The Old Grey Whistle Test - DVD

The Old Grey Whistle Test, Vol. 1

Amazon Price: List Price: $24.98 By: Warner Brothers - Model: E1812 Amazon Marketplace: 6 new & used starting at $49.99

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 28 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Over its incredible 16-year run from 1971-1987 The Old Grey Whistle Test was THE destination in the U.K. to see cutting ed live performances by the hottest emerging acts in music. Until now! On Sept. 16 BBC Video is importing a DVD jam-packed with 28 vintage live performances from The Old Grey Whistle Test. Most have NEVER BEEN SEEN IN THE U.S. The first in a series of three Old Grey Whistle Test DVD compilations to be exported to the U.S. The Old Grey Whistle Test features performances by such legends as John Lennon Elton John Bob Marley Lynyrd Skynyrd Rory Gallagher The Police REM and U2 often at the start of their legendary careers! PLUS historic interviews with Mick Jagger John Lennon Keith Richards Robert Plant Bruce Springsteen and Elton John - over three hours of music and interviews in total - all on one DVD that will be a must have for music fans everywhere! Complete Playlist (in order of appearance on the program): Alice Cooper "Under My Wheels"; Elton John "Tiny Dancer"; Curtis Mayfield "We Gotta Have Peace"; Randy Newman "Political Science"; Bill Withers "Ain't No Sunshine"; Rory Gallagher "Hands Off"; The Wailers "Stir It Up"; Roxy Music "Do The Strand"; The Edgar Winter Group "Frankenstein"; Captain Beefheart "Upon the My O My"; Little Feat "Rock 'n' Roll Doctor"; John Lennon "Stand By Me"; Lynyrd Skynyrd "Freebird"; Emmylou Harris "Amarillo"; Bonnie Raitt "Too Long At The Fair"; Tom Waits "Tom Traubert's Blues"; Talking Heads "Psycho Killer"; XTC "Statue of Liberty"; Blondie "(I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear"; Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers "American Girl" The Police "Can't Stand Losing You"; Bruce Springsteen "Rosalita"; Iggy Pop "I'm Bored"; The Specials "Message to You Rudi"; The Damned "Smash It Up/I Just Can't Be Happy Today"; The Ramones "Rock 'n' Roll High School"; U2 "I Will Follow"; REM "Moon River" / "Pretty Persuasion"Running Time: 192 min. Genre: MUSIC DVD/CONCERTS UPC: 794051181220 Manufacturer No: E1812

The Old Grey Whistle Test, Vol. 2

Amazon Price: List Price: $24.98 By: Warner Brothers - Model: E2026 Amazon Marketplace: 4 new & used starting at $26.98

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Big Dropoff 2 out of 5 stars.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful.

There is a huge dropoff in quality from Vol 1. of the Whistle Test clips to this package, simply because there is a huge dropoff in the quality of the artists between the two volumes. Sorry, but Loggins and Messina, Average White Band, Jim Croce, Hall & Oates, Thomas Dolby and Simply Red just don't match up to Bill Withers, Captain Beefheart, Talking Heads, XTC, Iggy Pop and the Specials. The commentary from the show's hosts and the various musicians is still enjoyable and enlightening, as on the first collection, and this whole volume is almost made worthwhile simply for the stunning clip of the sublime Judee Sill sitting at the piano and painfully/beautifully singing her majestic ballad. And Jools Holland is a lot of laughs, both when talking about the Squeeze clip that is included and in the clip itself. So there's some nice moments here, but I really don't want to own anything that includes Loggins and Messina on it.

Editorial Review:

BBCs The Old Grey Whistle Test was the UK's seminal live music show. For over 15 years it was essential viewing for fans of album rock and serious music. It was the only place on British television for live avant garde progressive and jazz rock performances and the ideal venue for American artists looking to break in the UK. If you removed the comedy from Saturday Night Live and featured only the music acts you would have The Old Grey Whistle Test. Volume two includes performances by rock legends The Who as well as Roxy Music Meatloaf The New York Dolls Jim Croce Tim Buckley and many more! The Old Grey Whistle Test is a showcase for the best of the album rock era when commercial interests took a back seat to musical innovation. It's a must own for collectors of live music on DVD.Running Time: 120 min. Genre: MUSIC DVD/CONCERTS UPC: 794051202628 Manufacturer No: E2026

The Old Grey Whistle Test, Vol. 3

Amazon Price: List Price: $24.98 By: Warner Brothers - Model: E2315 Amazon Marketplace: 2 new & used starting at $34.95

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Another botched DVD!!!! 1 out of 5 stars.
43 of 46 people found this review helpful.

