Living Proof

Artist: Sylvester
Label: Fantasy
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio Cassette

UPC: 025218791045
EAN: 0025218791045
ASIN: B000000XHI

Release Date: 1990-10-17

Related Categories:

Disco

| Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General

| Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General

| Jazz | Styles | Music

General

| Pop | Styles | Music

General

| R&B | Styles | Music

General

| Funk | R&B | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Overture: Grateful/You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)/Dance (Disco Heat)
Body Strong
Blackbird
Medley: Could It Be Magic/A Song for You [Medley]
Happiness
Lover Man
Sharing Something Perfect Between Ourselves
You Are My Friend
Dance (Disco Heat)
You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)

Similar Items:

Do Ya Wanna Funk
Mutual Attraction
Sell My Soul/Too Hot to Sleep
Sylvester - Greatest Hits
Original Hits

Customer Reviews:

Sylvester & Friends: LIVE in San Francisco .......2006-11-22

Sylvester James's March 11, 1979, performance at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House is captured for prosperity on the album "Living Proof". At about 67 minutes, the album is an edited and condensed version of a performance which Sylvester biographer Joshua Gamson, in his 2005 Sylvester biography "The Fabulous Sylvester", described in the following passage: "Sylvester's Opera House show, like many other Opera House shows, had three acts and lasted nearly three hours."

LIVING PROOF consists of 10 tracks, including the "Overture", an instrumental introduction medly. The track listing (back panel) is almost identical in style and format to that of "The Original Hits" collection. Booklet includes personnel, thanks, no lyrics, and no photos or artwork. This is the 1990 re-issue of the original 1979 LP. The album was originally released as a double-LP; the fourth side of which were studio recordings, including "Can't Stop Dancing"; those tracks are not included here, hence the disclaimer "Due to maximum playing time limitations, it has not been possible to include the entire contents of the original double album on this CD."

Two Tons O' Fun (Izora Rhodes and Martha Wash, who later became The Weather Girls, billed here as "The Two Tons") performed on stage with Sylvester and make their presence known much too much to allow them to be called "background" vocalists. (Jeanie Tracy and Sharon Hymes, singing in the orchestra pit, were the backup singers that nite.)

Disco Diva Sylvester only makes a minor appearance in this set. The bulk of the performance is by Sylvester the neo-gospel secular singer, Sylvester the balladeer, and Sylvester as his Jazz chanteuse alter-ego "Ruby Blue" (or Rubi Bleu). One disappointing aspect of Sylvester's (or Rubi's) performance is that "Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be)" omits the word "man", thus becoming gender-less. (However, he does dedicate the song "Sharing Something Perfect Between Ourselves" to his "lover".)

Track 4, the Medley of "Could It Be Magic" and "A Song for You" is a duet with pianist Eric Robinson. It is mostly a rendition of "A Song for You" with "Could It Be Magic" used as an intro and an outro.

The performance and the disc end with Sylvester's most mainstream hit "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)". It starts off as the disco hit most know it as, but it soon transitions into a ballad version of the song, with Sylvester soliciting audience participation.

There are no monologs, but there is a bit of banter by Sylvester, which does mean there is less music and time spent singing, but the dialog and audience interaction is something unavailable on a studio album. (It would be nice if an extended version of the album could be released - if the master tapes are even available; if not, a re-issue with the omitted studio recordings and some other extras would be great.)

The only other live albums in my collection are by Millie Jackson and Erykah Badu (not counting that horribly edited Etta James ten-song set that has been released under several titles). I find them both - especially Millie Jackson's "Live & Uncensored" [1979] - much more enjoyable than "Living Proof". But I did find "Living Proof" enjoyable. However, I would only recommend it to true Sylvester fans who already have his other recordings in their collections.

Sylvester's Shining Moment Captured For All Posterity!!.......2006-01-10

When I put this album on, I go through a range of emotions:
Laughter & Joy (reminiscing about the good ol' days!)
Sadness & Melancholy (thinking of how we lost this
talented artist and larger-than-life personality,
as well as many of my great freinds from that era
to the scourge of AIDS!)
There aren't a lot of us around still who can
remember when Sylvester's star was shining bright
but thank goodness this special night was captured
on record for us to hear & stroll down memory lane,
and for a new generation to discover
one of the true grand divas of disco!
They're all on here "Dance (Disco Heat)",
"You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)", "You Are My Freind",
which was his popular rendition of a Patti Labelle song.
(One of his idols and later a freind!)
He also covers another disco diva's songs..
Donna Summers' beautiful and haunting "Could This Be Magic",
which was penned by Barry Manilow.
He and "Two Tons O' Fun" (Martha & Izora) also do a snappy
churchified version of Lennon & McCartney's classic "Blackbird".
You can feel the energy and love between the artists and
the audience on that fabled night in March 1979!
Too bad his other disco classic "Do Ya' Wanna Funk?"
wasn't even recorded at the time this concert record was made.
That would've taken it over the edge!

