Customer Reviews

Gillian Welch - The Revelator Collection

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Gillian Welch Revelator Collection DVD is 59 minutes of black and white footage of the great folk music duo Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. Though Welch always gets solo billing on the duo's recordings, this disc does reveal that this is a duo act, as anyone who's seen them knows. There are three edited "videos" shot in a studio in Nashville, "Elvis Presley Blues," "My First Lover" featuring Welch on banjo, and the title track. Then there are nine songs filmed live at performances in Carrboro, NC and Knoxville, TN in 2001. The songs are a very tender "April the 14th," the Welch-penned "Wichita" which was a bluegrass hit for Tim O'Brien, a rousing "Red Clay Halo," a beautiful rendering of Bob Dylan's "Billy" from the Pat Garrett soundtrack, Neil Young's "Pocahontas," a second "Revelator," David Rawlings' lead vocal on the Bill Monroe "I'm On My Way Back to the Old Home," Townes Van Zandt's "White Freghtliner Blues," and a "bonus track" of the fine "I Want to Sing That Rock and Roll." The moments before "Pocahontas" show Welch and Rawlings humbly discussing the box that is always behind them when they play, and a harmonica that is found inside. This casual discussion best conveys the cozy, improvised feeling that one gets a Welch-Rawlings concert. The Welch-Rawlings CDs are fine, especially Revelator, but the live concert portion of this DVD presents this exemplary folk duo in their truest form. I highly recommend this DVD as the best possible introduction for those who aren't yet familiar with Welch and Rawlings, and as a wonderful souvenir for the faithful waiting for the next chance to see them live in concert.

I saw Gillian & David perform at the Fitzgerald Theatre in St. Paul about a week or two after this footage was shot, and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. Considering how they were playing in the theatre where A Prairie Home Companion is recorded, I was kinda hoping they might get a live album out of that show, actually.

Not that there's anything wrong with these performances (from Cat's Cradle in NC and The Bijou Theater in Knoxville, TN), but I think the clips don't quite capture the excitement of being in a packed theatre with them and a crowd of a couple thousand hanging on their every note and word for 2 hours. The footage here is shot mostly with a steady, single camera, maybe 20-30 feet from stage in the middle of the floor. You don't see anybody in the audience, and only occasionally hear them.

As somebody has pointed out, the cuts between clips take out much of the applause, audience interaction and banter between songs. One notable exception being the point where someone asks, "What's in the box?" That leads to a discovery of a harmonica, which leads to some fooling around and what seems like a spontaneous decision by Gillian to play "Pocahontas."

I love the moment after David's messed around with the harp and then put it away, thinking that "playtime's over" (he's admitted he doesn't really know how to play it), and then she tells him to get it back out. The way she says it, and the way he responds, is amusing and sweet, and feels like a genuine glimpse into their relationship. I love concert moments like that. It's too bad the director didn't just let the tape roll for two hours to let us see more of those moments.

This is coming out like a bad review, isn't it? I don't mean to make it sound like the DVD isn't worthwhile. The performances are wonderful, and include some songs not otherwise available on Gillian's own albums. I would get this if only to have a recording of them singing Townes Van Zandt's "White Freightliner Blues," but fortunately there is so much more. David's feature is "I'm On My Way Back to the Old Home" (in St. Paul he sang "Big Rock Candy Mountain") and it's a treat to hear him take the lead for a number. The three videos shot in the studio are fun to watch, too.

Highly recommended. Next time I just hope the concert footage runs twice as long, doesn't leave out the moments between songs, and does a better job of capturing the crowd ambience. And, Gillian, please come back to Minnesota soon....

Gillian Welch is one of my favorite artists today. This disc of 3 videos and 9 songs recorded live show her and David Rawlings in top form. But, I was very disappointed in the length of the disc. It clocks it at under one hour. Why not show a whole concert? The disc is shot in black and white which I suppose is for some sort of effect but after a while it gets on your nerves. There are also no shots of the crowd so you really don't even realize it's a live show except for the crowd noise at the end of each song. Also, the disc fades in and out between songs so there is no continuity between songs like you would experience in a live show. The camera angles used a little annoying as well and seem to be a litte out of focus. Maybe that's because of it being in black and white. The music is stunning, offering versions of songs by Neil Young, Bob Dylan, and Townes Van Zandt in addition to several by Welch-Rawlings.
This could have been a really awesome DVD but unfortunately there are enough bothersome things about it to make it only rank 3 stars in my opinion.

"The Revelator Collection" includes both videos and live performances and was shot entirely in black-and-white film by still photographer Mark Seliger (chief photographer for "Rolling Stone" magazine). Others have complained about the B&W format, but I actually like it -- it gives the performance that old-timey feel that Welch's music reflects. The fact that it was shot all at one angle makes it a little too visually static, but it gives you the feel of actually being in the audience watching the show, which is nice.

The DVD features all 3 videos from Welch's album "Time (The Revelator)" and live performances of five previously-unreleased songs: Welch's "Wichita" and covers of songs by Bob Dylan ("Billy"), Neil Young ("Pocahontas"), Bill Monroe ("I'm On My Way Back to the Old Home"-- sung by David Rawlings), and Townes van Zandt ("White Freightliner Blues").

