Harry Belafonte – Live at the Greek Theatre – Speakers Corner 180g 2 LP Vinyl

On a late summer evening in 1963, a show took place at the open-air Greek Theatre which had fans flocking to the Hollywood mountains. Those who were not lucky to get a ticket climbed the surrounding trees to see the Calypso man from a distance at least. Others were waiting, recording equipment at the ready, namely the sound engineers from RCA, and in the following year the eagerly anticipated album was released. Some of the songs, such as the giddy-paced “Zombie Jamboree”, “Look Over Yonder” and the delightfully schmaltzy “Try To Remember”, had only been released as studio recordings.

The majority of the other numbers were brand new and were now heard for the very first time in the exciting live atmosphere, something which comes over authentically in this release. Here a whoop of laughter after a witty remark, there the sound of wooden boards being walked on and then absolute silence from the spellbound audience – you only get that with a live performance.

For Belafonte fans this recording is certainly the crowning glory of an artistically fruitful phase from 1959 until 1963. Among the many good albums which appeared, this is surely one of the best.