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Rating: 
Summary: I loved it,but....................
Review: Being an ardent fan of the late great Mahalia Jackson, I think this video could have been more in depth. So we could get a glimpse of who Mahalia Jackson, the woman was, instead of just Mahalia Jackson the world's greatest gospel singer. How was her family life? What was she like socially? Did she really love kids? You catch my drift? I want to know what she was like as an everyday person, not just an entertainer. Other than that, it is a beautiful biography.
Rating: 
Summary: Experience the True Power and Sheer Glory of the Queen!
Review: I grew up listening to and admiring the voice of Mahalia Jackson. I began to collect her precious recording, When I first saw this documentary, I declared, "I must have this in my collection". This set is priceless because accompanied with the cd of a great documentary of a legendary Gospel Singer that painstakingly narrates her life, there are 39 rare vintage performances of Mahalia at her "Zenith" Listening to her actually perform truly memorable songs such as "when the saints come marching in" "Guide me oh Great Jehova!" and other truly memorable songs bring you to tears. The Great Mahalia has a voice that will lift you to great heights and when you finish listening to her, you feel as if you were on a mountain and witnessed a breathtaking view and you do not want to ever leave that mountaintop! Mahalia is very engaging as you see her sincere Facial expressions and her ability to thrust her whole being in her song. One is left with the imppression that she lived those song, for they were sung with her heart. This set is a must for all Gospel and Jazz enthusiasts in the world. Teens and adults, get this so that you can recognize why there will never be another Mahalia Jackson!
Rating:
Summary: Experience the True Power and Sheer Glory of the Queen!
Review: I grew up listening to and admiring the voice of Mahalia Jackson. I began to collect her precious recording, When I first saw this documentary, I declared, "I must have this in my collection". This set is priceless because accompanied with the cd of a great documentary of a legendary Gospel Singer that painstakingly narrates her life, there are 39 rare vintage performances of Mahalia at her "Zenith" Listening to her actually perform truly memorable songs such as "when the saints come marching in" "Guide me oh Great Jehova!" and other truly memorable songs bring you to tears. The Great Mahalia has a voice that will lift you to great heights and when you finish listening to her, you feel as if you were on a mountain and witnessed a breathtaking view and you do not want to ever leave that mountaintop! Mahalia is very engaging as you see her sincere Facial expressions and her ability to thrust her whole being in her song. One is left with the imppression that she lived those song, for they were sung with her heart. This set is a must for all Gospel and Jazz enthusiasts in the world. Teens and adults, get this so that you can recognize why there will never be another Mahalia Jackson!
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST
Review: I have all four volumes of Mahalia Sings Videos and a couple of other Mahalia Jackson Videos, and I can honestly say that this is the most well made and more informative than all the other videos combined. Lots of hard to find film clips and so many sound clips of Mahalia at her best.
Rating: 
Summary: Get the bonus disc
Review: It is not the rather lame documentary that makes this item worthwhile but the bonus disc. It contains 2 hours with 38 live video clips recorded in black and white for American television in the late fifties. The performances are set against a sober kind of German expressionistic background. Most of the time the accompanying musicians (piano -must be Mildred Falls-, acoustic bass, electric guitar, drums and organ) are not in the picture. Without an audience the performances are rather serene but they are of high musical quality. Though some songs are more uplifting than others Jackson and the other musicians are in great form. They are randomly taken from the 80 video clip collection 'Mahalia Jackson sings' which lasts for 4 hours.
