Howdy again gang. In the interest of refilling these pages after losing a great deal of posts due to a miscreant with nothing better to do than intrude and show some computer-savvy skills by hacking the forum, I'm going through some older reviews of highly interesting and very worthwhile material everyone should enjoy. With that said, here are two reviews of the first pair of American Folk Blues Festival releases on DVD. For those who do not have these, I would suggest an immediate remedy to that oversight by purchasing both of these stunning DVDs. The array of performers is mind-boggling and the quality is light years beyond what has been seen of this material on bootleg videos prior to their first official release. There's much more on deck so please stay tuned...
Various Artists
The American Folk Blues Festival - Volume One
Hip-O (2003) 750-09
(DVD) B&W - 76 minutes
With the airing of the Martin Scorsese-produced blues series on PBS television, many saw a good deal of vintage film clips showing Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Howlin' Wolf and others, but a major concern was that these were incomplete looks of great blues artists that left nearly every viewer wanting much more than brief snippets. The situation has been rectified, and for anyone with an interest in blues, what we have been rewarded with is a monumental gift that almost defies proper description. Europeans have long held an interest in blues while Americans in the past did little more than ignore it completely. Because of a number of problems including extreme racial barriers, sometimes graphic subjects, and the raw power of blues, American television in the 1960s wanted nothing at all to do with its own blues performers, but thanks to Horst Lippman and Fritz Rau, two German promoters and music enthusiasts, the American Folk Blues Festival became a major attraction overseas more than forty years ago. In addition to the festivals themselves, decisions were made to film a wide cast of blues giants, many still in or near their prime, and some of that footage is now available for the first time in over three decades, and the level of care that was given to American blues artists so many years ago on foreign shores is something many of us will marvel at for years to come.
Volume One finds T-Bone Walker backing up Shakey Jake Harris for a stirring Call Me If You Need Me, complete with Jake on his knees pleading to a woman who ignores his advances as she knits. At the close of the first song, T-Bone, in amazing shape for a man in his 50s at the time, walks across a soundstage to a porch front and introduces Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee who deliver Hootin' Blues to a gathering of dancers, then it's McGhee who sets the stage for Memphis Slim offering The Blues Is Everywhere. And while these were filmed on soundstages made to look like American South streetcorners, porches, and juke joints, the attention to detail is visible in each scene. Otis Rush, sharply attired in sweater, tie, and dress slacks hands in the storming I Can't Quit You Baby backed by Jack Myers and Fred Below, and while the footage prior to this 1966 performance is sharp and crystal clear, it's during the Rush segment that you begin to fully grasp how fortunate you are to be seeing this. From a camera far-left of where Otis is on stage, the image of Otis' breath escaping his mouth as fine mist while he delivers an impassioned, sweat-drenched vocal is heartwrenching. We're also graced by Lonnie Johnson's guitar magnificence, Sippie Wallace belting one out, John Lee Hooker carrying off a stark Hobo Blues and more. Walter Horton's Shakey's Blues finds the harp wizard in strong form followed by Junior Wells whose version of Hoodoo Man Blues may leave many speechless. Wells was a master of phrasing and delivery, and a harp player of equal ability, but to see him in his 30s is beyond words. Buddy Guy, barely visible but clearly in full grasp of his masterful guitar skills, backs up Eddie Boyd on Five Long Years, and there's also Mississippi Fred McDowell, Big Joe Williams, and Willie Dixon strumming guitar for his own Weak Brain And Narrow Mind. Add to that Sonny Boy Williamson II introduced as a "handsome man" before he rivets your eyes to the screen during Nine Below Zero. If that's not enough, Muddy Waters grimacing at Sonny Boy's countrified harp work during Got My Mojo Working will have you doubled-over in laughter. There's a photo gallery available on the DVD, and bonus footage of Earl Hooker's Off The Hook which shows that Hendrix wasn't the only guitarist making fans shake their heads in the 60s.
Packaging is superb with a twenty-four page booklet offering great pictures, written memories from Bill Wyman, a detailed essay by Rob Bowman, and some rewarding information on Lippman, Rau, and others who saw the importance of these artists, while complete track listings with personnel are added for each cut. As disappointing as the PBS blues series was for many, these newly available DVDs of the 1960s American Folk Blues Festival on film will make you aware of how much you have to appreciate. There is simply no way to overplay the importance of what's here. Remarkable and priceless.
