Customer Reviews

Carl Perkins and Friends - Blue Suede Shoes: A Rockabilly Session [VHS]

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Much has been said about how close to perfection the show is. And it IS. If ever an opinion was a fact, that's a fact jack. So let me be very clear - the show itself is above and beyond 5 stars. I want to instead rant and rave about the mediocre audio quality of this particular dvd transfer here. Anybody who doesn't complain never owned the VHS before, and so of course they must think the sound can't get any better. It CAN. The picture on the dvd is fine, the audio is not terrible, but OH, if you had the VHS before, you'd know what you're missing. I thought I just had ungrateful amateur ears until a) I looked on the second page and started seeing that other people were complaining about the sound on this dvd and 2) sellers are still selling the VHS at full price here on amazon because a lot of people must be complaining about the dvd quality. I assumed I would see a bunch of penny listings, but it's going to be worth it to me to buy the vhs back for $10-15 and transfer it to dvd, and now beg Eric Clapton and his people, Olivia Harrison and her people, Carl's family, Ringo - somebody - RE-RELEASE THIS AS A SPECIAL EDITION DVD WITH OUTTAKES AND LOADS OF SPECIAL FEATURES AND, ABOVE ALL, REMASTER THAT AUDIO. PLEASE! For all those who agree with this last statement, say you find this review "helpful."

I have just received this DVD and cannot stop playing it. As a fan of the Beatles when I was a kid I have heard tunes on this that I haven't listened to since 1966! And they're fun to hear again. I agree with the previous reviewers, this is a very poor, runny, VHS transfer. It was taken from an HBO series that was screened world-wide (yes even here in Australia!) in the mid-1980s. The sound is OK, but it really sounds "Live" if you know what I mean. The colour is also very runny and there are a few drop outs captured on the disc. Even the cover photo on the case is out of focus! Oh well this was 20 years ago but the content is pure fun.

The late George Harrison, who was a great Perkins fan, comes across well but his playing is down in the mix, his cool red Gretch Guitar looks the part. His version of "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby" brought back a lot of memories! Clapton probably plays better on this DVD than any in the last 20 years except his Guitar Festival appearence last year. Ringo Starr does a great rendition of "Honey Don't" (Done by the Beatles in 1965, 11 years after the Perkins original at Sun). Perkin's strange and controversial chord progession on this tune is what makes it so different and wonderful (see the section about this on the "Good Rockin' Tonight" DVD).

Carl Perkins was an innovator. He was from Tennessee and came to Memphis with a plethora of new ideas from country and blues music. He was a different type of rock musician. He was once marked to be bigger than Elvis (hence Jerry Lee Lewis' opening comments) but was hampered by a car crash in the early touring days and poor marketing by Sam Phillips and then others. However, like Albert King in blues, players and purists knew talent and the real thing. His beat and style of incorporating shuffles into country-rock grooves (rockabilly) was truly cool. Also he liked to use blues ideas hence we hear hints of Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Blind Lemon Jefferson and others in his tunes. He was a gifted guitarist as well. Listen to his playing with George Harrison when he emulates the echo effect he heard Les Paul do in the early 1950s without any effects but his fingers! Extraordinary!

Lastly, this series should be remixed and released as a set. There are several great perfromances in the "A Session" concerts. The best, to me, is BB King's "A Blues Session" with Albert King, SRV, Paul Butterfield, Eric Clapton and others. The "Soul Session" has James Brown with Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin and others. When will these be released? (An update: both of these have just been released in 2005. They are also pretty poor in picture quality but they are fantastic and have very rare performances like the late Robert Palmer on "Soul Session" and Paul Butterfield and Albert King on "Blues Session". Get all three!!!)

Get this DVD it is delightful, fun to watch, has great playing and is historical. It's a little more pricey than the average Amazon DVD, but it's worth having!!

Man, this video NEVER gets old! CARL PERKINS is in total command of this ROCKIN' CINEMAX special that features the likes of Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, and Dave Edmunds! THE real HIGHLIGHT is GEORGE HARRISON coming out of retirement at that time and BARNSTORMING through "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby" like he's back in 1962 at the CAVERN CLUB! Carl SMOKES on "Gone Gone Gone" "Boppin' The Blues" and of course, the all star jam of "Blue Suede Shoes!" THIS is the KING OF TRIBUTE VIDEOS and truly is one of the few that actually deserves a 5 star rating! The humbleness and sincerity that is CARL PERKINS comes across so deeply on the video that the true fan is almost moved to tears (just as Carl is toward the end of the video). CARL PERKINS will always be a true American TREASURE!

