Customer Reviews

A Vision Shared: Tribute to Woody Guthrie & Leadbelly

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I agree completely with the previous review. I add here the "set list":
Do Re Mi--John Mellencamp
Sylvie--Sweet Honey in The Rock
Alabama Bound--Pete Seeger & Arlo Guthrie
Vigilante Man--Bruce Springsteen
Deportee--Emmylou Harris & Arlo Guthrie
The Bourgeois Blues--Taj Mahal
Rock Island Line--Little Richard
I Ain't Got No Home--Bruce Springsteen
Jesus Christ--U2
Grand Coulee Dam--Arlo Guthrie
Union Made--Arlo Guthrie & Pete Seeger
Midnight Special--Taj Mahal
I've Got To Know--Sweet Honey in The Rock
Put Your Finger In The Air/Ha, Ha This Away--Pete Seeger (Children's songs)
Goodnight Irene--Will Nelson
Song to Woody--Bob Dylan--excepts only, reminiscences
Hobo's Lullaby--Emmylou Harris
This Land Is Your Land--Arlo Guthrie, Bruce Springsteen, Taj Mahal, Emmylou Harris, Little Richard, Bono, John Mellencamp
Further comments: Total time, with credits, is 72 minutes. The video has interesting historical B&W film clips. A serious defect is that there is no inner insert giving any information.
There is also a CD with 14 tracks, TT46:28, with an informative 20-page booklet. Of the 14 tracks, 8 are duplicated on the DVD. Six tracks are different, including Bob Dylan doing Pretty Boy Floyd and Willie Nelson doing Philadelphia Lawyer.

This video is an outstanding introduction to the music of a couple of legends in American Folk Music: Woody Guthrie, who composed "This Land is Your Land" and Leadbelly, one of the first to bring African-American folk music to a wider audience.

The performances of these two men's music by Little Richard, Bruce Springsteen, Emmylou Harris, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and John Mellencamp are nothing short of outstanding, but all the performances in the film are well worth a listen. Other musicians include Taj Mahal, Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie.

The biggest flaw is that it should be longer. I wish it had included the complete U2 recording of "Jesus Christ". It could have also included more of the actual recordings of Guthrie and Seeger that this film was made to help save.

Still, these are minor flaws in a very entertaining film.

Excellent video footage of Woody Guthrie and Leabelly songs covered by artists of today. First class overview by Robbie Robertson and all-in-all a great piece of history in music, that transcends many of todays top artist repertoires.
Worth every cent - buy it, you will not be disappointed.

If any of the older generation needs an introduction to Woody Guthrie or Leadbelly then I ask what planet have you been on. Woody's This Land Is Your Land is practically a national anthem. And Leadbelly's Goodnight, Irene is in that same category. So to have the two highlighted on one program, as they had been in life on a number of occasions, is a treat. This tribute has the further virtue of highlighting both original performances by them and tribute performances by some of these who have been influenced by their work, individually or collectively.

Anytime you get Taj Mahal, Little Richard, Sweet Honey in the Rock (a real treat as I was not familiar with their work), Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen and a host of others under one cinematic roof you are bound to have a good performance. And added attraction was the appearance of Arlo Guthrie, Woody's son and a folk legend in his own right, commenting on his father's work. And, of course, an all too brief recorded performance by Bob Dylan, a man who probably did more to revive Woody's work in the 1960's than any other. For my money though, John Mellencamp and his ensemble band (including washboard player) stole the show at the end with their rendition of the afore-mentioned This Land Is Your Land. Watch it.

