When you’re an artist as prolific as Robert Cray, what better way to celebrate your lengthy career than by taking a white-hot band out on the road to play forty years’ worth of music in four nights? Better still, how about filming the event and taking the key performances, alongside some cracking vintage material, and putting together a film that demonstrates exactly why you are one of the foremost artists of your genre? This wonderful film is a powerful and affectionate look at one of the blues’ greats and, whether purchased on Blu ray or DVD, it comes with the added bonus of a double CD that offers up both a full live set and a selection of cuts from the archives. It’s a comprehensive package and exactly the sort of career celebration that Robert deserves. For this review, we’re looking at the blu ray edition which comes housed in a tri-fold digi-box complete with eight page booklet featuring a selection of photos and credits. It’s a well-presented set although it’s a shame a few liner notes could not have been included to give more detail about the four night venture.
In terms of picture quality, Provogue have done a typically excellent job. The blu ray is phenomenal and the picture is demo quality. Without a hint of processing, the colours pop off the screen, the detail is crystal clear for all to see, whether it be the weave on Robert’s guitar strap or the grain in his fretboard, and the black recesses of the venue are perfectly rendered. Director Danny Clinch knows how to film a show, capturing Robert with impressive intimacy, whilst also providing the band their own moments in the spot light. Moreover, Danny understands the importance of showing Robert’s musicianship, never fearing to focus in on those flashing fingers, and the result is a visual record that truly feels like the viewer has been placed on stage with the band. It’s not easy to balance performance footage and interviews without disturbing the flow of the music, but it has to be said that the pacing is spot on here and works far better than other DVDs that have attempted to pull off the same trick (Genesis, Eric Clapton, Green Day), always doing a good job of paying tribute to both the man and the music without ever losing the viewer’s interest. Audio is also spot on. No fancy tricks here (let’s face it, the blues does not need fancy 5.1 mixes to shine), what you get is a crystal clear 2.0 mix that is stunning in its clarity and separation. All bands should aspire to sound this good in the live environment and Niko Bolas deserves full credit for his stunning mixing job on this release.
The film itself is exactly what you could wish for if you’re a Robert Cray fan. Indeed, as a music fan in general, I wish more bands would have this sort of comprehensive yet affectionate tribute made to them. The focus is always on Robert and whilst the list of celebrities interviewed for the piece makes the jaw drop (Buddy Guy, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton…) none of them engage in the sort of self-aggrandizement you might imagine their celebrity would encourage them too. Instead each artist appears relaxed and comfortable talking about an artist for whom they have the greatest affection and respect. It is one of the many aspects of the blues that makes it such a vital, vibrant genre – that wonderful sense of community that permeates it – and hearing such a massively respected veteran such as Buddy Guy paying tribute to Robert is genuinely heart-warming. Better still the film travels back to Robert’s roots and the film makers did a grand job unearthing some wonderful archive footage from the San Francisco Blues festival (1982) and the Dutch TV show ‘Countdown’ (1987) in order to help build the historical context of Robert’s impressive career. The archive footage contains both illuminating interview footage and performances and it is a nice bonus that the latter are included on CD 2 of the package.
Of course the main feature of the show is the pristine footage recorded over four glorious nights at Mates Rehearsal, LA; Belly Up, Solana Beach; Fitzgerald Harley Co Ventura and Sabian Theatre, Beverly Hills. The songs recorded in these locations are beautifully filmed and perfectly recorded and they offer up a sense of the raw energy that you can expect from a Robert Cray show. Robert, who doesn’t look anywhere near his age, talks fondly of how he still doesn’t feel old, but yet also feels the need to prove it through the power of his performances. The set, drawing from across Robert’s career, is so well-balanced that it’s hard to pick out highlights, although at a push the wonderful ‘won’t be coming home’ and the glorious ‘shiver’ have that lightness of touch and rich, creamy soloing that make Robert Cray so beloved. Indeed, in the former song, it is the close up of Robert in the throes of his solo that highlights the depth of feeling that still informs his playing.
Overall this is a wonderful package from one of the blues’ greatest living artists. If I have one gripe, it is that there is no option to view the live footage apart from the documentary. In these days of branching editions, you would imagine it would have been easy enough, particularly on the blu ray, to add such functionality. However, this really is a minor gripe because if you want the music without the talking heads, then the CDs provide you with exactly that experience, and it helps to keep the film as its makers intended. Otherwise this is a wonderful tribute to Robert Cray and his band, and, in a sense, a wonderful tribute to the blues itself as an art form and as an all-embracing community. Beautifully shot and edited, the film takes the viewer from the early days of Robert Cray through to the present, and offers up some gloriously transcendental blues workouts in the process. It is an absolute pleasure to watch and comes highly recommended to any blues aficionado out there.
