"The Blues" series on PBS

[jazzbo]

I didn't get a chance to see the entire episode; I'll watch the remaining tape hopefully right away when I get home tonight. My impressions are positive, I basically agree with Jim and Joe.

[skeith]

I watched the entire first episode last night and I was somewhat disappointed. Scorsese gives us a very few of the blues masters and Corey Harris and then we are off to Africa. I have no problem with exploring the African roots of this music but it seemed a little excessive and too premature without having given us much about what American blues is all about.

[Man with the Golden Arm]

Only caught a brief moment of tonight's episode - did I really see the lyric caption say "blowing my home" [instead of 'horn']? Maybe I was hallucinating.

I was bothered by these captions. The whole reason that the blues is, is that you need to listen hard. Not have it just put out there for us pasties to be able to 'see' what we are hearing.

Truly better than most of what my 5 channels have to offer. I'll be watching and looking forward to more.

Edited September 29, 2003 by Man with the Golden Arm

[jacman]

didn't see it. my daughter has been looking forward to watch the season premeir of Charmed, and we have but one TV...

i'll catch it on DVD. i wonder if anyone will talk to cats like John Mooney or Jourma Koukenen(sp), as they learned at the knee of Son House and Rev. Gary Davis respectively.

[Noj]

It would be really cool if the DVD had all the old footage of Son House and the other bluesmen in an unedited, uncut state--I wanted to hear the whole songs...

I enjoyed the first installment, I'll watch more.

[jacman]

It would be really cool if the DVD had all the old footage of Son House and the other bluesmen in an unedited, uncut state--I wanted to hear the whole songs...

ask and ye shall recieve:

http://guitarvideos.com/

Stefan Grossman's company. click on DVD at the top of the page. there are tons of performance DVDs there. i have Legends of the Delta Blues. Son House, Booker (bukka) White, etc.

<edit for spelling>

Edited September 29, 2003 by jacman

[Noj]

Thanks jacman! Maybe I won't watch the rest of the series after all...

[Dan Gould]

I also ended up watching Charmed with my wife while we ran a tape of the show, because its running at 10 PM in South Florida and with the baseball playoffs starting tomorrow, I know I won't be watching the subsequent films live anyway.

For what its worth, the Times review seemed to like Eastwood's film best and said that Wim Wenders film was laughed out of film festivals around the world.

[Brad]

I didn't see the whole thing but found it a mixed bag. I enjoyed some of these people who are keeping their (and our) traditions going but thought the program seemed to meander at times. I didn't think the connection between Africa and the US was all that well connected although I'm sure most of us know the connection anyway. But I do like the individual director approach and I'm looking to tonight. The coming attractions have me interested.

It doesn't have the Ken Burns "I'm preaching to the masses" message so that's good.

[mr jazz]

agree with Brad. An interesting film until the shift to Africa, I couldn't see the connection. The Son House footage was fabulous though so no real complaints so far. Corey Harris does a nice job overall. I also heard tonight's episode is ridiculous in parts but I'll tune in and judge for myself.

[The Mule]

An interesting film until the shift to Africa, I couldn't see the connection.

I disagree. If you listen to the guitar playing of Ali Farka Toure he sounds A LOT like John Lee Hooker--and the comparision has dogged him for years. While I can see where one might not be willing to make the leap between African flute & drum to African-American fife & drum to African-Americans blues, there were many, many other connections between African music and American blues made--including the handing of musical traditions down from generation to generation and the notion of American bluesmen being the Griots of this country.

I do think, however, that Ali Farka Toure went a bit overboard with his claims that African-Americans and Africans are just the same--I know plenty of African-Americans who would disagree.

For what its worth, the Times review seemed to like Eastwood's film best and said that Wim Wenders film was laughed out of film festivals around the world.

I don't know what the Times is talking about with regard to the Wenders segment, but the review in VARIETY was a rave:

Posted: Fri., May 16, 2003, 12:35pm PT

The Soul of a Man

(Docu -- Special Screening) A Martin Scorsese presentation of a Vulcan Prods./Road Movies co-production in association with Cappa Prods., Jigsaw Prods. (International sales: Road Sales, Berlin.) Produced by Alex Gibney, Margaret Bodde. Executive producers, Scorsese, Paul G. Allen, Jody Patton, Ulrich Felsberg. Coproducer, Richard Hutton. Directed, written by Wim Wenders.

