Live (Donny Hathaway album)

Live is a 1972 live album by American soul artist Donny Hathaway. It was recorded at two concerts: side one at The Troubadour in Hollywood, and side two at The Bitter End in Greenwich Village, Manhattan based on the guidance of Jerry Wexler.^[2]

Live
Live album by Donny Hathaway
Released	Feb. 1972 (Feb. 1972)^[1]
Recorded	August 24–30, 1971 at The Troubadour in Hollywood 7 October 1971 The Bitter End in New York
Genre	Deep soul
Length	52:39
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Arif Mardin (side one) Jerry Wexler & Arif Mardin (side two)
Donny Hathaway chronology
Donny Hathaway (1971) Live (1972) Come Back, Charleston Blue (1972)

The album features some traditional soul anthems, such as Marvin Gaye's 1971 hit "What's Going On", but also Carole King's pop standard "You've Got a Friend".

There are two notable solos on the album, one on the track "The Ghetto" by Hathaway on electric piano and another by Willie Weeks on bass on "Voices Inside (Everything Is Everything)", taken from the performances recorded at The Troubadour and at The Bitter End accordingly.

Hathaway's daughter Lalah would record her own live album in 2015 in which she also did "Little Ghetto Boy".

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[3]
Rolling Stone	(favorable)^[4]

The album received generally positive reviews from music critics. Rolling Stone's Mosi Reeves stated "Donny Hathaway swings with vividness on this brilliant live set and the audience responds ecstatically."^[4] AllMusic rated the album score of 4.5 out of 5, with John Bush stating the album is "one of the most glorious of his career, an uncomplicated, energetic set with a heavy focus on audience response as well as the potent jazz chops of his group", and that it "solidified Hathaway's importance at the forefront of soul music".^[5] In 2015, Live was ranked number 48 on Rolling Stone's list of 50 Greatest Live Albums of All Time.^[4] In 2005, MusicRadar included it in its list of the 10 essential bass albums.^[6]

Track listing

Side one

1. "What's Goin' On" (Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Al Cleveland, Marvin Gaye) – 5:18
2. "The Ghetto" (Donny Hathaway, Leroy Hutson) – 12:08
3. "Hey Girl" (Earl DeRouen) – 4:03
4. "You've Got a Friend" (Carole King) – 4:34

Side two

1. "Little Ghetto Boy" (DeRouen, Edward Howard) – 4:29
2. "We're Still Friends" (Hathaway, Glenn Watts) – 5:12
3. "Jealous Guy" (John Lennon) – 3:08
4. "Voices Inside (Everything Is Everything)" (Richard Evans, Philip Upchurch, Ric Powell) – 13:47

Personnel

• Donny Hathaway – vocals, electric piano, piano, organ, arrangements
• Phil Upchurch – lead guitar on side one
• Cornell Dupree – lead guitar, backing vocals on side two
• Mike Howard – guitar, backing vocals
• Willie Weeks – bass, backing vocals
• Fred White – drums, backing vocals
• Earl DeRouen – conga drums, backing vocals

Technical

• Ray Thompson – recording engineer on side one
• Tom Flye – recording engineer on side two
• Arif Mardin - mixing
• Jim Cummins - front cover photography

Charts

Chart (1972)	Peak position
US Billboard Top LPs^[7]	18
US Billboard Top Soul LPs^[8]	4

References

1. "Vinyl Album - Donny Hathaway - Live - Atco - USA". 45worlds.com. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
2. "Everything Is Everything". wax-poetics. Retrieved 2022-10-04. Jerry Wexler proposed that Hathaway do a live recording for his third Atlantic release. Two clubs, the Troubadour in Hollywood, California, and the Bitter End in New York City, were chosen as the recording venues.
3. AllMusic review
4. "50 Greatest Live Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
5. "Donny Hathaway Live AllMusic Review by John Bush". AllMusic.
6. "Victor Wooten picks 10 essential bass albums". MusicRadar. 6 March 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
7. "Donny Hathaway Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
8. "Donny Hathaway Chart History: Top R&B Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-03-01.