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   Ben E. King                                      Ahmet Ertegun                                                 Solomon Burke

Images courtesy of PBS. All Rights reserved. No duplication permitted.

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On May 2, 2007, "Atlantic Records: The House that Ahmet Built" premieres on PBS stations throughout the country: This film-record of the life of music-pioneer Ahmet Ertegun, whose visionary spirit changed the recording industry. "The House that Ahmet Built," part of PBS's acclaimed American Masters series, is rich and bold and evocative, an extended moment in time featuring interviews with the enigmatic Ertegun and many of the musicians (Ben E. King; Solomon Burke; Eric Clapton; Phil Collins) who gave Atlantic Records its unique face and inimitable sound. Return to The Electric Review later this week to read our review of the film. In addition, we kick off our coverage of"The House that Ahmet Built" with interviews featuring the film's Executive Producer, Susan Lacy (as well aslegendsBurke and King). ~John Aiello

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FEATURING

AMERICAN MASTERS CREATOR

SUSAN LACY

"Atlantic Records: The House That Ahmet Built"

Susan Lacy, the creator and executive producer of PBS’ acclaimed American Masters series fromChannel Thirteen/WNET New York, has produced many films over a career that has spanned nearly 30 years.

In the course of creating American Masters (famous for documentaries that propel their subjects into new dimensions of reality), Lacy has presented many music-based features (including the acclaimed Martin Scorsese-directed “No Direction Home” which chronicled Bob Dylan’s meteoric ascent to the top of the rock-and-roll world, as well as the sharply nuanced “Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart”).

And now, on May 2, AMERICAN MASTERS Atlantic Records: The House That Ahmet Built is slated to premiere on PBS stations throughout the country: This stunning film-record of Ahmet Ertegun, whose Atlantic Records changed the course of popular music by providing a platoon of R&B artists a firm stage from which they could refine their craft and embrace their audience.

In keeping with Lacy’s other work, The House That Ahmet Built is notable for its pacing and for the thread of its narrative – this film that churns forward like some great wheel of wind, throbbing sweet new melodies, sweeping us up in its story until we find a actual pieces of ourselves hidden there. ~John Aiello

Tell me about the genesis of this film.

Well, the idea for the film came about while I was working on a project with Phil Carson at Suns Records. At the time, Carson was producing an album with Ahmet – an album of contemporary musicians doing famous Sun Records hits. For example, Paul McCartney did a great version of “That’s Alright Mama” for that album. And American Masters filmed the recording process and created a documentary based on it. In the process of doing this film on Sun, I got to know Ahmet very well and that’s where the idea for a film on his life and work was born.

Why a film about Ahmet Ertegun? What was the most impressive thing about Ertegun?

As you can imagine, it’s quite a daunting task trying to tell the story of 60 years of music through the story of one man. However, Ertegun has had such an enormous influence on culture and on many different forms of music that we were able to do it. I think what was most impressive about Ahmet was that he both loved and recognized the African American contribution to music, and his work helped these contributions to flourish. People sometimes forget that when Ahmet entered the business there was a lot of racism and prejudice, and what he accomplished at Atlantic helped to combat this. Plus, Ahmet was a hands-on producer, by this I mean that he got into the studio and rolled up his sleeves and made these records with the musicians. And that was unusual for the times. Also, Ahmet had an unerring belief in what he was doing. He had an amazing ear and had the talent to recognize talent in others - which is a rare ability in itself. But more than anything, Ahmet was a true gentlemen in a rough and tumble business. Record people are not known for being gentlemen. But Ahmet had impeccable manners. He treated people with respect. Here was a guy who could have dinner with the Queen one night and go clubbing with Mick Jagger the next. A rare man indeed…

How long did it take to create The House That Ahmet Built?

The movie was shot over a period of 4 years, but it actually took about 9 months to produce once all the interviews were done. It took so long to finish the interviews because it was so hard to schedule time with the many working musicians who are featured. Actually, when we launched into the idea, we didn’t have the full budget in hand, yet we were very aware of the fact that we needed to keep going with the interviews. We knew Ahmet’s age was a factor, and we didn’t want to lose the chance to make this movie. Really, this was quite a difficult film to make. It’s not easy to cover this much time and history in two just hours….

I understand Ertegun participated in several hours of interviews for the film, and it seems that he was intent on his story being told. What was the underlying reason for this?