Unbelievable! They did it again! As they did with volume 2 of this series the US version of this DVD has many artists REMOVED from the disc.

Last time around it was Be Bop Deluxe and Stanley Clarke they removed.

Now, as I predicted, they removed the great ROBIN TROWER!

What were they thinking?!!! Robin Trower was hugely succesful here and many of his fans would love to see his OGWT performances. I have his performance from the PAL disc and it is nothing less than stunning, it's the BEST performance on the disc!

Also omitted are David Bowie, Sade, Brinsley Schwarz, and Al Stewart.

WHY AREN'T WE GETTING THE FULL DISC THE SAME AS THE BRITS GET?!!!

The people who put out these discs are IDIOTS!

Meanwhile they left on performances, I won't name which, which have NO meaning to Americans and are not that great.

My suggestion is DON'T buy this disc and go to Amazon UK and buy the PAL version of this disc, the COMPLETE disc and see if your DVD player will play PAL DVD's of which some will.

This is ANOTHER botched DVD like Volume 2, as are The Allman Brothers-Great Woods, and Black Sabbath's-Last Supper with constant talking over the music.

BOOOOO!!!! SHAME!!!! You guys screwed up yet ANOTHER DVD which could have been great.

IDIOTS!!!

I won't give this ANY stars because they botched this so bad!

Editorial Review:

From 1971 to 1987 Tuesday nights in the UK meant The Old Grey Whistle Test the live music program that ended the broadcast day for the BBC. The list of performances from The Old Grey Whistle Test is a treasure trove from across the musical spectrum rock blues R&B punk. You name the genre it was represented on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Volume three raids the BBC archives for more vintage performances from the top acts of the day including Jackson Browne Roger Daltrey Joe Jackson King Crimson Supertramp B.B. King Simple Minds Humble Pie and many more. Roger Daltrey himself introduces his performance of "Giving It All Away" and presenters Mark Ellen and David Hepworth provide hilarious and insightful commentary on all the performances looking back on the history of one of the most remarkable franchises in the history of music. Genre: MUSIC DVD/CONCERTS UPC: 794051231529 Manufacturer No: E2315

The Old Grey Whistle Test [Region 2]

Amazon Price: List Price: $57.99 By: BBC Amazon Marketplace: 4 new & used starting at $23.99

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Editorial Review:

The Old Grey Whistle Test was the UKs seminal live music show. Launched in September 1971, it hosted performances from the most legendary bands and performers- including Elton John, Bob Marley, Lou Reed, The Ramones and many more. For better and for worse, The Old Grey Whistle Test was probably the most resolutely serious music program ever broadcast on television. During its 16-year run it showcased only the most earnest exponents of whichever musical style was currently popular, and given that the program's heyday coincided with the early 70s, some of the footage included here will provide mirth as exquisite as only unintentional comedy can. The absurd prog noodlings of The Edgar Winter Group and the belief-beggaringly awful Focus now seem as unfathomable in retrospect as trench warfare or child labor. However, the good stuff collected here is very good, both in terms of performance (Tom Petty snarling 'American Girl', a pre-irony U2 whooping up 'I Will Follow') and historical interest, notably a shockingly youthful Elton John crooning 'Tiny Dancer' and reminding us, in the process, of a time when he was regarded as a cool and hip singer-songwriter, rather than understudy to the Queen Mother. PAL / REGION 0. BBC. 2002.

The Old Grey Whistle Test, Vol. 2 [Region 2]

Amazon Price: List Price: By: BBC Amazon Marketplace: 1 new & used starting at $21.95

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Music History 102 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The thing I like about this version is you can click random play and get a medley of all the hits on the disc. If you don't have time to watch 30 performances in a row you can watch a few today, and some later on. Click random play and you get the added bonus of skipping the commentaries (although if you're in the right mood, even those can be, well, "informative".) Tonight, random play started me out with Patty Smith Group's "Because the Night". Next one chanced to be Montrose's "Bad Motor Scooter" with a pre-solo Sammi Hagar on vocals and this is a rockin' tune. After that 1986 gives us the punkish Pogues. A sudden jump back to 1971 has Heads, Hands and Feet doing "Warming Up the Band" - one of the best tunes on this compilation I think. I'd never even heard of these guys, but would like to hear more - that's one of the things I like about the Whistle Tests - discovering all those great acts you missed while you were running around in diapers!

Another punkish performance from Souxsie and the Banshees. Brash best describes. "Jimmy, Jimmy" by the undertones continues in that vein. Who? Or how about Aztec Camera? What?!

