Customer Reviews

You See Me Laughin'

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the real deal...back-porch players in their own delta environment who don't give a tinker's damn about anything but playing their music, drinkin', and enjoying what's left of thier time on earth. Their sensibility is miles away from the music business as we know it, and thank God for it because most people are completely oblivious to southern blues musician mindset and would probably never have a chance to "get it" otherwise because most of these players are truly a dying breed.

This film captures the heart and spirit of real African-American bluesmen who are still poor after being semi-famous for years...and they really couldn't care less. R. L. Burnside in particular has been releasing albums and playing around for years, been reviewed and celebrated in all the best rock and indie-alternative press, and still lives like any poor, black rural working man. These guys don't care about fancy boutique amps and expensive "guitar show" instruments. They make all the sound they need from a typical hodge-podge of beat up pawn shop instruments, playing in some cases with simple buttern knives when their hands no longer work.

If you understand the connection that the ancient African music traditions have to roots American music, look no further than this movie as an example of how it was preserved and passed on in the new world to this present day. This film may be one of the last testaments to a culture that will surely disappear soon in this 21st century.

If any music DVD is a prime example of the old adage "when you find a good chord, stick to it" this one is it. It is a fascinating look at the lives of some great rural blues musicians and a lesson that blues music does not need to be complex to be powerful. These guys play the simplest of riffs yet still make the hairs on your neck stand on end. Great stuff and a lesson to all the Eric Clapton wanabees.

if you enjoy music, you will enjoy this dvd. this is the real deal. these guys dont care about careers, success etc. this is pure art, pure emotion. if you watch this (and it resonates, i.e. you "get it") most other music will become irrelavant.

You see me laughin' is an extraordinary documentary film that takes you into the backwoods where the Black blues players reside. You see them amongst their surroundings, their kinfolk, the room where they play, the porch where they hangout and get their inspiration. Unless you've been there into the backwoods, you wouldn't have guessed that within this sparse surrounding, the world exists in simplicity and purity which allows the blues musician to find his stories. Of course, everyone has the blues, but this style is the rural adaptation, not the citified urban blues that we're used to hearing. And when you hear the blues being talked about from the musician's own mouth, there is a greater impact, than simply reading text in a book. I liked this video and would recommend it to all of you who are curious about how the country blues got started, who played it, and how important these musicians were to the development of blues as it reached the big cities ... Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, New York, etc.

"You See Me Laughin" is flat out awesome and documents the bluesmen as real people-deeply flawed and yet able to create transcendent music out of their lives of privation, criminality, abuse and desperation-everything the blues should be! The footage of Cedell Davis alone is worth the price.

We do not see enough of these videos of the foundations of all music it was awesome

"You See Me Laughin"! If you like your blues with grit, then get this video. The interviews with T-Model, Rule Burnside, and especially Cedell's story are worth the price of admission with the added bonus of footage from Junior Kimbrough's JukeJoint.

I've bought a few good ones lately but this video is probably the best in the collection.

Tweed

If you are any kind of fan of the blues, this is a must for your video collection. These guys are and were the real deal.

I bought this based on the 3 positive reviews and I was not disappointed. I highly recommend this dvd. Great music and very interesting character studies. Five stars with no reservation IMHO.

watch out powerful music with equally powerful personalites full of honesty music history personal insights and to some degree now sucess. bruce r parker rochester ny