Live Tracks: "Big Noise From Winnetka" - "Paradise"
- "Shiver Me Timbers" - "Fire Down Below" -
"Stay With Me" - "My Mother's Eyes" - "Chapel
Of Love / Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" - "E Street Shuffle
/ Summer (The First Time) / Leader Of The Pack" -
"You Can't Always Get What You Want / I Shall Be Released"
From
anybody else, the second live album in under four years would have me charging
unfair trade practice. From Bette it has me begging for intros--which rarely forthcome
on a concert-flick "Soundtrack" that plays better on screen than turntable.
Streisand's claque is right-she's a sloppy singer, which without the diversionary
shtick of Live at Last sometimes matters. On anything she's perfected in the studio,
for instance. Or when she expresses herself all over "Stay With Me"
or "Fire Down Below," good notions that suggest cabaret may be her musical
calling after all. "E Street Shuffle" she can handle--maybe because
it has a plot. C+
Charlotte
Dillon: All Music Guide
The
legendary singer Bette Midler began her amazing recording career in the early
'70s, and it is
still going strong three decades later. She did this second live album, Divine
Madness, a year after her staring role in the well-remembered film the Rose. Music
fans that enjoyed the soundtrack from that movie should find Divine Madness just
as pleasing and touching, since, like the Rose soundtrack, there are a number
of emotional songs on this album, such as "My Mother's Eyes," "Stay
With Me," and "I Shall Be Released." There are some upbeat music
samples here to be had as well, including "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"
and "Leader of the Pack." Throughout the nine tracks this album offers,
Midler's vocal prowess shines in ballads and carries through strong in high-spirited
songs.
From
anybody else, the second live album in under four years would have me charging
unfair trade practice. From Bette it has me begging for intros--which rarely forthcome
on a concert-flick "Soundtrack" that plays better on screen than turntable.
Streisand's claque is right-she's a sloppy singer, which without the diversionary
shtick of Live at Last sometimes matters. On anything she's perfected in the studio,
for instance. Or when she expresses herself all over "Stay With Me"
or "Fire Down Below," good notions that suggest cabaret may be her musical
calling after all. "E Street Shuffle" she can handle--maybe because
it has a plot. C+
still going strong three decades later. She did this second live album, Divine
Madness, a year after her staring role in the well-remembered film the Rose. Music
fans that enjoyed the soundtrack from that movie should find Divine Madness just
as pleasing and touching, since, like the Rose soundtrack, there are a number
of emotional songs on this album, such as "My Mother's Eyes," "Stay
With Me," and "I Shall Be Released." There are some upbeat music
samples here to be had as well, including "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"
and "Leader of the Pack." Throughout the nine tracks this album offers,
Midler's vocal prowess shines in ballads and carries through strong in high-spirited
songs.