Who knew what to expect from a live Lauryn Hill show after hearing so little from her for such a long time?
With a catalogue of much-loved songs from so many years ago, prompting some people to dub her as ‘the first lady of hip-hop’, the idea of Lauryn Hill performing live in the grand, old halls of Sydney Opera House seemed like a good fit for her – and a musical experience I probably wouldn’t want to miss.
Good Opera House Vibes
The vibes in the Opera House before Lauryn Hill and her band eventually arrived on stage were some of the most lively and fun I’ve ever experienced at a concert. Most of the crowd were up on their feet dancing to the popular soul, r&b and hip-hop tracks served up by Lauryn Hill’s DJ – smiling even more because it felt so surreally good to be gettin’ down to those tunes within the walls of that grand concert hall. For those moments, everyone was well and truly in the greatest of moods for the much-anticipated arrival of ‘the first lady’.
Get a glimpse of those ‘happy’ Sydney Opera House vibes on video here…
Enter Lauryn Hill & All
Lauryn Hill performed a mix of those much-loved songs from her days with the Fugees and subsequent solo albums The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998) and MTV Unplugged (2002). Tracks like ‘Mr Intentional’ (video below) and ‘Oh Jerusalem’ were performed acoustically, the most precious sounding of the show.
Check out a video here of ‘Mr Intentional’ live at Sydney Opera House…
Most songs were performed with the full band – all of whom were accomplished musicians and singers yes.
But most Lauryn Hill and Fugees songs were barely recognisable with the fresh, fast-paced, overly-full and busy new arrangements they were given. I’m not a purist, nor am I attached to the original versions of those songs. Fresh, evolutionary, musically-innovative new arrangements are great. Erykah Badu demonstrated that in stellar style at her recent Australian shows. But only when the new versions are equally as good as, or better than the originals – and for me, these songs simply weren’t.
Watch & Listen
Check out these videos of some of those Fugees and Lauryn Hill songs performed live at Sydney Opera House last week…
Ms. Hill
Lauryn Hill is a talented artist with a strong, commanding, charismatic stage presence. The musical direction she gave her band and singers throughout the improvised parts of the show was impressive to watch.
Lauryn Hill has a stunning, earthly voice like no other in this world. She’s a brilliant emcee. The magnificent part of her show was experiencing that voice live in all its manifestations. I wanted to hear and appreciate it more than I was able to do amongst the busy sounds from the band.
Lauryn Hill has a large catalogue of awesome Lauryn Hill and Fugees songs that could have made up the show’s entire set list. I was disappointed she chose 1 too many cliche, easy-to-please-the-crowd Bob Marley songs to fill that set.
Lauryn Hill earned her place on the Sydney Opera House stage, and any other stage in the world. It was enjoyable to hear and see Lauryn Hill perform live – and a fun experience to be at her show dancing to hip-hop, soul and reggae music in those grand Sydney Opera House halls.
Musically the new song arrangements completely missed the mark for me, sure. But I still look forward to hearing more of Lauryn Hill’s future musical evolution, and hope it involves new music for us all.
Down Memory Lane
Unless & until new songs come, you can take a trip down memory lane with these sample (mp3) Lauryn Hill tracks from recordings released by her as a solo artist post-Fugees. If you haven’t already got these keeper albums in your music collection, you could surely find and buy them on vinyl or cd from your local record store…
Ms Hill (2008)
‘How Many Emcees’ – Ms Hill
MTV Unplugged (2002)
‘Mystery of Iniquity’ – MTV Unplugged
The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill (1998)
‘Every Ghetto Every City’ – The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
+ one very old-school track from Lauryn Hill’s Fugees days…
Fugees – Blunted On Reality (1994)
‘Some Seek Stardom’ – Fugees – Blunted On Reality (1994)
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