Search - Big George Brock - Hard Times on DVD

Great Film on a great bluesman

Jeffrey Konkel | St. Louis, Missouri USA | 05/16/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have a whole shelf full of blues dvds. Most of them sit there gathering dust for one reason or another . . . some are dry, academic studies, others tell a good story about a particular blues performer but lack much in the way of musical content, others are more or less concert films that don't tell the viewer much about the musician.

This is the rare blues dvd that strikes a great balance between smoking performances and great storytelling. Big George Brock is a helluva performer, and it's great to see him finally getting the royal treatment he deserves!"

Surviving hard times!

Vern Melvin | Florida | 05/16/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Last year Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art, Inc. released Big George Brock's latest record, Club Caravan. This CD was cut in Jimbo Mathus' recording studio in Clarksdale and the results were, in my opinion, an outstanding set of authentic Delta & hill country blues. So, I was not at all surprised when I got word that Cat Head was planning the release of a DVD focusing on the life and times of Big George Brock. Titled appropriately Hard Times, the DVD chronicles Big George's life journey from sharecropper in the Delta to boxing (he was good enough to have once knocked down Sonny Liston), father 42 children, perform with Muddy Waters, Albert King, and others and own and manage a series of blues clubs in the St. Louis area.

Ultimately, Big George's story is not only one of survival, but one of survival with his dignity intact. Big George comes across as both a proud and humble man who appreciates, at age 73, the opportunity to enjoy some recognition that has largely eluded him most of his adult life (sound familiar?).

Big George is such a charismatic individual that whether performing in a night club setting or walking the cotton fields of his youth in the Delta in the film I was frequently transfixed by his engaging personality and entertainment ability.

Whether you're a serious blues fan or just someone who really enjoys good music and a good story I highly, highly recommend purchasing this DVD.

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