david
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The Fabulous Sylvester - 2008/08/26 17:43
"Mighty Real" is probably the most many people know of Sylvester, but for me he was a superb vocalist and great human being.
I discovered this when a few years back I chanced upon his live album, Living Proof. I had heard it described as one of the greatest live albums ever and by god it is.
For someone as individual as he to have been given a concert in San Francisco's premier concert hall with the city orchestra in 1979 was in itself amazing, but the sounds on that album are out of this world. He goes from dance numbers such as "Mighty Real" (10 minutes long lol) to a stomping jazz version of the Beatles' "Blackbird" and a slow, gospel-tinged rendition of Patti Labelle's "You Are My Friend" with the backing of the Two Tons of Fun (later the Weather Girls).
The atmosphere on the album is electric.
Anyway, on recommendation by a US friend I got his biography and it is very moving. People see him as a "disco transexual", but if you read about his early years he was always like that from a young age, and I do admire people who are strong enough to stay true to who they are, even in the face of adversity.
Anyway, all I wanted to say is that every time I listen to his live album I feel mighty real.
R.I.P mister.
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