Blues Masters - The Essential History of the Blues

Blues Masters - The Essential History of the Blues

starring: Leadbelly, Bessie Smith See Larger Image List Price: $19.98 You Pay Only: $17.99 You Save: $1.99 (10%) Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: DVD EAN: 6034976075254 Format: Black & White, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC Label: Rhino / Wea Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Rhino / Wea Region Code: 1 Release Date: May 28, 2002 Running Time: 103 minutes Sales Rank: 32367 Studio: Rhino / Wea Related Items: Blues Story The Search for Robert Johnson The American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1966, Vol. 1 American Folk-Blues Festival: The British Tours 1963-1966 [DVD] The American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1969, Vol. 3 see more Editorial Review: Product Description: Born on the plantations of the Mississippi Delta, the blues is America's root music. Few performances of the early masters were ever captured on film, but those that were are profoundly insightful and entertaining. On this DVD, enjoy these blues masters: Son House, Leadbelly, Bessie Smith, B.B. King , Billie Holiday, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Big Joe Turner, Mamie Smith, Roy Milton with June Richmond, Jimmy Rushing with Count Basie, Ethel Waters with Count Basie, Big Bill Broonzy, Ida Cox, Jimmy Witherspoon, and Joe Williams with Jimmy Rushing. Approx 103 min. ? Customer Reviews Average Rating: Rating: - Blues Masters I was surprised to learn that there was a DVD of the Blues Master series, after owning the CD series for a number of years. This video is well worth the cost for several reasons. One of the high points is being able to view the only known film of Leadbelly, which is excellent. Other performers include some of the best names in the older generation of blues musicians, such as: Son House, Muddy Waters, Bessie Smith, Billie Holliday, Big Joe Turner, Buddy Guy, B.B. King and Big Bill Broonzy. The only down side is that there is perhaps a little too much of a jazz presence which might not be appreciated by someone who is a blues fan exclusively. Overall however, this DVD will be a prized item in the collection of any blues fan. John Cole Rating: - Horrendous This is the worst Blues DVD I've ever seen. Many essential points to understanding the history of the Blues are missed: Mamie Smith recording the first Black vocal song with the word "Blues" that became a huge hit ("Crazy Blues"), the subsequent popularity of Bessie Smith, Blind Lemon Jefferson becoming the first male Blues star in the Race Records industry, the birth of electric Blues that was necessary when blacks moved north and needed to amplify music in order to be heard in huge crowds, the birth of Rock 'N' Roll around 1954, and the Country Blues revival during the early 1960's. Facets of the terrible documentary which should have been taken out were the footage of Kennedy during the Jimmy Witherspoon song, which was simply idiotic and without reason (not to mention the documentary's failure to state that Witherspoon was covering a song Bessie Smith had popularized), the excessive talk of Blues constantly being associated with the struggle for Civil Rights (many Bluesmen's daily activities were not in line at all with morality), the mentioning of the Beatles and Michael Jackson being heavily influenced by Blues (this is plain absurd), and associating Aretha Franklin with Sarah Vaughan (they were separated by three decades). The Muddy Waters footage was terrible, as they selected one of the worst Muddy performances I've ever seen. There was no effort to fix up the sound quality of not just the performances, but also the narrator's statements, despite the DVD coming out in 1993, and then being ... Read More Rating: - Could be better Yes, I understand why the U.S. History lesson applies to the hisory of the Blues BUT: Did we really need to see video clips of JFK's presidency & his assassination as background to Jimmy Witherspoon's "Ain't Nobody's Business"? Was it misrepresentation to use late 1970's film footage to introduce Muddy Waters in the late 50's segment? Imagine my surprise to find Clifton Chenier, the king of Zydeco, listed as a Blues artist. Did they have to use the guy that recorded voiceovers in his bathroom for the Army's V.D. training films as the voiceover for this? All I'm saying is, It could've been better. Rating: - Great DVD. This DVD and the Howlin' Wolf Story are second only to the DVD, "The Blues." It is almost impossible to rank them because they are unique and very special in their own way. Should be in every one's collection. Rating: - History of Blues "The Essential History of the Blues" is just exactly what the title implies. For anyone interested in understanding more about the origin of the blues, as well as, some of the first recordings, this would be an excellent addition to their music library. More Blues Masters - The Essential History of the Blues Reviews Browse for similar items by category: Blues - Styles - Music - General Amazon.com Label Stores - Labels - Custom Stores - Specialty Stores - Music - Rhino Records Music Video & Concerts - Genres - DVD - Video - General Blues - Music Video & Concerts - Genres - DVD - Video - General AAS Titles - Custom Stores - Specialty Stores - DVD - Video - ( B )