Narrated by: Laurence Fishburne.

With: Keith B. Brown, Chris Thomas King.

Featured performers: J.B. Lenoir, Skip James, Beck, T Bone Burnett, Nick Cave, Shemekia Copeland, Eagle Eye Cherry, Crow Jane, Garland Jeffreys, Los Lobos, Bonnie Raitt, Marc Ribot, Lou Reed, Vernon Reid, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, James "Blood" Ulmer, Lucinda Williams, Cassandra Wilson, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Cream, John Mayall.

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By DEBORAH YOUNG

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The seven-title musical docu series "The Blues" kicks off on a high note with "The Soul of a Man," Wim Wenders' exhilarating and involving salute to three legendary musicians little known by the general public: Blind Willie Johnson, Skip James and J. B. Lenoir. Wenders succeeds not only in putting these American composer-performers in the context of their times and in demonstrating their influence on subsequent generations of musicians, but also succeeds in putting them in "the bigger picture" of the human spirit itself. This hugely enjoyable film, riffing from historical pastiche to archive footage, from filmed material to concert performances, has the stuff to go way beyond music fans, doing for the blues what the director did for Cuban music in "The Buena Vista Social Club." The fab music is also a shoo-in for a bestselling CD.

Laurence Fishburne is the voice of the ghostly spirit of Blind Willie Johnson, a Texas gospel singer who made his mark with several recordings for Columbia in 1927 -- including "The Soul of a Man." Wenders' fictional re-creation of the singer-guitarist playing on a small town street corner so uncannily mimics newsreel footage that only its exceptional technical quality betrays the fact that it was shot for the film with Chris Thomas King (the blues singer found at the crossroads in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?") playing Johnson.

The song is craftily intercut with Marc Ribot's modern cover of the song, a strategy used throughout to provide new perspective on the songs and show their longevity and adaptability.

First part of pic successfully gives a sense of place through views of bootleggers, cotton-pickers, and homeless families during the Depression. Next figure to be introduced -- again in a clever B&W pastiche of historical footage -- is Skip James (brought to life in another excellent trompe-l'oeil perf by Keith B. Brown), a Mississippi-born guitarist, pianist and singer. In 1931, James was discovered by a record producer; he recorded 18 key tracks in a single session for him.

Though he made blues history, James earned nothing from the recordings and dropped out of sight for 33 years. The real James returns at the end of the film as a sick old man, pulled out of a hospital to appear at the 1964 Newport Festival, where he stunned young listeners. Cream's hit cover of his song "I'm So Glad" earned him enough money to undergo cancer treatments and record new songs.

Lucinda Williams, Alvin Youngblood Hart and Bonnie Raitt -- along with Beck, Lou Reed and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion -- are among the performers shown singing James' mesmerizing songs such as "Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues" and "Devil Got My Woman."

An extraordinary performance by John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers singing "J.B. Lenoir Is Dead" introduces the film's third hero. Also born in Mississippi, Lenoir worked out of Chicago in his zebra-striped tuxedos. Director Wenders does a cameo as a long-haired young film student searching for info on the elusive singer-composer. He discovers a likable Swedish-American couple, the Seabergs, who made two amateur documentaries on Lenoir in the 1960s. The docus were refused by Swedish TV, for which they were made.

These home-style recordings of Lenoir singing and playing in his home are liberally used here. Again, the songs are intercut with modern covers by the likes of Los Lobos (who perform "Voodoo Music" written by Lenoir and Willie Dixon), Shemekia Copeland and T Bone Burnett. Cassandra Wilson's moving rendition of "Vietnam Blues," intercut with footage of planes and bombings, illustrates the political side of Lenoir's songs; his "Alabama Blues" is shown with footage of civil rights and Ku Klux Klan marches and a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (who Lenoir resembled). Lenoir's untimely death in a 1969 car accident followed James' death two years earlier from cancer.

