Peter Allen - It Is Time For Peter Allen (Live) (1977)

This double vinyl live album from the late Peter Allen may be the best representation of the songwriter, covering many of the highlights of his career. Less sterile than his studio recordings, It Is Time for Peter Allen showcases the man's strengths, perfectly displayed in the wonderful reading of "Don't Cry Out Loud," Melissa Manchester's hit getting told from the male perspective. In concert, Allen's piano playing provides the real treat he had a great touch. Had more of his material contained the humanness inherent in this vocal, he could have been the superstar his label and management worked so hard to create. His voice is not as strong as Manchester's or Olivia Newton-John's (he jokes that Newton-John couldn't make this gig), but Allen contributed to show business in other ways. Recorded at the Bottom Line and Avery Fisher Hall in New York as well as the Roxy in Los Angeles, it is nice to know that there are more tapes and that this album can be expanded. Obscure material like "Tanterfield Saddler," for his grandfather, shows a side of Allen that is touching the less flamboyant he was, the more appealing his music became. The dash of Liberace and Elton John mannerisms somehow seemed hokey with this artist, as if he was trying to be flashy rather than finding the fun in spectacle that is one of John's many talents. Sides two and three provide the strongest moments on this powerful disc; his live version of the Chris Montez hit "The More I See You" (from the 1945 Betty Grable film Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe) melting into the Casablanca classic "As Time Goes By" works nicely (film and Peter Allen went hand in hand). His tribute to Judy Garland "Quiet Please, There's a Lady Onstage" is here as well, and this arena, so comfortable to Allen, should have been explored by him more. It Is Time for Peter Allen is a tremendous overview of the artist, including his biggest hit, "I Honestly Love You." The album also includes much of the sincerity that those who only got to hear pieces of his work might've missed.