Hi everyone, Primethony Timetano here, the internet's busiest music nerd. I hope you are doing well, and it's time for a review of this new Cameron Winter album where he's Live at Carnegie Hall.

This is a new album from the head goose himself, New York singer-songwriter, Mr. Cameron Winter. And if you follow music at all, you know the band that he fronts, Geese, has been on quite the run over the last few years. Earning an incredibly passionate fanbase and lots of critical acclaim in a very short period of time. And the growth of that buzz has also included building up Cameron Winter, as well, as a solo artist.

Though maybe included isn't the right word, maybe more coincided with or kind of a one-two punch here. Because there are tracks on Cameron's recently released debut album, Heavy Metal, that rival some of the tracks on Geese's Getting Killed record in terms of popularity, be it "Love Takes Miles" or "Drinking Age." And it's a great record. A record that yes, took me a minute to fully appreciate, but a great album all the same.

And it's crazy Heavy Metal got as much traction as it did, with Geese kind of ramping up to drop Getting Killed around the same time. As I feel like, up until this point, conventional music industry wisdom would be like, no, while your band is first starting to gain that commercial footing, don't drop your solo debut album.

But if Geese has taught us anything, it's that they are gonna get to where they need to be via whatever flight path they choose. And also in the midst of 2025, the year of Geese, the year of Cameron Winter, we had a special, storied, solo concert from Cameron where he headlined Carnegie Hall, making him one of the youngest performers to do so, and he sold it out too. And this performance has, of course, been packaged into this new live album, as well as a 35mm concert film shot by Paul Thomas Anderson that's going to release before the year is out.

But for now, we have the 12-track live album here. Of course, the setlist is mostly built out of material from Heavy Metal, though I'm a little shocked "Nausicaä" did not make the cut, given just how easy that one would have been to translate to a straight-up piano piece.

(I am a full-on "Nausicaä" defender. If there are no lovers of "Nausicaä" left, I am dead.)

But in addition to that Heavy Metal material, we also have the singles that Cameron dropped in 2024, "Vines," as well as "Take It With You," versions of those tracks, and a handful of cuts that are yet to be captured on a proper studio album, be it the opener, "It All Fell in the River," or "Emperor XIII in Shades," as well as "If You Turn Back Now."

Of course, though, I want to stress for this video, I am more reviewing the performance than just simply the music and writing itself because as I've already made clear from my Heavy Metal review, I think the songs on this thing are pretty damn good. So the question is, are these versions interesting, or is the experience of listening to them singular enough to warrant this live album? Does it justify the roaring crowd and the Carnegie Hall pomp and circumstance? And personally, I think it does.

The live versions on this record bring a whole new dynamic to a lot of these tracks, especially when you consider how dry and stiff the instrumentation can occasionally be in these studio versions.

"Try As I May," for example, which I much prefer Cameron's take on this song on this live record. "Cancer of the Skull" also, I think, has similar limitations, but they are completely wiped away by not only the natural reverb in the space where Cameron is performing, but also just hearing him in such a flow state on these tracks, because performing them solo really allows him to pull them off at his own pace as he moves through these chord progressions and vocal cues in a much more casual and I would say, intimate, emotive way.

And not only is he nailing every single transition as he moves through these songs, but additionally he's bringing in different chord phrasings on the piano, hitting new falsettos and high notes, melodic variations on these vocal lines, too. He really has such an incredible command of the material. You could tell there are some elements that he's just kind of pulling off as he's moving along through it.

Even getting kind of playful with it, too, during a really extravagant arpeggio run in the middle of "The Rolling Stones" that ends in a touch of high note antics, as well. Taking these tracks into a live solo piano and voice setting also allows Cameron to emphasize certain aspects of these songs. "Drinking Age," the version here really leans into how depressive and somber that song is at its core, and the very low-key droning horn harmonies that pop in toward the middle are replaced by these booming, aggressive, very dissonant piano chords.

So yeah, for the most part, that Heavy Metal material is really elevated in a lot of ways in this setting. Then there's the newer vault material here that is also impressive.

