For fans of live music this is a treasure trove from the seminal UK show.
The Old Grey Whistle Test (OGWT) is a show that I had vaguely heard of but have never seen. It aired on the BBC from 1971-1987 and was essential viewing for UK music fans. If you removed the comedy from Saturday Night Live and featured only the music acts, you’d have The Old Grey Whistle Test (from the back of the box). This DVD has the musical performances only and feature very little of the “chat” sections of the show.
From Wikipedia.com : According to host Bob Harris, the program derived its name from "a Tin Pan Alley phrase from years ago. When they got the first pressing of a record they would play it to people they called the "old greys". An "Old Grey" was the collective nickname for the office cleaners who would typically start work at 5pm as office staff were leaving. The tunes they could remember and could whistle having heard it just once or twice had passed the old grey whistle test."
I’m only reviewing Volume 2 and have not seen Volume 1. Volume 2 features performances from Head Hands and Feet, Roxy Music (in their first ever TV appearance), Loggins and Messina, The Who, Judee Sill, Argent, Average White Band, Jim Croce, New York Dolls, Tim Buckley, Montrose, Bruce Johnston (of the Beach Boys), Nils Lofgren, Hall and Oates, Joan Armatrading, The Adverts (first ever punk band to play on OGWT and last minute replacement for Blood, Sweat and Tears who canceled their UK tour because of the death of one of their members) , Patti Smith Group, Meatloaf, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Undertones, Squeeze, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Aztec Camera, Thomas Dolby, The Style Council, Suzanne Vega, Simply Red, Prefab Sprout, The Pogues, and even a bit of Eric Idle (of Monty Python). Some I’ve heard of and some are new to me.
When you put the disc in your player you have several choices on the main menu. You can hit the “play” button which will play the performances straight thru some of them have current introductions by OGWT hosts, OGWT’s producer, or the performers themselves. There is even the occasional bit of vintage footage of OGWT hosts. Another option is to hit the “random play” button which cycles randomly through the performances. The third option is the select from the “track list” the ones that you want to see.
OGWT is presented in fullscreen and is reminiscent of 70’s television, quality varies to some extent. Extras include commentary from OGWT presenters (hosts) Mark Ellen and David Hepworth. Video reminiscences from performers Roger Daltrey, Hamish Stuart, Roddy Frame, Rick Wakeman, Jools Holland, and others. There are also some extra reminiscences from Daltery, Holland, Frame, and others in the extras section. There is a “enhanced performance” option that when activated a guitar will appear in the top right of the screen and when selecting it you will be taken to text profiles of the performers.
There is also a Old Grey Squirrel Test in the extras menu, which is the show’s themesong performed by animated squirrels. What I didn’t like is that the video reminiscences/host intros you see when you use the “play” menu are not accessible seperately under the extras menu. The only reminiscences in the extras menu are the “extra” ones. If you just want to watch the reminiscenes seperately you’ll have to chapter skip to them. One good feature is that the intros and performances have english subtitles, however, the commentaries don’t. I might’ve liked subtitles for the commentaries since the occasional accent was difficult to decifer. There are also text profiles of the contributers of OGWT.
I’m sure that OGWT fans and fans of the bands/peformaners featured will want to add this disc to their collection. Curious viewers may want to give it a rental. I enjoyed seeing these performances, but still would’ve liked to have been able to access all the interview footage from the extras menu, not just the bits that didn’t appear in the “play” feature. Fans with Volume 1 will more than likely be anxiously awaiting this volume.
The Old Grey Whistle Test, Vol. 2 is available at Amazon . As of yet, it is not available in the UK. Visit the DVD’s database for more information.
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