Old Grey Whistle Test (DVD)

...that the DVD of the Old Grey Whistle test is absolutely superb, an excellent summary of one what surely must be the best TV music show ever.

Cast your minds back to the seventies and early eighties, the Old Grey Whistle Test was screened late at night on BBC2. A programme to come home early from the pub for, a weekly music 'magazine' which featured live studio performances of album tracks by serious rock musicians such as Elton John, ...
...whispering Bob is like an old friend who turns up unexpected one day and chats about the good old days.

If they do a follow up version I’d like to see John Prine, Al Stewart and Don McLean included, perhaps you can remember some other classics from the show?

Disc 1:

Alice Cooper "Under My Wheels"
Elton John "Tiny Dancer"
Curtis Mayfield "We Gotta Have Peace" ... more

This DVD was a birthday present to remind me of when I was young and vibrant instead of older and less vibrant. It was the first DVD I posessed and I used to play it on my PC, which is not quite the same as watching it on a proper screen with a half decent sound system.

Following the acquisition of my 'free' DVD player which you may have read about in an earlier review and playing it through a good quality sound system, I can now confirm that the DVD of the Old Grey Whistle test is absolutely superb, an excellent summary of one what surely must be the best TV music show ever.

Cast your minds back to the seventies and early eighties, the Old Grey Whistle Test was screened late at night on BBC2. A programme to come home early from the pub for, a weekly music 'magazine' which featured live studio performances of album tracks by serious rock musicians such as Elton John, Bob Marley, Lou Reed and Rory Gallagher as well as in-depth interviews, concert reports and film and book reviews of music related issues.

Launched in September 1971, it ran for seventeen years and was the perfect complement to the Top of the Pops singles format and emphasised the split between rock and pop. My teens had been based around the ‘pop charts’. The Whistle Test was the musical equivalent of reaching adulthood.

When it first started it was filmed in a small studio in the BBC television centre and it had a really unique feel about it, with some of the performances being so intimate you can imagine they were there with you in your own front room. The show with its ground breaking animated links, retained that intimacy along with a tremendous feeling of informality throughout its long run.

The show's presenters were real music journalists, incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about their subject. ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris, with his quietly spoken introductions and links became the show's main presenter in 1972 and was the embodiment of rock in the seventies. He held the position until 1979 when the arrival of punk and new wave scene demanded (not by me though) that he give way to Annie Nightingale. Other presenters had a similar and all-important passion for the music - Richard Williams, David Hepworth, Mark Ellen and Andy Kershaw.

The DVD has been released to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the first show, and includes cuts from the vast and varied archive - over four hours worth of exclusive footage are included on the two disc set, including over 40 rarely seen performances.

It also has six fascinating interviews: Bob Harris with John Lennon, Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen and Robert Plant; Richard Williams with Elton John, Bernie Taupin and Mick Jagger.

With few exceptions the performances are absolutely brilliant. The compilers have tried to ensure that all genres have been covered and so there is Rock, Reggae, Blues, Country, Pop, Punk and even Val Doonican who teams up with Charlie McCoy for a bluesy harmonica duet version of Area Code 615's Stone Fox Chase, the show's intro theme.

The tracks have all been chosen by the ex-presenters who introduce the performances; their introductions ranging from the incohesive ramblings of Annie Nightingale to entertaining and affectionate tributes from Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who work really well together.

Given the wide range of music on offer, there is bound to be something that you don’t like, in my case its Roxy Music’s “Do The Strand” which I would like to see replaced by their version of a Dylan’s ‘Hard Days Rain Gonna Fall’ and Focus – incredible piece of musicianship it may be, but not my cup of tea.

However, the general quality of the music is incredibly high, my own personal high spots being:

Randy Newman’s "Political Science" – this song just drips with irony, I’ve got a fantastic LP of his somewhere. I must find it.

Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge singing "Help Me Make it Through the Night" an intimate duet of one of my favourite country songs.

