Customer Reviews

The Songmakers Collection [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My two favorite sections of the two DVD's include "The Hitmakers" which include sections on girl groups such as The Shirelles and The Ronettes, Tommy James and the Shondells, The Monkees, The Archies, Phil Spector, and others that will be familiar to you. My other favorite section is that of "Leiber and Stoller" and the songs that they wrote for such groups as The Drifters and The Coasters. The sections on Bobby Darin, Neil Sedaka, Burt Bacharach are also worthy additions. The section on the Brill Building songwriters entitled "The Hitmakers: The Teens Who Stole Pop Music" alone is worth the price of this set. I plan on using parts of these DVD's in my after-school music class with middle school students. I have also purchased extra copies to give for friends.

I bought this at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland this weekend. (It's the source, per this DVD, of Don Kirschner's greatest regret, that being that he hasn't been enshrined there. He should be, and would be if he was more popular amongst his peers, but I digress...)

The longest piece on this two-disc set has incisive comments by the greats of the Brill Building songwriters (Goffin and King, Greenwich and Barry, Weill and Mann, etc.), as well as rare comments from Mary Weiss of the Shangri-Las and many others. It's in must-see territory.

The rest of the pieces on the discs are Biography-style (this being from A&E's Biography unit, after all) shows on Dionne Warwick, Bobby Darin, Burt Bacharach and Lieber & Stoller. All of them are well done, though not as incisive as the centerpiece.

A&E skimps on extras, and they do so here again. A shame, as with decent extras I'd give this one 5 stars.

One of the two great Bobby Darin bios (the other being PBS's Beyond the Song). This one is totally different, and features more comments from friends and family than Beyond the Song which focuses more on interviews with fellow celebrities.

I especially like the rare footage and photos of BD from his high school days, some as a drummer in a catskills band.

And the high point is an interview with Atlantic engineer extraordinaire Tom Dowd, who give first hand testimony to the fact that BD worked hard for his success for years before he became an "overnight" sensation.

If you're a fan of 50's & 60's music, you must own this DVD! Features segments on songwriters Lieber & Stoller, Carole King & Gerry Goffin, Neil Sedaka, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, Jeff Barry & Ellie Greenwich, Burt Bacharach & Hal David plus Bobby Darin. Also features clips of many artists performing, including Darin, Dionne Warwick, Frank Sinatra, the Coasters et al. Also includes interviews with Shadow Morton, Jerry Wexler, Ahmet Ertegun, Ben E. King, the late Doc Pomus, and Mary Weiss of the Shangri-Las, to name just a few. Five hours of a great look back at how the music of the late 50's and early 60's was made, this book is a perfect compliment to Ken Emerson's book "Always Magic In The Air". Get them both. It'll be the best $30 (at current prices) you ever spent.

I purchased this DVD set for the segment on Bobby Darin's life as part of a dissertation project, so cannot comment on the other biographies presented in the set. The biography of Darin is a good compilation of materials available, including interviews, photographs, and video from family, as well as friends. Surprisingly included clips of Sandra Dee (who was famously hermetic) and Darin's second wife, whose comments have not been included in other biographical videos. If the narrative occasionally veers into the dramatic, it's merely because Darin's lifestory, without embellishment, was itself dramatic. I would not use this as the sole source, but as part of the whole that is available about this complicated and undervalued entertainer, it is useful. I would recommend it, with the addition of several other DVDs which are avilable. MDavis

If you would like to know about American music during the early 60s, this is the set to buy. The Brill Building Sound and the early song writers plus video clips of groups I haven't seen in forever. The beginning of the Phil Spector "Wall of Sound" and Carol King and the rest of the Brill Building group are all here. This is one great DVD set and I highly recommend it.

This A&E documentary of Bobby Darin , narrated by actor Bruno Kirby, is a wonderful companion piece to the PBS documentary "Beyond the Song". This DVD has added performances, rare video footage, and interviews with Darin's family members and colleagues. Included is footage from Bobby's retreat to Big Sur, CA and his film making efforts.

Burt Bacharach's sparkling 4 decade career is highlighted with performances and a present day interview with the composer legend.

Lieber & Stoller's countless contributions to pop music are priceless. This DVD goes into fabulous detail to show their songwriting brilliance.

This is an awesome DVD collection.

This is a very interesting series related to the how and the who of the Brill Building in relation to the composing of popular songs from the era. I enjoyed the whole series.