AOTW: Chuck Mangione - LIVE AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL (SP-6701)

[Captain Bacardi]

Chuck Mangione
AN EVENING OF MAGIC - LIVE AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL
A&M SP-6701

Released 1979
Peaked at #5 on the Jazz Album chart and #27 on the Pop Album chart (1979)

Format: Vinyl (2 LPs)/8-Track (2 Tapes)/Cassette (2 Tapes)/CD (2 Discs)

Produced by Chuck Mangione

Songs:

• 1. Feels So Good - 9:17
  2. The XIth Commandment - 6:38
  3. Chase The Clouds Away - 9:34
  4. Hill Where The Lord Hides - 5:24
  5. Doin' Everything With You - 7:35
  6. Love The Feelin' - 7:20
  7. I Get Crazy - 4:13
  8. Land Of Make Believe - 9:05
  9. Hide And Seek - 8:36
  10. The Day After (Our First Night Together) - 7:35
  11. Children Of Sanchez (Main Theme) - 6:47
  12. B'Bye - 5:06
  13. Children Of Sanchez (Finale) - 3:53
  14. Main Squeeze - 6:35
  15. Feels So Good (Encore) - 3:10
  
  All selections written by Chuck Mangione except "Main Squeeze" (written by C. Mangione/D. Grolnick/B. Mann/J. Tropea/T. Levin/R. Bassini/R. MacDonald/R. Tee/S. Gadd).
  
  "B'Bye" string arrangement: Bill Reichenbach

Musicians:
Chuck Mangione - Flugelhorn, Electric Piano
Chris Vadala - Soprano and Tenor Saxophones, Flute, Alto Flute, Piccolo
Grant Geissman - Classical, Electric and Acoustic Guitars
Charles Meeks - Bass
James Bradley, Jr. - Drums

Seventy-piece orchestra conducted by: Chuck Mangione

Gerry Vinci - Concertmaster
Ron Leonard - Cello
Jeff Tkazyik - Lead Trumpet
Jerry Peel - French Horn
Frank Szabo - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Jeff Kievit - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Jay Wadenpfuhl - French Horn
Richard Chamberlain - Trombone
Keith O'Quinn - Trombone
Art Linsner - Trombone
John Stevens - Tuba
Adah Mosello - Flute and Piccolo
Larry Covelli - Saxophones and Flutes
John Mitchell - Saxophones and Flutes
Nate Alford - Percussion

String Coordinator: Gerry Vinci
Brass and Reed Coordinator: Jeff Tkazyik

Recorded live at The Hollywood Bowl, July 16, 1978

Music coordination and production assistance: Jeff Tkazyik
Recording Engineer: Mick Guzauski
Concert sound engineer: Larry Swist
Mixing and editing: Mick Guzauski, Jeff Tkazyik and Chuck Mangione
Mastering: Chris Bellman
Mastered at: Allen Zentz Recording
Remote recording facilities: Filmways/Heider Recording
Sound reinforcement: Norhteastern Production Systems, Inc.
Tour coordinator: Judy Cites

Art Direction and album design: Roland Young and Junie Osaki
Cover painting: Michael Schwab
Photography: Benno Friedman, Mark Hanauer and Junie Osaki
Liner notes: Chuck Casell




Capt. Bacardi

 

[Dave]

The makings of it in the extravagant pictures & liner tell the real story... Good showcase of the expected material in that there is some surprisingly good musicianship, but otherwise it would have to be best seen, in order to be fully enjoyed...

-- Dave

 

[Rudy]

This thing always reminded me of a paint by numbers picture: everything in its place, all nicely done and professionally performed, but nothing really unique about the whole package overall. It's a decent introduction to some of the music prior to the "big hit album" for those who may not have heard it, but otherwise, it never did too much for me. Some of it seemed like a cash-in ("Feels So Good"...twice??). Not the greatest, but also not to bad either.

I must have bought mine in Canada, as it came in those "gummy plastic" lined sleeves that leech plastic all over the records, which A&M Canada used at the time; mine probably aren't even playable anymore. And the labels of course have the Canadian markings and wording.

 

[Captain Bacardi]

There were some hits and misses on this album. Mangione definitely missed a few of the high notes on "Feels So Good" - even had to take it down an octave in spots. But I liked the overall feel of this album. Some highlights for me were "Hill Where The Lord Hides", "I Get Crazy", "Land Of Make-Believe", "Children Of Sanchez" and "B'bye". There were songs that could've been nice, such as "Chase The Clouds Away" that was ruined by Grant Geissman's over-busy guitar work. "Main Squeeze" started out great but died out halfway through. But Mangione was on a roll at this point and A&M was pushing out all kinds of Mangione product as quick as they could. Having a full orchestra was a plus.

 

[Rudy]

I don't think Mangione has ever hit a high note in tune.

I agree on the popularity push at the time--he was hot product and A&M was putting out as much as they could. This was one of those albums where I felt like he was just coasting (he and the band were definitely capable of more) and cashing in on "Feels So Good." But why include it twice in a concert? I'd rather have heard a few other Mangione tracks. "Legend of The One-Eyed Sailor" would have been a good one to cover.

 

[Captain Bacardi]

"Legend of The One-Eyed Sailor" would have been a good one to cover.

They may have performed "Legend". Inside the gatefold cover of the LP there is a photo of one of the orchestra members' music stand with the sheet music for "Legend". It's one of my favorite Mangione tunes.

 

[Rudy]

We played "Legend" in one of the combos I played in, probably 30 years ago. I was fighting intonation like crazy on it--the soprano sax I had was built to A-436 rather than A-440. It's not just a matter of tuning up via the mouthpiece either. The proportions of the notes were all off since the entire body of the horn was slightly stretched for the lower pitch. (Yes, it was an old horn, but it was a silver Selmer and sturdy as a tank.)

Can't recall, we also played a Cannonball Adderley tune, but not "Mercy Mercy Mercy." It was another I'd heard before, though.

Those were the days...

For live albums, I would bet there are still complete sets of multitrack tapes for many of them. It would be neat to have extended versions of the original album releases. Sometimes those additional tracks are better than what was originally released. (Or like The Who's Live at Leeds, there was enough from the Leeds concert to fill two CDs, including IIRC a complete performance of Tommy. The original album was not that long, so even the single CD version had a lot of bonus material available. Seeing how "on" they were that night, it's great to hear those additional recordings.)