I think he was ecstatic about the opportunity to reconnect with his friends and with people he worked with in the past. And I think he was also flattered that American Masters wanted to memorialize his legacy, to create a record of his legacy that future generations could look back on. It’s the ultimate recognition to the value of his work.

In terms of his impact on the whole of the culture, what do you think future generations of musicians will most remember about the man who built the Atlantic Records empire?

I think, again, it comes down to Ahmet’s effort to bring recognition and respect to African American musicians. This should not be understated, as what Ahmet did at Atlantic in this regard helped the work of these R&B players to flourish, and in turn, it forever changed music. I don’t think this will ever be forgotten. Ahmet’s life is a wonderful story: The story of an immigrant who took his love for jazz and the Blues and turned that love into the most important record label in America. His story is about progression, starting with the Blues and ending with Rock and Roll -- changing the face of music in the process…

Looking at Ertegun’s career, he had an amazing knack of connecting with many different kinds of musicians (the Rolling Stones; Solomon Burke; Ben E. King; Eric Clapton; Phil Collins). What was it that drew so many different kinds of players from so many different backgrounds to want to work at Atlantic?

Well, all of these artists grew up on the music of Atlantic Records, on the music that Ertegun helped make. As I said, there were two very distinct lives at Atlantic: One devoted to Blues and one devoted to Rock and Roll. The label changed with the times because it had to change in order to survive. And I think all of these musicians who you mentioned really wanted to be a part of Atlantic and the history of its music. Plus, Atlantic treated artists well. Ertegun had a reputation of treating musicians with respect and not as some commodity to exploit. There was a love of music at Atlantic. And artists who recorded there knew Ahmet would not second-guess them or interfere with their creative vision. Ertegun recognized talent and uniqueness and allowed it to flourish. That’s what brought musicians to Atlantic….

~John Aiello

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REMEMBERING AHMET ERTGUN

Solomon Burke & Ben E. King

recall the genius of Ahmet Ertegun

Ben E. King of the Drifters and Solomon Burke are legends in their own right - -singers of amazing depth who possess a command of language and voice and the ability to reach an audience through stage-driven performance. And even though they are often categorized as R&B performers, they cannot be pigeon-holed. Instead, King and Burke (like Ertegun himself) are students of song and sound, men compelled by nuances of melody, men driven to give identity and cadence to the secret music that plays on behind the severed walls of the mind. Looking back, it seems that Ertegun gravitated toward these kinds of players: Men who had a firm idea of who they were and what they wanted to say, men who had stage-presence and brimmed with emotion and empathy, who overflowed a sweet mix of sorrow and unquenchable joy. Ben E. King and Solomon Burke are two of the great voices of modern music and they found a home in the studios of Atlantic Records: This holy garden without boundaries where so many music-makers plied their craft. The memories of King and Burke provide great insight into both the rebirth of the blues and the international take-over of rock-and-roll. In addition, their memories grant insight into the immortal legend of Ahmet Ertegun: Music-mogul and maverick iconoclast whose mission was to bring this world the everlasting gift of song. ~John Aiello

Solomon Burke

Tell me of your first meeting with Ertegun.

I still remember that day vividly: I met Ahmet in the lobby of Atlantic Records. He was standing with Jerry Wexler [the famed Atlantic producer], and Jerry introduced us. Without even taking a breath, Ahmet said: “You’re Solomon Burke? You’re signed to Atlantic.” And that was that. It was literally that fast. Imagine what I was thinking: There I was in the lobby surrounded by photographs of the likes of Big Joe Turner and Ray Charles, in the midst of all this history. I just stood in amazement, lost in the thought that I had just become a part of a label where all this ingenious music was being made….

So, Solomon, that’s all Ahmet said – ‘you’re signed?’

(Laughing) Well, as soon as he did, he asked me – “So what kinda sandwich do you want? Pastrami or corned beef?” Now here I was, a dude from Philadelphia – I knew about cheese-steaks and sausage, but not about corned beef (with big brimming laughter)….So I ordered myself a pastrami sandwich with hot chocolate. Just like that, I was a star on Atlantic Records….You see, things literally happened instantly with Ahmet…

Wow – amazing…

I’m telling you, I left Atlantic that day with a contract and some mayonnaise from my pastrami sandwich on my sleeve (laughing).

Looking back, tell me about Ahmet, I mean how was this very refined gentleman able to literally gut the recording industry and reconfigure it the way he did?

