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Extension of a Man
Home > Complete List of "h" Artists > Donny Hathaway > Item 13
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Extension of a Man
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by Donny Hathaway
Sales Rank: 545288
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List Price: $31.99
$31.99
At Amazon
on 11-29-2008.
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1. I Love the Lord; He Heard My Cry, Pts. 1 & 2
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2. Someday We'll All Be Free
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3. Flying Easy
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4. Valdez in the Country
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5. I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know - Donny Hathaway, Kooper, Al
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6. Come Little Children
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7. Love, Love, Love - Donny Hathaway, Bailey, J.R.
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8. The Slums
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9. Magdalena - Donny Hathaway, OKeefe, Danny
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10. I Know It's You - Donny Hathaway, Ware, Leon
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11. Lord Me - Donny Hathaway, Greene, Joe
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I've been listening to this set by Donny for the first time in a while and was refreshed by the talent of my favorite male vocalist all over again. This 1973 set was probably Donny's most experimental. It was soulful of course, but that soul was filtered through various arrangements that aren't commonly identified as "soul." In fact, EOAM could be looked at as mildly psychedelic on the whole. The title of the album alludes to this somewhat. The song opens with Donny conducting -- yes, conducting -- his very grand instrumental overture that reminds me of Duke Ellington (from the few pieces I've heard by the Duke). I Love The Lord is not only very beautiful and moving, but it lets you know that Donny had some serious skills outside of the mainstream genres. Had he lived long enough he could have followed in the footsteps of the Duke ... I personally don't think that's too much of a stretch. Donny's string arrangements are perfect on this set in the 70's vein. They flow perfectly from I Love The Lord to what is arguably Donny's non-holiday signature song, Someday We'll All Be Free. There have been so many great singers that covered this song (including the Queen), which is a testament to its greatness. But when Donny sang it, you could tell he was singing from his heart and you could feel his hope in something transcendent through his pain. Amazing. If someone doesn't like this song, it's doubtful that they would like anything Donny ever recorded. Next we have the breezy bossa nova Flying Easy, which is a jazzy number with some trippy romantic lyrics. It wouldn't be out of place on Minnie Riperton's Come To My Garden. The jazz vibe continues with his instrumental Valdez In The Country, with Donny tearing up the keyboards. The whole summery feeling is carried over from the last song and you can actually imagine taking a drive through the country while listening to this one in a convertible. If those last two songs were more on the fun side, we have the exact opposite with Donny's haunting and dark I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know. This is one of those soul-baring numbers that epitomize unrequited love, and it can be scary to listen to for some people. The despairing tone of the song is broken up only briefly by the waltz-like bridge before descending again into the very slow and ominous bluesy tempo the song started with. There could be some symbolism in that too ... contemplation of the impossible, thinking briefly it could be probable, then back to the reality of the impossible? Who knows. But the song is absolutely brilliant in its sadness, if that makes sense. Never mind that Donny didn't write it. He lived it, that much is apparent. After that, I guess Donny wanted to let us know it's time to get hopeful again with Come Little Children. This is a fun little number that sounds a lot like the song Superfly, right down to the unusual rhythm arrangement and guitar. Of note: Donny is not a squaller, but he squalls a few times on this one and the technique on the last one is very similar to what Aretha would have done with the sharp head-to-chest transition she was so fond of in the 60's. So-so song in my opinion, but outstanding vocals by Donny. Of note to gospel fans: Myrna Summers and her choir play tambourines on this one. Right after that we have another uplifting "tribute," one of my favorites on EOAM. The music to Love, Love, Love sounds like it could have come straight from Marvin Gaye's What's Going On album. And the title of the song pretty much sums up what the song is about. This is one of the tracks on which you can really see why people say Donny and Stevie sound alike. But Donny's church background, churchier phrasing and oboe-like vibrato set him apart. His voice was also more mature sounding than Stevie's (not taking anything away from Wonder Man, who is amazing in his own right). Donny then does a tribute to himself with Slums which could be a continuation of his hit The Ghetto. That song is funky, but has never been one of my favorites and neither is Slums. But if you like one you're sure to like the other. Both sound like they could have been the main title or a background song to a blaxploitation film, especially Slums. Next up is Donny's Magdalena. This ragtime-type number is vaguely reminiscent of the theme from the sitcom What's Happening and includes a hip-hop beat on the chorus -- I know, I know ... but turn up your bass and tell me if I'm wrong! This is one of those little ditties that you will probably either really like or really dislike. But 1930's retro-culture was popular in the early 70's, and many artists were exploring that old-timey sound. Hollywood also made many movies during this time period that took place in the 30's. So Donny was keeping pace with the times and this is one of the album's best vocals. I Know It's You, the closing ballad of the original LP, ends EOAM on a positive and uplifting note with its declarative message of love that includes spiritual connotations. It is completely opposite of I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know ... almost as if Donny woke up to the fact that the person who he was preoccupied with in the other song was not the real deal, and when he met the right one he could testify "I KNOW it's you, baby!" This is one of my favorite Donny songs ever, and Arif Mardin's strings deliver by enhancing the shimmering gladness of the song. Truly a masterpiece, and one that would have suited Aretha perfectly back in 1973, by the way. Rhino's reissue of the CD includes a bonus track, Lord Help Me. This track was the flip side of I Love You More and has a slightly unfinished, demo-like quality to it. But given Donny's style, that actually works to the track's benefit, and this tuneful prayer that was co-written by the one and only Billy Preston makes a strong statement. Overall, EOAM is a very, VERY good album that feels like it could have been a great concept album. In that regard it reminds me of Aretha's Hey Now Hey from the same year ... there are signs that it started off as a concept, but got compromised for various reasons. Regardless of the flow however, the material was still great -- and EOAM is no different for the most part. It's the most adventurous of Donny's 3 studio albums and is a great place for someone to explore Donny's extraordinary talent beyond his terrific greatest hits set (A Donny Hathaway Collection).
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Extension of a Man
Available from Amazon
Price: $31.99
Updated on 11-29-2008.
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