Customer Reviews:
Terrific, but what is the guy from Sunderland doing there?.......2004-03-17
This is a terrific documentary and I endorse everything the reviewers below say. My copy (purchased from Amazon) has a different cover and is unversally encoded (ie it is not Region 1 only).
For me the highlight was Lonnie Pickford's virtuoso, but utterly faithful, take on Robert Johnson's Come On In My Kitchen and If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day. Eerie though it is to listen to a recording of Johnson's original item, it does require some imagination to get through the poor recording quality - it is definitely rewarding to hear (and see) it played freshly and crisply in front of your very eyes. Lonnie - recently deceased at a very early age - definitely is a keeper. Note though that getting hold of any of his music is damn hard.
The only nitpicks have nothing to do with the music, but the (happily brief) appearances of that doyen of Mississippi blues, Sunderland's own Dave Stewart, founder of the Eurythmics and the Spiritual Cowboys.
I suppose we have Dave to thank for having the film at all; seemingly he bank-rolled it - and in fairness, he did have the sense to leave it for the most part to Robert Palmer (no, not THAT Robert Palmer) and the artists. But the vision of this anaemic little guy dressed up as some sort of effete Biker with dyed black hair & a silly beard, when it appears amongst this totally down-home, real-life music - and even JOINING IN at one stage, God forbid - is pure Spinal Tap.
As is the interview segment of the DVD, which inexplicably features a clip of the Eurythmics playing Missionary Man live in its entirety, and concludes with Mr Dave summing up his views on the blues in the following fashion:
"It's like - Shakespeare. How can you ever not have, um, Blues Music?"
Derek Smalls could not have put it better.
this is what the blues REALLY looks like.......2003-07-15
Bankrolled by eurythmics rockstar Dave Stuart and presented by Robert Palmer, author of the blues book of the same name, this film was a very timely voyage into the blues of missisipi. Timely because a number of the cast have died since this film was shot, including the presenter.
Traditional old blues haunts such as Memphis, Clarksdale and Greenville are visited, and fine artists relatively unknown at the time were recorded such as Big Jack Johnson, Booba Barnes and Lonnie Pitchford. Delta old timers Jack Owens, Bud Spires and Booker T. Laury also turn in fine, spirited performances. But for me the highlight is the attention given over to the more obscure "hill country" blues of north missisipi, featuring Jessie Mae Hemphill, R. L. Burnside and the late great Junior Kimbrough and his original juke joint in Holly Springs. Here the music extends from country blues to "drum and fife", a hypnotic musical form that predates blues all the way back to the revolutionary war, but which now faces extinction since the passing of Othar Turner (not featured here, but he was a close friend of Hemphill).
This film helped to revive not just interest in country and acoustic blues in general, but the careers of all of the artists featured. This film is well shot, sounds great, and shares the passion and emotion of some great bluesmen and women. After this, try the "Feelin' Good" CD by Jessie Mae Hemphill. Not only is that a beautiful album, but Jessie's an invalid now who desperately needs the cash!
a gritty blues adventure across missisipi.......2003-06-28
Bankrolled by rockstar superstar Dave Stuart and presented by Robert Palmer, author of the superb book of the same name, this film was a very timely voyage into the blues of missisipi. Timely because a number of the cast have died since this film was shot, including the presenter.
Traditional old blues haunts such as Memphis, Clarksdale and Greenville are visited, and fine artists relatively unknown at the time were recorded such as Big Jack Johnson, Booba Barnes and Lonnie Pitchford. Delta old timers Jack Owens, Bud Spires and Booker T. Laury also turn in fine, spirited performances. But for me the highlight is the attention given over to the more obscure "hill country" blues of north missisipi, featuring Jessie Mae Hemphill, R. L. Burnside and the late great Junior Kimbrough and his original juke joint in Holly Springs. Here the music extends from country blues to "drum and fife", a hypnotic musical form that predates blues all the way back to the revolutionary war, but which now faces extinction since the passing of Othar Turner (not featured here, but a close friend of Hemphill).
This film helped to revive not just interest in country and acoustic blues in general, but the careers of all of the artists featured. This film is well shot, sounds great, and shares the passion and emotion of some great bluesmen and women. After this, try the "Feelin' Good" CD by Jessie Mae Hemphill.
If you want to understand the blues, buy this book!.......1999-09-13
I've read quite a few books on the blues, but haven't read anything quite like this excellent book. Palmer very effectively analyzes the blues and explains the unsung role played by Robert Lockerwood in bridging the various guitar styles. Palmer also provides a very interesting insight into the complexity of blues singing--something that will make people realize that the often repeated phrase "all blues songs seem to be the same" is simply not true. Whether you are a blues connaisseur or wanting to learn something about the blues, do buy this book. Cheers
An Aussie heads for Clarksdale.......1999-07-07
I read this wonderful book here in Canberra, Australia's national capital, far far away from the Delta. It was hard to put it down. But I did so just long enough to revisit favourite blues tracks by The Masked Marvel [aka Charley Patton] and Henry [Texas]Thomas...so evocative was Palmer's text that their voices crossed the decades and brought me to tears. Palmer surmounts the tyranny of time and distance and brings the Delta and its music to life for me on the other side of the world. My Road Atlas of the USA is open in front of me...Clarksdale here I come.
Phil Teece Canberra Australia
DVD:
- Dot and the Kangaroo [1981] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Each Dawn I Die [1939] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Elmo's World: What Makes You Happy? [2006] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Fandango [1985] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Fender Presents: Getting Started On Electric Guitar [2002]
- Harvie Krumpet [2003]
- Help I'm A Fish [2001]
- Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo [1977]
- Holst - The Planets [2004]
- Irving Berlin's Alexander's Ragtime Band [1938] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
DVD List
DVD
![Deep Blues: A Musical Pilgrimage to the Crossroads [1993] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/218J69ZB00L.jpg)
All Documentaries
|
Documentary
|
Categories
|
DVD
|
Video
Big Road Blues: Tradition and Creativity in the Folk Blues (Da Capo Paperback)
The Country Blues: Roots of Jazz (Da Capo Paperback)
![Blues Story [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0000CEB4G.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
Blues Story [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Blues Fell This Morning: Meaning in the Blues
Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues
![Deep Blues: A Musical Pilgrimage to the Crossroads [1993] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://www.bill88.com/buy.gif)