On second thought I wouldn't give it ten stars, I'D GIVE IT TWENTY. If you appreciate the REAL THING, true rock and roll with no pretense, no posing, no egos, no bull... if you're a fan not just of the wonderful Mr. Perkins (one of those that truly built the house we all rock in)... if you hold George and Ringo close to your heart... and if you like me think that Eric Clapton pretty much died when Cream broke up... then YOU MUST BUY THIS DVD. In fact buy two in case you lose one. Watching these cats trade licks and vocals across the tiny stage just TAKES YOUR HEAD OFF, and the love that flows between the artists for their hero is deeply touching. Dave Edmunds is brilliant. Roseanne Cash puts

most other "rock chicks" to absolute shame. Perkins' voice is sterling and beautiful, Clapton's solos are just SEARING, Ringo proves he's one hell of a drummer and extremely cool vocalist, George is a joy. Just watching him stare in wonderment as Carl plays a little tribute to Les Paul is worth the price of the disc alone. This just MIGHT be the greatest rock and roll set ever put on DVD. An essential part of your collection. God bless you Carl, may you be boppin' in the clouds and our hearts forever.

Want to have some fun? Belly up to this rockabilly show and let the 50's ooze all over those imaginary (or not) '55 blue suedes. Spirited performances from Perkins, Ringo, George Harrison, Eric Clapton (just a tad less spirit from Eric but major league pickin' nontheless), Rosanne Cash and the cast make this video an uplifting experience. Would really like to see this with dts surround. As it is, you want to keep playing it over........and over........and over....... The audience gets into it in the end; after watching the throngs gyrate in The Bee Gees One Night Only and Tina from Amsterdam, one can't help but think this crowd has lost it's sense of particiaption. During the last three songs, however, some true rock and rollers circa 1955 take to the floor for some serious juice. Awfully good stuff! And, you're going to really love Carl and his supporting crew giving tribute to Jerry Lee Lewis and 'Whole Lota Shakin' Goin' On'. This video dates to a performance fifteen years ago. The spiked hair (Roseanne) and dated fabrics only add to the interest. Go for this one.

THERE ARE MANY ADJECTIVES TO DESCRIBE THIS DISC. BUT FOR NOW I'LL CALL IT MESMORIZING. THIS DISC BELONGS IN EVERY MUSIC CLASS IN THE WORLD. IT FEATURES THE ARCHITECT OF ROCK-A-BILLY MR CARL PERKINS. (ELVIS BUILT THE FOUNDATION.BUT CARL BUILT UPON IT.) AND BOY WAS IT EVER A GRANDIOS BUILDING. ONE OF THE MANY AMAZING ASPECTS OF THIS PROGRAM IS HOW LISTINABLE IT IS. THIS IS WHAT THE REPEAT FUNCTION WAS CREATED FOR. IT MOVES YOU TO THE CORE OF YOUR SOUL AND NEVER LETS YOU GO. THERE IS AN IMPRESIVE GUEST LIST AND THEY ALL DEFER TO CARL. AND WE ARE TALKING ABOUT GIANTS HERE. HOW DOES ERIC CLAPTON, GEORGE HARRISON, RINGO STARR, AND DAVE EDMONNS AMONG OTHERS SOUND.? CARL EVEN SHOWS GEORGE HARRISON HOW HE CREATED ECHO AT SUN STUDIOS WITHOUT ANY REVERB EQUIPMENT! MUSIC HISTORIANS SHOULD REJOICE AND STUDENTS NEED TO BE ENLIGHTENED WITH THIS DVD. HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I recorded this on VHS when Cinemax aired it in 1985. I loved it then, and love it even more now that it's on DVD.

