Have You Heard - Jim Croce Live

Rating:
Summary: roofer wayne
Review: awesome dvd. I never seen him live and this dvd picture and sound are excellent. Only one word of warning if you let older females listen to it, you end up having to get yourself another one because they are not giving it back. HaHa

Rating:
Summary: Greater insight to a great performer
Review: Croce died 11 months before I was born. I thank my father for introducing me to his music. Since I was introduced to it, I imagined Croce as a strong, "Leroy Brown" brawler character. This DVD showed me that he wasn't that way, and that performing and hitting that energy level was easy for him.

I also learned that his wife, Ingrid, was not such a "Yoko Ono" character as I first believed...take that however you want.

Upon watching this, I also learned that as of this writing I am almost as old as Croce was when he died. That amazes me. I though he was in his early 40s.

Croce is funny...hillarious, actually. I have listed to "The Final Tour" CD, and have found that this DVD is not as funny because we do not experience the crowd reaction. In most of the DVD performances, there is no audience, so the jokes are not as funny. That is the only place this DVD lacks. But it's not the DVD's fault. It's a result of the time period when the performances were recorded, which was well before (thankfully, actually) the time of MTV.

This is a great DVD for someone looking to expand their Jim Croce Experience beyond the repetitive "greatest hits" CDs that rehash the same songs.

Rating:
Summary: Greater insight to a great performer
Review: Croce died 11 months before I was born. I thank my father for introducing me to his music. Since I was introduced to it, I imagined Croce as a strong, "Leroy Brown" brawler character. This DVD showed me that he wasn't that way, and that performing and hitting that energy level was easy for him.

I also learned that his wife, Ingrid, was not such a "Yoko Ono" character as I first believed...take that however you want.

Upon watching this, I also learned that as of this writing I am almost as old as Croce was when he died. That amazes me. I though he was in his early 40s.

Croce is funny...hillarious, actually. I have listed to "The Final Tour" CD, and have found that this DVD is not as funny because we do not experience the crowd reaction. In most of the DVD performances, there is no audience, so the jokes are not as funny. That is the only place this DVD lacks. But it's not the DVD's fault. It's a result of the time period when the performances were recorded, which was well before (thankfully, actually) the time of MTV.

This is a great DVD for someone looking to expand their Jim Croce Experience beyond the repetitive "greatest hits" CDs that rehash the same songs.

Rating:
Summary: Like stepping into a time machine
Review: Having purchased some really bad concert DVD's, I was not sure what to expect here. While you can definitely tell that this is old video, I was surprised and excited by the audio and video quality. Jim Croce brings a depth of emotion and warmth to his performances.

Three songs are not played live in concert, but show photographs and video footage of Jim with his family. This is deeply moving. The live recordings are not of one concert, but a variety of formats. Although it was obvious that some of these recordings were for TV, these recordings brought back memories of the coffeehouse era. Just two guys with guitars singing into microphones. Jim Croce talks before some of the songs. There is nothing to interfere with the enjoyment of the music. This DVD creates the experience of actually being there. There is direct access to every song. The 16 songs are 52 minutes long. The bonus features are 21 minutes long.

Ingrid gives a 52 minute commentary. She describes how she and Jim Croce met and how she fell in love with him. She talks about Jim's life and career. She tearfully describes their last conversation and reminds us that Jim Croce was not the only one to die in the plane crash, that guitarist Maury Muehleisen died with him. (Road manager Dennis Rast, booking agent Ken Cortese, comedian George Stevens, and pilot Robert Elliott were killed in this crash.) The 21 minute commentary by A.J. Croce discusses getting to know his father as a person through Jim's music and interviews of those who knew Jim. He talks about the bonus features included in the DVD.

Seeing Jim Croce brought back the profound sense of loss of this wonderful man and tremendous talent. This over 2 hour DVD is an intensely personal and intimate picture of Jim Croce the man, husband, father, and friend, and Jim Croce the musician. This tribute to Jim Croce is a reminder to us of how brief life is. "Have You Heard - Jim Croce Live" is a tremendous DVD and I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, Intimate Performances
Review: I almost didn't buy this disc. The guy at the store said the performances and sound quality were lousy. But I didn't trust him and went for it anyway, being the Croce lover I am. I'm glad I did get it. The sound is very good to excellent and the performances are too. These are not the kind of live performances I expected: they look more like something set up in a large studio in front of a TV audience. Still, the stripped down approach of two guitars and voice works great and makes for an intimate look at many of Jim's hits.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful tribute to an amazing singer and songwriter
Review: I love this DVD, it has 13 of Jim Croce's greatest songs compiled from various live television performances. A fitting tribute to a great artist who (I feel was very underrated) like many of his contemporaries. Please, release this video on VHS. I saw this DVD in a friend's house. I would like to own a copy of this wonderful tribute but I need the VHS version.

Rating:
Summary: My First Hero
Review: I remember being about 7 years old and seeing Jim Croce on PBS' Soundstage show. I was struck by his melodies even then. The first rock album my mom bought for me (I guess I'll call it "rock" for convenience's sake) was the album You Don't Mess Around With Jim that, of course, included the title track which I loved and which initially turned me on to Croce in the first place. But I loved all the songs. Songs like "A Long Time Ago," "Box #10" and "Dreamin' Again" from the Life and Times record got to me then and still get to me now. Croce's stuff never, ever gets old. To finally be able to see Croce and his guitarist, Maury Muelheisen, on this amazing DVD is more than a treat. It's a poignant look at what was and perhaps what might have been.

