This was the first Donna Summer album I acquired back in '78; The music, while a faint-bit dated, has aged quite well. For anyone who purchases the c.d. release will be greatly disappointed by the deletion of MacArthur Park Suite. It is ironic since MacArthur Park was Summer's FIRST #1 single to hit the U.S. pop chart and fans would buy the double album for that 18 minute track/suite(the "More" part of the album)! True, the lyrics which were once performed previously by Actor Richard Harris back in the 60's, are either cryptic or corny (or both)to some. Yet, Summer's cover version was tastefully done with colorful orchestra/symphonic intstruments and electric guitars; This sounded pretty good without having a tacky symphonic,synthesized disco-feel of the era. Also, her vocals were astounding. Donna can sing any corny lyrics and yet put a lot of passion and depth behind them (sing-the-phone-book theory). The only way to complete the Live and More c.d. is to purchase another Summer compilation entitled The Dance Collection which will contain the original full length MacArthur Park Suite as originally released on the double record album. Otherwise, the c.d release has a track from a 1977 movie-thriller called The Deep (Deep, Deep, Down Inside). I think Ms. Summer probably cringes as well when remembering doing this campy disco-tune for the soundtrack. The vocals sound as though they were coming out of a megaphone or old victrola.

The second deletion is the original photo cover as released on the album of Donna's famous headshot as she is holding the microphone with her head tilted back and eyes closed. Now, I realize why some music collectors miss the original album releases from back in the days of vinyl; The c.d. s are convenient, but the l.p.s had great artwork, photos and other cover details not re-issued on c.d.s !

As for the Live side, side one borrows heavily from her Once Upon A Time album tracks; The live tracks and vocals are actually better sounding and more dramatic since she drops her studio falsetto and has an actual live crowd applauding and cheering as each new track begins. The only slight drawback, as one previous reviewer stated, is that the speed or tempo is a little rushed for the first 6 tracks. I remember thinking that maybe the pitch on the turntable was incorrect.

Aside from the technical negatives, this is the definitive beginner's Donna Summer album for even young or new listener's. Remember, she was here before Maria or Whitney !

OK OK, first things first, the CD of Live and More DOES NOT contain the MacArthur Park Suite, AND the cover shot is not the famous picture of Donna with the moon in the background.

HOWEVER, the full MacArthur Park Suite is featured on a number of other CD's (The Dance Collection, The Casablanca Records Story), and the famous cover shot is used on the newer compilation The Journey.

That said................................

Live and More as released just as Donna was coming off the spin of her mega hit Last Dance, and she was finally starting to be taken as they multi talented artist that she is. For whatever reason the music community still seemed to feel that Disco was a producers genre, and the singers were only puppets.

With Live and More, Donna showed the world she can deliver the goods. Her early hits are here (Try Me.., Love To Love You, I Feel Love and Spring Affair), a 5 songs run from her then new album Once Upon A Time is also featured. However it was her depature from Disco that really made this release shine.

The My Man Medley, combining, The Man I Love, I Got It Bad, and Some of These Days, showed her diversity, and remains a concert favorite to this day. Her cover of The Way We Were, showed how she could custom any song to her unique vocal range, and as you can tell from the crowds reaction she was well on her way to Pop Superstardom with Last Dance.

The crown of this excellent live set to me is Mimi's Song. To many Donna was the Queen of Disco, but to her her most important role was Mommy, and while you can easily get the impression from some stars that their children are almost window dressing, Donna made it clear where her priorities were, and gave us a great ballad in the process.

On this CD release the "& More" side is the Theme from the Movie The Deep, (Down Deep Inside), this track was produced by John Barry, and was one of the few Casablanca era works not produced by Giorgio or Pete.

I recommend this disc because it contains songs not available elsewhere. I really liked the first side of the second disc of the original vinyl album, which begins at track 10 here. As to the rushed pace a previous reviewer noted, I think that what you are hearing is Donna's dislike of performing these songs at that time. I remember going to see her in concert in the summer of 1979 and she was on stage all of 40 minutes or so. Each song was stripped down to about 2 and a half minutes (as on this recording). The tempos were increased and verses were omitted. I remember being happy that I went to the concert anyway but disappointed that it was so brief.

As others have pointed out, this cd edition omits the long version of "MacArthur Park" (available elsewhere on cd) and instead includes "Theme From the Deep", which I don't believe is available elsewhere. While I ordinarily don't like such alterations, it is nice to have both songs available on cd, and any Donna fan will probably have another disc with the full length "MacArthur Park" anyway.

I will say that lately I have been on a Donna Summer kick listening to the old classics on-line. Turning back the clock (and giving away my age), Donna Summer was a favorite of both my sister and myself. It was Donna Summer that really got me into Disco music. Prior to her I still was listening to rock.

Going back to 1978, Donna Summer was already out and had a couple albums released, my sister and I did hear a couple songs from her, but her foothold came when they started to play MacArthur Park on the radio.

So my sister and I went to the local record store (in a Pathmark mini mall (while the record store is long gone, the mall still exists). On the left side of the store at the top shelf (which I couldn't reach at the time), was the Live & More album. I will never forget first seeing that album. My sister got it down and looked it over. At first she thought she had the wrong album because even though MacArthur Park was on it, it was a huge 2 record album. My sister asked a sales person if they had a single or another album with MacArthur Park on it. I clearly remember the salesperson nodding (no) and saying, "Trust Me, THAT is the Album you want, it has everything on it". My sister decided to cough up the bucks to buy the album...and that probably one of the most important music purchases she ever made.