Carl Perkins owns a place in rock/rockabilly music history, but as is so common to the man, he played it low-key all his life. Carl was so energized and into this session, and obviously SO touched by the affection and admiration that the "youngsters" had for him, and that vibe is evident throughout. This show demonstrates how deep his influence was on so many players...most especially his good friend George Harrison.

As we know, George had shied away from concerts for a number of years, and so it was a thrill to see him at this show. Of course it's now bittersweet to see playing with one of his idols, but George's joy is also so clear to see and hear. Having George and Ringo singing and playing the Perkins' tunes they did as Beatles, and to be playing them with Carl...well, it just brought a big smile to my face. And hey, don't get me wrong: Clapton, Dave Edmunds, Roseanne Cash, Lee Rocker and Slim Jim...it wasn't exactly amateur night!!

And now that this has been released on CD, I feel that Carl Perkins has gotten his due. Rock on, you rockabilly cat!

Much has already been said in review of this DVD. So I won't repeat it over and over again....BUT:

I was surfin' the net the other night looking for a good old photo of Carl Perkins. (the original rock superstar). I happened across a grainy, faded shot of Carl onstage with George Harrison, Eric Clapton and Ringo Starr. The first thing that occured to me was that I needed to see if this was a good concert and was there a DVD (or even VHS) available.

I found it here on Amazon and read the outstanding reviews.... So I bought it....

LORDY, MAMA....!!! THIS CONCERT BLEW ME AWAY................!!!!!

Sure it's packed with superstars........and they all played really great.....(Trust me on this.... My wife calls me "Mr. Fussy").....So what if Ringo sings lyrics in any order he pleases... Who notices that stuff but me and a few other anal retentive types anyway.

What matters is the tremendous heart that is embodied in this, THE GREATEST, MOST RADIO ACTIVE, THERMO NUCLEAR, ROCKABILLY MIND BLAST ever put on tape.

Yes, it's grainy.... and the sound isn't digitally remastered or digitally computer circumcized by espresso sipping engineers........ THAT'S WHAT'S SO COOL ABOUT IT....!!!

It is unvarnished, pure 100% unadultered rock'n'roll joy...

If you are a rock-n-roll junkie of ANY age.... If you loved The Killer, Roy Orbison, Lil' Richard Penniman or anyone of that ilk. THIS CONCERT IS A MUST SEE.

It's EVERYBODY at their best... When Eric, George, Dave Edmunuds, Ringo, Roseann Cash and everyone else sit down in folding chairs and their idol (Carls Perkins) leads them in a real old time jam session... It is a sight to behold..... It's history in the making.

This thing RULES.

While watching the finale of "Blue Suede Shoes" I began thinking about the fact that Carl and George are both up in heaven. I just broke down and cried.... God bless them both. Thanks for the great memories.

Congrats also to Dave Edmunds... Super player, super concert producer.....

DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS PHENOMENAL CONCERT.

God Bless Carl Perkins.... God Bless rock-n-roll.

Timothy A. Di Pietro
Certified Django Junkie

In 1986, Carl Perkins invited Eric Clapton and Ringo Starr and coaxed George Harrison out of a 15 years performing hiatus to join him for his Cinemax Session. The music on this video is unfortunately and incredibly not available on CD but the sound recording is in Hi Fi stereo and does justice to the superb fusion of blues and country which formed the basis upon which Carl Perkins invented rockabilly, together with Elvis Presley 's guitar god, Scotty Moore. This video includes some of the most awsome guitar playing you'll ever see. George Harrison makes Carl Perkins explain how he did not have a reverb for his guitar when he first started and how he figured out a way to make his guitar sound like it did have reverb by tapping each note twice with his left hand! As he was in real life (I had the privilege of meeting him twice), Mr. Perkins is too humble and he is moved to tears by the presence of his better-known friends who are obviously in awe of their hero. He rocks like there is no tomorrow (unfortunately, he would die 12 years later in 1998). A must have for any true rock'n roll fan, this is a truly great moment in the history of American music.

This is simply one of, if not the best music videos ever. On one stage you have Carl, George Harrison, Clapton, Dave Edmunds, Ringo, all obviously having a great time. It's a very personal tribute to Perkins from his greatest admirers. This is one video that delivers on its promises. Carl was a huge influence on George and Ringo. A gem.To see all these guys so spontaineous and enthusiastic...