In Concert Norristown PA

In Concert

Rockapella

J-Bird Records, 2001

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 04/18/2001

If you've been reading this site for any length of time, you'llremember what I, along with other reviewers, have said about livealbums. Sometimes, they're the most difficult things for aperformer to attempt; how does one try to recreate a visual andaudio experience into an edited version that one can only hear?

In the case of Rockapella, I find it actually to be adisadvantage that I've seen them live. Their latest release, In Concert, tries to capture the magic of a typical liveshow from this a capella quintet, but it falls short, despite manyenjoyable moments.

The biggest thing missing from this disc is the interplaybetween the band and the audience, ranging from between-song banter(which shows how much Scott Leonard and crew enjoy what they do) topulling someone out of the audience for their rendition of "PrettyWoman". In Concert pretty much is a rapid-fire delivery of vocalmusic without those brief but necessary breaks. (I have yet todiscover if the corresponding home video includes any of thesemoments.)

If I had any complaint about In Concert, it would be the way that some of the group'smaterial doesn't sparkle like fans know it can during thisperformance (taped for a PBS special - something Leonard notes inan ad-lib during "Dancin' In The Streets"). Songs like "That's TheWay" and "Blah Blah Blah" (the latter of which features bassvocalist Barry Clark getting a dig in on music critics - thanks,Barry) literally crackle with energy on their studio versions - andhaving seen Rockapella perform, I know they can make these songscome to life on stage. On this disc, though, something is missing;they don't have the same kind of energy one might have expected.Also, a personal gripe - where is "Doorman Of My Heart"? Yeah, Iknow the boys couldn't have gotten away with using the phrase "kickthe ass" on PBS, but I still miss this song.