Search - Waylon Jennings: Nashville Rebel on DVD

Get this AND the NASHVILLE REBEL 4-CD box set

Waymore-Stuff | Way Up North... | 11/05/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First off, I'd like to begin by clearing up a couple misconceptions:
1) this is NOT the 1966 film of the same name;
2) there is NOT a 100-page booklet included.
Both these points have erroneously appeared on a number of online-retailer websites.

This IS a companion piece to the acclaimed 4-CD box set of the same title.


The DVD menu opens with the flipping thru of a Waylon scrapbook...flipping a bit too fast to really study the pix but that's OK as most are included in the lavish 144 page book that comes with this DVD's big brother box set of the same title, also in stores now.

Here's what you'll see:

1. Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line
- from the Johnny Cash Show, 1970. Waylon had just won a Grammy for MacArthur Park and JRC congratulates him on that significant accomplishment. Waylon throws in that even JR ain't done that yet. Before launching into 'ONLY DADDY' they exchange the now-familiar comments about the time they shared a room at the Fontaine Bleu apartments in Madison -- where JR points out that during that era he felt that 'Waylon wouldn't ever amount to nuthin...'. He was sure wrong about that!! ;-)

2. Honky Tonk Heroes
3. Louisiana Woman
4. This Time
5. Slow Rollin Low
- trax 2-5 are from "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert", 1974. Sounds a helluvalot like the September recordings in Texas that same year. As opposed to the August 1978 'Lost Outlaw Performance' -which was attended exclusively by a very boring bunch of industry executives- these songs were recorded before a typical 70's crowd!!! :-)

6. Lonesome, Onry & Mean
7. Ramblin Man
8. It's Not Supposed To Be That Way
9. Amanda
10. Waymore's Blues
- now, for the real treat....when he was producing Waylon's 'DREAMING MY DREAMS' album, brother-in-law/outlaw Cowboy Jack Clement was also doing a bit of taping. We've previously seen only but a clip of 'LONESOME, ON'RY & MEAN' in Waylon's official vid-ography -- but now, we get the song in its entirety as well as the 4 others listed above. For those fascinated with Waylon's formidable geetar-pickin, you'll find the extended version of 'RAMBLIN' MAN' to be well worth the price of admission. I especially enjoyed 'WAYMORE'S BLUES' which has Waylon sitting on a park bench, playing his acoustic, alongside Lil Miss Jessi. There's some great banter between the two --- as well as a real good hint that there's more to come!!!

11. Luckenbach, TX
12. Mammas, Don't Let Your....
13. Good Hearted Woman
14. Are You Ready...
15. Are You Sure Hank....
- trax 11-15 are from the aforementioned 'Lost Outlaw Performance' taped at Opryland, 1978.08.12

16. The Conversation (w/ Hank Jr)
17. Never Could Toe The Mark
18. America
- while many have seen these music vids before, they are great examples of the post-crazy-year portion of this fabulous sampling of the 14 year period in Waylon's career covered by this disc.

19. Commercial for Waylon's Greatest Hits
20. Commercial for Outlaws album
- while not in chrono-order [?] the inclusion of these rare TV spots is a great way to finish off the collection...especially with so many of Waylon's die-harder fans not having even been born when they originally aired.

I'm still hoping that RCA/Legacy will release a deluxe version of the NASHVILLE REBEL music and vid set -- as they did with Cash's THE LEGEND. Considerably more expensive, the deluxe version of that title includes a 12x16 hard-cover coffee table book, additional music and vids as well as s limited edition litho and some other goodies.

Hummm, and wouldn't it be great if it all were packaged in a real, hand-tooled leather coat!!

Be sure and get this DVD as soon as you're able. I believe the retail is 12.99 and can be had for as little as 9.99 -- so be sure to shop around to find the best buy.

"

Excellent video companion to recent 4-CD set

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 11/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This collection of 20 segments includes vintage television appearances, live concert footage from Opryland, music videos and a pair of TV commercials. It's a superb look at Jennings as both a live performer and a commercial commodity. The program opens as then-defunct hippie affectations were cropping up in the oddest of mainstream places. The 1970 appearance on the Johnny Cash show still finds Jennings Nashville-slick with his well-kempt hair, but the band displays extra-Nashville influences with a double-neck guitar and a flower-power sticker on the electric bass.