Rating: *****
Various Artists
The American Folk Blues Festival - Volume Two
Hip-O (2003) 751-09
(DVD) B&W - 70 minutes
If the first volume of the American Folk Blues Festival on DVD got your attention, the second volume will further deplete your monetary value since it's is just as strong, brilliant, and well worth investing in. While just a bit shorter than its predecessor, the highlights are many indeed, and the footage here does not come as an afterthought. Without stretching the introduction any further, let's jump in and see what's here.
Fans of harmonica will be rewarded right from the opening seconds as we witness Sonny Boy Williamson II, smartly clad in a dark suit and French beret come around what appears to be a West Memphis streetcorner, climb onto a juke joint porch, and finish a solo version of Bye Bye Bird only to disappear inside the tavern. Turning in a rousing In My Younger Days joined by Hubert Sumlin, Sunnyland Slim, Willie Dixon, and Clifton James, the buzzard-like harp player gives the spotlight over to Slim, a pianist and vocalist of strength and passion, who unselfishly allows "Little Hubert" the lion's share of solo space in Come On Home Baby and Sumlin doesn't disappoint as he tears careening single notes, slurs, and bends from his Les Paul. Willie Dixon is regally introduced by Memphis Slim as a man weighing between 400 and 500 pounds, but jittery regardless of his size and Dixon pulls off the stuttering Nervous before we cut to Lightnin' Hopkins handing in a solid Mojo Hand from another makeshift Southern beer joint. More humor follows when Lonnie Johnson brings Victoria Spivey out for what he assumes will be her old favorite, T.B. Blues, and when Spivey reminds the audience that Lonnie was responsible for a slight error as she intends to offer Black Snake Blues, a seated Sonny Boy Williamson buries his head in his hands, reduced to muttering before giving some muscular harp to the proceedings. T-Bone Walker is again present, but not as an accompanist this time, he stands front and center to produce a mind-numbing Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong from 1962 that shows how unorthodox his approach to guitar playing was as he holds an archtop perpendicular to his body while pulling out effortless flurries of notes. Roosevelt Sykes hollers his way through a loosely-based Pinetop's Boogie Woogie (here titled Tall Heavy Mama) before we see Willie Dixon, who is followed by a young and vibrant Matt Murphy moving his eyebrows in rhythm to almost every note from his guitar. Sonny and Brownie return for Stranger Blues, and as incredible as everything has been up to this point, what follows may turn into a religious-like experience for throngs of viewers. Howlin' Wolf may well have performed until shortly before his death in 1976, but at that time, he was far beyond his better years. To watch him at the height of his power in 1964 is astounding as he hands in close to ten minutes of soul-shaking vocals and potent guitar roaring through Shake For Me and I'll Be Back Someday, in addition to Love Me Darlin' where the film work catches Wolf's in a statue-like stance for a moment where he appears to pondering the entire scope of his abilities.
Just as rewarding and spellbinding as the first volume, the finale and bonus footage for volume two will offer more reasons to celebrate. Big Mama Thornton leads an all-star aggregation for Down Home Shakedown, which brings out J.B. Lenoir, John Lee Hooker, Doctor Ross, and Big Walter Horton, each delivering a harmonica solo to the on-the-spot instrumental, but it's Horton who will warm the hearts of many with his smile and fancy dance steps around the stage. For fans of Chicago's West Side approach, the bonus footage of Magic Sam will be a highpoint as he glides through All Your Love with eight cylinders burning hot before launching into Lookin' Good (here titled Magic Sam's Boogie) where he turns Earl Hooker's Univox Les Paul copy into a thundering device to do his bidding. It's crushing to realize that Sam would be dead just a short time later, but all the more rewarding that we have him on film at his pinnacle.
DO NOT put off getting either of these remarkable examples of just how powerful blues was in the 1960s. While the footage is decades old, it's as clear as if it were shot yesterday and a lasting tribute to just how deserving of care these people were and will always be. While many of us may have memories of seeing Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, Roosevelt Sykes, John Lee Hooker, or Lightnin' Hopkins, it's doubtful that many of us saw them in their prime, and even more doubtful that any of us were lucky enough to have been in Germany when these performances were captured on film.