The defining moment of the DVD for me is during my favorite Croce song, "The Hard Way Every Time." It's a song that, as things tragically developed, turned out to be the writer's own eulogy. The song describes a life lived with plenty of failures and setbacks. However, after the last few words of the song: "And in looking back/At the faces I've been/I would sure be the first one to say/When I look at myself today/I wouldn't've done in any other way," someone in the audience starts to clap, but suddenly stops him/herself. In that brief moment, something very subtle, but also very triumphant, happens. It's difficult to explain, but confidently standing by and claiming one's life, and not discounting the tragedies that shaped one's character as much as if not more than the triumphs, is, to me, the very essence of being truly and honestly human. Croce, amazing artist that he was, captured that idea in a few lines in a two-minute song, and someone in that audience of long ago 'got it.' It's a beautiful moment that, for me, encapsulates this man's attitude and his short but wonderful and creative life.

I wish that Croce's CD's would be released in their original studio song sequences and packaging (although the 50th Birthday Collection comes pretty close in terms of the sequencing), but as long as the man's music is available in some form or another, someone will be out there to discover it and marvel at the tunes and lyrics that Croce was able to write. And now, we have this excellent visual document. Well done and, Ingrid and A.J., if you discover any more, put it out! You have one sure buyer in me.

Rating:
Summary: My First Hero
Review: I remember being about 7 years old and seeing Jim Croce on PBS' Soundstage show. I was struck by his melodies even then. The first rock album my mom bought for me (I guess I'll call it "rock" for convenience's sake) was the album You Don't Mess Around With Jim that, of course, included the title track which I loved and which initially turned me on to Croce in the first place. But I loved all the songs. Songs like "A Long Time Ago," "Box #10" and "Dreamin' Again" from the Life and Times record got to me then and still get to me now. Croce's stuff never, ever gets old. To finally be able to see Croce and his guitarist, Maury Muelheisen, on this amazing DVD is more than a treat. It's a poignant look at what was and perhaps what might have been.

The defining moment of the DVD for me is during my favorite Croce song, "The Hard Way Every Time." It's a song that, as things tragically developed, turned out to be the writer's own eulogy. The song describes a life lived with plenty of failures and setbacks. However, after the last few words of the song: "And in looking back/At the faces I've been/I would sure be the first one to say/When I look at myself today/I wouldn't've done in any other way," someone in the audience starts to clap, but suddenly stops him/herself. In that brief moment, something very subtle, but also very triumphant, happens. It's difficult to explain, but confidently standing by and claiming one's life, and not discounting the tragedies that shaped one's character as much as if not more than the triumphs, is, to me, the very essence of being truly and honestly human. Croce, amazing artist that he was, captured that idea in a few lines in a two-minute song, and someone in that audience of long ago 'got it.' It's a beautiful moment that, for me, encapsulates this man's attitude and his short but wonderful and creative life.

I wish that Croce's CD's would be released in their original studio song sequences and packaging (although the 50th Birthday Collection comes pretty close in terms of the sequencing), but as long as the man's music is available in some form or another, someone will be out there to discover it and marvel at the tunes and lyrics that Croce was able to write. And now, we have this excellent visual document. Well done and, Ingrid and A.J., if you discover any more, put it out! You have one sure buyer in me.

Rating:
Summary: A Fitting Tribute to an Incredible Talent...
Review: I was 10 years old when Jim Croce died. I remember being with my father when the news came on the radio. I was devistated. This was someone (other than family) that really meant something to me. Maybe because he seemed like someone who you might find on any front porch in any town smokin' on a big cigar and playing his guitar. He wasn't "a star"...he was one of us.

Only a few months prior to that tragic event I bought the 45rpm of "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown." From hearing it on practically every radio station and then seeing Jim and Maury perform it on "The Midnight Special" it became THE song I remember best from 1973.

I saw Jim on a few TV shows here and there, but before cable and VH-1 it was a rarity to see your favorite performers. So, when I heard that this DVD was coming out I was very excited. I've waited so long to have some visual to go along with the audio of Jim performing. This DVD will not disappoint. Having anything of this fellow Pennsylvanian performing is an incredible gift. Something about Jim's music just clicked with me and I've never stopped listening to him on a regular basis since that day I bought that first record.

I'd like to thank Ingrid and A.J. Croce for allowing me the chance to share such a wonderful gift that was and IS Jim Croce. I had the pleasure to meet A.J. a couple years ago near Pittsburgh and he was the nicest, most pleasant person that you could meet. His dad would be very proud of what a genuinely nice person his son turned out to be. And a talented musician in his own right.

The DVD includes some fun extras and commentary that really helps to gain insight into the life of the man and his music. In Jim's eyes you can FEEL what he is singing about. That's the thing I noticed the most. His eyes...that "window into the soul thing" I guess.

I have been a fan of Jim's for 30 years and now I finally can sit myself down and get a taste of what it was like to see him perform live. Nothing can replace that...but this is as close and we will ever get.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT RARE FOOTAGE!
Review: I was a baby when Jim Croce passed in 1973, to young to have ever seen him live. I love his music and when I saw this DVD collection I had to get it. Jim Croce was a true genuine authentic person and artist. It comes through in his music & the film footage on this DVD. The footage is very good quality to be from the 70's, this is the only surviving film of him preforming live. I also enjoyed the audio interviews with Jim's wife and son A.J.. It was so touching and personal. It brought tears to my eyes that such a beautiful person as Jim was taken so soon. Thanks to the Croce Family for sharing this with us!