Wenders persuasively insists that these "songs of poor men" will survive. Images of the Voyager traveling beyond the solar system with blues songs aboard for the edification of alien listeners makes a powerful final statement. Perhaps it's no coincidence that James became a Baptist minister and Lenoir melded the blues with gospel.

Lisa Rinzler's eye-fooling DV cinematography is impeccably blown up to 35mm. The lovingly recorded Dolby sound is worth a trip to the best sound theater in town.

Camera (Duart B&W, color), Lisa Rinzler; editor, Mathilde Bonnedfoy; music supervisor, John McCullough; production designer, Liba Daniels. In Dolby Digital. Reviewed at Cannes Film Festival (Special Screening), May 15, 2003. Running time: 100 MIN.

And there was also this mention in VARIETY during the festival:

"Errol Morris' complex doc about Robert McNamara, "The Fog of War," and Wim Wenders' hybrid doc about three blues singers, "The Soul of a Man," were highlights among the Special Screenings, and Richard Schickel's comprehensive docu, "Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin," kicked off a coming year-long revival of restored versions of the great comic's work."

And this:

"Highlight of the Official Selection's special screenings was Wim Wenders' wonderful entry in the forthcoming TV series on the blues, "The Soul of a Man," which imaginatively evokes the lives and work of three legendary singer-songwriters."

Edited September 29, 2003 by The Mule

[Alexander]

Well, I just got finished watching "Soul of a Man," and while I didn't like it as much as last night's film, I thought it was pretty damn interesting. I've been in to Skip James for some time, so I knew a lot about him, but I knew virtually nothing about the other two artists and I really enjoyed seeing their segments (especially the footage of J.B. Lenois). I will admit that having Fishburn narrarate (as the ghostly voice of Blind Willie Johnson) was a little distracting (I kept expecting him to start telling me about the Matrix). I thought it took a lot of risks, but I like that. Taking risks is good. Even having artists like Beck and Lou Reed (very non-blues figures) was an interesting approach. It made you appreciate the music and not just the style.

[Jim Alfredson]

I like Wim Wender's films, but I thought this segment was silly. The "old" footage he recreated was kind of cool, but his choice of modern interpreters was poor, to say the least. The only person I have any musical respect for when it comes to the blues is Bonnie Raitt. She plays and sings great and more than that, with total conviction.

Lucinda Williams made me sick. Her band looked like every second rate bar band you'd find in any city. Since they obviously care about their looks ("Dude, you need sunglasses to play the blues!!!") I would think they'd put more thought into their presentation. Lou Rawls looked scared and completely out of place. The John Spencer Blues Explosion is a joke, right? They made me laugh. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds also made me laugh out loud and ask, "Who is this butt nugget?" I turned it off after them. Boring.

Why is it when white people play the blues (with the exception of Raitt in the film) everything instantly gets really loud with no dynamics? And then they put that stupid fake ass growly shit in their voice? It's the white man's trick to try and sound soulful... "I'll just add this growl to my voice, like I'm gargling... and voila!!! Instant soul! Just add pseudo commitment and heartache."

It seemed that the only one who had any real understanding or connection to Skip James' music was Raitt. Fuckin' Lou Rawls was reading the words off a page, fer chrissakes!

Lame.

[Soul Stream]

Well, I hated it...turned it off...turned it back on...and was then sucked in by the best shit I'd see so far. I really dug the extended J.B Lenoir footage. They really showed a lot and for THAT I give them credit.

Otherwise....I'm not quite sure what I saw. I Hodgepodge of bad re-inactments of stuff that didn't need re-inacting.

After watching this episode, all I'm definately sure of is that Blind Willie Johnson was an astronaut. Other than that, I'm clueless.

[Jim R]

I watched the wim Wenders film tonight, and although I found portions of it interesting, overall I'd give it a definite thumbs down. I'm with B3-er almost 100% on his comments concerning the extremely poor choices for modern-day interpretations of the music. Nick Cave's group and that guy "Beck" nearly caused me to turn it off immediately. What a complete joke. I don't quite "get" the choice of Lou Reed either, although he wasn't quite as bad as some of the others. It's fortunate that they chose a few performers with some clue (Bonnie Raitt, and also I thought Los Lobos were very good- no surprise there for me).