Well, Ahmet was very diplomatic and he had the talent to relate to all different kinds of people on their level. He was high class. Really, Wexler looked like a school boy, and Ahmet – he looked like the teacher. But Ahmet, man, he really knew music. Jazz. Blues. Gospel. He recognized sounds almost instantly. Wexler could feel the music in his bones, but Ahmet – he knew it on an intellectual level, and he was a true master in the studio. Ahmet and Jerry [Wexler] were a special team and they were able to blend their genius into a special kind of magic. And it comes through those records and through the years: In the final days, that music is still going to be standing….

I imagine Ahmet’s passing has had a great impact on you...

Oh yes, oh yes…Ahmet didn’t decide to leave us, the angels decided he was going to go to a Rolling Stones concert and then roll on out with them. The angels decided it was time for him to sign some bigger acts and book some far bigger shows. I don’t believe Ahmet’s gone. I think he’s on one of those big-time tours and we have no idea who he’s booking, we just know, like everything he did, that it’s a big deal. I feel that in my heart. If anyone is ever going to find Noah’s Ark, it’s got to be Ahmet – he was that kind of master.

Can you speak a bit about your last interaction with him?

Every moment I ever spent with the guy was fascinating, it was intensely educational. One of our last meetings was in Switzerland, and it was filled with conversation about the music we’d made together, and it was filled with a lot of laughter. Ahmet had an impeccable personality and an impeccable memory and an impeccable sense of humor, he had a knack for making you laugh. And he was a natural storyteller – told me stories about myself that I didn’t even know (roaring with laughter). He was a one-of-a-kind man, and no one is ever going to imitate him, or duplicate him, or replace him. This was a man whose presence said: ‘I am who I am and I believe in what I believe.’ I mean, you have to respect that…

Given the racial tensions of the times, why did black musicians want to record with Ertegun? Why did they trust his take on things?

With Ahmet – there was no color barrier and no language barrier. He believed only in the music and the artist. He didn’t care what color you were as long as you had the talent to make meaningful music. If you had the talent – and away we go! Ahmet was a rare man who could look you dead in the eye and tell you what was going to work and what was not going to work. And you believed him. Simple as that.

Looking back, what stands out in your memory about this guy – beyond the music?

He was happy! He was happy at home and that reflected in the rest of his life. Also, as I said – he was a guy who told it like it was, he was happy to make that final decision and then stick to it. That’s something that demands respect. I always thought that if Ahmet had had a son born in his exact image, there would have still been something different about the kid. Ahmet was that unique.

So, what made you want to participate in this film-record of Ahmet Ertegun’s life?

I was part of the story and of the time – I was there when the label and the music were both developing, and I wanted to be able to help tell the story. Atlantic had a unique vision, mixing different markets, bringing the music to the people and the people to the music. So much great music; for a time, we thought it was never going to stop. Turn on the radio in those days, and it was all about Atlantic Records. Think about it now, and it brings your memory into clear focus…

What was Ertegun’s greatest impact on the music?

Him….You see, Ahmet was the impact. Everything that came about came about because of him. His history. His background. His heritage. His joy. His love. His life. Just him. Let’s take the show to heaven now, and keep those shows cool – please…. (Poignant laughter)

How did Ertegun’s vision meld into your own personal vision as an artist?

His vision will always live on within me. It comes down to something he said to me once after I gave him a record of mine to preview. He said – “Keep on keeping on…” And how those few words inspired me! He was telling me – you can make it if you really try. He was saying, don’t give up on yourself – ever! He was saying, you can make it if you want it…

That’s pretty special to find that kind of soul in a business not noted for its soul…

What can you say about the man that would not be incredible? He had such an incredible way of looking at life. He never blinked. He never said I’m different. Instead, he said –‘I’m me. Accept me for me.’ He never blinked and he never stopped thinking. Instead, he made action and movement a part of his thinking. He’s an act you just can’t follow. All you can do -- trace the years with tears and joy…

~John Aiello

BEN E. KING

So, Ben E., I recently interviewed Solomon Burke about Ahmet and the PBS film about his life and times. And I am going to ask you some of the same things I asked Solomon, as a way to paint a portrait of Ertegun’s distinctness from multiple perspectives…

Sounds good! We’ll see of us old men are thinking alike (laughter)

Tell me of your first meeting with Ertegun.