The leap to track 2 picks up four years later with a signature appearance on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert television program. These segments find Jennings' hair and beard grown out, and his music and band tuned to fit a rock audience. Jennings plays country rock (including excellent versions of Billy Joe Shaver's "Honky Tonk Heroes" and "Slow Rollin' Low"), but with the showmanship of a rock band. Aside from Red Rhodes western shirt, Jennings' group looks like a rock band, and they play with enough aggression to please the longhairs, headbands and rednecks in the audience. The staging and camera work are superb.

Next up are five segments taken from Jack Clement's TV show that feature a similar band, but with a different vibe. Set in a studio Jennings and band pull back ever so slightly, playing as much for each other as for the cameras. Jennings smiles his way through an extended take of "I'm a Ramblin' Man," offering up some awesome lead guitar as the band jams; Willie Nelson's "It's Not Suppose to be That Way" shows Jennings gripping presence as a ballad singer. A sit-down solo acoustic take of "Waymore's Blues," complete with lit cigarette in his guitar's headstock, is mesmerizing in the ease with which he segues from singing to chatting with his wife, Jessi Colter. The camerawork isn't up to that of the Kirshner shows, with zooms and tight close-ups that create more of a documentary feel.

Film of a 1978 Opryland concert finds Jennings still a potent force on stage, but working through a catalog of chart-topping hits is simply a less urgent showcase. The difference between the Kirshner and Opryland audiences is stark, with the former standing and hollering their encouragement, and the latter (primarily industry executives) seated, listening and applauding politely. "Are You Sure Hank Done it This Way" would surely have had the crowd on their feet just about anywhere but Opryland. The video is well shot and edited, with multiple cameras, video overlays and dissolves.

The mid-80s music video for "The Conversation" features Jennings and Hank Jr. in a barroom, engaged in a musical discussion about Hank Sr. "Never Could Toe the Mark" is choreographed as an intimate band sound check and "America" is a highly-produced piece whose stock images seem more like the director's vision that Jennings'. All three are interesting additions, but none of them pack the charge of the live appearances. The closing pair of TV commercials, particularly the 1976 spot for "Wanted! The Outlaws," are a treat, particularly for those who came to Jennings after his mid-70s peak.

This DVD is a superb companion to RCA/Legacy's recently released 4-CD Waylon Jennings box set. The earlier segments demonstrate the rock-like edginess Jennings brought to his music and the stage, and the later segments show the mainstream eventually catching up. Throughout, Jennings comes through as an individual bent on playing his music his way. The video transfers are excellent, and the sound is very good throughout. [©2006 hyperbolium dot com]

Note to Jennings collectors: this is *not* the 1966 American International Pictures film of the same title."

TEXAS GREATNESS

BILLYBOBUK | PLANO,TX | 11/18/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"THE PREVIOUS REVIEW SENT ME RUNNING FOR A COPY OF THIS RELEASE AND AN OUTSTANDING ONE IT IS. CANNOT ADD MUCH TO WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN SAID ABOUT ITS CONTENT, THE QUALITY OF SOUND AND PICTURE IS WONDERFUL, AND A GREAT ADDITION FOR ANY FAN OF OUTLAW,COUNTRY, OR JUST DAMM GOOD MUSIC.MOST FANS WILL ALREADY HAVE THE LOST OUTLAW CONCERT,SO MAYBE DON'T NEED THEM AGAIN, BUT ITS SO GOOD WHO CAN COMPLAIN. HOPEFULLY THIS WILL BE A STARTER FOR SOME MORE MATERIAL TO BE MADE AVAILABLE,MUST BE A LOT OUT THERE, SO LETS ALL SUPPORT THIS RELEASE--YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT."

Great Waylon DVD

Diane Wright | Duarte, CA | 02/15/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Oh, I wish I could find more of these - I've always been a Waylon fan and have seen him in person several times - great performer and being able to see him again was great. Not enough songs on the DVD, tho - even tho 20 is quite a bit. Loved the first one with his clean cut look, but it just wasnt't the look we've all been used to.

Got my husband up to even dance to "Are you Sure Hank done it this a way". Can't just sit and listen to the music."