Customer Reviews

Autour de Blues Meets Larry Carlton and Robben Ford

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When I saw the Larry Carlton/Robben Ford listing on this "new" DVD, I naturally thought it was from their recent worldwide tour, chronicled in the "Live in Tokyo" CD. There have been several video clips from the concerts featured on YouTube, and I have been anxiously awaiting the commercial video release. This DVD is actually a performance by a French "All-Star" band of sorts, with Larry and Robben occasionally and sporadically sitting in. The DVD contains a lot of different French singers and guitar players doing their best to replicate the blues. Unfortunately, their performances or on a par with what you can find in a Thursday night amateur/semi-pro blues jam in just about any US city. It's infuriating to hear one and then another, and another, guitarist take a solo while Larry and/or Robben graciously play sideman and wait for a discreet opening to give us 12 or 24 bars of the real thing. Pay no attention to the packaging displaying their names prominently: There's very little Carlton and Ford to be heard -- some songs are completely absent either one of them. And if you are into obscure French blues players, you'll have a hard time figuring out who IS playing. The packaging looks like a bootleg, with a paper sleeve wrapped around a generic DVD case. There's no booklet or liner notes to speak of. No personnel listing, etc. If you want to hear the real deal, buy Live in Tokyo and wait for a proper Carlton/Ford DVD to come out.

I'm a big fan of both Larry Carlton and Robben Ford. Unfortunately, this DVD uses their names as bait for you to buy it, but doesn't give you enough of either of them. The french players are adequate players, but singing the blues with french accents and without the signature licks of the headliners makes for a disappointing DVD. We barely even get to see Robben sing. I'd skip this one unless you've got an unlimited budget and are collecting all the blues DVD's you can find (like me).

This is awful. I was going to call this review Pepe La Pew!!! or Pepe La Stink, but I decided that the relations between the U.S. and France were strained enough. Robben and Larry have very little to do with this DVD. Don't waste you money!!! Here's a thought, take two sharp pencils and shove them in your ears at the same time. Even at that it still wouldn't be as painful as sitting through this terrible DVD.

Go slowly.

If you're looking for a video of Robben Ford and Larry Carlton playing guitar together, you're in the wrong place.

This is a video of a group of French musicians playing in a bar. I'm sure they're fine players and nice people, but, for some reason, they hired Larry Carlton and Robben Ford to stand on a small stage holding their guitars while listening to the French musicians play.

Like I said, I'm sure they're nice guys. I just can't imagine what they were attempting to accomplish. If I had either of those guys on my stage, I'd probably let them play.

The video is a pleasant enough blues show. Kinda like a slow night at Antones, maybe while the a-team was in the parking lot and the b-team had taken over. I can't say enough about what nice guys the players probably are. If you're trying to buy a video of competent musicians playing 3 chord blues songs in a bar, with lots of long solos- this is it.

But, if you're trying to buy a video of Robben Ford and Larry Carlton actually playing their guitars- this is not it.

For a change I am in complete agreement with the other reviews I read This is a total waste of your money, as the others said, the backing musicians are no better than you would find at "Blues Night" at a local karioke Bar. If they are considered to be all-stars France is in more trouble than we thought. I mistakenly bought this DVD thinking it was a performance from the Carlton/Ford tour I read about in Guitar Player Magazine. BIG DISAPOINTMENT. I would write more but this DVD is not worth any more of my time.

What can I add that hasn't been said. What a disappointment. I was thinking about how I was going to review this as I was watching it because I was a bit miffed at how they used Carlton and Ford to package this bore-fest. It's less fun than watching a Brie de Meaux ripen. When I got on here and read the reviews I thought, well, nothing more needs to be said (yet, I still write). On one tune, I was annoyed with the one guitarist who was walking over Carlton's solo, what an egotistical amateur, and it looks like Carlton just gives up in a very subtle and nice way. Any jam night in my neck of the woods brings out better players than the so-called "Autor du Blues... the cream of France's top studio musicians." Let's face it folks, I love the French but what have they ever really done in music that has topped "Laisse Tomber Les Filles" by France Gall. The best French tune ever! YouTube it if you don't believe me. I'd be willing to bet L'Academie francaise doesn't even recognize the word Blues as an officially recognized term. If I haven't yet been culturally insensitive enough, I also have to mention the song, "Down in Mississippi," which gets sung as "meece-a-seepee" and includes the line "where I was born." I burst out laughing. (The same singer apologizes for his accent in an ironic way in another part of the DVD, which makes the crowd laugh. I kind of liked that.) But really folks, this DVD is no laughing matter and I'm not smiling! I feel like I was swindled. I love the French, they gave us the Statue of Liberty, and they stood their ground against that moron Bush, bravo, but I am sorry to say this sets backs relations between our two countries at least fifteen bucks plus tax.

If you have to have absolutely EVERYTHING that Larry and Robben have done, then I guess you need this. Otherwise, get anything else BUT this.
As the other reviews have accurately stated, they don't appear often and the rest of the musicians vary from good to questionable, but not on a par with any of the musicians normally associated with these two. If only I would have read the reviews before buying this...

As a full time working guitarist, I have long been a fan of both Larry and Robben and have most of their recordings, so when I saw this DVD I thought it would surely be a "must have". BUT this is a DVD thats uses their acclaim to sell the product of a less then stellar blues band. There are at least 4 other guitarists that play on this and most get more time soloing than either Larry or Robben.
Although 2 of the other guitarists have nice moments, particularly the "fake slide guitar via whammy bar" performed by one of them, they are on par with decent players at a local bar. Also as someone who has hosted open mics and/or have had lots of people (famous and not) sit in. Common, and musical courtesy, would be to allow your guests more room to play. Even Robben and Larry seem a bit put off by their lack of paticipation in the event. And I an left wondering what got them to commit to such a gig.
Maybe if I come into some money, I'll start hiring great players for "showcase" gigs. But I would allow them to play.
Be forewarned: This is a DVD of a "bar band" that lets Larry and Robben appear occassionally on stage, but never really lets them play. So sad, considering they are true masters of the craft.

Another example of a label trying to cash in on the names of two great musician that make cameo appearance at a concert. Unless you're from France you will probably not have heard of anyone on this venue except Robben and Larry, who play precious little on the whole set. Just a way to separate fans from their money by putting big name players on a no-name band's concert. Unless you are a die hard fan of Robben's and Larry and just want to have everything on which they appear, save your money.

Being a Robben Ford and Larry Carlton fan, I preordered this dvd. I know now, I should have waited a little while for it to come out, and read the reviews. Well,I could not, and went ahead and ordered it. Big mistake. This dvd is aweful. Sub par blues playing, Robben and Larry only appear on and off, which does not even warrant their name being on the cover. Its a disgrace to two awesome players. Who are these other players anyway? Well, If I were you, and if I were a Ford/Carlton fan like myself, and others on here, I would stay clear of this stink pile. Now I use it as a coaster to sit my drink on....