Donny Hathaway - The Ghetto (Live)

"The Ghetto" is a song composed by Donny Hathaway and Leroy Hutson, first released on Hathaway's debut album, "Everything Is Everything".
Produced by Ric Powell and Hathaway, it surprisingly only reached number 23 R&B and a woefully low number 87 pop, yet it's the jam Hathaway had to play at every gig.
An excellent fusion of roadhouse jazz and funky soul, with Hathaway interspersing some jive talk: "Party tonight, pass the joint" and "leave her alone man" -- all the ambiences of an inner city cheat spot.

This live version of the song is taken from Donny Hathaway's 1972 "Live" album, one of the most glorious of his career, an uncomplicated, energetic set with a heavy focus on audience response as well as the potent jazz chops of his group.

The record begins with Hathaway's version of the instant soul classic "What's Going On" Marvin Gaye's original not even a year old when Hathaway recorded this version.
His own classic "The Ghetto" follows in short order, but stretches out past ten minutes with revelatory solos from Hathaway on electric piano.
"Voices Inside (Everything Is Everything)" is another epic (14-minute) jam, with plenty of room for solos and some of the most sizzling bass work ever heard on record by Willie Weeks.
Any new Donny Hathaway record worth its salt also has to include a radical cover, and "Live" obliges nicely with his deft, loping version of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy".
The audience is as much a participant as the band here, immediately taking over with staccato handclaps to introduce "The Ghetto" and basically taking over the chorus on "You've Got a Friend".
Hardly the obligatory live workout of most early-'70s concert LPs, "Live" solidified Hathaway's importance at the forefront of soul music.