Search - Spinning Wheel on DVD

Blood Sweat & Tears - 'Spinning Wheel' (Cherry Red / MVD)

Mike Reed | USA | 06/28/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Not sure about anyone else, but I've always considered Blood Sweat And Tears to be pop oriented jazz-rock. 'Spinning Wheel' is a fine hour-long archive performance of the band in Halifax, UK filmed on April 9, 1980. Personally, I thought the cinematography here is very good. Sort of like a late night Public Television special. Tracks that had me playing this DVD over a few times were the jazzy opener "Overture", the beautifully done "God Bless The Child" (great flute work), "Hi De Ho", "And When I Die" (seemed too short), "Spinning Wheel", "You Made Me So Very Happy" and their Hendrix cover of "Manic Depression". Tunes here I simply don't remember are "Nuclear Blues", "You're The One" and "Lucretia MacEvil". Didn't mind the ten-minute "Blood Sweat & Tears Blues" that started out with some stellar acoustic guitar playing. Line-up: David Clayton Thomas-vocals, Robert Piltch-guitar, David Piltch-bass, Earl Seymour-soprano sax, Vern Dorge-sax&flute, Richard Martinez-keyboards and Robert Economou-drums. Should appeal to fans of Chicago, Three Dog Night, Joe Cocker and possibly Blues Project or even Bloodrock. Worth checking out."

Bad video and worth sound

Juan F. Olmo | 06/07/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"is a shame the only material what we have about blood sweat and tears is a really bad work the video is a 4 or 5 over 10 and the sound is 2 or 3 over 10 is a really shame this work sorry but is true"

Great performance; Technically flawed DVD

Aaron Morris | Santa Ana, CA | 12/14/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Throughout its existence, Blood, Sweat & Tears was an ever-changing line-up of musicians, so pointing out that this is not the "original" group is somewhat meaningless. Even David Clayton-Thomas, the lead singer on most of the familiar hits, was not in the original group. In 1979, Clayton-Thomas put together yet another incarnation of the group, cut an album, and toured briefly in support of the album, disbanding again in 1981. This DVD is a live recording of a concert performed at the Civic Theatre in Halifax, UK in 1980.

I sort my concert DVDs into three categories. The great ones, such as The Moody Blues - A Night at Red Rocks with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, merit undivided attention. Many others are relegated to the flat screen behind the bar, providing background at a party. The final group merit only a, "I can't believe they bothered to put that on a DVD."

The DVD falls into the middle group. The musicians are very talented, and Clayton-Thomas puts on an entertaining show. However, the sound is flawed, with a buzz that can be heard throughout during quiet passages. Also, since the band was attempting to promote its new music, the past hits are relegated to little more than a montage. I doubt even a die hard BS&T fan will sit and listen to the DVD more than once."