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Richie Havens - Dreaming as One: The A&M Years Audio CD

A fair review of the Richie Havens "Dreaming as One: The A&M Years" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Richie Havens reviews here, or go back to the Richie Havens tabs.

Richie Havens Band: Richie Havens
Title: Dreaming as One: The A&M Years
Rating:
Release Date: 2006-11-13
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: I'm Not in Love 2: We Can't Hide It Anymore 3: Dreaming as One 4: You Can Close Your Eyes 5: I Was Educated by Myself 6: Daughter of the Night 7: If Not for You 8: Do It Again 9: Wild Night 10: Long Train Running 11: Live It Up (One Time) 12: Shadows of the Past 13: I Don't Complain 14: Touch the Sky 15: Billy John 16: We All Wanna Boogie 17: Avalon 18: Aviation Man 19: Nobody Left to Crown 20: End 21: I'm Not in Love [Edited Single Version]

Masterpiece from Richie
I usually prefer his stripped down acoustic work, but this album stands out as a true gem/masterpiece from a period when there was a little more slick production applied to his music when he moved to A&M records around the mid-70s. Highly recommended! I've been a Richie Havens fan for over 30 years and possibly own approx 80% of his extensive catalog in CDs & LPs.

This album from Hip-O is a two-fer, but my review is limited to the first album represented here, The End of the Beginning. Richie worked on this album with three quarters of Booker T and the MGs, and they provide stellar backup to Richie's voice and guitar.

I agree with reviewer Mike from San Jose that "I'm Not in Love" is a standout track. One of the reasons I love this album, though, is that I found it to be very consistent from start to finish, and was equally enthralled with every song from this album (cuts 1 thru 10 of the two-fer). Generally, side one (1-5) was the softer side, and side 2 (6-10) was the faster side. Both sides are excellent. In my experience, I've found very, very, very few albums (by any artist, including Richie) that achieve this level of consistency.

Of special mention is one of Richie's own compositions, "I Was Educated By Myself", which is one of my top 5 all-time Richie songs, and a favorite among any of the singer-songwriters that I've followed. With kind of a slow-burn spiritual feel, it starts out with "I can buy the lie and it don't matter, even though I try to keep my health; it all seems the same, such a silly game. . played by silly fools that don't even follow their own rules; but oh when the sunshine follows me around, lifts my feet and takes me from the ground, high enough to see the shelf, and to know that I was educated by myself. "

I'm not sure that I understand the 'shelf' reference (maybe I 'misremembered' it); but loved the line about "silly fools that don't even follow their own rules", which still seems very timely given the abundance of political and corporate malfeasance of our times.

Kudos to Hip-O for an extremely well packaged CD digipak, with great photos, liner notes and credits . . . an A+ product to fit the A+ musical content. Maybe Hip-O can tackle Richie's live double album "On Stage" from the early 70s which has yet to see the light of day in CD format (hint, hint !).



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old love

The more you listen to his songs,getting used to his voice and guitar play,you learn to appreciate his music. I had richie haven's recording of the "end of the begining" long forgotten for years and I was delighted to have found it in this cd. This is indeed a chance to renew an old love. .


Just as good as Richie's stellar work with Steve Hackett
If you're a Richie Havens fan. . or a Steve Hackett fan. . . or simply a fan of excellent music, you need to add Hackett's second solo album "Please Don't Touch" to your collection, if only for the heart-rending vocals served up by Richie on the song "Icarus Ascending. " People who have heard this track know what I'm talking about.

The reason I started my review with that album is that during the A&M years, Richie defied expectations once again with tracks like 10CC's "I'm Not In Love. " The original version was a breathy, melancholy, floating piece of McCartney-esque joy. But in the hands of Richie Havens it becomes a soaring, tortured, emotional tour de force (notice I did not say "melodramatic," because it most certainly is not).

When he gets to the part of the song in which he sings "Don't tell your friends about. . . THE TWO OF US. . . I'm not in love, no no no no no no. . . ," every hair on your arms and the back of your neck will stand on end. My promise to you, the consumer.

There are plenty of tracks on this excellent Hip-O anothology (once again, a CD that was previously available only through the Hip-O online store, so kudos to Amazon for stocking it). While his version of "I'm Not In Love" is the undisputed masterpiece, you will be rewarded again and again and again with artistry that ventures fearlessly beyond what is expected and delivers shimmering, powerful moments of beauty and raw emotion.

And once again, the people who already own this album know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. If your knowledge of Richie Havens is limited to "Freedom" from the Woodstock movie, you don't know Richie Havens. You know one of his songs, but you don't know the breadth and depth of what he's recorded.


Timeless Masterpiece!
Going through my old lps, I discovered this one by Richie and it brought back excellent memories. I had this on LP and always liked it but forgot about it after going to cassettes and later to CDs. Great to hear this classic again, and again, and again!.


You can see a complete list of all Richie Havens discography, or go back to the Richie Havens tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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