Can a quadriplegic singer, known for subtlety and sensuality before he was injured, recapture the magic of performing live? That, unfortunately, is the question Teddy Pendergrass faced when he returned to live performance in 2001. I think the question should have been: Does he still sound good? But, we live in a society in which severe injury is a novelty. People are often repulsed by the handicapped because they remind them of their own frailty. So, in addition to the challenges faced by any singer who has been off the concert circuit for years, Pendergrass (pictured) had to somehow transcend the barrier that the able-bodied place between themselves and the disabled. Based on viewing the concert video From Teddy, With Love, I would say he has.

FTWL was recorded on Valentine's Day, 2002, at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. Pendergrass performed before a capacity crowd. Much of the audience consisted of middle-aged and older couples celebrating their long unions. (A tip to Teddy: Don't passively accept the oldies category. Add more elements to the show that will attract younger people who have heard about your legendary career. Hip Hop performers are covering your songs. Take advantage of that to steal some of their audience, too.) Pendergrass rolled onto stage bouncing to the percussive beat of his R&B chart topper in 1988, "Joy." He uses a head mounted microphone, probably to wheel around without loosing contact with a stationary mic. He performed accompanied by four backup singers, two men and two women. "Joy" is a high energy number, so three dancers interpreted it, as well. The dancers were also prominent during the performance of a later dance tune. A move in the right direction, I think. Since his movement is limited, it is useful to inject kinetics into the show in other ways.

One's first impression of Pendergrass is that he is still very much himself in most ways. The same dark, satiny smooth skin, suggestive eyes and clear, subtly phrased delivery of his songs. The only other post-accident number he performs on from From Teddy, With Love, is "Truly Blessed," his memorial to surviving the automobile accident in 1982 that left him paralyzed. So, one can tell that, as he says in the interview included on the DVD, he is challenging himself. Before the accident, Pendergrass had a deeper, more powerful voice, though, even then, he was a full-range baritone. He doubtlessly works harder to achieve the deeper register required of the songs he sings on FTWL, which include "Love TKO," "You're My Latest, Greatest Inspiration" and "Do Me."

Most challenging of all is that he includes songs from his tenure with Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. Back then, Pendergrass was in his early twenties and at the peak of his vocal power. (Ironic that a 22-year-old sang "ten long years we've been together" on "If You Don't Know Me by Now," isn't it?) He acquits himself well enough on "If You Don't Know me By Now," "Wake Up Everybody" and "The Love I Lost." Some more vocal power is provided by having a couple of tenor backup singers. All four of the backup singers help provide fullness, similar to his pre- and post-accident albums. On "Get Up, Get Down, Get Funky, Get Loose," a Gamble-Huff penned dance tune, he really goes to church, and to the disco. The sermonette to having a good time is delivered in the same earthy tenor as it was recorded, with much the same energy that makes it practically jump off the compact disc. The audience at the Wiltern gets up and gets down. When I compared the live version, which is part of Pendergrass' Anthology , to the original, on Life Is a Song Worth Singing, there was little difference.