The Jazz Channel Presents Lou Rawls (BET on Jazz) (2000) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Sam Graham writing the editorial review gives his reasons for why Lou Rawls isn't his first choice when defining what a great singer is, I think this review says more about the critic than it does about Lou Rawls! Versatility Rawls has in abundance and far from being the hindrance that Sam Graham thinks I would argue that apart from his wonderful & distintive voice, it is his versatility that makes him unique.
Try to think of another singer past or present who like Rawls could if he so wished perform a Blues night, a R&B, Soul, Disco night, a Jazz night be it fronting a swinging big band or with just a small combo or his first love Gospel. Rawls can do all of these genres with total authenticity & authority.
The ridiculous lounge lizard statement only confirms the critics shortcomings. The easiest musical route for Rawls to have taken & one which both Capital & MGM records both tried to push him into was that of a popular crooner. All his career, especially recording wise, has been a balance of new & old but always done with sophistictation & style. Would the critic I wonder have ever described Frank Sinatra in such derogatory terms & yet Frank always sang his hits as well as his classics. Strangers in the Night or the ultimate lounge song My Way, are we talking schlocky fare or what?
What Rawls shares with the truly great singers besides the most distinctive & arguebly best voice of the past 40 years or so is swing & class, add sophistication & this is what you get in abundance in this DVD.
You get a glimpse of Rawls in all his guise's, Gospel as his congregation, 'audience' join him in the call & response of Sam Cook's 'Bring it on home'. Blues with 'Stormy Monday', 'Room with a view', 'Tobacco Road'. R&B with 'Your good thing', 'Let me be good to you', 'Love is a hurting thing'. Soul/Disco hits 'Natural Man', 'Lady Love', 'See you when I get there' & of course 'You'll never find'. The jazz theme runs throughout the show with a truly magnificent band with some great solo's & with which Rawls acknowledges his heritage with 'Since I met you baby' & a version of 'Wonderfull World' that would have Mr Armstrong reaching for his horn & beaming in appreciation!
Buy, see & enjoy a truly great singer in his consummate prime.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Jazz Channel Presents Lou Rawls (BET on Jazz) (2000)

Take a musical journey with BET On Jazz: The Jazz Channel and the soulful sounds of legendary R&B vocalist Lou Rawls. Recorded live at Black Entertainment Television Studio II in Washington, DC, this historic "Jazz Central" concert features Rawls singing classic "Philly sounds," jazz and blues in his inimitable style, plus a bonus interview. Songs: Groovy People, Tobacco Road, Natural Man, Lady Love, Let Me Be Good to You, Since I Met You, Love is a Hurtin' Thing, Stormy Monday, Room With a View, Bring It on Home, Your Good Thing (Is About to End), Street Life Medley, What a Wonderful World, Hoochie Coochie, Wind Beneath My Wings, You'll Never Find, See You When I Get There.

Click here for more information about The Jazz Channel Presents Lou Rawls (BET on Jazz) (2000)