Jose Feliciano Band: New Morning—The Paris Concert

“If you can't interpret a song better than the original,” says Jose Feliciano, “don't do it.” That's a bold statement—or a foolhardy one—when the songs in question include immortal hits by the likes of Michael Jackson, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, and Ray Charles, to name just a few. The unsurprising fact is that the Puerto Rican-born guitarist/singer's versions of “Beat It,” “Purple Haze,” “Higher Ground,” and “I Got a Woman,” all performed in the course of this August 2008 gig at the New Morning Club in Paris, aren't a patch on the originals. Same goes for Feliciano's renditions of Cream's “Sunshine of Your Love,” Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes' “If You Don't Know Me By Now,” and others in this covers-heavy set. Of course, Feliciano, who's now in his mid-sixties, made his name with his take on “Light My Fire,” which, while hardly superior, was at least different and unusual enough to stand out from the original Doors' version. That song appears here, along with interpretations of popular Spanish-language material like the Gipsy Kings' “Bamboleo” and the Tito Puente-written Santana standard “Oye Como Va” (with several originals, including his theme song to the TV sitcom Chico and the Man). Still, six-time Grammy winner Feliciano is an excellent guitarist (especially when playing acoustic), so this concert—presented in DTS-HD 5.1, LPCM 5.1, and Dolby Digital stereo—should be considered a strong optional purchase for budding Blu-ray music collections. Aud: P. (S. Graham)