Customer Reviews

Johnny Winter - Live in Times Square

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Well, I have read the previous reviews and they have a lot to say. I bought this DVD for my extensive Blues collection and as 40 year fan and guitarist I was more shocked at the state of Johnny's health than his guitar playing. As I said in my Peter Green review we expect too much from these old players- what would Hendrix who would be in his 60s now have played like if he were alive.

Like Peter Green, Johnny still plays with a nuance than few guitar players could do. It is a mistake for some younger people who think they know Blues that they could pick up a guitar play the basic scale and sound as good as Mr Winter still does (choice phrasing, use of partial chordal licks, double stopped licks (like SRV), hardly any effects, only a little chorus!). The great Buddy Guy came to Australia once and said, "a lot of players sound good at home in their garage, but it's getting up on stage and performing that counts!! Great words! This guy has years of experience in real blues playing and he is the father, after Jimi Hendrix, of Rock-Blues guitar. And he has jammed with everybody!!

We rely (since the days of Led Zeppelin) too much on technique and speed- a good recent example of how this is not needed in Blues is 55 year old Mick Taylor's excellent playing in John Mayall's 70th Birthday Concert. He blows away Buddy Wittington who sounds like a Country Picker doing Blues. He is ok, but he really has no feeling-watch SRV play "Texas Flood" on the new double DVD from Montreax and Albert King play "I'll PLay the Blues For You" on the new release of Wattstax (Bonus Feature)!!!

Enough of this! This DVD is Ok for Blues lovers. The club is nice. His small band (he should have had horns I think to fill out the sound) is great. The Bassist Scott Spray uses a 20 year old Yamaha Bass-cool no fancy Fenders. The harp player James Montgomery is great (I also play harp!). He sounds like James Cotton. Wayne June the drum is solid and steady. Johnny sits the entire performance (Muddy and John Lee are remembered, although the late great Albert King, then 69 years old, moved the stoll out of the way when it was offered to him in the "Godfather of the Blues" DVD). Well I feel for Johnny, he has a good selection of tunes including Bo Diddley's "Mona", Muddy Water's "Mojo Working" and Junior Well's "Messin' With The Kid". My top selection is "Blackjack" a great slow Blues.

Get the DVD "Pieces and Bits" lots of archieve material, lots of great stuff, especially his duet with Dr. John on the Willie Dixon tune "Love, Life and Money", the real JW! But this DVD is a good bookend for Johnny's long career. I still remember as an 18 year old getting his first LP. The slide playing was phenomenal and it's still good on this set, probably the best thing musically on it. Don't judge an artist by their diminishing technique, but rather by their heart and contribution to the Blues genre.

This was one of the hardest music DVDs I've ever watched. Johnny, now a shell of what he once was during his hey day with the "AND" group with Rick Derringer battling guitars. I always put Johnny in the same elite league as Eric Clapton, Alvin Lee, Jimmy Page and Duane Allman as the finest of all guitar players. The growling rock & blues voice is long gone as are the lightning fast guitar licks. The band is definately smokin' and the harp help cover Johnny's lack of hot licks. He still wows the audience with his slide bottleneck guitar.

Please don't misunderstand me, I am very glad to own this DVD now, as our generation's rock heroes will all be gone someday. This will be great for the archives.
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I am editing this because I saw Johnny in late August 2007. Just Johnny, an electric bass player and a drummer. Johnny sang every song, still showing all of his great guitar riffs and had the crowd on their feet throughout his session. As an encore, he broke out his 1963 Thunderbird and the vintage Johnny Winter slide work was excellent. Too bad that there wasn't a DVD recorded that night...it was by far MUCH BETTER than this one that I reviewed.

Let me start by saying that I am a HUGE Johnny Winter fan. And have spent many hours trying to learn his licks. This dvd made me want to cry. Gone is the growl, and great screaming voice.. Gone are the ligting quick licks. Gone is the incredible timing with licks between chord changes....(poor Johnny!---it was a total shock to see him just hang on to one note....he NEVER EVER did that!)

In short, gone is Johnny Winter! The Johnny for those of us who loved him, sad to report, is gone. Shame on all those who are capatilizing on his name. Shame on his back up band who no doubt would NEVER play with someone who walked in off the street with Johnny's current state of ability.

Johnny was (and still is) my all time guitar hero. Saw him only twice. His timing is unsurpassed. His speed was incredible. His prashing masteful. BB King said he was the best white blues guitarist ever. I'd like to think the best period!

Please do not buy this. Do not support whoever is trying to make money from this. I understand that Johnny probably wants to play. It's all he has ever done. Please Johnny, hang it up! Let us remember you as you really were...the hottest guitarist ever! No one ever rocked more than you!

