Music Scene - The Best of 1969-70

Rating:
Summary: Hours of fun
Review: Music Scene was a show that only lasted about four months, and from this disc it's easy to see why it failed. It was far too eclectic with each show having one pop act, one progressive rock act, one C&W act, one black act, etc. For the militant pop music fan of the day, the show would have made you endure three things you weren't interested in for every one you were. That being said, if your tastes are broad, there's lots of great stuff here. The show was tuned in to what was popular at that very time. It's not a bunch of bottom top-forty material. Still, some is memorable and some deserved to stay locked in the time capsule.

The show interjected comedy routines between the musical numbers and, man, are they lame. Most of them. The bit that Tommy Smothers does before "Okie From Muskogee" is priceless. The chapters stops on the DVD are set so that if you skip ahead a chapter you hit the beginning of a musical number rather than the comedy bit. So you can easily skip past all the comedy (recommended).

Some favorite numbers, including some unexpected surprises: CSNY, "Down By the River," with a great hippie guitar freak-out; an interesting medley by the Everlys showing they were still cool in 1969; Isaac Hayes with "Walk on By" from "Hot Buttered Soul; Jerry Lee Lewis; Little Richard; Paul Anka doing *his* song, "My Way"; Ten Years After; a gospel version of The Archies' "Sugar, Sugar"!?; The Temptations; some awesome performances by Sly & the Family Stone; Janis Joplin. There are from 40-50 numbers total.

The DVD has a clean, colorful picture. The sound was decent considering that most of the music was vocal-oriented. I listen through TV speakers, so if the sound is superior I don't really know. But it did seem that the instrumentals were muted for some numbers, e.g. "Walk on By."

Rating:
Summary: Worth it for the flashbacks
Review: Of the two volumes in this series, this one, Volume 1, is probably the weakest. Not that it's bad, but it took the producers a few weeks to fine-tune this show (pretty much just in time for the show to be cancelled).

There are some flat-out funny moments here, and some aren't intentional. Notice, for example, that during the CSNY piece, Graham Nash, playing away on the piano, is virtually ignored by the cameras. If you didn't know who was who you'd think the drummer must be Nash; he gets more camera time.

David Steinberg's "antics" (I use the term lightly) range from pretty darn funny to just goofy.

Musically, the proof is here; Richie Havens, Isaac Hayes, and even Mama Cass is pretty good. And Jerry Lee Lewis takes the cake, as "The Killer" ofen does.

Be sure to buy volume 2 of this set as well. As the show sped towards oblivion the comedy got stranger, the guests got louder and if I didn't know better I'd bet you that last-show's guest-host Groucho Marx is still cracking jokes in that studio.

Rating:
Summary: Top 40 nightmare, not flower power heaven
Review: These comments apply to both Music Scene dvds equally (this dvd and the other dvd).

Disappointing collection of rock and pop performances. Mostly pop, unfortunately, and some of the worst (the Archies, Tom Jones, too many times Bobby Sherman). The program was run by BillBoard, the hit rating service still around today. Most of the musicians are second or third-rate.

True, once in a while you get Crosby Stills Nash and Young, or Ten Years After, or Janis Joplin. But those acceptable performances are few, far between and a pitiful minority of the program. Plus often they aren't playing tunes you'd most like to hear, and they are playing them on stages that are wrong for them, that fail to showcase them. And what do you do with for instance, one measly song from CSNY? You need 3 or 4 to have the opportunity to enjoy it. The program forces Sly and the Family Stone to mush together its songs into a medley so rushed through you don't get a chance to savor it (heck, you question whether you even heard it).

The people who put on the program selected their musicians disastrously, and apparently were rightly cancelled due to deservedly poor ratings.

The show is somewhat interesting sociologically for those who experienced those times first hand. You are revisiting the TV culture of 1969, after all, for better or for worse. But that's about it. Save your money for a better purchase than this.