Seeing this video is like being in heaven.
It can be compared with documentaries like "Songs of the civil war" and "Bringing it all back home", to name a few. In all these documentaries the various artists put their best feet forward.
Strangely enough these are seldom seen on tv.

it's a little dated, esp. the little richard part, but well worth the money. john mellencamp's do re mi is fun, fulfilling, and true in spirit to woody. somehow, a synthesizer, 80s-esque little richard pulls off 'rock island line' and does leadbelly proud. i wished there would've been more 12 string leadbelly songs, but pete seeger does a fantastic job. arlo is spectacular as well. the whole thing is great. bruce takes creative liberties with vigilante man, making it menacing. for 10 bucks, its a steal. i wished they would've had a dylan performance though.

I've had the audio CD of this concert for several years and it is outstanding. I still play it many times. The Sweet Honey In The Rock track of Sylvie, but itself, is worth the price of this music.

Woody Guthrie probably left a greater mark on American Folk music than any other musician befor or since his time.Although he wrote thousands of songs, and many of them will live as long as the music of the people continues;he was little known while he was alive.
Fortunately ,the Lomax's and others were able to collect his prolific number of songs and with the help of the Smithonian Folksways Recordings,they are still available,though Woody has been gone for all too many years.
This "Vision Shared" is a superb collection of some of his songs performed as a tribute by some of his greatest admirers.
It includes but 17 of his songs,last for only a short 72 minutes;but nonetheless,will be seen as a treasure by anyone who ever enjoyed his music.I can't imagine a better cast of artists than the ones you will hear doing his songs.Each of the artists have their own identifiable way in doing a song ,and they use their own style in making their tribute to Woody.As you listen to these intrepetations,you can see the great love and respect they each have for Woody and his music.These recordings are sung with such intense feeling that you feel that Woody is right there beside them ,and his spirit hauntingly comes through.
Not only are the songs performed to perfection,but there is a lot of insightful comments accompanying them, by not only the artists, but also by friends and others who knew and loved him.
It is often said that a great artist can take a song and make it their own.Here,each artist does that,but at the same time the song remains Woody's and rather than taking his music;we get the artists making a sincere tribute.
The artists are the "best of the best".One thing that amazed me was Emmylou Harris singing "Deportee" with Arlo Guthrie, and she was reading the words from a songsheet.Their duet is nothing short of magnificient,and shows what excellent artists they really.But that is only one of the tributes;each one will impress you just as much.
As we watch these songs being done,keep in mind that these recordings were done in 1988--wow! that's over 20 years ago.Everything about these recordings has been done in a somewhat casual manner,keeping with the spirit of Folk Music ;and all the technical aspects of the recordings are par excellent.
As you watch the final song,"This Land is Your Land", done by various artists,at different locations and obviously at different times,then mixed later;you are going to be astounded at how excellently it has been accomplished.
It is impossible to choose one song and artist over another,and even though they are all so different,the tribute as a whole is is an amazingly smooth piece of work.
I know I will listen and watch this tribute over and over again and will find something new in it each time I do.
If you are a fan of Folk Music,Woody Guthrie in particulat,or any of the artists or people involved;this tribute is something you will love and enjoy over and over again.
If you enjoy Woody Guthrie,I strongly recommend ;
The Asch Recordings Vol.1-4 Box Set
Woody Guthrie
See my review,posted December 4,2005

I saw this on T.V.along time ago;It was very interesting & I liked that type of music;the musicians who they picked to cover the songs;It's a plesure to see it again on DVD & also own a copy of it,Thank you ,Tom

I have long been aware of the quality of American documentaries, and this one is no exception. As with the Ken Burns documentaries, this one is a well-documented and delivered social history of the times as well as of the music and lives of these two men. The Depression was a terrible time for people across the world; what Australians could not understand was the ill-treatment of African Americans in the deep South, ill-treatment that lasted much longer than it should. This documentary outlines the struggle of poor people, and the fight for equality for women as well as for Afro-Americans. There is pathos certainly, however, the music transcends all, and is enhanced by the performers who also comment about the particular song or event the song celebrates or highlights. It's wonderful to see how many American performers have been influenced by these two men. Altogether, it is a happy and informative piece; and is worth putting on just for the music. A great tribute to them both.