Overall, highly recommended, even though it may just end up being one of those DVDs you play in the background (rather than something you watch from start to finish without budging), it captures the Welch/Rawlings concert experience beautifully.

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings are among the greatest American songwriters and musicians of our generation, and you shouldn't miss a chance to see them live. This DVD is the next best thing, and is well worth the price.

The video footage of the recording sessions is great, and for this purpose, B&W works fine. I've seen Gillian and David in concert several times, and I was hoping for a little slice of a concert in my living room... but to me, something about the black and white footage and unusual camera work dispels this. It is still very good, capturing much of the banter and feel of their excellent performance, but I can't help but wish for color and of course maybe a few more songs (but that's how I always feel at the end of their concerts, too!).

The sound quality is great, the music is terrific as always, and even with it's limited shortcomings I recommend the DVD wholeheartedly for fans of G&D, folk, bluegrass, and alt country.

... I would kidnap David and Gillian and hold them hostage and force them to play me sad and beautiful songs every night, with harmonies so heartbreaking and tender they'd make me cry, and then they'd cry since they've been kidnapped by some maniac, taken from friends and family, and are never given a night off, and we'd all cry and cry while I command them: "Play slower! And sadder!" until it was just one note ... slow as mollasses ... perfect harmony ... high and lonesome ... true love and heartbreak ... all in the same neverending moment ...

Anyways, it'll probably never happen (probably ...), so this DVD is as close as I'll get to my private David and Gillian show. Compared to the studio albums, you can really see their chemistry on the stage, and you also get a taste of their knack for making cover songs their own, like Pocahontas. Pure high and lonesome love.

This collection showcases the profundity that these two conjure up on stage, and it is magical. I have seen them perform on several occasions and this DVD is everything excepting the part where they are genuinely happy to meet you after the show. David Rawlings is quite possibly the best guitar player alive, and his quirky playing style is captured vividly on this collection. The videos are eccentric and interesting, but the live performances are what this package is all about. The songs "Wichita" and Bob Dylan's "Billy the Kid" are worth the price alone.

This DVD is a video summary of the duo's 2001 tour, emphasizing cover versions of songs not on their albums (songs by Neil Young, Bob Dylan, among others). The DVD has 3 sections. The first is 3 studio songs from their Time album. The second comprises concert appearances from two locations in the South. The 3rd is a "bonus" presentation of "I Want to Sing That Rock and Roll" in concert. Strangely, the disc stops playing continuously before this last song, so you have to go back to the menu to play it. Why a "bonus"? I doubt there is an alternate version of this DVD without this track.
Regardless, the songs are beautiful, and the videos are spiced up now and then with quirky photography, in keeping with the couple's playful spirit. The black-and-white photography is just fine for this sparse, old-time music. In short, this is a lovely package presentation of this couple's music as it appears today. It does not sound much different from the official studio recordings, but very nice to look at and listen to nonetheless, with several cover versions not found on the CDs. (David Rawlings takes the lead on one tune, and you wonder why he does not more often get the spotlight.)

I was at the Cat's Cradle show in Carrboro, NC on November 11th when Mark Selinger shot the footage for this video. It was an amazing concert. David and Gillian had been there in September, less than two months before. We were advised when we bought tickets that the show was going to be recorded and that we would allow any footage to be relased. I don't think Mark ever turned the camera on the crowd from the front. There was a camera in the center asile, but it was also pointed right at the stage.

Besides the fact that I personally would have loved to have had a show I attended documented in its entirety, I love this video. The first three tracks showing the actual recording of the tracks from "Time, the Revelator" are awesome. I think the video really captures the FEEL of the live show, at least the part from the Cat's Cradle.

If you like David and Gillian, buy it and enjoy. And if it's too short for ya... well, it's one that I tend to start over when it's done anyway!

Mona

... in black and white, which somehow suits the wistful solemnity that underlies so much of Gillian Welch's work, and the songs she covers that others have written.

Even if you're a big fan of Gillian (& her partner in life & music David Rawlings), it may take a few viewings to get past the initially spare look and production values here. No technicolor, over the top stuff -- just straight from the hip, old fashioned honest to goodness music, well loved and well played. These two are carrying on a grand tradition of American music, with nary a sequin or backup singer in sight ... to me, this is "real country" in the new century. To watch them together string together one gem of a song after another in this set is a true pleasure.

Revelator sings with soul, clarity and grace -- visually, lyrically and musically. Gillian may not have the winsome charm of Alison Krauss or the grande dame self-possession of Emmylou Harris, nor the waifish, otherworldly crystalline voice and presence of Patti Griffin, but what she does have to offer is plain, unvarnished honesty, a beautiful love of her craft, and a refreshing lack of showboating. Gillian can go toe to toe with any of those gals in the raw talent department anyday!

Revelator -- the images and the music -- is a fine answer to all of the over-the-topic antics of the celeb-country crowd -- and a must have if you're a fan of Gillian Welch!