November 21st, 2009 
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Reelin’ In The Years Productions, in association with Experience Hendrix, bring you the American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1966 Volumes One & Two. The AFBF was an annual event that featured the cream of American blues musicians barnstorming their way across western Europe every fall from 1962 through 1966. Recorded live in a small TV studio in Germany, these historic and unseen performances have been lost for nearly 40 years. Filmed with superb camera work and pristine sound, each DVD contains 18 complete performances from the greatest blues musicians of all time. Captured during their heyday in an era of scant video documentation, these DVDs are truly one of the most unique and precious visual documents of the blues.
The American Folk Blues Festivals featured a dazzling array of talent that included such greats as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker and Sonny Boy Williamson playing alongside other legends such as T-Bone Walker, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Memphis Slim and Big Mama Thornton to create the most significant group of blues artists ever assembled!Amazon.com
Three songs by Howlin’ Wolf are the highlight of this second set of blues performances recorded in the 1960s, when an extraordinary lineup of musicians (among the 18 tracks here are tunes by Lightnin’ Hopkins, Willie Dixon, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, and Big Mama Thornton) toured Europe, thrilling (among many others) the young Englishmen playing in bands like the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds. As with Volume 1, the monaural sound and black-and-white video are superb, making the release of the footage four decades later even more welcome. And Wolf? He was still in his prime in ‘64, perhaps equaled only by Muddy Waters (who appears on the first volume). “Did you ever been in the groove?” he asks at one point. “Well, I’m gonna put you way down in the woods.” That he does, and blues fans will be only too happy to tag along. –Sam Graham
The American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1966, Vol. 2
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All those people telling you this is essential blues material are right on the spot; the best blues artists performing with gusto, energy and verve, electrifying today’s viewer (yours truly) who was not even born when they made these mesmerizing trips to Europe…
Memphis Slim doing (alas, too short) “Everyday I Have the Blues”, Victoria Spivey backed by Sonny Boy Williamson and Lonnie Johnson, Willie Dixon on his bass all over the place, Big Mama Thornton rocking the place (with the support to hot to mention), T-Bone Walker being blue and subtle (with the reliable cast of Slim-p, Dixon-b and Jump Jackson-dm) …
And, yes, the one and only Howlin’ Wolf growling the best blues you can imagine…
The only complaint is that the lovely booklet has the same text found in volume one’s booklet, but at least the pictures are different (and equally sensational)…
It’s really incredible that European Tv stations gave greater attention to these giants than the television in their homeland, the land of the brave…
Rating: 5 / 5
You know when we were listening to all those folkies like Bob Dylan, Dave Van Ronk and Joan Baez or starting to pick up on the Beatles or The Rolling Stones the American home grown blues was traveling to Europe to be appreciated by those audiences. Well, what goes around comes around. Here we have a `second’ chance, thanks to these recently discovered archives rescued by German cinema, to see what we missed from the legends that were just winding down their careers.
So what do we have here? A sizzling T-Bone Walker. Sonny and Brownie. Memphis Slim, as always. A nice performance by Victoria Spivey (with those dazzling eye movements of her’s giving expression to her song). “Big Mama” Thornton leads an All-Star cast of harmonica players (including John Lee Hooker) in one of the most outlandish outfits I have seen in a while. But, Big Mama rocks here. However, the performer who steals this show is the ever great Howlin’ Wolf. I commented in a previous review of his work that in a video clip that I had seen he practically devoured the microphone performing “The Red Rooster”. Here he practically obliterates his small (for him) guitar when he gets rolling. Wow.
Those who follow the blues will be familiar with all the line up here. Practically every one of these performers has been reviewed by this writer elsewhere in this space (with the exception, I think, of Memphis Slim). So here you get them all under one roof while they are `hot’. For those who are unfamiliar with the performers or with classical acoustic and electric blues here’s your primer. Get working.
Note: Check out the bonus track section for a couple of `hot’ guitar efforts by the great Earl Hooker, another underrated artist who deserves (and will receive) separate consideration in this space later.
Rating: 5 / 5
Excellent DVD great coverage of Blues artists performing in Europe in the 60’s and msot of them in their prime. Very good camera work and sound.
Rating: 5 / 5
Worth having this film that was recorded live on the European tour. Far superior to volume 1, but not quite as good as volume 3.
Rating: 4 / 5
I’v been avoiding writing a review about these dvd’s (American Folk & blues festival vol 1, Vol 2, vol 3,) for a while now, mainly because I get so emotional when I think about them. So I wont even try. But I will say this much….The ONLY place in the world where you can see the fabulous T-Bone Walker on dvd… is on these sets (he appears on all 3 volumes). And where else are you gonna see Lonnie Johnson, Shakey Horton, Junior Wells, Big Joe Williams, Willie Dixon, Otis Span, Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Mama Thorton, A very young Buddy Guy, and a very young Hubert Sumlin, Big Joe Turner, Son House, Koko Tayler, Lightnin Hopkins, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Howlin Wolf, AND MANY MORE!!! YOU NEED TO HAVE ALL 3 VOLUMES FOR YOUR COLLECTION!
Rating: 5 / 5