R.I.P. Sylvester, Patrick Cowley & Ms. Izora "Queen Mother" Rhodes!!

P.S.>>Check out the biographical book on Sylvester's life
called "The Fabulous Sylvester"..it captures his life and times
as well as the social climate of San Francisco in the 70's
to a tee! I really enjoyed reading this book and you will too!

One of the Finest Live Albums of The 70's.......2005-09-22

This album, along with Donna Summer's original Live and More, are the finest live albums of the Disco genre. Like Summer, Sylvester is a multi talented artist (I say is, although sadly we lost him far too young), and this albums shows him at his best.

His hits are here, and You Make Me Feel Mighty Real, and Dance (Disco Heat) are Dance Classics for a reason. Another Disco song is his cover of the Pointer Sister's hit from 1979, Happiness.

However most of the covers he chose to sing allowed him to show off his versatility. From the Beatle's Blackbrid, to Patti LaBelle's You Are My Friend, to a spine tingling medley of Could It Be Magic and A Song For You, Sylvester's shows off the fusion of R & B, Gospel, and Pop that few others could master.
The classic Lover Man (Oh where can you be) is also given the Sylvester touch.

Now that CD's can hold more tunes per disk, it would be great if the full album would be reissued on CD, as the vinyl copy includes more live tracks, including Cry Me A River, and another great Sylvester Dance Track, In My Fantasy (a studio recording).

Also worth noting is the ballad that he dedicated to his then lover (in the audience), Sharing Someting Perfect Between Ourselves. Long before artists started to finally come out of the closet in the late 80's and 90's (Melissa Etheridge, Frankie Holly, Boy George, George Michael) there were a group of brave artists who came out during the Disco Craze, Sylvester amoung them (other include DC LaRue, Paul Parker, The Skatt Brothers). THEY were the true trailblazers.

and finally, this release has the added treat of the Two Tons on backing vocals, long before they were The Weather Girls, they were holding down the vocals with Sylvester, and they had their own hits as well
(see my review of The Weather Girls, Super Hits).

Brillaint LIVE album..........2005-06-19

You'll wish you were at the party back in 1979! Features the dazzling rendition of "You Are My Friend" with The Two Tons --and the wonderful "Could It Be Magic/A Song For You" medley with keyboardist Eric Robinson. You gotta love the 11 minute live version of "Dance (Disco Heat)."

I was IN ATTENDANCE at this show !!!!!!!!!.......2005-04-05

This was recorded in just one day at the San Francisco Opera House,
March 11th 1979. My friend Gary and I went. The place was packed with Sylvester's fans and people! There was a heavy fog
of pot smoke filling the entire auditorium and you would get
a whiff of poppers every few minutes.
The crowd was ON FIRE!! everyone standing and moving/dancing
in their seat. The addition of TWO TONS OF FUN (later to become THE WEATHER GIRLS) was wonderful! They backed-up Sylvester many times before. They launched into "You Make Me Feel Mighty Real"
and "DISCO HEAT" and the energy intensified throughout the show.
The incredible voices of Martha Wash and Izora Rhodes are highlighted in the song "You Are MY Friend" with a solo of
Martha's sweet and soulful style followed by Izora's DOWN DEEP,
HEAVY DUTY, INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH, GUT WRENCHING, Soooouuuul!
(Martha has cut a new album and finally got credit for her vocals on "Gonna Make You Sweat" with C+C Music Factory and
"Takin' Over" with C+C Music Factory.) (Izorha Rhodes passed over several years ago in Germany where she lived with her
daughter)
.....Anyway Great Show ! The CD version of what was original
on vinyl as a 2 record set still catches the energy and joy
of one of my favorite shows ever!!!!

Music CD:

Music CD

Music CD

Music CD

Meditations ~ C. Lanzbom

Sleep of Angels ~ Rotting Christ

Untouchables ~ Korn

De la Planéte Mars ~ IAM

En Estos Dias ~ Illapu

Identidad ~ Pablo Milanes

O Ilios Toy Genari ~ Manolis Lidakis

Road/Road Chapter 2 ~ Tra-Bryu

Detective Story Remix ~ Original Soundtrack

The Teaches of Peaches ~ Peaches