Customer Reviews

The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band: Blue Again

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

 

 

WOW! Totally deep. Wildly well recorded. One of the most authentic performances from some of the finest real blues artists alive today. Total respect for the history and authenticity of the blues yet innovative and fresh with new songs "made to be like the best of the traditional blues" from yesteryear. This DVD is DIFFERENT from the GRAMMY NOMINATED CD. The CD was recorded in the USA at the Sheldon Concert Hall. The DVD has many more songs, and was recorded at the the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury, Kent, England. Fleetwood is simply magical - driving a force of percussion that is just not seeing any equal in this day and age. He meshes seamlessly with Lenny Castellanos on bass (and vocals) and you can see the synchronization between the two through frequent locked glances and what can only be called an invisible cord of the rhythm section flowing between the two artists. Also on vocals, and keys and harmonica and "spirit" is Mark Johnstone who lays in like he's on fire and gives his sweat drenched all to every number. Rick Vito just slays the vocals as the lead here. His guitar work is hauntingly reminiscent of the best of the the blues greats and again totally fresh. At times his single guitar seems to literally take on three or four voices simultaneously - as in Albatross. Watching Vito live is like looking at a medium channeling Peter Green and yet pulling a totally new sound and style on blues, rock and slide guitar. As a former Fleetwood Mac member and a soloist in demand for decades, Vito is at his prime on this project and paired with Fleetwood. Four guys just couldn't sound better! Just watching this DVD show is like taking a master class for those who are serious aficionados. There's something for every player as this level of blues is the father of rock. One disappointment - Amazon only lets me give it 5 stars. Blue Again needs 10!

This isn't revelatory blues but if you like blues its a fun run through some classic Fleetwood Mac Peter Green era blues. Rick Vito who is at the center of this production as guitarist and vocalist rises above the norm due mostly to his superior touch on slide. Mr Vitos vocals don't detract but rarely enhance the music. If this seems like a negative review its just that currently the only other review is so over the top in praise you'd think the blues was reborn with this release and its just nowhere near that. For around 15 bucks you get nearly two hours of damn good guitar playing...non objectionable vocals and a lineup of classic tunes...a good value for money to be sure. The overall presentation of filming and sound and performance is a solid 4 stars! If you have not heard the original or even the far superior tribute by Gary Moore one may rate higher. As I mentioned thankfully its a full 100 minute set and not the 1 hour "highlights" we sometimes are presented with and I give them credit for being able to film a show and let it run! This is a band I would want to see live.

This was a real pleasure to find, I'm a huge Peter Green/Fleetwood Mac fan. Although Rick Vito is an excellent musician and guitar player he's no Peter Green. That said, it would have been great to have both Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer and John McVie sitting in, but... This is still a very good DVD the songs are played with heart felt emotion and joy. Mick is constantly smiling and is really having a ball. His playing is excellent as he keeps a constant beat through out each song, each drum hit comes through clear and sound. This was a very well recorded DVD for both Audio and Video. About the only thing I wish is that it was in Blu-ray with DTS-MA for the superior sound quality. The setlist of over a dozen songs includes renditions of a number of Peter Green penned tunes including "Love That Burns," "Looking for Somebody," "Black Magic Woman," and "Oh Well." Highly recomended to older Fleetwood Mac fans as well as any one who likes the blues.

I wish Amazon had a 3 criteria rating that would make for a quicker, more accurate and fair rating of Cd's, DVD's and Blu-ray's.

1. Performance
2. Quality of Audio
3. Quality of Video (for DVD's and Blu-ray's)

1.*****
2.*****
3.*****

Artists that wish to have there performances recorded and recognized should be held to a standard. Poor Audio or Video, no matter how good the performance, is still a BAD product. Those who would still rank that product highly just because of performance are not doing the industry or the band justice. Demand better and we will get it, settle for less and that's what you'll get.