We took the album home and opened it up and was surprised that MacArthur Park Suite was the entire side of one of the records. So wondering if we made the right choice my sister put the needle on the record. After listening to MacArthur Park Suite, both of our jaws dropped. We never heard a continuous beat record before and were amazed at how the songs mixed into each other. I remembered how awesome the mix was going from "MacArthur Park" into "One Of A Kind" and that song quickly became a favorite. After listening to that song, we started the album from Disc 1 Side one all the way through. The album continued to follow the continuous beat format. Being a live album, the sound was fantastic. Immediately my sister and I took a liking to many of the songs on the album: Spring Affair, Rumour Has It, I feel Love, Last Dance. After that day, my fate was sealed, I knew I was going to be a disco convert.

So now we fast forward a bit. My sister passed away in 2003 and is no longer with us. But one of the things my sister left behind was many of her records sadly many of her Donna Summer albums went 'missing'. BUT she still had the Live & More album and I quickly took that album and put it in safe keeping. It is still in good shape, but lacking a turntable I never had the means to convert it to CD. It still sits on in my vinyl cabinet for many years not played.

Now we fast forward to today and my recent Donna Summer kick. I always wanted a CD copy of the Live & More album but I remember that it wasn't available for a while. So, I was very enthusiastic to see that the Live & More album was finally available on CD, but right away I saw changes I didn't like.

The first change that is immediately noticed is in the art work that many have pointed out here. While the CD artwork shown IS actually a part of the original album artwork, it was originally behind a fold down flap in which Donna Summer was in her iconic pose holding a mic with her head tilted back and eyes closed. So I am wondering why the creators of the CD decided to go with the artwork that was BEHIND what was actually first seen as the main cover of this historic album?

When looking at the track listing I saw that they added the theme from "The Deep",which I know is a hard to get track. I know they always add extras to the newer CD releases so this was a nice addition. But going down the track listing, everything looked to be faithful to the original vinyl recordings. But then I got to Last Dance and much to my horror, the iconic song that put Donna Summer into my life (and pretty much on the mainstream map) was NOT on the CD. The MacArthur Park Suite was no where in sight!

Naturally I wondered why this track was omitted and began doing some research. Apparently the song was deleted from the listings because 1) There was no room to fit it on the CD 2) The MacArthur Park Suite was already released on another CD.

Now if you ask me, those are both lousy excuses. For one, there were other songs that weren't as popular on the Live & More album that could have been deleted in favor of keeping MacArthur Park Suite. An even better decision would have been to go with a 2 disc set! The Live & More was a double record album, why not follow suit? I am sure people would have been willing to pay the difference. They could have included some more rare tracks to fill out the 2nd CD to make the purchase even more enticing.

But instead we are left with a major hole on a very important piece of music history which now has been marred by this action. That song and it's ties to the album meant quite a bit to many people out there. For me, it ushered in my life long interest in Donna Summer and also exposed me to disco music. It is really not right that such an important track was deleted. BUT perhaps the decision to delete that track was made by someone that wasn't even around when the original album was released. (I betcha).

This CD release averages about $10 or $11. I am sure that if it was a double disc set that many would be willing to pay $19.99 to $24.99 for it just to have the contents of the original Live & More album intact.

As it stands right now I seriously doubt many would buy this album the way it is now. The record companies reasoning is that if you want the MacArthur Park suite, you have to buy two albums anyway.

I don't know, I just feel that a major mark in music history has been altered and I would much rather get a turntable and burn my original album to CD. Then I know I have the ORIGINAL Live & More album.

I know my sister would have flipped out if she seen this!

"Why don't you follow me on my magical, mystical journey through time and love!" So says the Diva, as she segues from "Once Upon A Time, Fairy Tale High" and into "Spring Affair" (then proceeds to sing all her early hits up to that time)on this great live CD. Summer lives up to her proclamation above and beyond belief. This is Donna's first "live recording," and is no less than remarkable. She proves beyond any reasonable doubt that she "can sing!" And boy does she! Just listen to her sing "I Love You." All her hits "Love to Love You, Try Me.., I Feel Love" etc. etc. live and on stage are seamless and ageless (even today.) Her voice has got the power, range and subtlety (with that great dramatic quality) when needed. She not only tackles her disco hits but also conquers some "standards" (My Man Medley: The Man I Love, I Got It Bad & Some Of These Days) and they are performed impeccably. Most noticeable is her torching rendition of "The Way We Were," this is a vocal triumph for Summer and she makes the song her own!! Then, the touching "Mimi's Song" which is a lovely, bittersweet homage to her daughter, whom she hardly saw due to Summer's superstardom at the time. All in all, this is a MUST have for any Summer fan. The live recordings end appropriately enough with "Last Dance", Summer's classic tour de force, and this live version can proudly stand side by side with the studio version, and has slight lyrical changes ("ain't I even worth a dime a dance, how about just half a chance?" - you bet your sweet bippy you are!!) that make it the crowd pleaser it is, as well as making it the perfect ending to this extraordinary "magical, mystical night!!" Enjoy!!