Lulu Live!

Halfway through this 13-song concert--filmed in 1989 in Lulu's hometown of Glasgow, Scotland, during the then-40-something R&B-inflected chanteuse's "Red Hot Tour"--I was struggling to remember just exactly what big hits Lulu had besides the title song from the 1967 film To Sir With Love. And then I remembered: nada, at least stateside. Born Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie, Lulu did hit the U.K. charts in 1964 with a cover of the Isley Brothers "Shout" (featured here), and has since recorded one cover after another--and had a varied career on television--but her influence beyond Britannica has been minimal. Here, she sings James Brown's "I Feel Good," David Bowie's "The Man Who Sold the World," Sam Cooke's "You Send Me," the Linda Ronstadt hit "You're No Good," the Temptations' "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," the Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Loving," and a few others, but offers no improvement whatsoever on the originals. Presented in Dolby Digital stereo, this extra-less disc has the feel and sound of a lounge act, even if Lulu is performing on a stage in reasonably fine voice. Not a necessary purchase. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)