I found the re-enactments of Johnson and James to be interesting, if not terribly entertaining. The J.B. Lenoir footage was really (by far) the best reason to watch this film, IMO.

Following that film, KQED aired a documentary called BLUES STORY, which must have been filmed about 5 (?) years ago or so. I had never seen it before, and I'm glad I stayed up to watch it. It was only an hour long, and didn't include as much music as I would have preferred, but the scope of artists that were interviewed was fantastic (B.B. King, Rufus Thomas, Hubert Sumlin, Robert Lockwood, Pinetop Perkins, Lowell Fulson, Ruth Brown, Koko Taylor, R. L. Burnside, Buddy Guy, and many many more). 100% authentic, no bullshit documentary. I wish it had been 7 hours long instead of 1. Anybody else ever seen this?

[jazzbo]

Well I've seen the first and final third of this second episode so far, and enjoyed them. Blind Willie Johnson has always seemd an important figure to me, his voice and the mood he invokes is so unique, AND he's a monster guitarist. I was glad to see them devote time to him. J. B and Skip I know less of and was quite happy to learn more of. I found much of the contemporary recreations entertaining, and I think that they make the point that the music is still vital and being reinvented. Yes, John Spencer's over the top rooster recreation of the styles of Wolf and Jagger et al is not exactly the purist's cup of tea, but it is a new look at the James tune, certainly. Beck. . . well he was being a Beckian Skip James. I don't like his shtick, but again he's a new figure and the music grows a new wing. I wasn't that impressed by Bonnie's rendition to be perfectly honest, a bit too pat. And I liked Garland Jeffries' and Cassandra Wilson's appearances fine.

This is an interesting series. As a long time blues afficianado I don't believe it is really directed at me (or most of us) just as I felt the JAZZ series was not aimed my way, but I enjoyed JAZZ and I'm enjoying this series; just the chance to see John Lee and Skip and J. B. and others perform is a treat. And the overall vibe of the films is entertainment, and I think that serves the music form and future well, better perhaps than a strictly documentarian approach. Just my two.

[Jad]

Didn't watch all of it, but I enjoyed what I saw. Even the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Beck bits. That's a little closer to what I get out of some great gut-busting blues than Marc Ribot (too many notes. Disliked his take on the Blind Willie Johnson song).

[Joe]

Yep, the Wenders film was a little goofy, a little gushy -- a fan film, no question about it.

But I'll watch ANYTHING with live footage of Skip James in it. Spell-binding.

I would have liked more of Blind Willie Johnson, a figure of extreme personal importance to me (to think he walked the same streets of Dallas that I have...), but I suppose that's OK, I have the records, which are majestic despite the limitations of the medium. However, I do think the J.B. Lenoir sections were superb, and a more than fitting tribute to an artist who certainly deserves to be better known. Jimmy Reed with a social conscience...

The best contemporary interpretations for me were turned out by Cassandra Wilson, Los Lobos, the Blood Ulmer / Vernon Reid / Eagle Eye thing (would like to have heard more from that gathering), Garland Jeffreys, and Lou Reed, who sounded like shit but got the spirit right. But its hard to say when all you get are bits and bites of performances. Its just too bad Sonny Sharrock isn't still alive; I'd much rather have heard him pay tribute to Bind Wille than Marc Ribot.

[The Mule]

I thought it was pretty great. I mean c'mon....just for the footage of Lenoir alone! I liked the structure. I liked the recreations. I liked how personal to Wenders it was. Yeah, I could have done without some of the modern artists, but I appreciated the point Wenders was making and thought it worked. My only beef was that it was a little too long.

Honestly, between some of the reactions to this series and the Ken Burns JAZZ series some of y'all will NEVER be happy with ANYTHING no matter what the approach or who makes the film.

Pickers of nits, sez I.

[Joe]

And, BTW, is all you want are performances, you might care to check out these 2 DVDs...

http://www.reelinintheyears.com/afbf/

[Jim R]

Mule, honestly, between your reactions to some of the posters here and some of the posters on the old Burns threads, I doubt that you'll EVER be happy with these discussion threads.

