Little Ghetto Boy
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Jealous Guy
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We’re Still Friends
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Album: Live (1972)

Introducing Live On Wax, where I’ll post some tracks from a live album, back when capturing a live concert was different enough from the recorded versions to merit release. I’ll also attempt to put some shine on recordings you may not have heard before and digitize my vinyl collection.

This time around, I selected some tracks from the late, great Donny Hathaway’s 1972 live album. Side 1 of the record (represented by “Little Ghetto Boy” and “Jealous Guy”) was recorded at NYC’s Bitter End club and side B (“We’re Still Friends”) was recorded at The Troubador in Los Angeles. Many live albums skimp on the production values, but these recordings are warm and intimate, with the perfect balance between performers and audience. Donny is among my favorite singers, and this set is a great example of the confident command he has over his luscious voice.

“Little Ghetto Boy,” is a song that may be somewhat familiar, as Dr. Dre samples it on The Chronic‘s “Lil’ Ghetto Boy”. Released only as a single, this version is a melodic, heart-wrenching parable of the two different paths a kid with a tragic childhood can take as he becomes a man.

A cover of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy” is the next selection. One of the trends in pop music that doesn’t happen much anymore is the real-time cover version. Donny chooses a pair of tunes that were popular on he radio while he was on tour: Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” and this bouncy, ragtimey rendition of Lennon’s more subdued original.

The testimonial “We’re Still Friends” rounds out the selections. It was so 70s for soul singers to introduce a song in the third person (“This is a little song about a couple that was in love…”) when everyone knows he’s talking about himself and some broken-hearted mama. I dig the way this performance builds, peaking in a bluesy guitar solo played by the awesomely-named Cornell Dupree.

The gatefold is vintage bohemian and the quotes from his peers and critics (“The Word Is Out!”) are priceless:

Black is more than beautiful to Donny Hathaway — it’s a sound and a way of life that he wants the world to enjoy.

— The Philadelphia Tribune

Dig it; the brother’s got a lot to say.

— Soul magazine

Donny has got his thing together!

—Roberta Flack