Customer Reviews

All You Need is Love (Five-Disc Set)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is not my "final" review of this fascinating box set. I hope to do that after I return from vacation. But, it is such a landmark production that I wanted to at least post something. Having just finished all 17 hours (!) of material, there is so much to digest. I hope I can give you at least an idea of what to expect.

First, I don't think there has ever been a documentary project of this scope in documenting the "History of Popular Music". Director Tony Palmer literally traveled the world to film thousands of hours of performances and interviews with the "key players", who shed light on all aspects of the "popular music" business. These interviewees are singers, musicians, agents, critics, record producers and composers. And the quotes that Palmer - who seems to actually be doing the interviewers in most cases are gems. Phil Spector in the mid-70s discussing his music while playing a guitar! (Have you ever seen Spector playing an instrument?). Producer John Hammond on racism in the industry. Hoagy Carmichael on his hit "Stardust", Pete Seeger on "what is folk music?". David Bowie saying "I never wanted to be a rock star." It's gems like these that make this essential viewing for anyone, of any age, who cares about "Popular Music". And Palmer conducted interviews with Bing Crosby, Rudy Vallee and Eubie Blake before they died.

Let me also point out that "Popular Music" as covered in the 17 chapters of this set means any music that is not "Classical". Presented mostly chronologically in the order that these musical styles occurred, there are Episodes devoted to Ragtime, Blues, Jazz Country, Vaudeville (and Music Hall, since this is a British production), Swing, Protest Songs and , finally - for the last four Episodes - Rock music. Actually the Rock sections are the weakest of the set as quite a few of these artists' careers went nowhere. And the set ends with Virgin Records founder saying, in 1980, that Mike Oldfield (whose "Tubular Beels" was a smash hit on Branson's label) is "the future of Popular Music".

It's also very important to know the background of the project. From 1976 to 1980 the 17 Episodes were broadcast on British TV and, to my knowledge, never aired in the US. So we are missing the last 27 years of pop music history. No Disco, no Punk, no Alternative and no Disney on Broadway. Younger viewers will be surprised to see all the long hair and sideburns, leisure suits and wide shirt collars. But this was the period when the interviews were done.. The series was recorded on film and, though the soundtrack has been remastered, the film stock was not restored. It looks dated. Palmer sometimes becomes quirky in his choices of visuals. The early "Vaudeville and Music Hall" Episode has some nice footage of Al Jolson and some British Music Hall performers but it also has a topless stripper from circa 1975. In the Episode on Protest Songs we hear a protest song while we watch some really violent footage of a Roller Derby! The authorities that Palmer enlisted to "write" the scripts are experts like Stephen Sondheim (show music), Paul Oliver (blues), Derek Taylor (the Beatles) and Ian Whitcomb and Rudi Blesh (Ragtime).

So, despite some missteps and a visual quality that looks like a 16mm print it's the interviews and the live performance footage that Palmer captured (mixed with lots of newsreel and TV footage) that make this set special. Knowing of the few moments of nudity and violence which is included, I feel that a copy of this belongs in every school and public library to act as a visual and aural history course on both American and British pop culture for at least the first ¾ of the 20th century.

It lost a "star", in my opinion, because of the film and sound quality but don't let that deter you from buying it. Nothing like this project will ever be attempted again, so this is the best we can hope for.

HIGHLY recommended!

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"

This DVD set is of course not a complete history of popular music. Tony Palmer, however put in great effort and came very close to creating an historical document. Not complete, but with moments of brilliance none the less. Especially the episodes dealing with the earlier years of popular music were very revelatory to me.
What makes it a true gem is that he interviewed many musical icons not long before they died. This makes it not only a historical document, but also a testament to some of the icons that were elemental in the early years of popular music.
Is it a must see for everybody? Well, no. The last episode of this documentary aired in 1980, so there is no music included made in the last 28 years. This might deter some youngster. On the other hand, it may also introduce to music made for the sake of the music and not just for the sake of making stars and bucks.
I gave it for stars, because there are imperfections. Nevertheless this will be the only document ever that contains many of the key players in the development of popular music.

This is supposed to be the history of American popular music. The problem is, this is a British take on popular music in America and, for the most part, they got it wrong.

The set actually starts out rather promising as it traces the origins of American folk music from Europe and the birth of ragtime and jazz from Africa and later the blues. Tin Pan Alley days and Vaudeville were handled OK. For me, it began to fall apart after that because I got the feeling those involved in preparing this video musical history didn't truly understand American history.

While this set deserves credit for being extensive, they didn't go far enough in some areas but spent too much time on other things of little importance. For example, while the impact of African rhythms and instruments was interesting, the what seemed like endless footage of African tribal dancing was overdone. Ginger Baker on the drums was a plus but, again, it was too much emphasis on him and not others.

