Live at Fillmore West: Deluxe Edition/Remastered & Expanded

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-06-28 rating:
Longer and Better
When a concert is released as an album, how accurate a representation of the night should it be? Quite apart from the dubious practice of adding studio overdubs to correct errors and "sweeten" vocals, there is a question of the sound balance - should it reflect the stage monitors that the performers hear, or the sound system that the audience experiences, and since most of the instruments are plugged directly into amplifiers, how important are the building's acoustics to the end result? Then there is the editing - the longeurs between songs while instruments are retuned and technicalities sorted out, the banter and chat between performers and audience - should they be left in? What songs should be excised and should any be shortened?

These questions (and I don't have the answers, by the way) were raised by this reissue of Live At Fillmore West, my third copy of the album, each one a substantial revision of the previous release. Aretha played three nights at the Fillmore and the album was compiled from two of the nights, so it never claimed to be from a single concert, and there is no suggestion of nefarious overdubbing. What fascinates me is how each release adds further clues as to what went down on those nights.

The original album was on vinyl, with all the time constraints inherent in the format. It clocked in at 42:43. Several of the songs were edited and there was little chat between the songs. Dr Feelgood, which ran for seven minutes on its CD debut, was edited to 3:23. The CD ran to 48:12 with most of the rest of the extra time coming from between the songs.

For this CD, Rhino have gone back to the unedited tapes of all three nights, as used on the box set Aretha Franklin and King Curtis Live At Fillmore West: Don't Fight The Feeling, and used the same performances to recreate the original track list. A note inside says, "Both performances of Spirit In The Dark were edited on the original album release but appear on this release unedited." This means that performances that previously ran to 13:44 on CD now extend to 26:26, with the whole disc now lasting 67:54. Both came from the final night and include an impromptu performance from Ray Charles, plucked from the audience, and are thus especially valuable to hear as originally performed.

I was surprised to discover that many of the other selections were also now longer, the same performance of Dr Feelgood now being 8:58, and there were stage announcements I'd never heard before, which to my mind added to the sense of the event, as Aretha interacted with the appreciative Fillmore crowd, making it more of an occasion. I did notice that the mikes of the band and singers were left open between songs more on this mix, allowing extraneous noise such as coughing and rattling, which may be a more honest representation but which I found mildly intrusive.

The recording dates given here of 5-7 March 1971 differ by a month from those given on earlier releases, and in all the discographies I could check, but are correct, as I was able to confirm from a reproduction of the original psychedelic poster for the event. According to the notes, nearly all of the recordings come from the final night, with Love The One You're With and Dr Feelgood from the second night. However, one very good reason for choosing this particular revamp is the second disc of Alternates And Unused Songs.

This includes seven songs from the opening night, including a Jimmy Webb song, Mixed-Up Girl, not represented on the album. Other unused songs include her own classic Call Me, Bobby Blue Bland's Share Your Love With Me and her current single, a revival of You're All I Need To Get By. The rest of the disc offers alternative performances from other nights to those on the album, with some enjoyable variations and banter, cherry-picked from the box-set which considerations such as keeping a roof over our heads may discourage us from acquiring.

My focus in this review is on this two-CD edition of a very well-known album, originally released in 1971. Therefore I have little to add to the mileage of editorial coverage it has already received. I would say that the perspective of time has been less kind to the material chosen to pander to the Fillmore audience. The lyrically preposterous Love The One You're With and the MOR excesses of Make It With You suffer far more than her fabulous gospel-infused interpretation of Bridge Over Troubled Water, but it is on home-grown material like Don't Play That Song, Dr Feelgood and Spirit In The Dark that Aretha's true brilliance shines. Her new band, featuring King Curtis, the Memphis Horns, Billy Preston, Bernard Purdie, Cornell Dupree and an all-star cast, really make a difference, too. One of the great live albums.

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review by: date: 2008-02-07 rating:
Live at Filmore West
'Live at Filmore West' is an amazing double album showcasing Aretha's awesome live talent. The first disc is the original album in remastered format and the second disc has alternate takes and unused songs from the concerts. The choice of songs are perfect, 'Love The One You're With' is especially note-worthy, and Ray Charles duets with Aretha on 'Spirit In The Dark (Reprise)' which reaches almost gospel revival proportions. The audience atmosphere can clearly be heard and adds to the overall ambiance and feel of the album. When Aretha speaks with the audience it reminds me of Jill Scott today when she talks with real soul to her audiences (I highly recommend her albums by the way). The level of soul and emotion from both artists is staggering. This is an outstanding live album and is well worth a listen whether you're a fan of Aretha or not.


review by: staxasoul date: 2007-09-10 rating:
Aretha takes 'em to Church
Aretha Franklin had been a major R&B voice since her first Atlantic album, and was considered a major star, after Grammy awards and TV appearances, but the 3 night booking at the Fillmore was designed to cement her "crossover appeal to Rock audiences.

Those 3 February 1971 nights in San Francisco came as Aretha was fighting back from both professional and personal low points - sales had slumped as Aretha went through a divorce from Ted White in late 1969, losing both her husband and manager as a result. They were to provide a springboard which saw Aretha fly as high as ever, with the single release of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" in April 1971, which went Gold.

Atlantic recorded all 3 nights, taking most of the original album from the first night, other than the encore from the final performance when Ray Charles joins Aretha for a duet on "Spirit In the Dark". All those tracks are here on disc one, plus the songs that didn't make the final cut and alternate versions on disc 2. In fact, there was another live album culled from these sessions for King Curtis, who was both opening act and support for Aretha. When you add in the Memphis Horns as further backing for the Queen of Soul, it is hardly surprising that she conquered the Fillmore.

The material includes classic Aretha as well as covers which, as usual, she makes her own. Highlights include "Bridge...", with the Gospel feel that Aretha injected and Dr Feelgood, which has the air of a personal confessional. Add in the covers from rock and pop, underpin it with an R&B "who's who" of musicians and top off with one of the few times Aretha and Ray Charles recorded together and this is a truly unique record of a woman at the height of her powers.

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