The T.A.M.I. Show (1964/Shout! Factory DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: B Film: A-
For
decades, one of the most important concert films ever made has been out of
circulation. It has a line-up so
amazing, you would think someone was lying to you and making it all up. It was the beginning of the greatest wave of
music the 20th Century would see and it was called The T.A.M.I. Show.
Intended
as a charity event, teens (the initials stand for Teenage Awards Music
International) from several Santa Monica High Schools were brought in nearby to
see the action and the result was an amazing recording of some of the greatest
names in music history in some of the greatest moments they would ever
have. Hosted by Jan & Dean, here is
the playlist:
- Chuck
Berry (Johnny B. Goode, Maybelline)
- Gerry
& The Pacemakers (Maybelline, Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying, It’s Gonna Be Alright)
- Chuck
Berry (Sweet Little Sixteen)
- Gerry
& The Pacemakers (How Do You Do It?)
- Chuck
Berry (Nadine (Is It You?))
- Gerry
& The Pacemakers (I Like It)
- Smokey
Robinson & The Miracles (That’s What
Love Is Made Of, You’ve Really Got A
Hold On Me, Mickey’s Monkey)
- Marvin
Gaye (Stubborn Kind Of Fella, Pride & Joy, Can I Get A Witness?, Hitch
Hike)
- Leslie
Gore (Maybe I Know, You Don’t Own Me, You Didn’t Look Around, Hey
Now, It’s My Party, Judy’s Turn To Cry)
- Jan
& Dean (The Little Old Lady (From Pasadena), Sidewalk Surfin’)
- The
Beach Boys (Surfin’ U.S.A., I Get Around, Surfer Girl,
Dance, Dance, Dance)
- Billy
J. Kramer & The Dakotas (Little
Children, Bad To Me, I’ll Keep You Satisfied, From A Window)
- The
Supremes (When The Lovelight Starts
Shining Through His Eyes, Run, Run,
Run, Baby Love, Where Did Our Love Go?)
- The
Barbarians (Hey Little Bird)
- James
Brown & The Flames (Out Of Sight,
Prisoner of Love, Please, Please, Please, Night Train)
- The
Rolling Stones (Around & Around, Off The Hook, Time Is On My Side, It’s All
Over Now, I’m All Right)
- All
artists close with Let’s Get Together
Berry was an architect of Rock N Roll
and helps launch the show well, going back and forth with a very successful at
the time Gerry & The Pacemakers. The
Miracles were exceptionally terrific, Marvin Gaye totally on the money and Leslie
Gore was actually the #1 act commercially there at the time. That is why Jan & Dean perform in the
middle of the show after her.
The Beach
Boys footage was in the film upon first release, then all that footage
disappeared for unknown reasons on all later prints when you could find one, so
their re-addition here is a vital piece of the show now back and as great as
ever. The Supremes had Diana Ross and
finally some hits. Their set starts with
some smaller hits, then ends with what became their first two #1s of many.
Of
course, there is James Brown, who was just becoming popular and delivers one of
the greatest performances of his career.
Stunning the audience and all watching, his moves were ahead of anyone
else who showed up, including a pre-kinetic Rolling Stones who made their U.S. debut here. That is among the many great moments here,
but you have to see it to believe it and it is a must-see for any serious film
or music fans. Toni Basil (who was an
assistant to the choreographer) is a go-go dancer as is Teri Garr. Glen Campbell and Leon Russell are in the
house band. Phil Spector was even
there. It is that kind of event. It is great to finally set it available to
everyone.
The anamorphically
enhanced 1.78 X 1 black and white image comes from the best elements Dick Clark
Productions could secure, then restore.
The opening is shot in 16mm film, but the whole concert is recorded in Electronovision,
an advanced version of a kinescope, where the program is all edited and done on
video, but the results are filmed as a record of what transpired. Much better than, say “The Lost Episodes” of The Honeymooners, this looks much
better than most video at the time and was designed to replace kinescopes. However, reel-to-reel videotape soon showed
up and killed the commercial viability of the system.
As
compared to the 16mm film print I saw of this concert over a year ago, this may
be a cleaner source, but lacks some of the depth, detail and Video Black of
that print. Talking about 700 to 800
lines of analog black and white video used to record this, a Blu-ray would not
be a bad idea to consider; especially since a High Definition master was used.
The Dolby
Digital 2.0 Mono shows its age and has compression throughout as expected, but
is better than any previous audio the film has had, though a lossless format
like DTS-MA or just DTS might have been cleaner and clearer.
Extras
include a 18-page booklet inside the DVD case, feature-length audio commentary
track by Bender and music historian Don Waller that is highly informative, four
original radio spots promoting the film and the original theatrical trailer,
which has the option of a John Landis introduction and commentary to further
explain how he was there and more of what happened.
There was
a follow-up concert called The Big TNT
Show. Hope that is on the way next.
- Nicholas Sheffo
