By 1963, Harry Belafonte's live act had taken on the
proportions of a theatrical event, tightly choregraphed and rehearsed with
elaborate production numbers. For a solid month during the summer of 1963,
the act sold out Los Angeles' Greek Theatre, an open-air amphitheatre
nestled in the Hollywood Hills. Fans who couldn't get in would climb trees
surrounding the theatre to get a glimpse of the show (Belafonte
may have coined the phrase "nosebleed section"). This live, double album,
Belafonte's third, was edited from performances recorded during that month,
and despite a nagging echo, captures the excitement of the concerts, which
helped make the Greek world renowned. Belafonte's keen sense of humor
("Excuse me, miss, do you really need binoculars from there?") and rapport
with his audience are in evidence here, especially in the epic sing-along of
the moment, "Zombie Jamboree," from The Many Moods of Belafonte, which takes
up an entire side and nearly seventeen minutes. Very few of the songs are
retreads ("Look Over Yonder" and "Try to Remember" are the only songs
presented that
Belafonte had recorded in the studio). A surprise inclusion is "Merry
Minuet," written by
Sheldon Harnick (Fiddler on the Roof), a song
Belafonte had sung a decade earlier in his Broadway debut, John Murray
Anderson's Almanac, but had never committed to record. This album marks the
end of Belafonte's most artistically productive period on record. Other
excellent albums followed
Greek Theatre, but not with the consistency of those from 1959-63.
~
Cary Ginell, All Music Guide |
