Odyssian Posted September 30, 2003 Share Posted September 30, 2003 Anyone catch this? It's a seven-part series running on PBS this week. It started Sunday night. I watched it last night, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Skip James, JD Lenoir (sp?), Willie Dixon and others were covered. It's interesting to see some of the original footage from various performances and to hear of these artists' lives and musical circumstances. I hope to watch a few more shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted September 30, 2003 Share Posted September 30, 2003 I watched it Sunday night and it left me a bit confused. While the clips and interviews were great that episode seemed to place the Blues as a foundation for modern music. But this same thing is done in series on Jazz, gospel, Celtic, etc. It was educational. I never realized that some artists who created songs about how bad their woman had treated them was not singing about a woman. It was their way of complaining about their boss. Back then you could not complain about your boss without reprisal. So instead they sang about a woman, and the black community knew what the songs were really about. Robert This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D_dup3 Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 So far it's been better than I expected from advance reviews, especially the first episode. If you don't mind reading what guitarists think you might also check out the commentary over on the Guitar Forum. "Blues" [bTW, that cat in the leopard-print tux was J.B. Lenoir.] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssian Posted October 1, 2003 Author Share Posted October 1, 2003 Ah..Okay, thanks for the "JB" correction. I couldnt' remember. I really liked the song that they showed last night of Howlin' Wolf. And I hate to say this (if there are any BB fans reading this), but I liked the songs that they played of BB King back when he was young much more than his later music. Also, there was a clip towards the end of last night's show of a live performance with BB. His guitar soloing/playing was not so great. I wonder if it was due to his age, or if it was just an off-night for him. He was playing the solo parts so softly, that it brought the whole feel of the song down. Also in the show last night, I thought it was weird how hard of a time Sam Philips gave to Ike Turner. He thought Turner was laughing at him, but he was just trying to be friendly/jolly. I also liked the Rosco Gordan songs they played. Too bad he passed away soon after that concert with BB. After the show, I put on my Clapton CD "From the Cradle". After that, I got a little too blues'd out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Loving Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 I love all those old photographs, especially of Robert Johnson. I have a church band learning "John the Revelator" and was surprised to hear it behind the credits on Sunday. So far it's a better presentation than I expected. "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byrdman Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 Originally posted by daveloving: I love all those old photographs, especially of Robert Johnson. I have a church band learning "John the Revelator" and was surprised to hear it behind the credits on Sunday. So far it's a better presentation than I expected.What on earth did last night's episode think it was about? I came in a bit late but turned it off after less than half an hour - talk about total drivel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssian Posted October 3, 2003 Author Share Posted October 3, 2003 I missed last night's show, and wont' be able to see the rest of the shows because of my work schedule.. bummer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Pierce Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 Well, I've only seen bits of it, but I haven't enjoyed it very much. Monday's episode was almost undecipherable to me -- what was with all of the overly-dramatic performances of old tunes by modern people? They looked like they were taking it all oh-so-seriously. Guys, it's the blues. Good music, yeah, but Bach it's not. Just play it. Smile a little. Have a good time. Sheesh. Tuesday's show was a little better, especially enjoyed the early BB footage. Didn't catch Wednesday or today. --Dave Make my funk the P-funk. I wants to get funked up. My Funk/Jam originals project: http://www.thefunkery.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 Last night (Thursday) was a bit of a disappointment. About the only thing I picked up is Chicago blues did not have anything to do with development. Chicago was the attraction of blues greats that traveled north from Mississippi, Arkansas and other states. While the show is better than most of what is on TV this week, it is not in the same league as the Ken Burns Jazz series. I wish that series was not $180 on DvD. It would be great to have. Robert This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D_dup3 Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 Rabid, I think it might be more accurate to say that Chicago had little to do with invention of new styles but certainly there was development there. Muddy/Wolf styles are very like Delta styles but the character contributed by amplification & the need to produce new (or new sounding) material for record sales made their & others work very different than country blues. Also the develpoment of extented guitar lines & solos, while started by others elsewhere (T Bone Walker, Guitar Slim etc.) really grew in