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Ronnie Milsap Live - Ronnie Milsap |
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Reviewed by Jolene Downs
Ronnie Milsap, in conjunction with Image Entertainment, is releasing his second Live album. This project was something Ronnie had a lot of fun with and the end result is great. Ronnie is well known for his high-energy shows and awesome audience connection. He has a great sense of humor and you can hear the laughter from the audience in between many of the songs. One of the things I really like about albums that are taped live; is the fact that it almost feels like you are at your own private show. This one is no exception. The intro music from the band sets the mood, and the audience goes wild when he gets to the microphone and says hello before starting to sing "Don't You Know How Much I Love You." Anyone that has attended one of his shows gets a tingle of anticipation when they hear the opening notes.
The album is packed with a lot of old favorites. Ronnie has accumulated a big variety of hits to choose from in his show, and you never know what you will hear. He has 40 #1 Hits along with many other old favorites. He does a few of his hits, combines more into a medley and then throws in some fan favorites for good measure. The Medley always draws a big round of applause. He includes "What A Difference You've Made In My Life," "I Wouldn't Have Missed It For the World," "It Was Almost Like A Song," "I'm A Stand By My Woman Man," "Pure Love" and "There's No Getting Over Me" in his medley. Any one of those songs is powerful in it's own right, but one right after the other leaves people wondering how he can top that.
For this tour, he has pulled a couple songs out of his hat that have been on earlier albums, but are now hard to find. We are treated to "Woman in Love" and "Future's Not What It Used To Be." He jokes with his bandleader, Jamie Brantley, during the intro to "Future." Ronnie interacts with his audience throughout his show, and he was talking about what he has seen love do to people. He mentioned he has seen men sleep on the streets over love and asks Jamie if that was in Little Rock. Jamie responds with, "No, it was New Orleans." Ronnie and the audience break into laughter. This particular song is very popular with Milsap fans. It was included on an album long ago and is very hard to find anymore. It is a real treat to hear it live.
Ronnie also likes to experiment with different sounds. He has the ability to take any song, in any musical genre and do it very well. He has an incredible range and the control to do amazing things with his voice. He can hold a note longer than anyone I've ever heard, and you never know what you will get when he decides to do new material. He chose to do something on this album that he has wanted to do for a while. He brought in an orchestra and sang "My Babe" with them backing him up. "My Babe" is a Jazzy number and he did it very well. He sounds great with the strings and horns behind him.
Along with his ballads and love songs that he is well known for, Ronnie can rock the house equally well. He gets the audience pumped and moving with the in-your-face song, "All Is Fair In Love and War." This happens to be my favorite Ronnie Milsap song. It is really hard to choose from the impressive song list, but this one is it for me. It is fast paced and full of attitude. He also talks a little about giving up his first instrument of choice, the guitar, for the one he is most known for, the piano. He says he walked out onstage early in his career and started chatting with the audience as he likes to do, set his guitar down and couldn't find it again for the rest of the show. I don't know that it is a true story, but it is one the audience gets a kick out of. He chose the piano cause it is big enough that if nothing else, he will bump into the thing. Then he proceeds to give us a taste of his piano skills. He does a medley of songs from other well known piano-men. He rocks to "Blueberry Hill," brings tears with "Last Date" and does a version of "Georgia On My Mind" that makes you think Ray Charles is there. His final song is one that gets the loudest reaction from the audience. He closes the show with the very patriotic "America The Beautiful." The audience is roaring approval by the time it is over.
This is truly an awesome album. It makes you want to find out where Ronnie is performing and take off running. It is sure to be a favorite in any CD Collection.
Song List
- Introduction
- Don't You Know How Much I Love You
- Any Day Now
- The Hits Medley
- What A Difference You've Made In My Life
- I Wouldn't Have Missed It For The World
- It Was Almost Like A Song
- I'm A Stand By My Woman Man
- Pure Love
- There's No Getting Over Me
- What A Difference You've Made In My Life (reprise)
- A Woman In Love
- Lost In The Fifties Tonight
- Snap Your Fingers
- Future's Not What It Used To Be
- Happy, Happy Birthday, Baby
- All Is Fair In Love And War
- My Babe
- Smoky Mountain Rain
- Stranger In My House
- Piano Man Medley
- Yes Indeed
- I'm In Love Again
- Blueberry Hill
- What'd I Say
- Georgia On My Mind
- Last Date
- Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On
- Lucille
- America The Beautiful
Album cover, used with permission of Image Entertainment.
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