VARIOUS ARTISTS
Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame + Museum Live
(Time Life)

 

A lot has been said about the famous Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, started up back in the mid '80s by Rolling Stone mag founder Jann Wenner, Atlantic Records mogul, the late Ahmet Ertegun, who was one of the historic U.S. based record company guys, and the late, amazing Fillmore East/West founder Bill Graham. There’s been so much political talk in the air about how the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame favors certain musicians and not others. The fact that The Moody Blues and Yes aren’t considered inductee material does a disservice to the millions of rock and yes, rock and roll fans around the globe who love the incredibly monumental music of both bands. Of course, not every great band will be instantly inducted but sadly, even legendary groups like The Ventures and Dave Clarke Five, both inducted in early 2008, had to wait until the best guy in the band was either dead or too sick to make the ceremony held each year in NYC. All this can temporarily be forgiven thanks to an incredible, three DVD set release on Time Life called Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame + Museum Live. The 3 DVD installment of what seems like an eye-opening series of 9 amazing CDs, this first ever look at the Rock Hall’s live inductions on DVD features a range of pretty amazing, never before seen moments from the yearly Rock Hall ceremonies. There is actually a nine DVD box set version of this series, however the three DVD box reviewed here—including the Light My Fire, Sweet Emotion and Start Me Up discs—kicks with the second year of the Rock Hall on January 21, 1987 with Bruce Springsteen inducting Roy Orbison, followed by a performance of “Oh Pretty Woman” with Roy and Bruce sharing lead vocals and a svelte looking Brian Wilson bopping away in the background. Other highlights on the first Light My Fire DVD included in the 3 DVD box includes the March 15, 2004 induction of George Harrison as a solo artist, followed by Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi and Dhani Harrison performing “Handle With Care,” with a tip of the hat to Roy Orbison, and a blistering guitar heavy “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” with Jeff Lynne, slide guitarist Marc Mann, Tom Petty and some more incredible electric guitar soloing from Prince. The induction of The Beatles in 1988 by Mick Jagger featured that awkward, yet unforgettable scene featuring George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon and Julian Lennon followed by a rave-up version of “I Saw Her Standing There” with George, Ringo, Mick Jagger, Neil Young, Jeff Beck, Les Paul and more! And that’s just the tip of the iceberg on the Light My Fire DVD. Talk about history and so it goes throughout all three DVDs, with inductions and follow up performances featuring Cream, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Doors, Santana, The Byrds, Fleetwood Mac, Crosby Stills & Nash, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane, Traffic, The Mamas And The Papas and much, much more. In addition to the inductions and follow up performances, each DVD set also has loads of bonus material and documentary footage, spread over all three DVDs including backstage and rehearsal clips shot in special effect grainy, vintage looking b&w. For instance, on disc one alone, induction speeches include Paul McCartney inducting John Lennon in 1994, Elton John inducting The Beach Boys in 1988 (featuring that infamous, insane Mike Love rant following Brian Wilson's beautiful speech), while disc one documentary footage includes rehearsals from Cream (1993), Crosby Stills & Nash in 1997 and so on. The packaging is great and the 3 DVD set also features a pretty extensive booklet with full credits. Ever wonder about the amazing occurrences that went on at these blue-blooded Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame events at the famous Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan? Catch up on 20+ years worth of rarely seen footage of the biggest names in the pop and rock world on this amazing expose of what may be an imperfect, yet thoroughly captivating Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame history. The 3 DVD set is very cool but pop history buffs will want the complete 9 DVD box set with up to date inductions with The Ventures and Dave Clark Five in 2008 and Jeff Beck in 2009. www.RockHallDVD.com

 

 
   
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