The section on 50s rock and roll was the worst and from that decade on, the set truly suffers. I believe the reason it suffers is because the British who put this set together (in the 70s and airing only there initially) were not living in America to truly understand the music here and what was going on socially and emotionally in America. It's as if they only covered the American music they knew, understood or listened to in England but not what we actually did in America. In other words, they just didn't get it! They certainly didn't get American musical theatre. As with other episodes, they got stuck on one artist or contributor and didn't mention others. If you never saw a musical, you would think musical theatre was nothing but "Oklahoma" and "Hair."

Some examples of absolute misses are showing footage of old British dance shows in the rock and roll episode but no mention of American Bandstand. Instead, they insult the American dance shows of the time. Remember, this is supposed to be the history of American music and not British television. Instead, we get more footage from England and our American way of life in that era is insulted. They (and Jerry Lee Lewis) also insult Elvis Presley (so Elvis fans beware if you buy this DVD set) as well as other artists of the 50s and 60s. Yet, they spend almost the entire episode paying tribute to the over-rated Jerry Lee Lewis. The British apparently thought he was cool. The film clips and interviews we see, however, show him to be arrogant and cocky, a bit on the creepy side and full of sour grapes. This entire episode was wasted on Jerry Lee Lewis instead of truly discussing the origins of rock and roll (being the blues and jazz) and highlighting other artists who left their mark in rock and roll history. 70s clips of Chubby Checker and Chuck Berry are shown instead of older footage and Little Richard gets a token nod. Tony Palmer must have thought Jerry Lee Lewis was more important to Americans (and to American music) than he really was. This episode was absolutely horrible!

Other areas covered only breifly or not at all are Motown (Berry Gordy), The Sound Of Philadelphia (Gamble & Huff), The West Coast Sound and Surf music (Mama's & the Papas, the Beach Boys), Psychedelic rock and the music of the 60s (although protest songs are covered well), Doo-Wop which led to the first real boy bands like the Four Seasons, Songs from the Brill Building (Neil Diamond, Carole King, Gerry Goffin), Teen Idols (Fabian, Paul Anka, Neil Sedaka and, again, the importance of Dick Clark and many others who were inspirations to other later musicians. An obvious omission was Buddy Holly, for example.) This list could go on about how much they missed. For this to be a history of American music, it sure misses the boat once you get past the early 20th century, from around the 1940s on. Some artists like Frank Sinatra seem like an after-thought while others are not remembered at all but are, in actuality, so important to the fabric of American music. Tony Palmer must have thought Jerry Lee Lewis was a bigger influence on American music than Elvis. He does the Beatles episode well but nothing we haven't already seen or heard before.

I would like to see an American, not a Brit, who actually knows and understands American music take on the difficult task of doing a DVD history of American music. The British view of American music must be distorted as made obvious by "All You Need Is Love." This set may have been fine in the late 70s when it originally aired in England. However, now, it is very dated and very British-opinion slanted. British who watch this will not get a realistic (and in some cases, correct) view and history of American popular music. Americans who watch this (especially the younger ones) will either be confused or not get the full impact of the music of yesterday and it's influences on the music of today.

Save your money on this one. I wish I would have. Other than some interesting facts about early American music, I felt as if I already knew more about American music and it's many styles and origins than Tony Palmer. This is not the story of American popular music. This is the Palmer's limited knowledge and opinions on American popular music.

I shall preface this review by writing that I do not have the DVD set (yet) and that I have only seen one of the 17 episodes. Still, I give it five stars just for the episode on The Beatles. Back in the late 1970s when I was in my mid-teens living in New York, The Beatles episode was broadcast on television. My family was fortunate to have one of the first clunky videotape recorders, so I taped it. For years and years I watched that tape, to the point where I had the entire episode memorized, and I could speak the dialogue right along with it. I am sure I still remember it all. I have since misplaced that tape and had been saddened by its loss, up until I discovered that it is now on DVD. True, the cost is high, for me, especially when I am really only buying the set for that one hour-long episode, but hey, I am sure I will like the other 16 episodes...and even if I don't, its purchase will be well worth it, just to relive a moment in time when I was a carefree teenager.

