Fascination
with The Beatles moves into the second decade of the 21st century
with the DVD release of Rare And Unseen. Over
in England, Wienerworld is doing some amazing work on behalf of the
DVD as a musical documentary art form and here in the U.S. the good
folks at MVD and their See Of Sound series continue on as Wienerworld’s
stalwart Stateside partner. Packed with rarely seen color and B&W
footage from the heyday of ‘60s Beatlemania, the 2009 DVD release
of Rare And Unseen is a real boon for Beatles fans. Although
there’s no Beatles music or soundtrack music here, there’s
plenty of archival Fab Four film footage and recently shot illuminating
interview footage with venerable rockers and sadly deceased personalities
who helped frame the greatness behind the Beatles. High on the list
here of early Beatles lore is an interview clip featuring the late,
great Beatles engineer Norman “Hurricane” Smith,
the genius Abbey Road engineer who was right there in the studio with
George Martin from day one. Norman must have been at least 84 here
as the documentary film has a 2007 production date and Norman died
on March 3, 2008. So thankfully you have that on film, although Norman
looks so old compared to the great singer-songwriter he became in
his own right by the early ‘70s. Also appearing between the vintage
video Beatles footage with their own Fab Four tales are early Beatles
/ Quarrymen drummer Colin Hanton, Beatles press man Tony
Barrow, Liverpool pop hero Gerry Marsden, French singer
Sylvie Varten, drummer Mickey Jones and many more celebrities
all too eager to relive the greatness of the Beatles era of the ‘60s.
Most tellingly here though are new and revealing interviews with younger
post-war musicians like Genesis drummer Phil Collins and Steve
Harley (of U.K. rockers Cockney Rebel) who—although they
were young kids back in ‘64—were greatly influenced by the
magical music of The Beatles. In addition to 90 minute documentary
with the film footage and accompanying interviews, the DVD also features
a colorful DVD booklet filled with rarely seen photos and 2009 liner
notes from Tony Barrow, author of John, Paul, George, Ringo &
Me. www.SeeOfSound.com
