By Request

AMG Review of By Request

Cary Ginell
All Music Guide

This album shows further proof of the theory stated in our review of Homeward Bound that Harry Belafonte's albums were becoming rubber stamps of his increasingly mainstream concert appearances, as opposed to individual works of art. This album consists of standards that would become staples of Belafonte's concert appearances in the 1970s and '80s, including songs such as Jerry Jeff Walker's "Mr. Bojangles" and Dick Holler's "Abraham, Martin & John." The remaining performances are uninspired and the arrangements unchallenging. One exception is Gordon Lightfoot's "You'll Still be Needing Me After I'm Gone," one of the few uptempo selections on the album. "Marianne" is not the Terry Gilkyson calypso classic made famous by the Easy Riders but a pleasant, though ordinary ballad written by conductor/arranger William Eaton. Footnote: although Belafonte is often associated with the calypso "Marianne," he did not record it until it appeared in a medley of calypso tunes on the 1972 Belafonte...Live album.