very well produced, edited, documentary of the "Rock and Roll" revival, through the eyes, initially of the great Music/Event Promoter Richard Nader, who ran his first R & R Revival in 1969 at Madison Square Garden, and drew about 25,000 people! he also "drew" dozens of real rocking icons of the '50s! they showed up and yes, they were better than ever. maybe 20 pounds heavier, but exploding with enthusiasm for a medium of which most of them were about to bid adieu.
Chuck, Fats, Richard, Shirelles, Five Satins..they are all here...in clever split screens (i.e. Little Richard singing LUCILLE in the '50s/'70s). Great onstage footage and very groovy backstage footage, capturing the excitement not only of the music but a lot of performers who just a little amazed that perhaps five years before they were que-ing up for the post office test.
my complaint is not in the concept or the execution > just that, in my opinion, by 1972-3 the "oldies" review was getting a mite tired. I was there at the Garden, Octyober, 1970, when Little Richard arrived with a big band 3 drummers as I recall) to tear the roof off the place! he got down on piano on every song in his 38 minutes and his voice was astonishing. by the filming of LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL, he has lost a step going down the line (baseball expression). as tight as he was in '70, he seemed to have aged much more than 2, huffing and puffing thru LUCILLE; when he launches into GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY, it is positively mesmerizing but he cuts it off and then proceeds to do a strip tease for the remainder. It looks great...the audience loves it. But..the Music! I think Fats Domino and the Five Satins are the only acts *not* to disappoint.
finally, I want to say, I am also a little disappointed in that the apparent "view" of the filmmakers is that the oldies are more fun, not because the music had a harder backbeat and more relatable lyrics but that more a more "intellectual" sound made them oldies but goodies...not any radio station programming bias towards the "older" recording artist. the final shot is Little Richard - he's not rockin' away, one foot over the keyboard as he flails the high keys - he's sitting atop a high speaker, mugging for the front-row, teasing them: who will get the fragment of his costume?
Chuck, Fats, Richard, Shirelles, Five Satins..they are all here...in clever split screens (i.e. Little Richard singing LUCILLE in the '50s/'70s). Great onstage footage and very groovy backstage footage, capturing the excitement not only of the music but a lot of performers who just a little amazed that perhaps five years before they were que-ing up for the post office test.
my complaint is not in the concept or the execution > just that, in my opinion, by 1972-3 the "oldies" review was getting a mite tired. I was there at the Garden, Octyober, 1970, when Little Richard arrived with a big band 3 drummers as I recall) to tear the roof off the place! he got down on piano on every song in his 38 minutes and his voice was astonishing. by the filming of LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL, he has lost a step going down the line (baseball expression). as tight as he was in '70, he seemed to have aged much more than 2, huffing and puffing thru LUCILLE; when he launches into GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY, it is positively mesmerizing but he cuts it off and then proceeds to do a strip tease for the remainder. It looks great...the audience loves it. But..the Music! I think Fats Domino and the Five Satins are the only acts *not* to disappoint.
finally, I want to say, I am also a little disappointed in that the apparent "view" of the filmmakers is that the oldies are more fun, not because the music had a harder backbeat and more relatable lyrics but that more a more "intellectual" sound made them oldies but goodies...not any radio station programming bias towards the "older" recording artist. the final shot is Little Richard - he's not rockin' away, one foot over the keyboard as he flails the high keys - he's sitting atop a high speaker, mugging for the front-row, teasing them: who will get the fragment of his costume?