"It All Fell in the River" at its core has a big gospel feel to its chord progressions and to its song structure. Simultaneously, I feel like in its performance, there's a bit of a crossroads here between the sort of youthful but froggy vocal intonations that Cameron is bringing to the table that remind me of a young Bob Dylan, and some of the bold vocal melodies that he tries to pull off remind me of a young Joni Mitchell. This same spiritual reference point, I think, is circled back on with "Emperor" too, with its lyrical nods to Jesus, but there's also an irreverence there in Cameron's writing that reminds me of Tom Waits.

Meanwhile, "If You Turn Back Now" describes a very interesting, I think, romantic dynamic where in order to love or reciprocate love, Cameron kind of demands to be left alone. Not a point of view that logically, in my mind, makes sense, but he sort of lays it all out with so much conviction that it feels like it's something he's never going to compromise on.

From here, I would like to round things out with the final leg of the tracklist, which I do have mixed feelings on. Like I said, Cameron finishes things off with those 2024 singles, "Take It With You," as well as "Vines."

And I feel like these versions of these tracks are maybe the least revelatory of the bunch. The performances are relatively straightforward, but by no means terrible. In fact, putting these tracks in this context may make it more like it's just a little bit different, but by no means terrible. It's likely that I hear them on a regular basis, and that may be just enough.

Then, in addition to that, we also have "Nina + Field of Cops," which in the time that Heavy Metal has been released, has really grown to be one of my favorite tracks on that record. Not only because of how disorienting and absurd and creatively wonderful and strange Cameron's lyrics are on that track, but just how furious and intense and absolutely frantic the piano and instrumentation under his vocals are. And unfortunately, Cameron attempting to create a similar sensation just completely by himself at the piano proves to be kind of difficult.

I can sense that he's trying to hit those intensity peaks in a way, and certainly gets kind of close toward the end, but the kind of alternating, quickly hammered-on piano chords, kind of jumping back and forth, aren't quite working. It really shows how much of the power of that track is in how the instrumentation is assembled in the studio, and maybe a more, I guess, subtle or slower-paced take on this track that features some passages that do speed up and kind of a contrast would have maybe been the move, arrangement-wise.

So despite this being a personal favorite, this was not my favorite live version on the record, for sure. However, I actually was blown away by what he was able to do with with "$0" in the live space, just with piano, despite the fact that that track, in some of its most captivating moments, is relatively layered and has some awesome plucky string melodies on it, too.

And it's really Cameron's voice where I feel like this track takes flight, as not only is he hitting some really awesome falsetto notes here and there, but that big crescendo, that huge finish when he's kind of singing that whole "God is real" refrain, I feel like he just puts so much more oomph into this live version that is not there in the studio version. And the studio version is already crazy in terms of its dynamic intensity. I feel like he was able to push it so much further in the live setting.

And I guess that's the question at the end of the day: How many of these tracks was Cameron able to push further, go further with in some way, doing it just straightforward piano and voice? And I would say, overall, the vast majority of them.

Only a few, I would say. I felt mostly on par with their original studio versions, or maybe even felt a little less interesting. I could also maybe see some fans seeing this version of "Love Takes Miles," given the very punchy rhythm section behind that track, maybe having a bit less bite.

But honestly, even that – I loved hearing kind of laid out in a much more intimate setting because I feel like this version at least allows you to appreciate kind of the songwriting and the subtlety and how much this track could have potentially worked as just a really lovely ballad, as opposed to, more of a piano rock tune.

All that being said, though, I really loved this live performance, and I feel like it truly puts Cameron's incredible level of talent at such a young age on display. Because not only is his command of his vocal range and all of the strange, quirky characteristics of his unique voice impressive, but also the dexterity that he shows off with some of the piano performances on these tracks as well is great, too.

And again, just the seamlessness of these performances, and how he's able to extend a lot of these tracks out, too, and really explore them in the live setting in a way that feels surprising, feels exciting, and really kind of puts you on a wild ride with these songs. For sure, it starts stronger than it finishes, but that was really this project's only major shortcoming for me, which is why I'm feeling a decent to strong 8 on it.

Anthony Fantano, Cameron Winter, forever.