Intimate: Greatest Hits Live

Album Review

Intimate, a live performance incorporating many of Howard Hewett's most popular material, is the next best thing to a new studio album (between 1986 and 1992, he released an album every other year; only one has surfaced since 1994). A seasoned backing band supports him on a set that covers all of his solo releases and adds a Shalamar medley of "Second Time Around," "Make That Move," "Somewhere There's a Love," and "A Night to Remember." Hewett sounds effortlessly excellent, like he could just roll out of bed and whip through anything in his discography with all the required passion and skill. His engaging stage banter is in full effect throughout the whole thing — he reminisces about Ohio, eight-track tapes, and blue-light parties, and he also playfully teases some of the fans. A DVD of the performance was released at the same time.