Live! Coast To Coast

by Andrew HamiltonSome artists come across well on live LPs and some average. Teddy Pendergrass fits the latter description. You had to have been there to feel and experience the energy and visual of Teddy live. The audience definitely enjoyed the show, as the screaming starts from the moment he's introduced to the finale. "When Somebody Loves You Back" has a cute hook, but goes on too long (more than 12 minutes); the sensuous "Come Go With Me" is bum-rushed after a little more than two minutes. Pendergrass' two make-out ballads: "Close the Door" and "Turn Off the Lights" are creamy concoctions. Raps and interviews interspersed throughout the album are distracting. The song selection could have been better -- "The Whole Town's Laughing at Me" and "You Can't Hide From Yourself" were omitted. A short Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes medley is satisfying. Fast tunes balance the slow stuff, but the fast numbers, except for "Do Me," are weak. "Life Is a Song Worth Singing" bores, and "Get Up, Get Down, Get Funky, Get Loose" annoys. Essential for die-hard Pendergrass fans and live-album freaks only.