My first meeting with Ahmet was back in 1958, at the Atlantic Studios. I was part of the second formation of the Drifters. Immediately, Ahmet made sure we all felt comfortable. He was obviously aware that we were five guys from Harlem who really didn’t know anything about the big leagues of the recording industry. Ahmet seemed to realize that as a band we had a huge responsibility in taking over for the original Drifters, and he had empathy for us -- he understood that what were about to do was going to be difficult. Really, looking back, it was as if he was adopting all of us, he made us feel that secure.

I imagine that his death has affected you deeply…

Really John, it has. I knew Ahmet for almost 50 years, and we developed a deep friendship. He cared for me not only as an artist, but also as a person. He helped me on both creative and personal levels, and losing him is really a hard thing to talk about, a hard thing to explain. The best I can do is to compare it to losing a close family member. (long pause): In the past on many occasions I told my wife and kids that, if anything ever happened to me, the first person they should call was Ahmet. I trusted him not only in business, but with my family as well.

When did you last speak to or see him?

I last saw him at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2006. Actually, Ahmet had invited me there to perform. I remember we were sitting together one day, talking, and Kid Rock appeared and approached Ahmet. First off, Ahmet introduced Kid Rock to me and it was hilarious to hear him try to describe my music to Rock. But that was Ahmet in a nutshell: The guy would never leave you to be a stranger to anyone.

In the wake of Ertegun’s death, what’s been lost that will never be recaptured? What element died with him?

I think we lost someone who really cared about the music – the music that was created in the past and the music that is being created in the present. He was a true creative genius who had an understanding of blues and jazz and R&B – really, there are not too many men around like that. Now days, producers are in it only for the money and not for the music. It’s a totally different world now…

Looking at it objectively, Ahmet must have seemed like an oddity to five dudes from Harlem: Here was this very diplomatic Turkish gentleman who was producing pop records in America. Given the racial tensions of the time, what made so many black players trust this guy, what made them believe in what he was saying?

Really, when you meet somebody you know in your heart if they’re legitimate and sincere. As for me, I decided to watch and observe him and I believed in what I saw and decided to tread water with him. More than anything, Ahmet lived up to his promises – and beyond. He was very open and very real; plus, he was not shy about telling you what was right with your sound and what was wrong with it. He was the kind of guy you could do business with -- and right after, sit down and have a ham sandwich with him. He was real and honest, and that’s why I loved him…

Looking back on your 50-year history with him, what stands out?

The way he cared for me as a person. As I grew up and grew older and learned more about the business, I learned that he really did care for me a lot. For example, one day I was at Atlantic and I was approached by two guys who said they were going to manage me. I was stunned, because I didn’t know who these men were. After a time, these two fellows went into Ahmet’s office. They stayed awhile, and then left without saying another word to me. When they left I went to speak with Ahmet and I told him what these guys had said. He shook his head no: ‘Those guys are not right for you Ben E.’ You see, he was always looking out for me and my best interests. I knew I was in good hands after that, and that little exchange cemented our friendship forever.

What was Ertegun’s greatest impact on the music?

He had the ability to see things through. Whatever he came to be involved with, he would see it through – from start to finish. And he had a total love and respect for American music, whatever color it was: You could be purple, or black, or red, or blue -- and that didn’t matter to him. He was only interested in your talent and seeing what you could do together. He taught me to respect music and he taught me the business, but really what stands out about him is his honesty: His handshake was money in the bank.

That’s similar to things Solomon said….

See, the old men do think alike!

So, finally, what made you want to participate in this film-record of Ahmet Ertegun’s life?

Well, it wasn’t about saying good-bye to a friend, because he will never leave me. Personally, I wanted to let the world know what he did for me. There would have been no Ben E. King without Ahmet Ertegun. He gave me this life [in music]. And I wanted to participate in this film to let the world know what he did for me and what he meant to me (and to a lot of other musicians just like me)…

~John Aiello

BOB DYLAN: NO DIRECTION HOME. A Film by Martin Scorsese. Paramount Home Video. Soundtrack released by Columbia Legacy.

"It’s not dark yet. But it’s getting there..."

-Bob Dylan. 1997-

By John Aiello

Quite simply, this is the best music documentary that has ever been made -- a tour de force of image and sound that leaves the fewer paralyzed and spellbound, a graceful and poetic journey into the personal history of a man who embodies the spiritual history of American music during the last century.

