Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: Red, White & Blues

Performer: Original Soundtrack
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Producers include: John Porter, Mike Figgis, Alex Gibney, Andy McKaie, Dana Smart. Includes liner notes by Martin Scorsese, Charles Sharr Murray. Personnel: Eric Clapton, Jeremy Spencer, Lonnie Donegan, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Big Bill Broonzy (vocals, guitar); Louis Armstrong (vocals, trumpet); Buddy Burton (vocals, piano); Ray Charles (vocals, electric piano); John Mayall, Steve Winwood (vocals, keyboards); Chris Farlowe, Lulu, Margie Hendrix, Marie Knight , Tommy Jones (vocals); Jeff Beck, Albert Lee , Peter Green, Spencer Davis (guitar); Peanuts Hucko (clarinet); Peter King (saxophone); David "Fathead" Newman (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Barney Wilen, Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone); John Almond, Bennie Hank Crawford (baritone saxophone); John Paul Hunt, Dennis Healey, Humphrey Lyttelton, Marcus Belgrave, Miles Davis (trumpet); Bobby Hackett (cornet); Jack Teagarden (trombone); Dick Carey, Jimmy Blythe, Johnny Parker , Jon Cleary, Ren� Urtreger, Sammy Price (piano); Dave Greenslade (organ); Stan Greig, Johnny Wise, Ginger Baker, Ian Hague, Teagle Fleming, Kenny Clarke, Mick Fleetwood, Pete York , Big Sid Catlett, Hughie Flint, Wallace Bishop, Mark Mondesir (drums); Beryl Bryden (washboard); Clifford "Snags" Jones (percussion); The Raelettes (background vocals). Audio Mixer: John Porter. Liner Note Authors: Charles Shaar Murray; Mike Figgis; Martin Scorsese. Recording information: Chicago, IL (06/11/1928-03/13/2002); EMI Abbey Road Studios, London, England (06/11/1928-03/13/2002); Herdon Stadium, Atlanta, GA (06/11/1928-03/13/2002); London, England (06/11/1928-03/13/2002); New York, NY (06/11/1928-03/13/2002); Paris, France (06/11/1928-03/13/2002); Town Hall, New York, NY (06/11/1928-03/13/2002); Winterland, San Francisco, CA (06/11/1928-03/13/2002). Director: Jimmy Blythe. Photographers: Bernie Wentzell; Mike Figgs; Govert de Roos; David Gahr; Frank Driggs; Mike Figgis; Captain Kendall Morse. Unknown Contributor Role: Sammy Price & His Texas Bluesicians. Arrangers: Lonnie Donegan; Robert Stigwood; Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Director Mike Figgis' documentary Red, White & Blues, one of the seven parts of the PBS-TV series The Blues presented by Martin Scorsese, is ironically named, since it actually concerns itself with the British response to American blues music, among other styles. Truth be told, the British, appreciating American music of the 1950s and earlier entirely through recordings, have always tended to mix things up, failing to acknowledge distinctions between jazz, blues, gospel, folk, and R&B that Americans take for granted. Figgis illustrates this tendency in his choices of vintage music, which draw upon the likes of Louis Armstrong, Big Bill Broonzy, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Miles Davis, and Ray Charles, not to mention the homegrown Lonnie Donegan Skiffle Group's frantic aping of Leadbelly on the hit "Rock Island Line." Relatively little of this music is what an American blues fan would call blues, except in the sense of roots and influences. Figgis adds to this eclecticism the core band he assembled and filmed for the documentary, the performances of which are interspersed with the older tracks here. The band itself, led by Jeff Beck, is unobjectionable, but Americans may be taken aback by the singers, Tom Jones, largely thought of stateside as a Las Vegas lounge entertainer, and Lulu, who is remembered in the U.S., if at all, as the '60s pop singer of "To Sir With Love." (Van Morrison, who appears in the film, is not on the soundtrack.) Thankfully, there are also selections from British blues-rock legends such as Fleetwood Mac (in its Peter Green era, of course), John Mayall's Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton, and Cream. But the overall selection is still one that will make American listeners marvel at the oddities of British taste. ~ William Ruhlmann

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