But seriously, I'm not sure who you're directing your comments at. Me? B3-er? Lon, for criticizing Bonnie Raitt? B) Come on, can't we be just a little bit negative, a little bit opinionated about specific portions of these films, without being called on it? I mean, I pointed out some positives, fer cryin' out loud. I agree that it's worth watching for the Lenoir film alone, but it really bothers me to see people with no business playing this particular music (let alone getting national exposure) being shown in alternating clips with real artists. It's laughable. B3-er said it very well, I thought. Maybe they should have let some of the clueless (to the blues) artists just play their OWN music, and say it was inspired by the blues. That would have been more sensible (but probably just as painful).

[The Mule]

Well, I do take issue with your sweeping comment about people with "no business playing this particular music (let alone getting national exposure)." Don't you think that's a bit extreme? Part of what Wenders was doing is demonstrating that these songs can be interpreted all sorts of different ways by all sorts of different artists throughout the years. I really don't see the problem with that. You can dislike them, but it doesn't mean they're not allowed to play this music.

I guess part of my response to these threads is that there seems to be a certain amount of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Some people object to certain aspects of the film and they make it seem like the whole thing is a waste of time or a disaster. There seems to be a bitterness and relentless negativity to some of these posts and when a compliment is made--like the Lenoir footage--it seems grudging.

These films can't be all things to all people. Wenders chose a path and went down it successfully, in my opinion. I thought it was different and interesting and personal. It isn't meant to be the last word on the subject. None of these films are "definitive" and they're not meant to be.

But I read some of these posts and I want to throw up my hands and ask, "Well, what DO you want?"

[Soul Stream]

I question why we need modern groups performing these guy's songs on this stuff. This music doesn't need "updating" as far as I'm concerned. Good or bad, these modern performances aren't teaching us anything about the original performers. I'd rather hear/see more of the originators. Either interviewed or performing. If this series was done in the eighties, we'd be listening to ELO perform a Skip James song. 20 years from now the Beck, Cave, Spencer, ect performances will seem just as dated...and ultimately hollow. Leaving us wishing for more footage of Skip James that ended up on the editing room floor.

That's why I liked the J.B. Lenoir stuff so much. We actually got to see JB JENOIR for an extended period.

[Jim R]

Well, I do take issue with your sweeping comment about people with "no business playing this particular music (let alone getting national exposure)." Don't you think that's a bit extreme?

Nope. Maybe it's because we are living through the dumbing-down era.

I guess part of my response to these threads is that there seems to be a certain amount of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Some people object to certain aspects of the film and they make it seem like the whole thing is a waste of time or a disaster. There seems to be a bitterness and relentless negativity to some of these posts and when a compliment is made--like the Lenoir footage--it seems grudging.

Well, you're entitled to your perceptions, but my compliments (speaking for myself) were not grudging, and I'm not condemning the entire film.

[The Mule]

I question why we need modern groups performing these guy's songs on this stuff. This music doesn't need "updating" as far as I'm concerned. Good or bad, these modern performances aren't teaching us anything about the original performers. I'd rather hear/see more of the originators. Either interviewed or performing. If this series was done in the eighties, we'd be listening to ELO perform a Skip James song. 20 years from now the Beck, Cave, Spencer, ect performances will seem just as dated...and ultimately hollow. Leaving us wishing for more footage of Skip James that ended up on the editing room floor.

That's why I liked the J.B. Lenoir stuff so much. We actually got to see JB JENOIR for an extended period.

But the film did BOTH. It provided lots of exceedingly RARE footage of the original performer AND modern interpretations of their work. Look, I think part of the point of using people like Lou Reed and Beck and Raitt is to provoke the discussion. Did that particular interpretation work for you or not and if so (or not) why? Does the foundation of the tune--the blues--survive the interpretation?

I still don't understand what's wrong with that. I didn't like a lot of the new versions of the tunes but it sure as hell didn't ruin the film for me.

Bottom line for me when I watch these things is that I try to put aside my bias and my expectations about how I might do it or what I might want to see and instead try to judge it on the filmmaker's terms. What did he attempt and did he succeed? In my opinion, I thought the Wenders film worked.

Plus, I was moved by that final image of Blind Willie Johnson imposed on the star field singing "Soul of a Man" to the heavens. What can I say? I'm a sap!!!