Rating: *****
AFBF Volumes 1 & 2
© 2004 by Craig Ruskey
Various Artists
The American Folk Blues Festival - Volume One
Hip-O (2003) 750-09
(DVD) B&W - 76 minutes
With the airing of the Martin Scorsese-produced blues series on PBS television, many saw a good deal of vintage film clips showing Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Howlin' Wolf and others, but a major concern was that these were incomplete looks of great blues artists that left nearly every viewer wanting much more than brief snippets. The situation has been rectified, and for anyone with an interest in blues, what we have been rewarded with is a monumental gift that almost defies proper description. Europeans have long held an interest in blues while Americans in the past did little more than ignore it completely. Because of a number of problems including extreme racial barriers, sometimes graphic subjects, and the raw power of blues, American television in the 1960s wanted nothing at all to do with its own blues performers, but thanks to Horst Lippman and Fritz Rau, two German promoters and music enthusiasts, the American Folk Blues Festival became a major attraction overseas more than forty years ago. In addition to the festivals themselves, decisions were made to film a wide cast of blues giants, many still in or near their prime, and some of that footage is now available for the first time in over three decades, and the level of care that was given to American blues artists so many years ago on foreign shores is something many of us will marvel at for years to come.
Volume One finds T-Bone Walker backing up Shakey Jake Harris for a stirring Call Me If You Need Me, complete with Jake on his knees pleading to a woman who ignores his advances as she knits. At the close of the first song, T-Bone, in amazing shape for a man in his 50s at the time, walks across a soundstage to a porch front and introduces Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee who deliver Hootin' Blues to a gathering of dancers, then it's McGhee who sets the stage for Memphis Slim offering The Blues Is Everywhere. And while these were filmed on soundstages made to look like American South streetcorners, porches, and juke joints, the attention to detail is visible in each scene. Otis Rush, sharply attired in sweater, tie, and dress slacks hands in the storming I Can't Quit You Baby backed by Jack Myers and Fred Below, and while the footage prior to this 1966 performance is sharp and crystal clear, it's during the Rush segment that you begin to fully grasp how fortunate you are to be seeing this. From a camera far-left of where Otis is on stage, the image of Otis' breath escaping his mouth as fine mist while he delivers an impassioned, sweat-drenched vocal is heartwrenching. We're also graced by Lonnie Johnson's guitar magnificence, Sippie Wallace belting one out, John Lee Hooker carrying off a stark Hobo Blues and more. Walter Horton's Shakey's Blues finds the harp wizard in strong form followed by Junior Wells whose version of Hoodoo Man Blues may leave many speechless. Wells was a master of phrasing and delivery, and a harp player of equal ability, but to see him in his 30s is beyond words. Buddy Guy, barely visible but clearly in full grasp of his masterful guitar skills, backs up Eddie Boyd on Five Long Years, and there's also Mississippi Fred McDowell, Big Joe Williams, and Willie Dixon strumming guitar for his own Weak Brain And Narrow Mind. Add to that Sonny Boy Williamson II introduced as a "handsome man" before he rivets your eyes to the screen during Nine Below Zero. If that's not enough, Muddy Waters grimacing at Sonny Boy's countrified harp work during Got My Mojo Working will have you doubled-over in laughter. There's a photo gallery available on the DVD, and bonus footage of Earl Hooker's Off The Hook which shows that Hendrix wasn't the only guitarist making fans shake their heads in the 60s.
Packaging is superb with a twenty-four page booklet offering great pictures, written memories from Bill Wyman, a detailed essay by Rob Bowman, and some rewarding information on Lippman, Rau, and others who saw the importance of these artists, while complete track listings with personnel are added for each cut. As disappointing as the PBS blues series was for many, these newly available DVDs of the 1960s American Folk Blues Festival on film will make you aware of how much you have to appreciate. There is simply no way to overplay the importance of what's here. Remarkable and priceless.