If you can find a cheap 2nd hand set (I paid about $6 for mine) I recommend you buy and watch this long pre-punk documentary, which can be considered a piece of tv history itself. The 16 episode long series contains some gems like the interviews with Jerry Lee Lewis, Hoagy Carmichael, Jerry Wexler, Leroi Jones, Bo Diddley.
The first 4 episodes follow a straight chronological order and include enlightening comments by blues expert Paul Olivier.
I particularly found Lester Bangs interviews very funny. The guy had a true passion and nostalgia for 1960s music but, for what is shown on this series, he had no clue whatsoever of what was about to happen with the massive punk movement at the time this documentary was filmed. He keeps whinging about the lack of inspiration in contemporary music (we're talking mid 1970s here) and says rock'n'roll has given all it had to give. I find that hilarious to watch nowadays.
From the 10th episode on the series loses its track and becomes messy. Music styles are badly presented as in the R&B and Country sections (episodes 10 and 11). A good 20 minute of the Rock'n'roll episode (no. 13) is wasted with such performers as Cliff Richard, Pat Boone, Tommy Steele who are absolutely irrelevant to rock'n'roll history.
I found songs of war and protest (episode 12) one of the poorest music analysis I've ever come across, with military songs getting mixed with Irish folk music and Country Joe McDonald. Pointless and misleading.
I regret watching the last two episodes which are an absolute tragic description of the worst commercial music produced in the 70s. I get sick when I think that Palmer completely ignored Neil Young, but had the gutts to roll his film on utter trash like Gary Glitter and Helen Reddy.
The series doesn't pay any attention to fundamental artists such as Hank Williams, Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, Fats Domino and the New Orleans scene, James Brown and many more. Bob Dylan is hardly mentioned. A full -wasted- episode on the Beatles adds almost nothing to the glory of the Fab Four. No trace of soul music, psychedelic bands, girls groups, rockabilly, doo-wop, the west coast singer-songwriters, Van Morrison, the Band, not to mention the New York underground scene which is completely ignored (hence the total lack of attention to the punk phenomenon).
I don't want to sound too harsh. I admit it is a big effort that was done back then and that many scenes are very enjoyable like the links they try to find between Northern American and African music. However, I would also like to warn that "All You Need is Love" is a definitely not to be considered a guide to popular music history. Have fun spotting all the flaws!

This DVD series left me with mixed opinions.

On one hand, the scope of topics and genres is impressive. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing interviews with musicians who were still alive and relevant at the time of this production (early 70's). I specifically liked the interviews with John Hammond, and some of the Tin Pan Alley composers, like Hoagy Carmichael. As the series moved closer to more contemporary genres, like Rock and Roll, it was interesting to see and hear what was thought of those genres nearer the time of the making of this series.

On the other hand, I was unsure as to what this series was suppose to be. If it was supposed to be an educational documentary, then it was inconsistent in its approach. It's one thing to present something just for the sake of presenting it, and another to explain it, analyze it, etc. I did learn a few things, and saw great footage, but historical and musical facts were few and far between.

I'm glad I watched the whole series, and it does have historical value, but one almost needs to know something about each genre to truly "get it." In other words, younger viewers with limited musical references will probably not know, nor truly appreciate, what they are watching. It was almost like watching somebody's home movies.

Maybe this is a British thing, but I remember three of the early segments dwelling on the relationship between early American music genres and burlesque shows. So much so, the producers included a stripper doing her thing, and showing everything - and I mean everything. If you plan on viewing these early segments with minors, you're advised to first screen them.

The series is obviously dated. After all, the interviewing styles and footage are nearly 40 years old.

Again, this series left me with mixed opinions. It was worth watching, but I didn't learn many new facts. If you're into history, pop culture, and pop music, the series is worth a look, but as a classroom teaching tool, it would have limited benefit.

One of the reviewers here is under the misapprehension that popular music is *American Music*, but one of the beauties of this set is its wider perspective. The set is called All You Need is Love (a Beetles song), and in 1980 when the series finished I would guess the Beetles and the Rolling Stones, both of them English bands, were still the biggest names in popular music. It was never marketed as a documentary on American Music, and needn't apologise for not being focused on the US of A.

I watched the entire series on TV back in the late seventies and eighties, and all the great features identified by the other reviewers are there. The roots, the social history, the lines of stylistic evolution. It was made before globalisation kicked in, and it would be a good update for anyone who comes from a part of the world that wasn't originally exposed to what were the roots of much of our contemporary youth and pop culture. What rock-and-roll is beyond just the music is made crystal clear, and as far as I remember it does finish with punk and new wave, including footage of Patti Smith (an American performer who has no illusions about rock's and the USA's international debts).

I found this set overrated at best. Although there is some interesting footage, much of it is woefully dated and, frankly, dull. Have your remote handy to move through the segments where the director spends wwaaayyyy too much time. You'll know 'em when you see 'em. I will be hard-pressed to watch most of this set a second time.

I just ordered the set. This week's Entertainment Weekly magazine called this a best bet and gave it a A rating. I'm going to give it a shot.