I'm curious what ILM thinks of this 3-DVD set. I just got a promo copy a few days ago, and I'm amazed that this passes for an official release. The mix is muddy, the picture is wobbly -- especially the Apollo show, which looks like a direct transfer from a lousy VHS bootleg. I realize the footage is old, but still -- the Live + Loud in Dallas disc from a few years back is also from '68, and it's pristine.
― SongOfSam, Monday, 25 August 2008 20:25 (seventeen years ago)
The Live and Loud disc is audio. This is video. Big difference.
― Matos W.K., Wednesday, 27 August 2008 06:20 (seventeen years ago)
I realize, but still it seems like there wasn't any effort at all put into cleaning up the footage or tracking down soundboard audio or any of that shit. It's just so shabby; I'm kinda shocked.
― SongOfSam, Wednesday, 27 August 2008 14:46 (seventeen years ago)
Sounds like a damn shame!
― Mark G, Wednesday, 27 August 2008 14:54 (seventeen years ago)
Based on what I've read about this set, it doesn't include James' first segment, with "Get it Together" and "There Was a Time" (among others). That'd be a shame, since that opening was as explosive (if not more so) as anything else in the show.
I'm hoping I'm wrong about its exclusion, though.
― Formerly Painful Dentistry, Wednesday, 27 August 2008 16:09 (seventeen years ago)
James Brown was the black Mark E Smith; whatttya gonna do?
― sexyDancer, Wednesday, 27 August 2008 17:29 (seventeen years ago)
Hm. I got this as part of my girl's birthday gift. Hope it holds up at least a little.
― forksclovetofu, Wednesday, 27 August 2008 20:03 (seventeen years ago)
There's a clip from '64 of JB doing Out of Sight on the TAMI show. It's ferocious. And I haven't seen the documentary yet.
― SongOfSam, Wednesday, 27 August 2008 20:30 (seventeen years ago)
Oh yeah, that's on an NME compilation video from the eighties...
― Mark G, Wednesday, 27 August 2008 20:40 (seventeen years ago)
I don't know whether audio deteriorates faster than video, but videoTAPE certainly doesn't wear well, and that's obviously where they got the footage from. The thing is, a label like Hip-O doesn't put out a box like this without looking for good sources, and these are probably the best they can find. They probably weren't expecting Man to Man to be used later on and stored it improperly. The Boston show was a live broadcast, and a last-minute one; I doubt anyone was looking at holding onto it.
Keep in mind that in the '60s no one was looking at there being any kind of historical interest at all. That's the reason why in many cases it took CDs and their attendant cleanup to make old R&B reissues sound good again: I had an old Huey "Piano" Smith comp (Rock 'n' Roll Revival!, the one Jay Cocks wrote about in Stranded), much of which was plainly taken from vinyl. ("Havin' a Good Time" features the song coming to an abrupt end when the needle skips to the middle and then fades out on the endgroove clicks.) Yes, it's frustrating that this stuff isn't presented in better condition, but I have to imagine there really isn't better condition. Anyway, Man to Man does improve markedly in quality as it goes on.
― Matos W.K., Thursday, 28 August 2008 08:36 (seventeen years ago)
Funny, I have that Smith CD also, and indeed it's pretty much all you could get for a long time.
― If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Thursday, 28 August 2008 08:59 (seventeen years ago)