Etta James Live at Montreux 1975 - 1993

Etta James

Label: Eagle Rock Entertainment

Release Date: August  28, 2012

Review Date: September 9, 2012

Back at the end of July, while reviewing the then-newly released CD, Etta James Live at Montreux 1975 – 1993, I mentioned that a DVD of these same performances would be coming out soon and that you should go ahead and pre-order it. 

That DVD is out and, wow! What an incredible concert DVD it is! 

I won’t repeat myself with all of the same accolades and superlatives that I did in the above referenced review.  I will say that maybe the greatest band that the late Etta James ever fronted was the one put together for her in 1993 when she brought down the house at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Man, she was hot that year, on a roll, and thisLive At Montreux DVD (Eagle Rock Entertainment) has the entire 11-song '93 concert plus bonus clips from other years. It's pure Etta. 

I’ll cut to the chase to tell you what this DVD has that the CD doesn’t have and, surprisingly, what the CD has that the DVD doesn’t.

Here are the tunes that are exclusive to the DVD (and there are quite a few of them):

Funky Good Time, Hold On, I’m Coming, Hard To Handle, Just One More Day, Why I Sing The Blues, Drown In My Own Tears, a second performance of I’d Rather Go Blind from 1975 (a Boomerocity favorite), Take It To The Limit, Tell Mama, Something’s Got A Hold On Me, Breaking Up Somebody’s Home, I Got The Will, and Your Good Thing Is About To End.

 The surprise that is exclusive only on the CD is the blues standard, Dust My Broom.  And, while the CD is great to have and to listen to, you’ll definitely want the DVD to be able to enjoy these incredible performances from 1975 through 1993 by the incomparable Etta James. She was a treasure who will forever be missed and these performances are performances that you won’t want to miss and can own for your very own.