Steve F
08-16-2006, 5:43pm
I just bought this DVD last weekend, Chuck Berry, HAIL! HAIL! ROCK 'N' ROLL. I love it! It was originally released in 1987, but they have re-released it in June 2006 with a lot of special features.
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000F0UTTM.01._SS500_SCLZZZZZZZ_V54992834_.jpg
The music was produced by Keith Richards of the Stones and has many other stars including Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Etta James, Julian Lennon, and Linda Ronstadt. There are comments from Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Roby Orbison, Bo Didley, and Bruce Springsteen. For any of us Ole' Rockers", to me, this is a must. Here is what they say about it: I used Amazon's comments, but not all as they refer to the 4 DVD set. Mine is only a 2:
Two distinct portraits of Chuck Berry emerge in this lavish four-disc set built around Hail! Hail! Rock n' Roll, director Taylor Hackford's 1986 documentary/concert film. On one side there's the Berry who wrote a catalogue's worth of genre-defining songs ("Maybellene," "Johnny B. Goode," "Roll Over Beethoven," and so many others), all of them filled with wit, delightful stories, and poetry. He's also the guitarist who virtually patented many of rock's seminal licks, and the showman who attracted some top musicians to celebrate his 60th birthday with a concert in St. Louis, his hometown. On the other hand, there's the Berry who, in the course of the film as well as the accompanying bonus material, emerges as a prickly cheapskate who drove the filmmakers and musicians nuts with his absurd demands and unpredictable behavior. Together they make a fascinating look at the guy who justifiably calls himself "the father of rock 'n' roll."
Hackford's original film, now issued with a crisp, anamorphic transfer and digital sound, occupies Disc One. A parade of classics are heard during the climactic concert, performed by Berry and a superb band (led by Keith Richards and featuring guitarist Robert Cray and Johnny Johnson, Berry's original pianist, among others), with guest shots by Eric Clapton (smoking on the slow blues "Wee Wee Hours"), Etta James, Linda Ronstadt, and Julian Lennon (whose dad was an unabashed Berry fan). There are revealing offstage glimpses, too, like Berry confessing that he only took up music full-time because there was more money in it than in housepainting, or a weary, wasted Richards admitting that "I was mad to take the gig" but gamely standing up to his idol at every turn (watch for a memorable moment during the very first song of the concert, when Chuck attempts to change key in mid-tune and Keith sternly shakes him off).
There is also a nice old writeup about the original 1987 film by itself by the Washington Post. You can read that here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/chuckberryhailhailrocknrollpgharrington_a0aa6d.htm
Steve
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000F0UTTM.01._SS500_SCLZZZZZZZ_V54992834_.jpg
The music was produced by Keith Richards of the Stones and has many other stars including Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Etta James, Julian Lennon, and Linda Ronstadt. There are comments from Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Roby Orbison, Bo Didley, and Bruce Springsteen. For any of us Ole' Rockers", to me, this is a must. Here is what they say about it: I used Amazon's comments, but not all as they refer to the 4 DVD set. Mine is only a 2:
Two distinct portraits of Chuck Berry emerge in this lavish four-disc set built around Hail! Hail! Rock n' Roll, director Taylor Hackford's 1986 documentary/concert film. On one side there's the Berry who wrote a catalogue's worth of genre-defining songs ("Maybellene," "Johnny B. Goode," "Roll Over Beethoven," and so many others), all of them filled with wit, delightful stories, and poetry. He's also the guitarist who virtually patented many of rock's seminal licks, and the showman who attracted some top musicians to celebrate his 60th birthday with a concert in St. Louis, his hometown. On the other hand, there's the Berry who, in the course of the film as well as the accompanying bonus material, emerges as a prickly cheapskate who drove the filmmakers and musicians nuts with his absurd demands and unpredictable behavior. Together they make a fascinating look at the guy who justifiably calls himself "the father of rock 'n' roll."
Hackford's original film, now issued with a crisp, anamorphic transfer and digital sound, occupies Disc One. A parade of classics are heard during the climactic concert, performed by Berry and a superb band (led by Keith Richards and featuring guitarist Robert Cray and Johnny Johnson, Berry's original pianist, among others), with guest shots by Eric Clapton (smoking on the slow blues "Wee Wee Hours"), Etta James, Linda Ronstadt, and Julian Lennon (whose dad was an unabashed Berry fan). There are revealing offstage glimpses, too, like Berry confessing that he only took up music full-time because there was more money in it than in housepainting, or a weary, wasted Richards admitting that "I was mad to take the gig" but gamely standing up to his idol at every turn (watch for a memorable moment during the very first song of the concert, when Chuck attempts to change key in mid-tune and Keith sternly shakes him off).
There is also a nice old writeup about the original 1987 film by itself by the Washington Post. You can read that here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/chuckberryhailhailrocknrollpgharrington_a0aa6d.htm
Steve