a considerable body of work to delve into and appreciate. The music world and the world in general was better for his existence. We Still Miss You Donny. Rest In Peace.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The apex of a genius!, May 13, 2000
This is probably Donny Hathaway's best album. I say this beacuse it is his most complete piece of work. This is the album this where he truly reached his creative peak. (he could have peaked even higher)Here is where we really get to hear Donny Hathaway the composer, the producer, musician as well as singer. On the absolutely wonderful I love the lord, he heard my cry. Donny' does something that is rare in the field of soul music, he begins with an orchestral piece that sounds like something that you would hear at a symphony. MAGNIFICENT !That song bleeds into the next track the amazing someday we'll all be free. Another Hathaway compostion that I love is the instrumental Valdez in the country. Donny sounds refreshing on the keyboards. I love you more than you'll ever know is another amazing otis redding type of ballad sung as only Donny could. Then theres the light and breezy Love, love , Love where his voice sounds makes a simple song unique. The slums is a very funky return of Donny Hathaway to one of his earler hits the Ghetto. I know it's you is another exceptional ballad that screams sincertiy and soul. There's also a bonus track the soulful lord help me, a return to Donny's gospel roots. Like i mentioned that this is probably Donny Hathaway's best album. From begining to end it's full of beautiful music sung by a wonderful singer.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Donny at his most experimental -- with very good results, August 24, 2005
I've been listening to this set by Donny for the first time in a while and was refreshed by the talent of my favorite male vocalist all over again.
This 1973 set was probably Donny's most experimental. It was soulful of course, but that soul was filtered through various arrangements that aren't commonly identified as "soul." In fact, EOAM could be looked at as mildly psychedelic on the whole. The title of the album alludes to this somewhat.
The song opens with Donny conducting -- yes, conducting -- his very grand instrumental overture that reminds me of Duke Ellington (from the few pieces I've heard by the Duke). I Love The Lord is not only very beautiful and moving, but it lets you know that Donny had some serious skills outside of the mainstream genres. Had he lived long enough he could have followed in the footsteps of the Duke ... I personally don't think that's too much of a stretch.
Donny's string arrangements are perfect on this set in the 70's vein. They flow perfectly from I Love The Lord to what is arguably Donny's non-holiday signature song, Someday We'll All Be Free. There have been so many great singers that covered this song (including the Queen), which is a testament to its greatness. But when Donny sang it, you could tell he was singing from his heart and you could feel his hope in something transcendent through his pain. Amazing. If someone doesn't like this song, it's doubtful that they would like anything Donny ever recorded.
Next we have the breezy bossa nova Flying Easy, which is a jazzy number with some trippy romantic lyrics. It wouldn't be out of place on Minnie Riperton's Come To My Garden. The jazz vibe continues with his instrumental Valdez In The Country, with Donny tearing up the keyboards. The whole summery feeling is carried over from the last song and you can actually imagine taking a drive through the country while listening to this one in a convertible.
If those last two songs were more on the fun side, we have the exact opposite with Donny's haunting and dark I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know. This is one of those soul-baring numbers that epitomize unrequited love, and it can be scary to listen to for some people. The despairing tone of the song is broken up only briefly by the waltz-like bridge before descending again into the very slow and ominous bluesy tempo the song started with. There could be some symbolism in that too ... contemplation of the impossible, thinking briefly it could be probable, then back to the reality of the impossible? Who knows. But the song is absolutely brilliant in its sadness, if that makes sense. Never mind that Donny didn't write it. He lived it, that much is apparent.
After that, I guess Donny wanted to let us know it's time to get hopeful again with Come Little Children. This is a fun little number that sounds a lot like the song Superfly, right down to the unusual rhythm arrangement and guitar. Of note: Donny is not a squaller, but he squalls a few times on this one and the technique on the last one is very similar to what Aretha would have done with the sharp head-to-chest transition she was so fond of in the 60's. So-so song in my opinion, but outstanding vocals by Donny. Of note to gospel fans: Myrna Summers and her choir play tambourines on this one.
Right after that we have another uplifting "tribute," one of my favorites on EOAM. The music to Love, Love, Love sounds like it could have come straight from Marvin Gaye's What's Going On album. And the title of the song pretty much sums up what the song is about. This is one of the tracks on which you can really see why people say Donny and Stevie sound alike. But Donny's church background, churchier phrasing and oboe-like vibrato set him apart. His voice was also more mature sounding than Stevie's (not taking anything away from Wonder Man, who is amazing in his own right).
Donny then does a tribute to himself with Slums which could be a continuation of his hit The Ghetto. That song is funky, but has never been one of my favorites and neither is Slums. But if you like one you're sure to like the other. Both sound like they could have been the main title or a background song to a blaxploitation film, especially Slums.
Next up is Donny's Magdalena. This ragtime-type number is vaguely reminiscent of the theme from the sitcom What's Happening and includes a hip-hop beat on the chorus -- I know, I know ... but turn up your bass and tell me if I'm wrong! This is one of those little ditties that you will probably either really like or really dislike. But 1930's retro-culture was popular in the early 70's, and many artists were exploring that old-timey sound. Hollywood also made many movies during this time period that took place in the 30's. So Donny was keeping pace with the times and this is one of the album's best vocals.
I Know It's You, the closing ballad of the original LP, ends EOAM on a positive and uplifting note with its declarative message of love that includes spiritual connotations. It is completely opposite of I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know ... almost as if Donny woke up to the fact that
the person who he was preoccupied with in the other song was not the real deal, and when he met the right one he could testify "I KNOW it's you, baby!" This is one of my
favorite Donny songs ever, and Arif Mardin's strings deliver by enhancing the shimmering gladness of the song. Truly a masterpiece, and one that would have suited Aretha perfectly back in 1973, by the way.
Rhino's reissue of the CD includes a bonus track, Lord Help Me. This track was the flip side of I Love You More and has a slightly unfinished, demo-like quality to it. But given Donny's style, that actually works to the track's benefit, and this tuneful prayer that was co-written by the one and only Billy Preston makes a strong statement.
Overall, EOAM is a very, VERY good album that feels like it could have been a great concept album. In that regard it reminds me of Aretha's Hey Now Hey from the same year ... there are signs that it started off as a concept, but got compromised for various reasons. Regardless of the flow however, the material was still great -- and EOAM is no different for the most part. It's the most adventurous of Donny's 3 studio albums and is a great place for someone to explore Donny's extraordinary talent beyond his terrific greatest hits set (A Donny Hathaway Collection).
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