Customer Reviews

Blues Masters

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

 

 

Its a great collection of masters no doubt, particularly Muddy Waters and Otis Sann and Willie Dixon, appearing true to form, these recordings are from 1966, put together by CBC Television The black and white recordings adds to the period effect and the sound is incredibly well restored. Listening and watching these masters deliver their masterpieces tells you a lot about how this amazing genre of music has stood the test of time.

The biggest bug bear is the rather intrusive appearance of the presenter Colin James, whose body of work I am not personally familiar with. His introductions and preludes are interesting to take in the first time around but become a pain in the neck every subsequent time one plays out the DVD, popping up as he does at the beginning and end of every song and then goes on to digitally play along with Willie Dixon as well...Smart, but not impressive. The producers of this DVD should have separated James' free flowing wisdom and uncalled for participation, from the original recordings...I hate to say this but would have perhaps reconsidered by decision to buy this DVD if I were aware of the nature of the mastering.

I was very disappointed by the mistreatment of these great masters by the producers of the DVD. Why people constantly feel they have to be interjected into history electronically is beyond me. The idea of this DVD is that a production company got a hold of what I believe to be some of the finest quality footage of such greats as Sonny Terry, Otis Span & Muddy Waters, and my problem is the amateurish treatment given to them in the presentation. The host Collin James is interspersed in between the clips sometimes talking over the musical intos and physically inters cutting his flat singing self into a "Crazy For My Baby" segment with Willie Dixon. To own some of the clips die-hard blues fans my want to drop the funds to buy this keep this review in mind and you wont be as disappointed as I was. Next time just put the clips on a DVD and put it out.

This is some great footage and I agree with those above that Colin James does a fair job of ruining one of the Willie Dixon songs. Good thing for the skip function on the dvd. Well worth owning. Just wish that the other footage would be released. Three days of these guys playing together would make a wonderful boxed set.

In 1966 a group of the greatest Blues musicians of all time gathered in a studio to perform. What is unique about their gathering, is that it was filmed for television. Some years later, the films were revived and turned into a documentary. Featuring Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, Willie Dixon, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Sonny Land Slim and Mable Hillary, this DVD is a must for all blues fans.

Of course, the sound was not recorded digitally. In fact, the film is black and white. But hey, this is the "old time blues"! But to actually see some of these folks perform was a true treat. Having listened to old analog records (yes vinyl) of these artists, I was thrilled at the prospect of seeing them perform. I was not disappointed. I only wish that hundreds of hours of these studio sessions existed.

My personal favorite blues performer has always been Willie Dixon. To see Dixon play his stand-up bass and sing with his great voice was outstanding. In his second piece, Dixon accompanied only by a piano plays his bass as only he could.

All of the musicians join the stage for the final song, each taking a turn at a vocal solo for a verse. It is during this song, that very limited biographies are presented (in text).

Though presented in "documentary" form, the narratives are short and don't interfere with the listening.

If you are a blues fan and unsure about if you want to buy this, then take the leap of faith. You won't be disappointed.

The best blues must-have on DVD/video.You MUST BUY THIS!! Trust me, I am a Muddy and Spann fanatic!!Colin James intrudes a little but OK.Willie Dixon spoils things, playing off-key most of the time - except for on "his" songs. (you can see Muddy looking at Otis Spann in disgust as Dixon spoils the boiling-point blues tension. Muddy,Spann, Sunnyland Slim, S.P.Leary (drums) all fantastic, the rest - not so good. Where is the rest of the footage and Fred McDowell/Big Joe Williams/Bukka White ???????? Some songs only clips - tragic! Someone PLEASE release all of it - I'd pay big bucks to see it all. Even still, BUY IT !!!

Having read a lot about this DVD, I hotly anticipated viewing it. I've been a fan of Chicago blues forever, and getting a chance to see its masters performing live is simply a treat. I wasn't disappointed. Each artist has the talent, integrity, soul, and genius you'd expect. That said, it's a travesty that the "artist", Colin James would even dream about imposing himself on this gem by "playing with" Willie Dixon. If there's ever a chance that this wonderful show is re-released, I pray the producers have the guts to cut out this ridiculous segment. The guy needed to stay quietly in the background, his guitar in its case. Otherwise, this is a must-have DVD for any serious fan of great blues.

This is an excellent dvd of vintage blues from the likes of Muddy,Otis Spann, SonnyTerry, Brownie Mcgee, Sunnyland Slim, Wille Dixon and Mable Hillery. The picture quality is great and the sound is fine. I don't know why Colin James(the host) is in this dvd and is quite annoying when he appears with Wille Dixon but with songs like You Can't Lose What You Never Had by Waters band and Crazy For My Baby by Dixon makes his apearance go out the window fast This dvd is a great example why this music is still going strong

Outstanding peformances, good quality sound, but as the previous reviewer noted, the electronic gimmicktry really detracts from the effect, too bad.

This is a "must" for fans of Chicago blues ,played by the greatest musicians from that era.Willie Dixon shines with his bassplaying,and is the highlight of the DVD.A previus reviewer bashes him ,but I would like to bash this reviewer,he must be out of his mind.Without Willie,there woulden't be a Muddy or Howlin'Wolf in the way that we know them,period.
Buy this DVD,it's fantastic.Even though Colin James should have been left out...