Ginger Baker In Africa (Rockumentary)
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: D Film: C+
Ginger
Baker is best known as a member of Cream and Blind Faith, but had other
projects on the side and many also expressed his love of music. One lesser known project is a music trip
captured by British filmmaker Tony Palmer in his 1971 film Ginger Baker In Africa, where the musician meets with, interacts
and plays music with Africa musicians as he takes in the culture, living,
weather and life in the key continent.
Baker is
actually there to set up a recording studio in Nigeria’s former capital Lagos,
but also travels across the Sahara Desert and takes other non-music risks. The film often has no talking and pure music
for long periods. Running 53 minutes, it
seems like it was made for an older TV timeslot when commercials were at a
minimum where they belong. The result is
not bad.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image features a faded print with limited
color, but is still watchable. Some
restoration is needed and this looks like 16mm film. The PCM 16bit/48kHz Mono is problematic with
a lack of fidelity, distortion and slight echo throughout. Eagle was smart enough to skip Dolby Digital
compression, which would have made this worse.
There are no extras, but fans will enjoy the film and Baker’s voiceovers
as much as his playing.
- Nicholas Sheffo
