Curtis Mayfield Album: «Curtis Mayfield - Live at Montreux 1987»

- Customers rating: (3.0 of 5)
- Title:Curtis Mayfield - Live at Montreux 1987
- Release date:2004-11-16
- Type:DVD
- Label:Eagle Rock Ent
- UPC:801213904198
This performance, filmed at the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 18, 1987, finds Curtis in fine form. His distinctive falsetto vocals are in evidence on a track listing that spans his career from early Impressions hits through to his solo classics.
Track Listing: 1. Ice 9 (instrumental), 2. Back To The World, 3. It's Alright, 4. Gypsy Woman, 5. Freddie's Dead, 6. Pusher Man, 7. We Got To Have Peace, 8. We've Only Just Begun, 9. People Get Ready, 10. Move On Up, 11. If There's A Hell Below, We're All Going To Go, 12. When Seasons Change.
This is a decent show from a great performer although it is a bit "80's" sounding and lacks some of the grit that one might find in some of his 70's shows. The main reason I wanted to review this is so everyone that is interested in purchasing this can know that there is a defect on this DVD. At 43:11 into the disc---during of all songs "People Get Ready"---there is some sort of glitch and the disc skips one second to 43:13 producing a very noticable dropout in the sound. I have checked 2 different copies on 3 different players all with the same results. I have made some inquiries about this disc but haven't been able to get any information on obtaining a corrected copy from anyone.
If the far more lively and musically interesting "Live at Ronnie Scott's" DVD did not exist as part of Curtis' skimpy legacy on video, "Live at Montreux" would assume a greater importance in the material we're left with. While it does represent Curtis' unique approach acceptably, "Live at Ronnie Scott's" is far, far better and includes much of the same material and some of the same sidemen. Without knowing the actual performance dates, the two gave me the impression of being performances from pretty close to the same time.
I got this one AFTER "Live at Ronnie Scott's" and, frankly, found it an actual disappointment by comparison.

