Customer Reviews

Little Milton - The Last Concert (Collectors Edition)

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

 

 

I was at the North Atlantic Blues Festival on the dreary, rainy Saturday when Little Milton closed the day's performances with a solidperformance opening with him taking the mike and belting out a few songs before picking up his guitar for the last two-thirds of the set. Milton was in wonderful form doing a mix of songs from his lengthy career closing with the rouusing "The Blues is All Right."
The video captures the performance in a simple straightforward fashion, focusing on Milton and his band with the cameras occasionally surveying the audience, but never straying from its focus on Little Milton.
Looking at how vigorous Little Milton was that afternoon, you may understand my shock when I heard about his stroke-heart attack a few days later and his death less than a month after this wonderful performance. I was fortunate to be there but wish it was not the Last Concert.

Little Milton Campbell was a very underrated Bluesman. He was often compared to B.B. King in both playing and singing style. However, Milton was much more an eclectic musician. He had a very diverse career and changed his style many times- trying to keep up with the times (not many Blues musicians ever did that!) For one thing, like the late Albert King, he could blend the Blues with other music, especially Soul. This is why he recorded for Stax Records. Little Milton had a long career which, like so many people, began at Sun Records in Memphis. He had one of Chess Records only Number 1 hits in 1965 with "We're Gonna Make It". Then he moved on in the Soul Era to Stax Records. The compilation recently released as "Stax Profiles" on Milton is also very good and contains his most famous Stax tune "That's What Love Will Make You Do" where he displays a solo with his famous hand damping technique, which he also does during this DVD concert.

Little Milton, like so many of our dwindling Blues Originals (great Chicago Bluesman John Brim has also recently died), has left very little footage behind. This is such a shame! This DVD is Milton's only recorded concert! The previous reviewer is very lucky to have been there indeed! And what foresight on behalf of the Festival to record it as well. Little Milton is also featured in the DVD "Blues Story" and has a great input in it, but no performance. His highlight is in the Stax Concert "Soul Comes Home" with Jimmie Vaughan. He is introduced by Vaughan as "My favourite Blues singer". And the performance is a highlight of the night.

This DVD is what it says "His Last Concert". It has to get 5 stars for its historical value. The band is small and the backing quality is variable. Little Milton comes out standing and does two Soul tunes to open up "Still Some Meat Left On The Bone" and the Homer Banks tune "Just One Moment" (Homer has also passed away he also wrote Albert King's classic "Angel Of Mercy" at Stax). After picking up the guitar and experiencing a bit of tuning problems (it is very interesting that they left this in!!!) he continues with "I Don't Believe in Ghosts" and a Medley of tunes including "Walking The Backstreets and Crying" (written by Sandy Jones, another Stax staff writer who wrote "Laundromat Blues" and "I'll Play The Blues For You"). But in this case he changes the words a bit.

The set ends with the humourous "My Dog And Me" and the famous Blues anthem "The Blues Is Alright". However, the highlight, to me, is "I Wouldn't take Nothing For Your Love". Good lenght 10 minutes with good solos and groove. Milton had a very interesting guitar style. He played, like so many from the early 1960s, a Gibson ES-335 and used a lot of major pentatonic scales, like B.B. King did, in his playing- but his hand damping techniques and use of diminished scales and notes made his style jazzier and very interesting. His voice is similar to B.B. with its church inspired Gospel tone, but Milton does not "shout" much and really has a more soulful approach in his vocals.

This DVD is a must have for Blues fans. I would recommend that one watch it twice the day you get it. The first viewing may seem a bit disjointed and the out of tune section may put some people off a bit. But on second and subsequent viewings it doesn't matter. This is a really great, important and historical addition to one's Blues DVD collection.

Been a Little Milton fan since We're Gonna Make It. Never got a chance to see him. To get his last concert and hive him just sit there and sing for us? Thank you, Thank you. Thank you

So o.k., I'd heard the name "Little Milton" before, but hey there have been plenty of Blues "Greats".

This video, while possibly not the very best live concert video ever taken (it's an outdoor performance, it's raining, POURING outside!) was shot in under less than ideal conditions.

But it is what we have...what is left.

And in this performance Milton's brilliance comes out shining!

He was truly GREAT!

If you watch this video I don't think you'll be disappointed.

(Too bad I was nowhere "around" when he might have performed somewhere near me...back when, he's someone I SHOULDN'T have missed!)

This was a great concert performance he played a lot of his hit songs a must for any Little Milton fan...

I'am a huge fan of little milton's music, (I was disappointed with this dvd.layout and content). He was such a great blue singer, It only seems reasonable to believe, there has to be a complete live concert which was video'ed and stored by the various producer's/manager's of his music/career, only waiting to be assembled professionally and offered to the million's of his fan's to purchase for their enjoyment.


Little Milton - The Last Concert (Collectors Edition)

very much looked forward to getting dvd of Milton. Was very disappointed in the quality and the camera work on him. I would have liked to know before I bought it that it was not shot professionally. Maybe after this dvd, they will learn to just promote the show, and leave the other to a professional.

This concert
was not very good at all. It was a slow, boring and not the best concert for Little Milton