Search - Folk Rock Anthology on DVD

A pleasing mixture of then and now ...

CU82 | Atlanta, GA | 06/21/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Rating: 4.5 Stars

A quick glance at the list of artists on this disc reveals that this DVD contains a nice mixture of tunes from "classic folk rock masters" with a couple of "newcomers" who, while not exactly folk rock artists per se, display the influences in their music of the former. If you are familiar with the Classic Rock Productions catalog, you can probably guess where the clips of these various artists are pulled from. In fact, you will have to take a guess as there is no documentation provided to tell you anything other than the artists and titles.

Most of the footage for the "classic folk rock masters" is pulled from more recent (1990's ???) concerts. This includes the cuts by Fairport Convention, Lindisfarne, and The Strawbs. The Steeleye Span footage appears to be from their 20th Anniversary concert in 1989 while the selections from Pentangle are pulled from a 1972 French television broadcast. Despite the differences in recording dates and the technology used in the recordings, the transition between tracks is relatively smooth so you don't have to worry about adjusting the volume.

The "newcomers" on this anthology are Mostly Autumn and Karnataka. Their selections fit in nicely even though neither group can really be classified as folk rock. However, the folk rock influences are apparent in the tracks that have been selected from both of these bands and serve to emphasize the importance of this musical genre as a vital and lasting force in the ongoing music scene.

The track listing on this DVD is as follows:

1. Fairport Convention - Matty Groves/Dirty Linen
2. Steeleye Span - Black Jack Davy
3. Mostly Autumn - Prints In The Stone
4. Lindisfarne - Lady Eleanor
5. Karnataka - Heaven Can Wait
6. Fairport Convention - Now Be Thankful
7. The Strawbs - Ringing Down The Years
8. Pentangle - Willy O'Winsbury
9. Mostly Autumn - Shindig
10. Karnataka - Delicate Flame Of Desire
11. Steeleye Span - Thomas The Rhymer
12. The Strawbs - Lay Down
13. Pentangle - People On The Highway
14. Lindisfarne - Meet Me On The Corner
15. Steeleye Span - Cam Ye O'er Frae France
16. Fairport Convention - Meet On The Ledge

I cannot overemphasize the fine job Classic Rock did in sequencing these tracks. Starting off with a somewhat psychedelic version of "Matty Groves/Dirty Linen" by Fairport Convention and ending with the everyone-on-stage finale "Meet on the Ledge", the track progression throughout is superb. The first Mostly Autumn track "Prints in the Stone" is a music video and the Pentangle tracks "Willy O'Winsbury" and "People On The Highway" are live televison performances(no audience) that have the same feel as a music video. The two tracks from Karnataka are a hybrid of concert footage and music video with the soundtracks being the live concert performances. Everything else is pure concert footage.

My overall rating of this product would be 5 stars if even a minimal amount of documentation were provided. Instead, I'm giving it 4.5 stars based on the strong performances captured on the disc and the skillful melding of old and new into a solid video and audio presentation.
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