Rating: *****
Various Artists
The American Folk Blues Festival - Volume Two
Hip-O (2003) 751-09
(DVD) B&W - 70 minutes
If the first volume of the American Folk Blues Festival on DVD got your attention, the second volume will further deplete your monetary value since it's is just as strong, brilliant, and well worth investing in. While just a bit shorter than its predecessor, the highlights are many indeed, and the footage here does not come as an afterthought. Without stretching the introduction any further, let's jump in and see what's here.
Fans of harmonica will be rewarded right from the opening seconds as we witness Sonny Boy Williamson II, smartly clad in a dark suit and French beret come around what appears to be a West Memphis streetcorner, climb onto a juke joint porch, and finish a solo version of Bye Bye Bird only to disappear inside the tavern. Turning in a rousing In My Younger Days joined by Hubert Sumlin, Sunnyland Slim, Willie Dixon, and Clifton James, the buzzard-like harp player gives the spotlight over to Slim, a pianist and vocalist of strength and passion, who unselfishly allows "Little Hubert" the lion's share of solo space in Come On Home Baby and Sumlin doesn't disappoint as he tears careening single notes, slurs, and bends from his Les Paul. Willie Dixon is regally introduced by Memphis Slim as a man weighing between 400 and 500 pounds, but jittery regardless of his size and Dixon pulls off the stuttering Nervous before we cut to Lightnin' Hopkins handing in a solid Mojo Hand from another makeshift Southern beer joint. More humor follows when Lonnie Johnson brings Victoria Spivey out for what he assumes will be her old favorite, T.B. Blues, and when Spivey reminds the audience that Lonnie was responsible for a slight error as she intends to offer Black Snake Blues, a seated Sonny Boy Williamson buries his head in his hands, reduced to muttering before giving some muscular harp to the proceedings. T-Bone Walker is again present, but not as an accompanist this time, he stands front and center to produce a mind-numbing Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong from 1962 that shows how unorthodox his approach to guitar playing was as he holds an archtop perpendicular to his body while pulling out effortless flurries of notes. Roosevelt Sykes hollers his way through a loosely-based Pinetop's Boogie Woogie (here titled Tall Heavy Mama) before we see Willie Dixon, who is followed by a young and vibrant Matt Murphy moving his eyebrows in rhythm to almost every note from his guitar. Sonny and Brownie return for Stranger Blues, and as incredible as everything has been up to this point, what follows may turn into a religious-like experience for throngs of viewers. Howlin' Wolf may well have performed until shortly before his death in 1976, but at that time, he was far beyond his better years. To watch him at the height of his power in 1964 is astounding as he hands in close to ten minutes of soul-shaking vocals and potent guitar roaring through Shake For Me and I'll Be Back Someday, in addition to Love Me Darlin' where the film work catches Wolf's in a statue-like stance for a moment where he appears to pondering the entire scope of his abilities.
Just as rewarding and spellbinding as the first volume, the finale and bonus footage for volume two will offer more reasons to celebrate. Big Mama Thornton leads an all-star aggregation for Down Home Shakedown, which brings out J.B. Lenoir, John Lee Hooker, Doctor Ross, and Big Walter Horton, each delivering a harmonica solo to the on-the-spot instrumental, but it's Horton who will warm the hearts of many with his smile and fancy dance steps around the stage. For fans of Chicago's West Side approach, the bonus footage of Magic Sam will be a highpoint as he glides through All Your Love with eight cylinders burning hot before launching into Lookin' Good (here titled Magic Sam's Boogie) where he turns Earl Hooker's Univox Les Paul copy into a thundering device to do his bidding. It's crushing to realize that Sam would be dead just a short time later, but all the more rewarding that we have him on film at his pinnacle.
DO NOT put off getting either of these remarkable examples of just how powerful blues was in the 1960s. While the footage is decades old, it's as clear as if it were shot yesterday and a lasting tribute to just how deserving of care these people were and will always be. While many of us may have memories of seeing Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, Roosevelt Sykes, John Lee Hooker, or Lightnin' Hopkins, it's doubtful that many of us saw them in their prime, and even more doubtful that any of us were lucky enough to have been in Germany when these performances were captured on film.
Rating: *****
AFBF Volumes 1 & 2
© 2004 by Craig Ruskey
