Live At Basin St. East (Live at Basin St. East)

Album review

Trini Lopez's fifth Reprise album continued his uninterrupted run in the Top 40 and marked a return to live recording after its studio-bound predecessor, The Latin Album. Lopez had a strong desire to make studio recordings, but Reprise preferred that he stick with what worked -- at least for a while -- although Live at Basin St. East would be his last live album for the label. An unusual aspect of the set list is that several songs are reprised from Trini Lopez at PJ's, Lopez's big hit album from 1963. It is understandable that an audience would want to hear songs from his most popular album, but a little strange to fill a new album with live performances of songs from an earlier live album. Aside from those cuts, Live at Basin St. East contains Lopez's usual assortment of oldies performed with stripped-down, electrified arrangements in a party atmosphere. His bilingual version of "Hello, Dolly!" is a standout, and his rendition of the dramatic Frankie Laine hit "Jezebel" shows Lopez's ability to adapt practically any kind of material to his style. Live at Basin St. East is more of the same for enthusiasts of his earlier live albums but a little redundant.

© Greg Adams /TiVo