Joe Louis Walker &
The Bosstalkers (Ohne Filter)
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: C+ Concert: B-
One of the more lively Blues concerts in German TV’s Ohne
Filter series is a concert taped of Joe Louis Walker and the Bosstalkers on
June 3rd, 1991. Though not a
betrayal of the Blues genre, the set tries to have the music feel as much a
part of the moment as possible, while so many Blues concerts (including other
episodes of this series, just on DVD so far alone) seem like a nostalgia
revival. The tracks performed here are:
1) I Didn’t
Know
2) This
Line
3) The Gift
4) Moanin’
News
5) Mama
Didn’t Raise No Fools
6) Little
Village
7) Riding
High
8) One Time
Around
9) Don’t
Know Why
10) Hot Tamale Baby
Though this was not the most memorable set, it was played
very well and never became boring or repetitious. There is more energy than the “felt downness” such music is
supposed to inspire. Hooker himself has
a long line of backing major acts, but can more than stand on his own and
though the material is not the very best he could possibly have, this Ohne
Filter installment proves his vocal savvy and musicianship. His band is pretty strong and consistent
too.
The full
frame PAL color video is good for a taping of the time, still having the usual
limits in its good color and limited definition. The sound is available in the usual PCM CD-type 2.0 16bit/48kHz
Stereo, as well as a slightly better Dolby Digital 5.1 AC-3, which plays better
all around. The Dolby sounds a bit
compressed, but that comes with the territory.
There is not the depth in the 5.1 here heard in the Mark King, Tony Joe
White or even the band America’s DVD from the series, all reviewed elsewhere on
this site, but it is clearer than usual for shows form the time just the
same. Besides repeating the same stereo
cords ad placement, other DVDs in the series, and Ohne Filter producer interview, it has a biography of the band and
its leader, a survivor to those who know the Blues without the point being
exaggerated.
- Nicholas Sheffo
