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Amazon.co.uk Review
For better and for worse, The Old Grey Whistle Test was probably the most resolutely serious music programme ever broadcast on television. During its 16-year run it showcased only the most earnest exponents of whichever musical style was currently popular, and given that the programme's heyday coincided with the early 70s, some of the footage included here will provide mirth as exquisite as only unintentional comedy can. The absurd prog noodlings of The Edgar Winter Group and the belief-beggaringly awful Focus now seem as unfathomable in retrospect as trench warfare or child labour.
However, the good stuff collected here is very good, both in terms of performance (Tom Petty snarling "American Girl", a pre-irony U2 whooping up "I Will Follow") and historical interest, notably a shockingly youthful Elton John crooning "Tiny Dancer" and reminding us, in the process, of a time when he was regarded as a cool and hip singer-songwriter, rather than understudy to the Queen Mother. --Andrew Mueller
On the DVD: Wonderful performances all captured in remarkably pristine picture and extraordinarily vivid sound, regardless of vintage (it doesn't even crackle during "Hocus Pocus"!). However, the menu is pretty clunky and won't allow direct access to the individual songs (other than selecting the "Random play" option). Instead, you can only jump into the programme year by year, not song by song. The track listing itself is unhelpfully hidden behind the discs in the gatefold packaging. --Mark Walker
Special Features
English
Region 2
Region 2
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
54 of 54 people found the following review helpful
I suppose this remains one of the highlights of the BBC's long association with quality live music programmes. This 2-disc first volume is by far the best of the OGWT DVD series. Disc 1 covers a lot of 70s acts, the second is ideal for those who loved punk rock and new wave. Highlights of disc 1 include Alice Cooper's "Under my Wheels", the Wailers (with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer) doing "Stir it Up", Roxy Music largely miming "Do the Strand" and the marvellous Capt Beefheart ("Upon the My O My"). True, Focus ARE terrible - guitarist Jan Akermann sounds like he's having a particularly off day - but Edgar Winter Group dish out some tight American prog-jazz-funk that's quite palatable, with Winter playing everything but the kitchen sink. Equally tight is the late, great Alex Harvey and his band, with "Give my Compliments to the Chef". He obviously knew how to work a room. The New York Dolls deliver some great pre-punk rock pantomime ("mock-rock" sniffs toothy presenter Bob Harris), Dr Feelgood reveal why they were one of the best pre-punk live attractions on the pub circuit ("Roxette") and you get the original Lynyrd Skynyrd line-up doing "Freebird". Disc 2 is the business as far as this reviewer's concerned. OK, so OGWT missed the Sex Pistols but they made up for it eventually. Before Radiohead's "Kid A" there was of course John Lydon's Public Image Limited, seen here doing a stonking "Careering" from the "Metal Box" LP. Buy it if only to see them in their prime. A young David Byrne fronts Talking Heads through "Psycho Killer", Blondie perform "Presence Dear", Iggy Pop rips his shirt off in the first 10 seconds of "Im Bored" to show off his scars and the Ramones show that the best songs dont have to go over 2 minutes. Elswhere there's Meatloaf in the studio ("paradise by the dashboard light"), Michael Stipe looking more like Michael Bolton leading REM through "Pretty Persuasion", and a young, shade-less Bono taking U2 through "I will Follow" from their first album. Look out for Ryuchi Sakamoto lending a helping hand to Japan as they deliver a stunning (but not very animated) "Ghosts" too.
What OGWT couldn't do, it seems, was to attract many of the big UK groups of the day to join them in the studio. So no Deep Purple, Stones, Led Zep, Pink Floyd from the 70s. And hence the famous animated sequences made to those artists' tunes (sadly, none included here). However, they could get them to agree to talk, so there's interviews here with Plant, Jagger, Springsteen and a glassy-eyed and very nervous Keith Richards. As other reviewers have commented, the menu is annoyingly difficult to navigate. That irritating theme tune pops up between each selection. Some of the presenters are clearly still fixated on the 70s and American roots-style music (one is particularly sniffy about early Roxy Music, who most would still judge today to have delivered two of the most original albums ever with their first two releases). Still, a highly watchable and enjoyable experience all round.
60 of 62 people found the following review helpful
The Old Grey Whistle Test is a fond memory for me and for nearly everybody over the age of 30 or so I would imagine. For many years it was the only music programme on TV - apart from Top of the Pops - and certainly the only place where you could see bands who weren't in the charts. This double DVD has 45 performances from the programme, all the way from Alice Cooper to Simply Red, and it brings those memories just flooding back, even those groups that you didn't like at the time! And if you didn't watch any of it back then, then it's got to be a great history lesson as well, seeing a young Bob Marley before he grew his dreadlocks, Elton John when he was a boy, the divine Tim Buckley or the flouncy New York Dolls making Whispering Bob Harris come over a bit queasy!
It's packed with extras as well - there's interviews with Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen, Robert Plant, Elton & a very stoned Keith Richards and all the presenters of the series share their memories as well. And once you get bored with that, you can just put the music on shuffle. Or you could listen to the commentary from producer Mike Appleton who reveals that the Whistle Test used to be made for £500 a show. There's tons of photos & trivia as well, along with animated menus (which are a bit annoying actually...). It's got to be the best music DVD in the shops.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
I bought a region-free player just for this DVD to see XTC live circa 1978. It was well worth it. As a bonus, there are other rare early performances by a bleach-blonde Police, REM with long hair, a very eighties-looking U2, super-rare Julian Cope (w/ Teardrop Explodes), and a surreal perfomance by Bob Marley & The Wailers (with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer).
Highly recommended. I'd like to see the entire show of each of these artists. More, please.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Times Gone By
The Old Grey Whistle Test was a unique part of British broadcasting history, where alternative music never really got a play on main stream telly. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Chris Lizzy
Almost 4 hours with only one complete dud...
... and that dud is the odious John Lydon and PIL. How anybody could actually like that monotonous, pretentious crap beats me. Read more
Published 11 months ago by A. Guthrie
Old And Grey, For Sure.
Some other reviewer summed it up when he said "OGWT.. was all we had" - and faint praise is no recommendation. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Buzz Fox
What's so awful about Focus?
How can anyone not enjoy Focus performing Hocus Pocus? Look at 'em... they're loving every second of it! Read more
Published 23 months ago by Joe 90
Track listing in full
I find these DVDs perfect for a long train train jouney. All are excellent. I wish the show could return. Read more
Published on 18 April 2010 by A. A. Jones
Great compilation. Terrible DVD.
What soul of a certain age wouldn't enjoy watching a selection of live bands through seventies and in to the early eighties. Read more
Published on 12 May 2008 by M. Boost
Nice memories but.....
I've had this DVD for a little while now and every so often I put it on and every time I feel let down. Read more
Published on 4 Jan 2007 by A 70's Old Fart
Too much chat
The thing to remember about OGWT was it was all we had, so we watched it. Unfortunately this seems to have convinced the presenters that we were interested in them. Read more
Published on 17 Dec 2004 by Dick Chuckens
Not to be missed
This DVD has moved me to write my first Amazon review. It is simply fantastic. Thrilling performances all the way -- especially Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer" which draws me in... Read more
Published on 24 Feb 2004
Simply the best
just to add to the others, Annie Nightingale rated PIL Careering as 'the most powerful performance she had ever seen on OGWT' and I agree. truly awsome. Read more
Published on 18 Jan 2004 by A. Miernik
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