Live And More

[Robbie]

For some reason, this week I have found myself listening to my CD of Donna Summer's "Live And More". Despite the fact that on the CD they omitted the 18-minute "MacArthur Park" in favor of the 6-minute "Down, Deep Inside" (from the movie "The Deep") to conserve time space, I love this album, although I wish there was more material on it. I'm sure there was, for I remember years back reading excerpts on a biography of Donna from 1979. In the bio, there were excerpts from a review of a concert she had performed at in Toronto. Among the other songs she had performed were: "If You Got It, Flaunt It" (from "Once Upon A Time"), and "My Baby Understands" (a power ballad from the forthcoming "Bad Girls" LP). It's obvious so much was edited to fit as much as they could on each album side. I think Side 2 was ambitious for it was lounge lizard heaven, but I love the "My Man Medley", "Only One Man", and even the cutesy "Love's Unkind". I can get chills when I hear her do "Mimi's Song".

This was Donna's first #1 album and I love the album cover ; the full-frontal shot of her face singing away at the microphone. I wish they used that on the cover of the CD version though :( .

[vinylqn69]

I must make my stand on how cruel some (if not most) CD reissues are these days. Right around the peak of the cd format, I had a premonition that these pesky (althought"compact" and convenient) things would soon end up protecting coffee tables across the nation and cradling your favorite canned beverages. I mean, why bother buying expensive coasters when you can buy a set of these at the bargain bins for about 99 cents a piece. Which brings to mind the power of the vinyl record. I just recently bought a thirty dollar vinyl issue of Norah Jones' debut LP and it just blows away the cd in more ways than sound alone. The cover has now been blown up ten times to reveal the delicious photo of Norah. Not to mention the beautiful gatefold sleeve. The way I see it, this edition will most likely outlast the plastic cd well into the new millenium. Once the hole in the ozone wipes out a teeny layer of a cd, you can kiss that music bye bye.

In relation to this topic of Live and More, one cannot appreciate this recording fully without purchasing a near mint condition, die-cut, gatefold, double vinyl edition of this great recording. The absence of the "MacArthur Park Suite" from the CD was an absolute disgrace. So, c'mon people, do yourself a favor: Go out and purchase a high quality turntable (the Music Hall MMF-1 for a measly $199), play the lp and enjoy this recording as it was originally intended to be. And if any of you dares to get one of those lamebrained novelty vintage record players from Restoration Hardware (among other places), you deserve to get your ear lobes (and your credit cards) cut off!