The sad thing is, there is nothing really officially good on Johnny Winter. This is truly a modern day musical tradgey. If you want to see Johnny at his best, I heartily recommend finding some bootlegs.....

I really wish I could have had something good to say about this dvd. James Montgomery is a very good blues artist. Great harp player. The band does a great job of carrying poor 'ol Johnny.

I really wish I had not bought this or seen my guitar hero in such a state! :(

I was so excited when I finally received this DVD. I was sick to my stomach when I attempted to watch it. I've read the other reviews here, and I don't think ANY real Johnny Winter fan wants to watch Johnny sitting in a chair, shaking the whole time, and unable to play and/or sing as he did in the past. I've seen Johnny live and have many of his albums. I tried to watch the entire show, but couldn't. Johnny is obviously sick, and James Montgomery attempts to steal the show by playing the leads that Johnny used to play. In one song, James completely takes over because Johnny couldn't play. I highly recommend that you skip this one unless you get a thrill from watching a blues sensation suffer just to get through the songs. All of the songs on the DVD are slow songs, and it becomes very obvious why. Ask yourself, why isn't this DVD sold in the USA? I had to order it from Germany, and it took almost a month to receive. Did they not release it in the USA? The concert was in New York City. Why did I have to purchase it from Germany? I hate to be so hard on Johnny, but I wanted to give my true opinion of this performance so here it is.

I am shocked by a few of the other reviews blasting one of the greatest blues guitarest ever, becasue he is old now and has had many health problams. I seen Johnny 9-10-06 at a blues fest, and it was sad to see that he was as crippled up as he is, broken hip, going blind,and quite frail, but he still played the hell out of that ol guitar, and his slide work is better than anyones out there. He is a Blues man so if you are looking for footage of his rock days, don't get this, Johnny was a rocker by default, his real core is that of a bluesman. to state that you should dispose of anyone because of age is crappy at best. Johnny still commands the stage and respect of a veteran bluesman. His newest alblum has been nomanated for a grammy. So those neg. reviews are way off the mark. I have been a fan of his for over 30 years now. He is one of the greatest blues guitarist ever, and can still play circles around most of the guys out there today. If you are looking for rock stuff of his don't by this dvd, but if you are a blues fan, you will really enjoy it. It is sad that he is as crippled up as he is, albino's do not usally fair well in the health area, but as a guitarist and a blues man, he is still a power to be recconded with

i can't understand how anyone who has johnny winters best interest at heart would release a concert that does not show johnny in a good light. his longtime health problems become more of a focus on this dvd than the music which is a shame.

I saw Johnny recently in concert. Although his health is not all that great and he walked stooped over and very slow there is nothing wrong with his fingers or his voice. This recording was obviously made when he wasnot feeling well and possibly heavily medicated. Other musicians had to carry the load for him. When I saw him he was with a bass player and drummer and Johnny carried himslf just fine. Don't buy this DVD. Go to his show instead. And "yes" he is still touring!!

Johnny Winter is seated during the entire performance and it's obvious his health is failing and/or something serious has happened to him. His voice is all but gone. His mind may be sharp but his fingers can no longer deliver like before. I have liked and enjoyed Johnny for years; that's why I bought this DVD. Although its sound and video quality is inferior, buy "Pieces and Bits" instead. I would be embarrassed if I handled Johnny's affairs and allowed this video to be released. I would return this but, unfortunately, it's not defective.

I saw Johnny A few months ago at the Mohegan Sun Casino in the Wolf Den for Free.. I understand that the time it takes to create a bluesman is short but the time it takes to maintain a bluesman is long and tediouse. He has been through alot with his addictions and his rough life due to his disease. I guess time takes it's toll on everything. The preformance I saw at Moheagan Sun was way better than this one but I must say it was somewhat dissapointing. Sure artists get older and loose thier popularity but Johhny will always live on in my mind as one of those top rated guitarists of all time.. It was sad to see that they had released this DVD. It certainly was not his best show and consideredering it might have been one of his worst. Why they decided to release this DVD knowing this and just to make money because all the cameras were there and not wait another night is beyond me... It was a shame! Because this is not who Johhny is! Someone being introduced to Johnny thru this DVD would think of him as a joke, and not the true legend that he is. The producers of this DVD should be ashamed of themselves releasing this just to make a buck.. Unfortunately I don't recomend this DVD at all! Don't be mistaken.. It is the bad performance I do not recomend, not Johnny Winter!! Buy all his Cd's Find out for yourself what a great bluesman he was and is today but please do not judge him by this performance.. There was something defintately wrong with him that evening.

This is the WORST Johnny Winter performance I've ever seen. This man was an ACE and I'm kind of surprised they released this DVD. Lot's of Harmonica solos, where years ago, it would have been all guitar solos. Pass on this one.