Returns To Carnegie Hall – HARRY BELAFONTE***

Jump Down Spin Around/Suzanne/A Little Lyric Of Great Importance/Chickens/Vaichazkem/I Do Adore Her/The Ballad Of Sigmund Freud/I’ve Been Driving On Bold Mountain-Waterboy (Medley)/A Hole In The Bucket/The Click Song/One More Dance/The Ox Drivers/The Red Rosy Bush/Didn’t It Rain/Hene Ma Tov/I Know Where I’m Going/Old King Cole/La Bamba

Returns To Carnegie Hall was a follow up double LP to Harry Belafonte’s acclaimed concert album of the previous year. On this occasion he shared the stage with the Chad Mitchell Trio, Odetta, Mirian Makeba and The Belafonte Folk Singers. (US:3)

“In Returns To Carnegie Hall, Belafonte again brings his great humour and, at times his feeling and introspection to a grateful audience. This time, though, he enlists the aid of the then new Chad Mitchell Trio and the great Miriam Makeba. Somehow, though, the magic of the original concert is missing here. Unlike the original concert, Belafonte doesn't offer us much in the way of live versions of his famous songs. I miss hearing his vocal prowess, or the gentle and intricate intonations that made the original concert release so enjoyable.”

“Recorded almost exactly a year after his sensational Carnegie Hall debut in 1959, Belafonte presents a totally different type of concert in this return, with a new set of numbers. Here he is more a producer than soloist, bringing with him other artists to whom he cedes the stage but with whom he often shares songs.”

“With far more novelty/humorous numbers than in his previous Carnegie Hall performance, Belafonte is clearly appealing to a broader audience than the serious folkies who made the earlier concert a sell out. This show is more spectacular, with each guest performing some of his/her most unusual and memorable numbers. Belafonte is terrific for the eight songs he performs (plus his duets with Odetta and Makeba), but this is less a Belafonte concert than a Belafonte production."

“Those purchasing this recording because they enjoyed Belafonte's wonderful first recorded concert at Carnegie will be disappointed. Only two or three songs are Belafonte solos, and the strength of those numbers are well below the standard set at the first concert. Too much of the LP is taken up by his guests. A couple of those tracks are strong, but most are not particularly memorable.”