In regard of the documentary: it is apparent that there is not that much video footage left of Mahalia Jackson, except from the above mentioned footage. There is something to be said for the interview recordings used but for a visual documentary it is a pity that only two excerpts, lasting only seconds, are accompanied by moving pictures of Mahalia Jackson. This is the great omission of the film. To cover up for this problem a lot of irrelevant archive footage is used and the camera zooms in or out on tens of still photographs. Then there are a lot of chit chatting talking heads from people who where more or less close to her and on top of it all there's the annoying voiceover. Most troubling is that their voices are mixed through the soundtrack of the few interesting concert snippets, which are not fully shown in the first place. Most of the scarce concert footage is from one of her later and less impressive concert tours where her voice, music (without pianist Mildred Falls) and performance have lost power. This footage is earlier and to a greater extend used for Allen Miner's, mostly depressing, 86-minute tour report (released in 1974). On a slightly positive note: added up there are a few minutes of unique video material from earlier performances. The one-minute recording of 'How I got over' from the march on Washington is very impressive; she performs the song at the same lectern where Dr. M.L. King gives his famous speech. Unfortunately this recording is also interrupted by speech and visuals.
I have not much trust in hoping for a thorough documentary film on Mahalia Jackson's life and music. I do hope for complete video releases of the concerts, which are so barely touched upon in this documentary. For example nothing beats the overwhelming recording of a part of her concert at the Newport Jazz festival 1958, which was used for the impressive music documentary 'Jazz on a summer's day' (Bert Stern, USA 1960). And then there are the unpublished television specials she made for CBS in 1955 (not the same as the 'Mahalia Jackson sings' recordings), a bit of interesting audio material is used for this documentary.
Rating:
Summary: A Historical figure without peers
Review: There will never be another singer like Mahalia. She was really the greatest voice of the 20 century and this documentary video tells the whole story.
Rating:
Summary: Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory
Review: This 2-DVD set is a treasure if you care about Jazz, Blues, Gospel, the Civil Rights movement or the roots of Rock music. If you're a Mahalia fan it's an absolute "must have." The first disc is a montage of photos, film clips and recent interviews with people who knew and worked with Mahalia, interspersed with brief clips of her actual performances and interviews with her. The second disc is composed entirely of her performances. The approximately 40 songs she performs on the second disc appear to all be from one or two recording sessions on a set. Apparently without a live audience for the most part, and restrained for the occasion, her performances aren't as animated as many of the clips in the first disc, but it's still an amazing experience to watch. This set meant that, after 35 years of hearing, at last my eyes could see the life and the joy and the laughter and the tears with which Mahalia Jackson embodied Gospel and the gospel. Watch, listen and "move on up a little higher."
Rating:
Summary: Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory
Review: This 2-DVD set is a treasure if you care about Jazz, Blues, Gospel, the Civil Rights movement or the roots of Rock music. If you're a Mahalia fan it's an absolute "must have." The first disc is a montage of photos, film clips and recent interviews with people who knew and worked with Mahalia, interspersed with brief clips of her actual performances and interviews with her. The second disc is composed entirely of her performances. The approximately 40 songs she performs on the second disc appear to all be from one or two recording sessions on a set. Apparently without a live audience for the most part, and restrained for the occasion, her performances aren't as animated as many of the clips in the first disc, but it's still an amazing experience to watch. This set meant that, after 35 years of hearing, at last my eyes could see the life and the joy and the laughter and the tears with which Mahalia Jackson embodied Gospel and the gospel. Watch, listen and "move on up a little higher."
Rating:
Summary: Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory
Review: This 2-DVD set is a treasure if you care about Jazz, Blues, Gospel, the Civil Rights movement or the roots of Rock music. If you're a Mahalia fan it's an absolute "must have." The first disc is a montage of photos, film clips and recent interviews with people who knew and worked with Mahalia, interspersed with brief clips of her actual performances and interviews with her. The second disc is composed entirely of her performances. The approximately 40 songs she performs on the second disc appear to all be from one or two recording sessions on a set. Apparently without a live audience for the most part, and restrained for the occasion, her performances aren't as animated as many of the clips in the first disc, but it's still an amazing experience to watch. This set meant that, after 35 years of hearing, at last my eyes could see the life and the joy and the laughter and the tears with which Mahalia Jackson embodied Gospel and the gospel. Watch, listen and "move on up a little higher."
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