Director Mike Figgis has been recruited by Martin Scorsese to take a special look at the impact of the Blues in Britain in the 1960s through to today.
It was a good choice. Mike Figgis, before becoming a film director, was an ardent jazz musician -- playing trumpet for rock groups of the 1960s -- and it was inevitable that he would become exposed to, and become ensnared by, the Blues.
This is a fascinating survey of how the Blues helped shape the pop and rock explosion in Britain in the 1960s. It's done through interview with such people as Lonnie Donegan, the King of Skiffle (this was the last interview before his death), and with Eric Clapton, who took it as his special Mission in life to preach the Blues to Britain.
And a very valid point is made -- that it was only when groups such as the Beatles and the Stones toured America and took their version of the Blues back to its homeland, that the majority of White Americans actually heard the Blues. It was only because of the British invasion that American youngsters began to hear of performers such as Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson.
B.B. King appears in this film to pay tribute to that time. Speaking of the British invaders, he says: "You opened doors that otherwise wouldn't have been opened in my lifetime. Thank you".
The special interest in this film isn't the history it tells, but the way Figgis tells it. As the backbone to this survey, he has assembled some of his favourite musicians from the 1960s and beyond, to perform and to discuss what influenced them in their careers.
The musicians are drawn from the worlds of pop and of rock. So we have, alongside Rock guitar legend Jeff Beck, the leather-lunged popster Tom Jones, who proves he can sing a mean Blues. We have pianist Jon Cleary and sax player Peter King, and some sweet singing from another pioneer pop singer, Lulu. And to open the whole account, we have one of the heroes of 20th Century popular music, Van Morrison, who actually smiles as he sings!
We hear fascinating memoirs from renowned jazz trumpeter Humphrey Lyttleton (perhaps the only Old Etonian and Guards Officer to make it big in the jazz-world), and bandleader Chris Barber. We hear one of the best pop-rock singers of the 1960s in Chris Farlowe, who shows his voice is as strong and as sweet as it was almost half a century ago. There's Eric Burdon, and John Mayall, George Melly and Georgie Fame -- this is a beautifully resourced documentary.
For all lovers of British rock and the Blues, this is indispensable. It's a slice of rich musical history of great delight.
The transfer is soft but acceptable. There is some historic footage, in reasonable quality for its vintage, but the contemporary footage makes up the bulk of the presentation. There is a choice of 5.1 Surround or stereo; both offer a very clear and detailed soundscape.
There is a short filmed Interview with director Mike Figgis, and he can also be heard in an informative and quite amusing audio commentary with old friend John Porter. There are seven music performances not seen in the movie, along with a text biography and filmography of Figgis.
There is a seamless branching option to segue through the music items in the film. Finally, there is a trailer for the Blues series of movies, and teaser traliers for other Madman DVDs: Standing In The Shadows Of Motown, Princess Mononoke, Shane Maloney-The Brush-Off & Stiff, Live Forever, Amandla! and You See Me Laughin'.
