Various - All You Need Is Love

The best music series ever!

Tony Palmer’s monumental BBC Two series covering the whole of popular music was first broadcast in 1976, effectively pre-VHS, making it is unlikely that even the keenest music fan saw every episode. This 5-DVD box set contains all 17 of the 50-minute episodes as originally transmitted (the word “shit” is still suppressed).

The episodes are separated by genres (jazz, blues, Broadway, rock’n’roll, country) and there is considerable overlap, as well as an all-embracing opening episode. The interviewees and footage remain superb, with one highlight following another: Irving Caesar claiming it’s good he wrote Swanee before visiting the river; country Cajun Doug Kershaw getting married on stage; Phil Spector singing a Dylanised Then He Kissed Me. The wonderful interviewees include Stephen Sondheim, Benny Goodman, Jerry Wexler and Leonard Cohen, but the editing can be erratic. Why intercut Leiber & Stoller talking about Hound Dog and There Goes My Baby with Little Darlin’, a song that they didn’t write? Why didn’t Palmer ask Bo Diddley to repeat his song when he stumbled over the intro?

The TV series easily deserves five stars, but this set should have provided some extras, such as full versions of the live performances, complete interviews and a commentary from Palmer.

Voiceprint | TPDVDBOX 1 (5-DVD)

Reviewed by Spencer Leigh
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