Down The Tracks – Bob Dylan + Led Zeppelin (Eagle DVDs)

 

Picture: C     Sound: C+     Extras: D     Main Programs: B-

 

 

Is Rock getting a bad rap from The Blues?  Sure, history is history and Blues existed before Rock, helped make it possible and is a component of it and much great music, but one sometimes gets the impression from series like Down The Tracks which go out of their way to show that Blues influence.  The first two DVDs in the series from Eagle offer no less than Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin, which is ironic since the former ran away from being trapped in one genre and the latter was often accused of ripping off Bluesmen when they were really innovating their work.

 

In both cases, it helps to be a fan of the act covered and we’ll see if this becomes a long term series, will it expand or fall into some formulaic trap.  There have been too many Blues DVDs as is, but these are distinct by simply covering newer (versus the founders of Blues) artists and name ones at that.  There are things to learn here and it does not seem only like hearsay as if they were “unauthorized” cheapie releases.  Yet, these are for fans only or those studying the artists covered.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on both are softer than usual, in part too because of the older, dated footage and other rough materials going back to a time before TV even existed.  Maybe the makers wanted to look rougher to have some kind of credibility, but the general transfer is weak in both cases.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is nicer throughout both and can range from stereo to rough mono, as expected in any program delving into Blues history.  There are no extras in either case.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo