Customer Reviews

I Am the Blues

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

 

 

I thought it was great to see Willie live, also starring harp master Carey Bell, there is now a DVD by him. The overall sound is fantastic, and great interviews with Willie and crew. The picture quality is also great, a must have for any Willie Dixon or Carey Bell fan. The only bad thing, like most blues DVD'S TO SHORT! less than one hour. After looking at the other reviews, I thought I would edit mine, the fact that we have footage at all of Willie is great. So what if he is old, (what a petty complaint) still it's a great show. Don't let the other review stop you from getting this one you won't be sorry.

Reader of this space will, probably, already be familiar with the name of Willie Dixon if one is the slightest bit familiar with Chicago blues, Chess Records, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf or even The Rolling Stones' cover of his "Little Red Rooster". In this one hour presentation you get a very quick overview of his major songs, his take on the ups and downs of the blues as a genre and his performance of a number of his classics written while at Chess and at other venues. Outstanding is his classic "I've Got The Blues" and the song that Koko Taylor and Howlin' Wolf made famous, "Wang Dang Doodle". This is a serious piece of blues, especially Chicago blues, history by a man at, or near, the center of it in its hey day as he nears the end of his own career (1984).

Good concert performance by Willie. Yes, he is closer to the end of his career here than to his prime, but he still performs with energy and enthusiasm and is in great voice. Mainly sings; only plays bass on one song. Nice to see him playing with Baby Doo, his old partner from The Big Three. I agree that the concert is pretty short. My main gripe is the editing. There are a number of cuts to interviews in the middle of songs or immediately after a song, which destroys the flow of the set. It would have been better to have grouped the interview footage together at the end or as part of the bonus features, rather than break up the concert. It is particularly bad when they cut away mid-song.

very poor performance due to age of mr. dixon. i was embarrassed to watch one of the original greats of the blues looking like a bufoon. you will not be entertained. save your money. actually, buy little walter's greatest hits with the $ you were going to spend on this.