Search - Sam and Dave: The Original Soul Men on DVD

"One step forward, two steps back (and I'm not talking about

John H. McCarthy | Archbald,PA | 02/16/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Being a BIG fan of Sam Moore & Dave Prater, when I found out that a 2 hour dts DVD of their performances was being released by HIP-O/Universal, who have done great work on various music DVD's over the years, it really "got me hummin'"! Imagine my elation when I found that all 18 clips of Sam & Dave, 2 of their Orchestra(!), a solo by Sam, and 3 bonus "Roots Of Sam & Dave" gospel videos were uncut, with nary a voice-over! Icing on the disc was that only 2 of them were early concept videos, and the rest were LIVE, LIVE, LIVE! Interview segments were kept to a minimum, interspersed throughout between songs. Another great judgment was, since I'm sure they didn't have the budget to include EVERY known clip, they opted to use mostly rare and unseen videos, instead of those readily available, such as those found on the also recently released STAX/VOLT REVUE LIVE IN NORWAY DVD, etc. Audio and video quality are great, considering the age and rarity of these gems, and the few that are rough ("Hold On, I'm Comin'" at the Hammersmith Odeon comes to mind) make up the difference in the pure energy and power of their performances. Now for the dreaded "two steps back"...anyone who purchases a lot of DVD's to see historic video of their favorite artists usually has to live with truncated clips and aggravating voice-overs. As I've stated above, here for once we get full length and uncut songs, so what's my beef? Archival videos usually come with some kind of booklet to educate the novice and refresh the memory of the fan. This being a HIP-O release, I was surprised when there was no booklet included, but while reading the back cover of the case I came across something unbelievably insidious, I quote: "Booklet available to download at [...]" Actually, I've added the "/booklet.pdf" part, their link doesn't work! Just for the hell of it, I downloaded the 8 (!) pages, which were packed with info, pictures, memorabilia, etc., and completely drained my black ink cartridge, since all the pages are BLACK, with TINY white lettering which was hardly readable printed by computer. So, let's do the math, $[...] for the DVD, at least $[...] of ink to print the booklet! I really hate to give this DVD only 4 stars, the videos alone rate 10+, but this print your own booklet is probably a portent of things to come, and should be scary to the music video consumer. I plan to call Universal, and e-mail this review, and I encourage others to follow suit, before this tactic becomes the norm......

[...]

Anyone who agrees with me should e-mail jeff.fura@umusic.com with your comments......"

A few more pieces of info on this fine-ALMOST perfect - DVD

Steven I. Ramm | Phila, PA USA | 03/05/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A few more pieces of info on this fine-but frustrating disc.

John in PA covered a lot in his review, so I'll try to fill in some holes.

First off, this has got to be the largest collection of complete Sam & Dave performances available anywhere! And where else are you going to find two full performance by "The Sam & Dave Orchestra"? Most of the performances are from 1967-1970 with two exceptions: Their last performance together in December 1970 from "Saturday Night Live" and a 2007 performance of Sam at the Blue Note in Tokyo. The best sound quality comes from the crisp black and white images recorded for Finish, Norwegian or Danish TV. (The Norway footage was licensed from Reelin' in the Years' "Stax/Volt in Norway" DVD. The worst is the first of two performances in The Ed Sullivan Show ("Soul Sister, Brown Sugar"). The sound is really muddled.

There are oddball performances (from Historic Archives, Inc.) that are a novelty but show off the guys. First comes the duo singing the Bacharach/David hit "Make It Easy on Yourself" on Hollywood Palace, accompanied by a string soundtrack (while the S&D horns just stand behind them). And no one has yet mentioned the combination of Sam and Dave AND Mike Douglas (!) rocking out to "Lucky Old Sun". A bizarre moment if there ever was one.

The interviews are kept brief to allow more performances in the 1 hour, 43-minute feature time (not counting the 6 bonus tracks). The interviews seem recent, but Dan Ackyrod looks too young and the interviews with Moore must be at least 10 years old when you compare his hair in them and the 2007 Japan performance. The production is copyrighted 2008. Also, the package states comments from Jon Bon Jovi and Sting. Don't blink; they each have about three sentences at the end.

I too wondered about the booklet. In the credits there is mention of Liner Notes by Robert Gordon and "Trivia Notes" as well. Had I not read John in PA's comment I wouldn't have even seen the note in TINY print on the back cover saying the booklet can be downloaded. I agree, I have to take off a star (I'd take off a half, but Amazon requires full stars only) for "frugalness" on the part of Universal Music. S&D deserved the full package and other Universal releases - in fact every Reelin' in the Years production I've covered, has excellent notes included. Historic Films should shoot for the same high standards.

But, yes, if you want to experience should music at it's best and see FULL performances you likely have never seen before, this DVD will certainly satisfy you.
"

DOUBLE DYNOMITE +++++

Lester L. Carter | PHILA , PA | 03/03/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I need more stars. Got this disc, sat back and began to watch. These cats were something else. You got to see what they do to Mike Douglas. You got to see the band's dance steps. You got to see them perform and perform and perform. Watch Dave on one clip step back and get the band in sync. Then when we get to 'The Roots Of Sam & Dave' there is a clip of Bro. Joe Mays & Jackie Verdell (worth the price of the disc by itself). There are 'The Davis Sister' (worth the price of the disc by itself). And there are 'The Soul Stirrers' (worth the price of the disc by itself).
I NEED MORE STARS"