Let's see,I was 2 when all the events in this film went down. My older brother was 3 and oldest was almost 6. ....but! That in no way depletes how much we love this music & the time that it came from. In fact we've listened to the biggest of these acts since we were younger.
As in most cases,I discovered this DVD gem at my local library and all I had to read on the back was Janis Joplin,Grateful Dead & The Band "live" and I had to see this. Last night (08/26/08) was the third time aboard for viewing.
The performances by the headliners,as expected,are top notch and the lesser known Canadian acts here (from the DVD outtakes & extras)are interesting in their own way. Right now I have one their songs "Thirsty Boots" running in my head,a beautiful acoustic guitar ballad representative of the times.
It's great to see The Band perform "The Wieght" after years of only hearing the studio version on the radio,as well as their version of Little Richard's " Slippin' & Slidin' ".
The Grateful Dead are always good and for those of us not old enough then,it's kind of wild to see Jerry Garcia before the gray hair.
Most incredible elements here are the cross country (Canada) train ride with these and other acts ,filmed for posterity & fun as well. The original "Party Train/Love Train". Seeing these folks jamming together (and other "activities" of the day) makes for a great window into the era. Present is Buddy Guy,Flying Burrito Brothers,Delany & Bonnie and others.
The second and most significant element is Joplin herself. Her performances of "Tell Mama" & "Cry Baby" in the main movie are testament to her talent. She also has two more songs in the outtakes which are no less amazing.
This was filmed exactly 3 months before her untimely passing at the age of 27. She performs last here on July 4th,1970 and in August she guested on The Dick Cavett Show....then was gone,on October 4th of a heroin overdose.
In the ending credits,we hear the only "live" performance of "Me and Bobby McGee" before Joplin recorded it. We don't see her but it was recorded aboard the train while partying with the others. Otherwise,she never did get to perform it live in concert. The song hit #1 in early 1971,her second and only other top 40 hit.
Overall,the fact that this entire collection sat on a shelf for 30 years makes it extra important that all this footage was finally "re-discovered" and given the royal treatment it deserves. Renewed through re-colorization and film cleaning techniques for DVD,it's great to see these former young dynamic artists looking so lively and fresh.
Without any doubt,Ten stars! (END) Peace.
As in most cases,I discovered this DVD gem at my local library and all I had to read on the back was Janis Joplin,Grateful Dead & The Band "live" and I had to see this. Last night (08/26/08) was the third time aboard for viewing.
The performances by the headliners,as expected,are top notch and the lesser known Canadian acts here (from the DVD outtakes & extras)are interesting in their own way. Right now I have one their songs "Thirsty Boots" running in my head,a beautiful acoustic guitar ballad representative of the times.
It's great to see The Band perform "The Wieght" after years of only hearing the studio version on the radio,as well as their version of Little Richard's " Slippin' & Slidin' ".
The Grateful Dead are always good and for those of us not old enough then,it's kind of wild to see Jerry Garcia before the gray hair.
Most incredible elements here are the cross country (Canada) train ride with these and other acts ,filmed for posterity & fun as well. The original "Party Train/Love Train". Seeing these folks jamming together (and other "activities" of the day) makes for a great window into the era. Present is Buddy Guy,Flying Burrito Brothers,Delany & Bonnie and others.
The second and most significant element is Joplin herself. Her performances of "Tell Mama" & "Cry Baby" in the main movie are testament to her talent. She also has two more songs in the outtakes which are no less amazing.
This was filmed exactly 3 months before her untimely passing at the age of 27. She performs last here on July 4th,1970 and in August she guested on The Dick Cavett Show....then was gone,on October 4th of a heroin overdose.
In the ending credits,we hear the only "live" performance of "Me and Bobby McGee" before Joplin recorded it. We don't see her but it was recorded aboard the train while partying with the others. Otherwise,she never did get to perform it live in concert. The song hit #1 in early 1971,her second and only other top 40 hit.
Overall,the fact that this entire collection sat on a shelf for 30 years makes it extra important that all this footage was finally "re-discovered" and given the royal treatment it deserves. Renewed through re-colorization and film cleaning techniques for DVD,it's great to see these former young dynamic artists looking so lively and fresh.
Without any doubt,Ten stars! (END) Peace.