Customer Reviews

Shindig: 60's Superstars [VHS]

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Contents are:

California dreamin' - The Mamas & The Papas; Turn! turn! turn! - The Byrds; Catch the wind - Donovan; Let me be - The Turtles; Laugh laugh - Beau Brummels; For your love - The Yardbirds; Colours - Donovan; It ain't me babe - The Turtles; Feel a whole lot better - The Byrds; Keep on dancin' - The Gentrys

WOW! Shinding! preserves and documents the shift in rock in the mid sixties. This was filmed in black and white and the sound is mono, intended for crummy television speakers, so in these digital days if you are looking for a technically superior delivery you will be extremely disappointed.

What these groups often do is lip synch their hits and entertain without the benefits of props or MTV types of video antics. They rely on the music and the magnitude of their personalities. Obviously it worked because the Mamas & Papas, Byrds , Donovan, Yardbirds and Turtles, still sell records today and are usually acknowledged as heavy influences on later rock & rollers. The faces betray a mixture of innocence and worldliness at a time when the music mattered and that comes through even if the medium of delivery is out of date.

If you're into the founding fathers of R&R, this is priceless! I would have liked more performances cram packed (you only get 30 minutes) but for 9 bucks it's not a bad deal. I hope eventually this gets repackaged in DVD with behind the scenes looks and even cleaner sound + vision.

Shindig! ran on ABC for two seasons in prime time between 1964 and 1966, and in those two seasons, it was quite a success. "Sixties Superstars" provides a glimpse of why the show was so well-received: a fantastic house band, excellent staging, and of course, top-notch performers of the day. Though not the high-tech productions we've grown accustomed to, in a way it makes the show all the more appealing. Just good solid music presented with fun for everybody in mind. Buy the tape and you'll discover a lot of good music you may have missed before!