Richie Havens - Sings Beatles And Dylan

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 73:04
Size: 167.3 MB
Styles: Folk rock
Year: 1986/2003
Art: Front

[2:44] 1. Here Comes The Sun
[2:47] 2. If Not For You
[4:30] 3. Lay Lady Lay
[5:14] 4. In My Life
[3:52] 5. Strawberry Fields Forever
[3:22] 6. All Along The Watchtower
[5:11] 7. Imagine
[3:01] 8. My Sweet Lord
[4:28] 9. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
[3:10] 10. Eleanor Rigby
[5:16] 11. Just Like A Woman
[3:29] 12. The Long And Winding Road
[4:32] 13. Let It Be
[4:49] 14. License To Kill
[4:54] 15. The Times They Are A-Changin'
[5:02] 16. Working Class Hero
[4:13] 17. Rocky Raccoon
[2:21] 18. With A Little Help From My Friends

Richie Havens is probably the only '60s icon who could get away with an album like this without apology. But for the presence of the electric keyboards, synth bass, and '80s-style drums, these performances by Havens could easily have appeared 18 years earlier. His performances of "Here Comes the Sun," "If Not for You," "Strawberry Fields Forever," and "Lay Lady Lay" all display a satisfying intimacy, and "Rocky Raccoon" is just plain fun, but his cover of "The Long and Winding Road" is probably the best version of this song ever done, with "Let It Be" not far behind. Overall, they're more sophisticated than some of Havens' earlier work, a mix of soul and folk traditions with an overlay of rock, that any longtime fan will appreciate. ~Bruce Eder

Sings Beatles And Dylan

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Richie Havens - Richard P. Havens, 1983

Styles: Pop/Rock
Label:  Raven
Year: 1969
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:48
Size: 164,4 MB
Art: Front

(1:51)  1. Stop Pulling and Pushing Me
(7:05)  2. For Heaven's Sake
(3:39)  3. Strawberry Fields Forever
(4:39)  4. What More Can I Say, John?
(3:10)  5. I Pity the Poor Immigrant
(1:59)  6. Lady Madonna
(5:16)  7. Priests
(3:04)  8. Indian Rope Man
(4:02)  9. Cautiously
(3:00) 10. Just above my Hobby Horse's Head
(4:06) 11. She's Leaving Home
(2:53) 12. Putting Out the Vibration, and Hoping It Comes Home
(7:48) 13. The Parable of Ramon
(5:19) 14. With a Little Help from My Friends
(4:55) 15. Wear Your Love Like Heaven
(2:11) 16. Run Shaker Life
(6:41) 17. Do You Feel Good?

Havens' third Verve album was an ambitious double LP, using about a couple dozen backing musicians in various combinations on instruments ranging from conga and sitar to steel guitar and organ. Though recorded for the most part in the studio, it also included several live recordings from a July 1968 concert. As with many double albums, it perhaps could have used some pruning, although in general it was a worthy expansion of his sound as captured on record. Divided almost equally between originals and covers, the music has the moving and melancholy vibe, yet also somewhat rambling feel, typical of Havens' prime. Certainly his "What More Can I Say John?" is a subtle and admirable anti-Vietnam war song, while his interpretations of Leonard Cohen's "Priests" and Maurey Hayden's (aka Lotus Weinstock's) "Cautiously" are unusual cover choices that are imaginatively done. An Indian influence makes itself heard occasionally, as on "Just Above My Hobby Horse's Head" and "Putting Out the Vibration, and Hoping It Comes Home"; "Indian Rope Man," with Jeremy Steig on flute, is one of his better compositions. However, there's an over reliance on Beatles covers (there are four here). And the live stuff on side four, with its cutesy five-minute version of "With a Little Help From My Friends" (in which Havens wordlessly scats the lyrics), seems like an afterthought to push the set to double-LP length. ~Richie Unterberger  http://www.allmusic.com/album/richard-p-havens-1983-mw0000195918 .

Richard P. Havens, 1983

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