Chicago; the same could be said of piano styles which though derived from stride players in NYC & the Southeastern barrel-house & boogie players saw considerable development at the hands of Otis Spann, Lafeyette Leakes, etc. One thing I'd point out: there are at least 2 separate blues eras in Chicago. Most people think of the post WW2 styles of Muddy Waters, etc., but there was an earlier & quite different period that can be checked into in the work of Bill Broonzy, the original Sonny Boy Williamson (not the cat seen in the film), & others. Byrdman, I tend to agree that the films are very uneven. I presume you're referring to Thursday's episode when wondering about its focus. To me it was an unecessary attempt to show the blues as still relavent by tying it in with hip-hop [which is cool but already happening before Chuck D's "discovery" of things] but Marshall Chess's defense of Electric Mud[/M] & his position as a producer was really revisionist, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 Originally posted by d: Rabid, I think it might be more accurate to say that Chicago had little to do with invention of new styles but certainly there was development there. ....Yes. That would be more accurate. I guess that when growing up I kept hearing that Chicago was extremely important for the blues. After watching last night, I don't remember mention of any major blues artist that was born in Chicago. Everyone "moved" to Chicago. I guess it was the great melting pot for the blues. And Chess was the great marketing force. Robert This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 I should have mentioned that I did not like some of the filming last night. A lot of film clips were done in black and white with a poor attempt to make them look old. Then you would notice someone playing a modern electronic keyboard and realize that you were not watching something filmed in the 50s or 60s. To me that took away from the authentic old film clips. Robert This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
member 30687 Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 Originally posted by Rabid: I should have mentioned that I did not like some of the filming last night. A lot of film clips were done in black and white with a poor attempt to make them look old. Then you would notice someone playing a modern electronic keyboard and realize that you were not watching something filmed in the 50s or 60s. To me that took away from the authentic old film clips. RobertThat was even more egregious in Wim Wenders film (Monday, I think) that dealt with Willie Johnson, Skip James, etc. Don't miss the upcoming film by longtime jazz fan Clint Eastwood that deals with piano players![scheduled for Sunday night] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
member 30687 Posted October 4, 2003 Share Posted October 4, 2003 Oops! That's Saturday night, not Sunday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Pierce Posted October 5, 2003 Share Posted October 5, 2003 Well, I guess I've missed the rest of the series. I've been out playin'! And of course I'm at JJ's tonight, not only playing, but playing the blues... How was the piano show? Sorry to have missed that one. Played a private party last night. I guess I should have taped these, but didn't. Maybe I'll kick down for the DVD. But then again, I need an EQ. And a preamp. And some softsynths. I really could use another board, or a module. And...... --Dave Make my funk the P-funk. I wants to get funked up. My Funk/Jam originals project: http://www.thefunkery.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyD. Posted October 5, 2003 Share Posted October 5, 2003 Tom Jones playing with Jeff beck. It doesn't get mucher better!! bobby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byrdman Posted October 5, 2003 Share Posted October 5, 2003 Originally posted by d: Byrdman, I tend to agree that the films are very uneven. I presume you're referring to Thursday's episode when wondering about its focus. To me it was an unecessary attempt to show the blues as still relavent by tying it in with hip-hop [which is cool but already happening before Chuck D's "discovery" of things] but Marshall Chess's defense of Electric Mud[/M] & his position as a producer was really revisionist, I think.I found those bits interesting from the point of view of seeing one of the people who was there at chess at the time and how things changed. But yes, the whole thing was rather thin. Not that Hip-hop does not derive from Blues - it just does not have anything to do with Chicago Blues! Its immediate ancestor is Detroit style funk (as against New Orleans Funk). I don't know to what extent Detroit Funk grew out of New Orleans funk or whether they are parallel devlopments (anybody?) The part I was referring to was following a young boy around with his uncle. Large amounts of time were wasted while the boy hung round while his uncle visited a prostitute then we got about thirty seconds of them visiting and the uncle singing with some "actual" blues musicians (one of whom was wearing a modern RSI device so it was not from the actual period. One of them was supposed to be Honeyboy Edwards, I think. I must say I loved the episode on the British Blues. Being English it interviewed a lot of guys I grew up listening to. When they talked, the talk was interesting, and actual music was performed as well. Sadly missed the Piano Blues episode last night and forgot to set a tape. Oh well - there's always the DVD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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