Ok so I admit it. I am a fan of Rock n Roll. Music is one of my other passions and I love all kinds of rock music. So when Warner Brothers announced the five disc DVD celebrating the History of Rock N' Roll, I knew we were all in for a treat.
What we get here is the complete 10-part Time-Life series plus a bonus 80 minutes, all remastered in 5.1 Dolby beauty sounding as vibrant and full of life as being there. You name the influential stars that made this type of music an American staple and they are on here somewhere.
Things begin with the birth of rock in the 1950's. While most folks attribute Elvis, and there's plenty of Elvis footage here, as the beginning of rock, Time shows plenty of lesser names that truly had some involvement such as The Hollies, Gerry and the Pacemakers, etc.
While the music rules the roost, the interview footage here is a collection that offers some of the greatest moments in rock history. There's Hank Ballard, Carl Perkins, Ozzie Osborn, Dick Clark, Bono, Eddie Van Halen, Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen, Little Richard, Mick Jaggar, Tom Petty, Lindsey Buckingham and many many more here showing off at their best.
While this is really meant to be a lesson in history, it's not boring at all. Sure there's hours and hours of footage here but it's presented in an entertaining manner that had me glued to the tube. Time has really put together a fantastic look at the music that shaped the last five decades of our lives and culture.
Let me just sum it up as the box does. The set has over TEN HOURS of footage featuring 204 Interviews, 250 songs from 260 live concerts and 1,907 fascinating clips! There's no better collection of rock anywhere on the planet.
The Disc:
There's a lot of footage here that varies in quality. The disc is presented in standard television format and with it being mostly older live footage the look is pretty much what one would expect. While the footage may not be exciting, the sounds are with the all new Dolby Digital 5.1 track that truly brings the music and footage alive. I can't stress how much this improves this set over the VHS and television premieres.
Aside from 80 additional minutes that are new to the set, there's nothing really extra here. However with what all is offered already, there's no need for anything extra.
bottom line:
I can't imagine a better tool for teaching the history of one of the nation's most notable pieces of american history. Jack Black would have loved using this disc in his School of Rock. It's a bit pricey but well worth the value in the long run for educators and fans of rock n roll.
4 out of 5
By - Brian Gray
