Customer Reviews

Born to Boogie

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4 star:		(1)
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I've been waiting for this for a long time. The movie "Born to Boogie" which chronicles the rise of Marc Bolan to superstar status in the U.K. was never released in the US. Marc's success peaked around the time of the original 1972 movie directed by Ringo Starr, and this is a great value. Disc one contains the soundtrack of the movie with a superb earlier take of "Children of the Revolution" with Elton John on piano and Ringo playing drums. But disc two is truly the treasure featuring the full length Wembley concert (3/18/72)which has been lovingly remastered with surprisingly good sound throughout the set. The concert opens with a stunning version of "Cadillac" and concludes with a very electric version of "Summertime Blues". This is an excellent cd and helps clarify what "T.Rexstasy" was all about. Too bad that America just didn't get it. Now they can. As a T.Rex fanatic for 30 years, this is truly essential. Now, I need the DVD!!!

Marc Bolan certainly had his ups and downs as far as popularity goes. He went through a lot of changes in his music and at times, apparently began to believe the hype a little too much. Having said that, I have to say that I was and still am a big T.Rex fan. I picked up the CD to see if it was worth spending the money to buy the DVD. After listening to the CD once or twice I knew I had to get the DVD. When I got the opportunity to pick up a copy of it and see him perform live for the first time, I jumped at it. I picked up my first T.Rex (and Tyrannosaurus Rex) albums in the early 70s. He never quite hit it as big here in the states as he did in England. Then he was gone. Almost 40 years later, I have the opportunity to see him I never had then. Watching him perform live in concert really shows how much he loved what he was doing. Watching him perform reminded me of such greats as Angus Young and Chuck Berry. I suspect he influenced the former and was influenced by the latter. Rarely have I seen a performer who seemed to be having as much fun. The actual movie gets a bit strange at times, but the version of "Tutti Frutti" rocks with a very young Elton John ripping the keyboards. For me, the two recorded concerts are the gems of this 2 DVD set, with the extras such as the interview with the drummer (the only surviving member) and the story of the restorations with Marc's son being icing on the cake.

In all honesty I can't see this being considered a documentary seeing as about half of it is comprised of improvised "hippie" sketches. However, that's not to say these sketches are not entertaining or interesting. On the contrary. They're devilishly self indulgent, but that just makes them more fun to watch (even if it's anyones guess as to what they mean). During the concert, Marc is in top form on all the tracks with the exception of "Get it On" in which he just sounds off most of the time. Considering he had already given a full concert earlier that day, it's easy to see that he was obviously getting pretty tired. He also gives some outstanding performances with Ringo Starr on drums and Elton John on piano. These were some of my favorites, as Elton's piano adds a whole new element to Marc's roots rock n' roll.

What really makes this particular DVD so essential is how well it has been remastered. There's even a special feature that shows the process Born to Boogie went through to finally end up as clear as it did. And boy is it clear. You're not going to find a clearer live T.rex performance anywhere.

Definitely recommended to anyone interested in the band, but also to classic rock fans who really have no idea what T.Rex was all about outside of "Bang a Gong (Get it On)."

"Born to Boogie" captures the London music scene better than documentary made in the early seventies. At the time...Marc Bolan had reached the height of his success as a singer/songwriter. I had the opportunity to meet Ringo Starr outside of Apple Records on Saville Row during these recording sessions. Little did I know what was happening in Apple's basement until I saw the DVD last week. The Apple Scruffs outside had told me about the incredible sessions. The music from the film blew me away! Rock on, Marc...you were born to boogie!

Marc Bolan was an incredible performer.
This DVD is the best you can get to show his performances.
However the scenes with Ringo just are not funny any more.
They are however interesting for historic reasons.
As a production for DVD this is a must get, great sound, picture and lot's of bonus material.
A must get if you're a fan of 70s rock