Having one of those down-in-the-dumps, butt-dragging, questioning-the-meaning-of-existence kind of days? Pop Freddie King in Concert into the VCR. Misery loves company, and the late, great bluesman Freddie King (no relation to B.B. King or Albert King) made his living out of singing about troubles. Culled from different concerts between 1970-1973, the clips here show the noted axman with nimble fingers belting out tunes like "Ghetto Woman" (who gave him the blues), "Woman Across the River" (who also gave him the blues), "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" (a guaranteed formula for getting the blues), "Look Over Yonder's Wall" (and you'll surely get the blues), and "Woke Up This Morning" (with, you guessed it, a bad case of the blues). Some of the color footage from the 1970 concert looks washed-out, and the patched together feel of the tape makes it less satisfying than a regular concert, but blues fans will definitely enjoy this, and even non-blues fans would probably stomp their feet to "Blues Band Shuffle" or appreciate the classic "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do" (get the blues, that is).The compilation tape Legends of Traditional Fingerstyle features 21 music videos (before they were called music videos) of artists like Merle Travis ("Lost John"), Sam & Kirk McGee ("Railroad Blues"), Mance Lipscomb ("Take Me Back"), Roscoe Holcomb ("Poor Wayfaring Stranger"), Doc & Merle Watson ("Sitting on Top of the World"), Josh White ("John Henry"), Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry ("Keys to the Highway"), and the Reverend Gary Davis ("I Belong to the Band"). Although some of the performances are found on other tapes from the Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop line, this collection is a rich sampling of some of the finest fingerpicking guitar performances committed to celluloid.Falling--unevenly--somewhere between a concert video and a music history lesson, Mike Seeger: Fret `n Fiddle features Seeger playing a wide range of instruments (jaw harp, banjo, violin, guitar, autoharp, and panpipes) as he traces the growth of traditional or "old time" music. Songs include: "Cripple Creek," "Old Mother Hippletoe," "Freight Train," "Molly Hare," and the haunting "Wind and Rain." The fact that Seeger's interim commentary between songs is more anecdotal than historically sequential makes this of dubious use as a "music history lesson," and the fact that he is playing alone to the camera without an audience makes this much less vibrant than it could have been. Seeger fans might appreciate, but general audiences will be disappointed.A real change of pace, Nusrat! Live at Meany features Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and an eight-piece band in a concert taped at the University of Washington on January 23, 1993 at around 9 p.m. We know the time because one of the video cameras used during shooting had the time clock turned on. Unfortunately, the very amateur quality of the video recording (jerky motions, poor lighting, focus changes, etc.) does real injustice to what sounds like one hell of a concert. Performing eight traditional and folk songs from Urdu, Arabic, Persian, and Panjabi origin, Nusrat demonstrates, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that a roly poly guy can sit cross-legged on a stage and sound like Little Richard having a soul train attack. In fact, Nusrat gets so worked up that his hands (as if he were fashioning verbal pottery) take on a life of their own: shaping, invoking, exhorting. And it seems to have some real effect, because people keep coming up on stage and showering the man with money. Seriously, paper money is flying all over the place (if any readers would like to explore adding this ritual to their reading of Video Librarian, please contact me). So, great songs; terrible filming. Look for the CD instead.Freddie King in Concert and Legends of Traditional Fingerstyle Guitar are recommended. Mike Seeger: Fret `n Fiddle is not a not a necessary purchase. Nusrat! Live at Meany is regrettably not recommended. (R. Pitman)
Freddie King In Concert; Legends Of Traditional Fingerstyle Guitar; Mike Seeger/Fret `N Fiddle; Nusrat! Live At Meany
(1994) 58 min. $22.50. (biographical booklet included) Vestapol Videos (dist. by Rounder Records). PPR. Color cover. Vol. 9, Issue 5
Freddie King In Concert; Legends Of Traditional Fingerstyle Guitar; Mike Seeger/Fret `N Fiddle; Nusrat! Live At Meany
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As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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