These Songs For You, Live!

Some songs on this album are fresh exposures to Hathaway's singing and soloing ability. "Valdez in the Country" is the centerpiece of the whole album, and exceeds the studio version.

Other songs ("Someday We'll All Be Free") are sung with way too much rubato and are not easy to follow as a result. Of course, the degree of the rubato is not as bad as, say, Shirly Horne (one wonders if she is going to fall asleep before she gets to the next chord), but there is diminshment just the same.

This live concert recording displays all the charm and human warmth that made Donny Hathaway a brilliant star, one that was extinguished far too soon when he took his own life at a relatively early age. His melodies and extraordinary voice live on, however in recordings like this. Like Luther Van Dros, Joe Williams, Arthur Prysock, Lou Rawls and otehr extraordinary male vocalists, Donny Hathaway is a "must have" in your music collection.

This DVD was one of the greatest things I heard in a long time. Donny is a true entertainer and singer, his powerful voice live sounds better than his albums. This man is a genius, they do not make them like him anymore, Donny Hathaway to me means MUSIC...he is music.

Top male r+b vocalist ever. AND top "Live" male r+b vocalist ever. If someone knows who cuts deeper, give me a shout. Donny really makes my Saturday mornings so much brighter. The only thing is is that some of this stuff is really heavy(In a good way). Its almost like its so soulful(if you know what i mean)that it hurts. Like its too much! Just listen to I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know" ..whoa momma. The version of Stevie Wonder's Superwoman is suberb. Whole album revives the human spirit.

As I have grown older, I am a stronger appreication for real music. This live performance of Donny and his band is excellent. Donny had everything going for him, i.e. beautiful lyrics, voice, and live instrumentation. If you are not familiar with Donny, I would highly recommend you get this cd.