Martin Scorsese is owed a huge debt by all lovers of the American Blues.

This disc is the first in a six-volume survey which traces the lineage of the Blues, from its genesis in Africa to today, when it remains one of the most potent musical forces on the planet.

Each disc has its own theme -- though of course each will slightly overlap the other -- and Scorsese has chosen a different director for each volume. Each director shares this -- they are all passionate about the music they describe. Scorsese is overall Producer for the entire series, though each disc has its own very individual flavour.

This is Scorsese's own volume. This disc, in common with all in the series, is not strictly history. Rather, we meet living practitioners of the Blues, and delve into the past through them, as they discuss and play the living blues. Of course there are plenty of historical replays, on both film and record, but the living presence is the focal point.

The title, Feel Like Going Home, relates to the filmed journey by modern-day blues singer Corey Harris to West Africa, to the country of Mali, where he hears music played as it would have been by his pre-slavery forebears. The language is different, but the genesis is clear.

It's a quiet documentary, deliberately unfocused to a degree -- it educates by immersion in the genre, not instruction. Recommended.

The combination of modern footage and historic film is handled very well. Film quality is not brilliant; the new material is quite soft, but the historic footage is presented as well as you could expect, considering it has been sourced from several generations back. There's a choice of 5.1 Surround or Stereo sound; the default is 5.1 and that sounds just fine.

This is the very first disc on which I was able to detect a layer-change. It happens around 56.23, and it takes long enough for you to get up and make a nice cup of tea.

Extra features are predominantly six bonus music performances, plus a short interview with Scorsese. There is a Trailer for the Blues series, and Trailers for other Madman DVDS; Amandla!, Kiki's Delivery Service, Playtime, Russian Ark and Standing in the Shadows of Motown. There are also a biography and filmography of Scorsese.

For many people, best feature of all will be the seamless branching option which allows you to move through all the DVD's musical numbers.