Description
Now Do You Understand? Randy Matthews in Concert is a double live album by the American singer and songwriter Randy Matthews, released on Myrrh Records in 1975, a division of Word. The album features an acoustic solo performance by Matthews recorded February 6, 1975 at a college in New York. “All tunes, prose & poetry composed by Randy Matthews.” Produced by Wes Yoder.
Classic live double LP featuring nothing but Randy and his guitar for 68 minutes, revealing a personal portrait of the man not discernible from his studio works: Randy the kid that hasn’t grown up; Randy the ham-it-up cornball; Randy the hippie with the quavering voice and childlike faith. This is also Randy at the peak of his space cowboy era: long scraggly hair, big ol’ beard, round Lennon specs, and a silver space suit (huh?). Most of the songs he performs are from All I Am Is What You See, Son of Dust and Eyes To The Sky, although the versions heard here are refreshingly unique and spontaneous in their rough unplugged presentation. A few like «Guiding Light» and «Darling I’ll Be There» appear only on this set. All dialogue and audience interaction are preserved, simple songs like «Country Faith» stretching out to ten minutes. There’s actually quite a bit of talking, but it’s no problem since Randy’s a fascinating guy to listen to. He’ll stop to have a dialogue with God, talk about his days in a gospel quartet, discuss the first time he fell in love, instruct the audience how to sing country style (“ferrr! ! !”), or tell stories about life on the road with a five-gallon jar of dill pickles in the trunk for sustenance. It’s quite apparent from all this that Randy is somewhat on the weird side – who else would ask Jesus between songs if He ever had a corn beef sandwich on rye with hot mustard? You’ll love him for it though, and while he may be ridiculous and an absolute loon one moment, the next he’ll seem on the verge of tears in his seriousness. Few artists bare their emotions like this guy. Listening to this album encourages one to discard the facades and re-gain a childlike attitude in life. Other albums might have entertained me more, but this one ministers as well. [Ken Scott, The Archivist, 4th edition]
“This album will give direction to some; to others a strong arm after a hard day of climbing and hopefully to many, a Light they’ve never seen before.”
– Liner note, “Now Do You Understand?”Reviewing a live album is a much more open experience for a critic than delving into one done in the studio. By this I mean that a live performance is the true evidence of an artist’s talent and capabilities on his own, without the backing of top-notch studio men, hours and hours of recording time, and take after take of overdubs. In other words, it’s a one shot deal.
“Now Do You Understand” is a confident new album title representing a very confident and positive minister of the Lord, Randy Matthews. What’s most refreshing about this endeavor is that here we witness a man publicly professing his faith before men and then seeing God honor that witness with a weighty anointing of his Holy Spirit on the music and the spoken word.
The evening starts with «Holy Band» and from there on, Matthews takes the audience through some neat changes. He has them laughing and relaxed when he relates his first major romance with Madeline, a first grade love who rejected him in the end. Then there’s that holy quiet as he performs a gut level gospel rendition of «Didn’t He?» a song of ultimate sacrifice and love.
Musically speaking, Randy’s voice is strong, clear, and under control. As a guitarist, there is nothing flashy or intricate here – just a satisfying adequacy. In particular, I enjoyed «Oh My In the Morning», and «Wounded Warrior», for these contain straight-to-the-point truth. In this two-record set, there are a lot of old favorites and a few new ones, all uplifting and nicely done. To sum it up, “Now Do You Understand?” is 68 minutes of an answer you could gladly give to a friend who’s asking. [Mike Watson, Harmony, Vol 1. No. 4 (1975)]
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. Intro – 0:50
A2. “Holy Band” – 2:45
A3. Quartet Rap – 3:30
A4. Dill Pickles – 2:00
A5. “The Bad Has Made It Better” – 2:20
A6. “Guiding Light” – 3:10
A7. The Deli – 1:15
A8. “Sunny Day” – 3:40
Side Two
B1. “Important Things” – 2:30
B2. Love – 5:25
B3. “Darling I’ll Be There” – 2:20
B4. Where Were You? – 0:40
B5. “Wounded Warrior” – 2:50
Side Three
C1. “Country Faith” – 10:00
C2. Christmas (White House Shuffle) – 0:55
C3. “Pharoah’s Hand” – 3:35
Side Four
D1. “Evacuation Day” – 3:15
D2. Hands – 3:45
D3. “Oh My” – 2:45
D4. “In The Morning” – 4:10
D5. The Picnic – 3:50
D6. “Didn’t He?” – 3:50
Note: Simultaneously released on 8-track tape, cassette, and 12-inch vinyl double LP by Myrrh Records with the vinyl edition housed in a gatefold sleeve. The album tracks “Didn’t He?” and “Evacuation Day” (b/w) were released as a two-sided 45 RPM 7-inch vinyl promotional single by Myrrh Records in 1975.
Gatefold Cover Artwork
Gatefold Cover, Inside
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