John Martyn singing "May You Never". The format of the program lent itself to singer/songwriters who appeared to just wander in with a guitar or sit down by the studio piano and perform.

Robert Wyatt – the former Soft Machine drummer sings a heartfelt interpretation
of Elvis Costello's poignant ‘Shipbuilding’.

Little Feat "Rock 'n' Roll Doctor" - swamp boogie by a really underrated American group.

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s "Freebird" an impassioned performance of their rock anthem - absolutely brilliant lead guitar which brought back memories of a dingy smoke filled bar I used to frequent where this was the resident band’s signature tune, lasting about three quarters of an hour!

Emmylou Harris "Amarillo", fantastic - one of my favourite female singers

Tom Waits "Tom Traubert's Blues" great singer, singing or rather growling one of my all time favourites as I read somewhere ‘as if he was chewing a bee’.

Meatloaf "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" a theatrical rock n’ roll presentation – one of the sexiest duets ever.

This two set CD is a great tribute to a classic TV programme, a must-have history of rock music in the seventies and early eighties, music which is still fresh today.

There is not a single bad performance - they are all classics. No one will like all the music but then again everyone will find something of interest.

The DVD brings back so many memories of my twenty something years and the music which accompanied them. The star-kicker cartoon introduction and Charlie McCoy's Stone Fox Chase, played by Area Code 615, is really nostalgic and whispering Bob is like an old friend who turns up unexpected one day and chats about the good old days.

If they do a follow up version I’d like to see John Prine, Al Stewart and Don McLean included, perhaps you can remember some other classics from the show?

Disc 1:

Alice Cooper "Under My Wheels"
Elton John "Tiny Dancer"
Curtis Mayfield "We Gotta Have Peace"
Randy Newman "Political Science"
Kris Kristofferson & Rita Coolidge "Help Me Make it Through the Night"
Bill Withers "Ain't No Sunshine"
Focus "Sylvia/Hocus Pocus"
Rory Gallagher "Hands Off"
John Martyn "May You Never"
The Wailers "Stir it Up"
Roxy Music "Do the Strand"
The Edgar Winter Group "Frankenstein"
New York Dolls "Jet Boy"
Tim Buckley "Dolphins"
Captain Beefheart "Upon the My O My"
Little Feat "Rock 'n' Roll Doctor"
Dr Feelgood "Roxette"
John Lennon "Stand By Me"
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band "Give My Compliments to the Chef"
Lynyrd Skynyrd "Freebird"
Emmylou Harris "Amarillo"
Bonnie Raitt "Too Long at the Fair"
Tom Waits "Tom Traubert's Blues"
Otway & Barrett "Really Free"

Interviews: Elton John and Bernie Taupin with Richard Williams
Mick Jagger with Richard Williams
Keith Richards with Bob Harris
Robert Plant with Bob Harris
John Lennon with Bob Harris

Audio Commentary by Mike Appleton

Artists' Gallery

Presenters' Choice

Disc 2:

Talking Heads "Psycho Killer"
XTC "Statue of Liberty"
Blondie "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence Dear"
Val Doonican & Charlie McCoy "Stone Fox Chase"
Meatloaf "Paradise by the Dashboard Light"
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers "American Girl"
The Police "Can't Stand Losing You"
Bruce Springsteen "Rosalita"
Iggy Pop "I'm Bored"
Tubeway Army "Are Friends Electric"
The Specials "Message to You Rudi"
The Damned "Smash It Up/I Just Can't Be Happy Today"
The Ramones "Rock 'n' Roll High School"
PL "Careering"
The Teardrop Explodes "Reward"
U2 "I Will Follow"
Nine Below Zero "Stone Fox Chase"
Japan "Ghosts"
Robert Wyatt "Shipbuilding"
REM "Moon River/Pretty Persuasion"
Simply Red "Holding Back the Years"

Interview: Bruce Springsteen with Bob Harris
OGWT Museum

Artists' Gallery

Presenters' Choice
 

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