The Old Grey Whistle Test 2 [1971]

Customers buy this item with The Old Grey Whistle Test - Vol. 3 [1971] DVD ~ David Bowie

Total RRP: £39.98 Price For Both: £29.96

Amazon.co.uk Review
In some ways The Old Grey Whistle Test Volume 2 is more interesting than its predecessor, as it covers the show's enjoyably uncomfortable period of transition from beard-rock to punk/new wave. Hence, the music ranges across the likes of Loggins and Messina (the frightful "The House at Pooh Corner"), the Who, Judee Sill, Argent (doing "God Gave Rock 'n' Roll to You", which all Bill and Ted fans probably think is a Kiss original), Roy Harper, the Adverts, the Undertones (not playing "Teenage Kicks", sadly), Patti Smith and Siouxie and the Banshees. There's also some arty stuff that doesn't really fit into either camp, including Kevin Ayers and Roxy Music at their uncommercially weirdest. There are a few nicely revelatory moments, too, such as the realisation that Thomas Dolby's "Hyperactive" was in fact a nu-jazz masterpiece born 20 years too soon and that Robbie Williams should cover Aztec Camera's wonderful "Walk Out to Winter" immediately. This is an enjoyable and diverse collection of music from a fairly fraught period in the history of more-or-less popular music, so it's good to be reminded just how much good stuff was actually happening amidst the melée.

On the DVD: The Old Grey Whistle Test 2 comes on only one disc (the first was a two-disc set), but you still get 30 or so excellent tracks plus all the trimmings, so that's hardly a fault. The layout features the same kind of horribly overdesigned menus as its predecessor: there's no obvious chapter sub-menu, believe it or not; instead, you have to access individual tracks through the artists' gallery in the extras section! Aargh! Other extras include contributor profiles, additional linking material and the wonderful Old Grey Squirrel Test animation, which mere words would only spoil for those who have yet to see it. --Roger Thomas

DVD Description
This DVD features the following tracks:

Heads Hands & Feet - 'Warming up the Band' (28.9.71)
Kevin Ayers - 'May I' (4.4.72)
Roxy Music - 'Ladytron' (20.6.72)
Loggins & Messina - 'House at Pooh Corner' (12.9.72)
The Who - 'Relay' (30.1.73)
Judee Sill - 'The Kiss' (20.2.73)
Argent - 'God Gave Rock n Roll to You' (6.3.73)
Humble Pie - 'Black Coffee' (20.3.73)
Average White Band - 'Put it Where you Want it' (10.7.73)
Montrose - 'Bad Motor Scooter' (21.5.74)
Bruce Johnston - 'Disney Girls' (24.1.75)
Be Bop Deluxe - 'Made in Heaven' (19.7.75)
Nils Lofgren - 'Going Back' (4.11.75)
Daryl Hall & John Oates - 'She's Gone' (18.5.76)
Joan Armatrading - 'Love & Affection' (5.10.76)
Roy Harper - 'One of Those Days in England' (29.3.77)
The Adverts - 'Bored Teenagers' (7.2.78)
Patti Smith - 'Because the Night' (4.4.78)
Siouxsie & the Banshees - 'Metal Postcard' (7.11.78)
Gary Moore & Phil Lynott - 'Don't Believe a Word' (9.1.79)
Undertones - 'Jimmy Jimmy' (6.3.79)
Squeeze - 'Slap and Tickle' (3.4.79)
OMD - 'Dancing' (15.4.80)
Stanley Clarke/George Duke Project - 'Schooldays' (26.5.81)
Tom Verlaine - 'Days on the Mountain Part 1' (10.6.82)
Aztec Camera - 'Walk Out to Winter' (13.5.83)
Thomas Dolby - 'Hyperactive' (27.1.84)
Style Council - 'Walls Come Tumbling Down' (21.5.85)
Suzanne Vega - 'Marlene On the Wall' (8.10.85)
John Walters, John Peel, Ro Newton, Andy Kershaw - Skiffle jam (5.11.85)
Prefab Sprout - 'When Love Breaks Down' (10.12.85)
Pet Shop Boys - 'Opportunities' (29.4.86)
Pogues - 'Dirty Old Town' (17.6.86)

Also included - newly filmed interviews with Presenter Bob Harris, founding producer Mike Appleton and musicians Roger Daltrey, Hamish Stuart, Roddy Frame, Rick Wakeman, Bill Nelson, Kevin Ayers, Bob Geldof, Nick Lowe, Robin Trower, Edwyn Collins and Jools Holland.

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The Old Grey Whistle Test - Vol. 3 [1971] DVD ~ David Bowie