Blues Documentary on UK TV Tonight, 15 Apr 04

Subject: Blues Documentary on UK TV Tonight
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 15 Apr 04 - 09:10 AM

programme about the delta blues, on BBC4 at 9PM.
it's the new digital channel, you need SKY or a digital decoder to watch it, they are about £50 from most electrical ships.

Subject: RE: Blues Documentary on UK TV Tonight
From: GUEST,JOHN OF ELSIES`S BAND
Date: 15 Apr 04 - 10:32 AM

Nice One joHn, but would you believe it in this age of men on the moon. Kemsing, Sevenoaks, 30 miles south of London centre, FREEVIEW signals unobtainable!!
What are they like!

Subject: RE: Blues Documentary on UK TV Tonight
From: GUEST,KB
Date: 15 Apr 04 - 10:49 AM

Electrical ships? Blimey! They'd be dangerous wouldn't they?
(sorry JOhn, I know its not a spelling site - bit it was such a worrying image.......)

Subject: RE: Blues Documentary on UK TV Tonight
From: s6k
Date: 15 Apr 04 - 10:49 AM

it will be an unmissable show. its directed by hollywoods martin scorsese, who gave us Goodfellas, etc.
he has a huge passion for blues music and i am going to tape it as well as watch it.

also repeated tomorrow, bbc4 again.

definately unmissable, IMO

Subject: RE: Blues Documentary on UK TV Tonight
From: okthen
Date: 15 Apr 04 - 11:13 AM

The whole series is out on DVD as a 7 disc set or individually.Ebay might be cheaper(?)

Subject: RE: Blues Documentary on UK TV Tonight
From: s6k
Date: 15 Apr 04 - 11:31 AM

okthen is right.

i will watch tonight and then decide if to buy it or not ;)

Subject: RE: Blues Documentary on UK TV Tonight
From: GUEST,Hootenanny
Date: 15 Apr 04 - 11:34 AM

Unmissable ??? I would reserve judgement, bearing in mind that the film about blues in Britain includes such well known died in the wool blues folks as Lulu and Tom Jones, and if you've read the book, which does incidentally include SOME ineteresting articles most of which are already available in print, then like me you might have second thoughts. I've mentioned this previously but the Wim Wenders account of making his film is artsy fartsy bullshite and the excuses for using people like Lulu and Tom Jones shows how much some of these guys really know about the blues. Van Morrison a Bluesman ?? and guess what, he's so moody.

I'm sure that there will be some very good archival film on show I just hope we get to see and hear it without some talking head interupting.

Happy viewing

Subject: RE: Blues Documentary on UK TV Tonight
From: okthen
Date: 15 Apr 04 - 02:12 PM

Just checked and it seems the DVD is 30 minutes longer than the TV prog. curious.

Subject: RE: Blues Documentary on UK TV Tonight
From: s6k
Date: 15 Apr 04 - 02:40 PM

hate it when they do that, they should show the whole thing

Subject: RE: Blues Documentary on UK TV Tonight
From: s6k
Date: 15 Apr 04 - 04:02 PM

regarding the tom jones thing, the series is on several discs.

One of these discs is "Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: Red, White and Blues"

this one features Van Morrison, Eric Clapton and Tom Jones discussing british blues.

However, the one that is on BBc4 tonight is a different episode, it is "Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: Feel Like Going Home" which explores Delta Blues and will feature Willie King and Muddy Waters, etc. i think there will be or is a box set with each episode on. Maybe BBC4 will show the others another time.

Anyway its on in 3 minutes, see ya later, lol.

you can type scorsese blues in amazon and check out the DVD results for all of them.

Subject: RE: Blues Documentary on UK TV Tonight
From: s6k
Date: 15 Apr 04 - 05:42 PM

what a brilliant programme.

Repeated tomorrow BBC4 at 10.40pm

the episode i mentioned in my last post, red white and blues, is actually on, at the same times, next thursday, which is great news.

