60s Rhythm And Blues DVD

Advantages: Stunning performances, great sound, good camera work, timeless songs.
Disadvantages: Inevitably some songs didn't make the set. Especially missed Tales of Great Ulyses and I Feel Free

...I loved Cream's output in their brief career. Although together for only two and a half years in the 60s they made some of the best blues/rock music of all time. I was a little concerned that they reformed 37 years later - what was the motivation and could they capture their incredible stage presence? I needn't have worried. The sound is awesome, the playing and singing better and stronger than the 60's, and with technology moving on the songs sound immense! The main question I had was would Clapton go back to his 60s era Gibsons or stick to his Fender Strat which has become his signature instrument. I was disappointed when I saw the trusty Strat appear, how could he hope to get the "proper" Cream sound without a Gibson? I needn't have worried. OK it may sound different to the trained ear - but different is sometimes just as good... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Compulsive viewing
Disadvantages: It could be 5 hours long and it would still be too short

...A great film (and album) with all sorts of interesting stuff taken from their very long and varied career. It kicks off with the classic "My Generation", performed on the American tv show of the 60's, The Smothers Brothers, and actually captures the moment that rendered Pete almost deaf. Moonie was unhappy with the amount of gunpowder lined up for the firework ending and apparently added some more without telling anyone. The result? Moonie is blown off the drum seat and Pete disappears in smoke only to emerge with his hairstyle suspiciously rearranged. Interspered with the songs are interviews from tv shows around the world, over many years, but the music follows on with the other excellent mod anthems, "I can't Explain," "Anyway, "Anyhow, Anywhere" and "Magic Bus" - some of the quintessential tracks from the boys during the 60's. Most... Read review

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Advantages: A star-making turn from Jennifer Hudson and toe-tapping songs.
Disadvantages: An entirely superficial movie.

...the book written by Tom Eyen. But the majority of his compositions are exercises in style rather than content. His imitations of 60s soul, rhythm and blues and Motown styles could easily pass for the real thing, such as "I've Been Around" and "Cadillac Car". However, an excess of brushed cymbal and the stagy arrangements belies the production's stage origins. The music is at its strongest when going back to the roots of the modern Motown sound, producing a really dirty jazz sound or flurries of guitar blues. The later disco compositions feel disposable because they follow the format of the time and are produced to within an inch of their lives. They are so slick, they slide in one ear and out the other. The key narrative tracks such as "You're Gonna Love Me" are the big musical theatre numbers that have a lot to say emotionally but feel too big... Read review

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