Still Swingin’ – 100th
Birthday Special Edition set
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: B Main Program: B-
Western Swing makes line dancing possible and has now been
around for over seventy years. Still
Swingin’ is a new DVD set that explores the life of Bob Wills, who make the
subgenre possible, including his famed Texas Playboys. The main documentary does its best to tell
his life story and how his music became classic. As well made and produced as it is, the striking thing was the
actual footage of Wills, especially outside of the main program.
Though not the biggest fan of Country Music, there are the
occasional songs that are enjoyable and this is some of that better
material. The history in the
documentary is limited, though never condescending. It is still one thing to be told about greatness and another to
see and hear it. You have your choice
either way.
The 1.33 X 1 image throughout is a bit on the soft side
for the newer NTSC tapings, then a few generations down usually on the older
filmed footage. The sound is Dolby
Digital 2.0 Mono for almost all the extras and older moment in the
documentary. Newer interviews are
simple stereo at best and the bets audio is the 1994 concert of the surviving
band members. Extras on DVD 1 include
interviews with Luke Wills and Lorene Wills separately, then Bob Wills &
The Texas Playboys from a Warner Bros. short subject and the following
Telescription shorts, precursor to the Music Video:
1)
Yodel Mountain (Snader, 1951/#10101
featuring Carolina Cotton)
2)
Three Miles Of South Cash (#10102
featuring Carolina Cotton)
3)
Blue Prelude (Studio, 1954/#10107)
4)
Deep Water (Snader/#10105)
5)
Sittin’ on Top Off The World
(Snader/#10106)
6)
Ida Red (Studio/#10104)
Ida Red is also seen and heard in a
much poorer quality clip from the film Go West, Young Lady in 1941. The OK Oklahoma clip is from The
Last Horseman in 1944. We also get
a stills montage set to another Wills hit and a second montage set to their Texas
Playboys theme. DVD 2 has two
sections produced in 1994 with the remaining Texas Playboys. One segment is in concert, the other an
extended interview. Asleep At The Wheel
is a band continuing to perform this type of music and we have covered one of
their concerts on this site. You can
read about it at:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1228/Asleep+At+The+Wheel+(Ohne+Filter)
- Nicholas Sheffo
