I had the cassette of this album for several years before I wore it out. Over the years I've purchased several other Donny Hathaway CDs with different performances of these songs, but I've never felt the same power as the renditions on this CD. The give and take betwen Hathaway and the rapturous crowd gives me goose bumps and makes me wanna shout! No matter how much Hathaway you own, you'll be glad you got this one.

Donny Hathaway is a great singer and songwriter, but not all that good of a live performer. It seems that his idea of giving us a good show was to simply sing the same songs rubato. As a live performance afficionado, one thing that bothers me is not having the songs modified in a simple enough way that they can be followed easily. It's also very annoying to want to sing along to the studio version and be off-beat every time because the use of rubato has changed the melody line almost beyond recognition.

His voice was good and on key through the songs, and he gave us some good demonstrations of his ability to add filler chords and notes. If he'd sung the vocal lines as they were recorded and added a few filler chords and notes, that may have made for a good live performance. But the combination of that *plus* the altered melody lines was just overpowering.

Perhaps this CD will get better over successive listenings, but as of now, I can't see it being worth more than $5.

Not enough people are aware of Donny Hathaway, which is a crime. This man influenced more great soul singers than one can imagine. He galvanized a whole generation of dissenfranchised young men and women through his music to stand up and be counted, be proud, tap into their spirit and love one another. With just his music and that unbelievable voice. With only just six tracks, this live recording will take you to that moment in time & I dare you not to be touched by this man!!!
The best tracks are To Be Young, Gifted & Black, A Song For You, I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know & his self-penned We Need You Right Now. Listen for earnest audience partcipation & frenzied enthusiasm from the crowd. On this recording, it really works and is not in the way. Magical night!! A must have. I would give this ten stars if I could!!

First off, Donny Hathaway is probably the most unknown "superstar" of his era of soul. This album has a little bit of everything that is Donny- great for new fans to explore his music with. Of the million versions we've all heard of "Song For You", this album has the purest and most beautiful I've ever heard- the raw sound of a live recording made years ago, Donny's voice, and a piano....period. "We Need You Right Now" is one of two songs written by Donny and is prefaced by him giving respect to "my creator" and saying "I wrote this song two weeks ago". Religious or not, it is a beautiful song which also highlights the piano and his voice. Exactly half the tracks (1,5,and 6) are socially conscience songs which need at least two listens (one for the music and beauty of his voice and the other for the meaning of the lyrics) to completely appreciate. Maybe the best thing about this recording is that he plays an acoustic piano for half the album. The acoustic brings something to the songs that would've been lost even with the greatest of electric pianos.

I cannot believe no one mentions the track 'NU-PO,' the only instrumental cut on the album. This is one of the most flowing and smooth pieces of music. A latin groove that just builds with the dissolving and watery Rhodes, Not to mention the sublime Bass of Willy Weeks and the Guitar of Phil Uphcurch (Anyone for Darkness Darkness?).

I hear that there's a version of this Album with more Tracks, including a bass solo by Willy on 'Voices Inside.' Re-issue!