John Mayall will be there and directed by Mike Figgis, explores the british blues boom of the 60's.
That should be good

but this one was fantastic and had lots of interesting footage i havent seen before, definately worth a watch.

Subject: RE: Blues Documentary on UK TV Tonight
From: Kevin Sheils
Date: 16 Apr 04 - 06:40 AM

It's possible the different 'advertised' DVD running time includes some extras as is often the case with DVD, "interview with the Director" that sort of thing. The actual film and TV broadcast may be the same length. Anyone bought the DVDs who can confirm this?

Missed it last night, will have to catch tonights repeat.

Subject: RE: Blues Documentary on UK TV Tonight
From: GUEST,Hootenanny
Date: 16 Apr 04 - 07:59 AM

The DVD's state on the packaging that there is an extra 30 minutes more than the films. Just another marketing ploy by the record companies of course. How many times have you bought CD's already having the bulk of material on vinyl because there are extra previously unissued tracks? I've done this and then discovered that I couldn't dispose of my vinyl (which I would like to do for reasons of space and not sound reproduction) because one track which I particulary enjoyed on vinyl was not included on the CD which contained an extra 9 tracks.

Seems like the Clint Eastwood film includes Ellington, Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum - nothing wrong with the music of course but is it blues?

If you want to read revues of all the films you should go to the current issue of Juke Blues magazine.

Subject: RE: Blues Documentary on UK TV Tonight, 15 Apr 04
From: s6k
Date: 16 Apr 04 - 09:06 AM

the one that is directed by CLint Eastwood is all about Piano Blues. i dont know much about this, so maybe i won't watch it.
But the british blues one next week should be very good, i know that Jeff Beck is on it talking etc.

Yeh definately get the repeat tonight if you missed it, it was brilliant

Subject: RE: Blues Documentary on UK TV Tonight, 15 Apr 04
From: GUEST,Hootenanny
Date: 16 Apr 04 - 09:15 AM

If your interestd in the real McCoy you should watch all seven films so that you can learn more. Jeff Beck and his ilk are only of ineterest beacause many younger people came to the real thing after hearing them.
If you know little of piano blues then you should at least give your self a treat by hearing Otis Spann although I doubt they will give him a full number to himself but who knows?

Subject: RE: Blues Documentary on UK TV Tonight, 15 Apr 04
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 16 Apr 04 - 09:21 AM

I missed it last night, and I'm at work tonight, but we've just had Sky Digital installed at work, does anyone know the channel number for BBC4?
cheers.

Subject: RE: Blues Documentary on UK TV Tonight, 15 Apr 04
From: s6k
Date: 16 Apr 04 - 09:59 AM

i would like to give you some links.

Official BBC4 Blues Series Homepage
this has info on all 7 of the series and when they will be on, artists and songs featured, etc

BBC4 Homepage
it is quite a surprising little channel with some great programmes on every now and again. keep your eye out.

Also to add, Concert For George is repeated tonight at 9pm.

jOhn, BBC4 is channel 116
Click Here
and you can see what every channel is.

cheers
and yeh, i will watch the piano blues along with all the others. they will take some beating of this one though

Subject: RE: Blues Documentary on UK TV Tonight, 15 Apr 04
From: okthen
Date: 16 Apr 04 - 01:45 PM

BBC Channel 4 has some interesting competitions, for instance Competition for June Tabor tickets
Would help if you're within travelling distance of London.

Subject: RE: Blues Documentary on UK TV Tonight, 15 Apr 04
From: GUEST,Hootenanny
Date: 29 Apr 04 - 06:56 AM

Have seen the Wim Wenders contribution to this series. It bore out my worst fears, some interesting clips of Skip James and some very rare footage of J B Lenoir. However these are broken up and interupted by so much crap and awful cacophonous "interpretations" by people that I hesitate to call musicians that it is an ordeal to watch.
Wenders claims to like the blues but this film is an insult to the memory of James and Lenoir. What a wasted opportunity.
The film on Memphis (Thursday May 6th) I would reccomend, a real portrait of blues as it is.