Or how about Average White Band? Hey, I've heard of those guys! This performance is another one of the winners on this set - "Put It Where You Want It!" Another notable might be a 1972 performance of Roxy Music "Ladytron".

Granted the new wave/punk trends of the 80s are here, but it's got more than a fair share of vintage early and later 70s cuts as well - there's no Beefheart here, but that's why you get Vol. 1 first! Kevin Ayers 1972 "May I?" is good. Nils Lofgren's bluesy/jazz piano set (1975) is a clever and likable tune. Tom Verlaine "Days on the Mountain" is one of the better early 80s numbers. Roy Harper (hats off to him) makes a 1977 appearance which, while not bad at all, probably won't be what you're expecting if you're familiar with his earlier trippy folk guitar stuff. There's a very odd little sit-down blues number with John Peel, and friends - "Skiffle Jam" 1985. Even Hall & Oats in a 1976 performance managed to catch my interest some - must've been the year. Other notables, if not recognizable, would be Joan Armatrading's "Love & Affection", The Who's "Relay", Stanley Clarke/George Duke Project, Gary Moore and Friends (aka Thin Lizzy), Be Bop Deluxe (?) and a million other people you'd probably not recognize. Whether you recognize them or not, you can feel and recognize what were at the time "new trends" in music, see how rock started going punkish and punk started going new wave. In a nutshell, this is a good music history window and worth having if you liked Vol 1 and 3 and care to peruse some fairly obscure stuff from the 70s and 80s, equally represented in this set.

Editorial Review:

A compilation of the best live music from the influential BBC television program, taped during the 70's & 80's, from legendary performers including, The Who, Roxy Music, Hall & Oates, Suzanne Vega, The Undertones, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Squeeze, OMD, Th

The Old Grey Whistle Test, Vol. 2 [Region 2]

Amazon Price: List Price: By: BBC Amazon Marketplace: 1 new & used starting at $21.95

Buy at Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Music History 102 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The thing I like about this version is you can click random play and get a medley of all the hits on the disc. If you don't have time to watch 30 performances in a row you can watch a few today, and some later on. Click random play and you get the added bonus of skipping the commentaries (although if you're in the right mood, even those can be, well, "informative".) Tonight, random play started me out with Patty Smith Group's "Because the Night". Next one chanced to be Montrose's "Bad Motor Scooter" with a pre-solo Sammi Hagar on vocals and this is a rockin' tune. After that 1986 gives us the punkish Pogues. A sudden jump back to 1971 has Heads, Hands and Feet doing "Warming Up the Band" - one of the best tunes on this compilation I think. I'd never even heard of these guys, but would like to hear more - that's one of the things I like about the Whistle Tests - discovering all those great acts you missed while you were running around in diapers!

Another punkish performance from Souxsie and the Banshees. Brash best describes. "Jimmy, Jimmy" by the undertones continues in that vein. Who? Or how about Aztec Camera? What?!

Or how about Average White Band? Hey, I've heard of those guys! This performance is another one of the winners on this set - "Put It Where You Want It!" Another notable might be a 1972 performance of Roxy Music "Ladytron".

Granted the new wave/punk trends of the 80s are here, but it's got more than a fair share of vintage early and later 70s cuts as well - there's no Beefheart here, but that's why you get Vol. 1 first! Kevin Ayers 1972 "May I?" is good. Nils Lofgren's bluesy/jazz piano set (1975) is a clever and likable tune. Tom Verlaine "Days on the Mountain" is one of the better early 80s numbers. Roy Harper (hats off to him) makes a 1977 appearance which, while not bad at all, probably won't be what you're expecting if you're familiar with his earlier trippy folk guitar stuff. There's a very odd little sit-down blues number with John Peel, and friends - "Skiffle Jam" 1985. Even Hall & Oats in a 1976 performance managed to catch my interest some - must've been the year. Other notables, if not recognizable, would be Joan Armatrading's "Love & Affection", The Who's "Relay", Stanley Clarke/George Duke Project, Gary Moore and Friends (aka Thin Lizzy), Be Bop Deluxe (?) and a million other people you'd probably not recognize. Whether you recognize them or not, you can feel and recognize what were at the time "new trends" in music, see how rock started going punkish and punk started going new wave. In a nutshell, this is a good music history window and worth having if you liked Vol 1 and 3 and care to peruse some fairly obscure stuff from the 70s and 80s, equally represented in this set.

Editorial Review:

A compilation of the best live music from the influential BBC television program, taped during the 70's & 80's, from legendary performers including, The Who, Roxy Music, Hall & Oates, Suzanne Vega, The Undertones, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Squeeze, OMD, Th