No Direction Home premiered on the award-winning AMERICAN MASTERS series on PBS last month. The film was co-produced by Susan Lacy (AMERICAN MASTERS' creator and executive producer), in collaboration with Director Martin Scorsese, Jeff Rosen of Grey Water Park, Nigel Sinclair of Spitfire, and Anthony Wall of the BBC's Arena series.

Asdocumentaries go, what Scorsese has accomplished here is remarkable: by juxtaposing threads of music borne from Bob Dylan’s’ historical 1966 world tour (when he went "electric" and performed songs packaged with rock-and-roll beat) with interviews, we are led through a half-open door and allowed an intimate glimpse into Bob Dylan’s heart and mind.

In short, this production is what Dylan fans have been anticipating for decades. And it surpasses all expectations by leaps and bounds.

In addition to seeing Dylan discuss himself and his work against the context of world history, we witness first-hand the power of his performances in Europe in 1966. And the journey is absolutely incredible. Much of this old footage (shot as Dylan battled with audiences who wanted to hear "Blowin’ In The Wind" and not Jagger-inflected blues) has never been seen before (only rumored to have existed). And it makes for a fresh and truly breathless ride.

Viewers will be kicked in the face as Dylan leads the Hawks through bone-cutting versions of his classic catalog: Catch Dylan’s phraseology as he performs "Like a Rolling Stone" and "Tom’s Thumb’s Blues" -- the howl of vowel intersecting consonant, biting through syllables, devouring the rancid essence of the silence.

More than music, this is a picture of poetry being borne, words coming to life, ideas finding their way back to the sacred and holy light (evidenced by Dylan using a road-side sign to build several different poems on the spot and before the camera). More than concerts, these shows were revelatory experiences meant to enlighten and drive the audience to personal introspection -- snapshots of an artist in the midst of his process growing by the second through the energy of his listeners.

And in No Direction Home, Scorsese delicately captures it all in the fingertip-whisper of an instant.

What is remarkable about the Scorsese’s work here is that the director is careful to remove himself from the equation; instead of adding layers through the film-maker’s perceptions, he is wise enough to just sit back and let it all unspool across the web-laced eye of the viewer. Obviously, the material is so strong it needs no other "voice" but Bob Dylan’s to carry it. And instead of piling more on, Scorsese only helps to shape the picture through masterful edits and cuts -- interspersing song with narrative until the picture finds its full, whole and supple glory.

The high-lights abound: among the many memorable interviews that are conducted for this picture, none stand out more than the comments of Dylan’s long-time producer, Bob Johnston, who says that Dylan’s "got the holy spirit about him" -- drawing a quick metaphor to the man’s immense talent as both writer and musician.

Also notable are the segments with Al Kooper (the organ player on "Rolling Stone" who recounts how he came to play for Bob Dylan) and the interviews done with Suze Rotolo (Dylan’s "Ramona") and Beat poet Allen Ginsberg, who speaks to Dylan’s work in the broad context of post-20th century poetics. Finally, the sometimes-pissy-moments in the interviews that were conducted with Joan Baez demonstrate that Dylan was both a lovable and irritating companion who, once he burrowed his way under your skin, became truly impossible to rinse away.

At 3.5 hours running time, there is literally a mountain of music and history to swallow, and viewers will need to look at this material 3 or 4 times to begin to digest it all -- rest assured, there’s something new around the twist of every corner.

However, the one constant here is Dylan himself: shy and unassuming, piercing and comical -- a reserved and sure-footed poet looking at the world through the lips of a candle. What he sees in the crystal eye of that flame we will hear breathe through every single song he plays.

Viewers who missed the September premiere (and who have yet to purchase the DVD) should continue to check their local PBS listings for encore broadcast dates and times.

The Soundtrack for No Direction Home, meanwhile, is a must-have companion to this DVD, and it includes a lot of the music that’s in the movie, albeit in different forms. There are some wonderful treats to savor, indeed: a bare-bones version of "Stuck Inside of Memphis" allows us to see how Dylan was writing at the time, building the words of his songs around the riff, true to the great and spontaneous spirit of Kerouac. Another gem takes the form of a blues-drenched alternate take of "Visions of Johanna" that shows just how many gowns that song has worn in the chambers of Dylan’s mind: a song almost like a human face changing with the changing light of the landscape. In addition, note the kick-ass live performances of "Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall" and When The Ship Comes In" (as well as the take of "Tambourine Man" withJack Elliot): these cuts (along with the poignant rendition of Woody Guthrie’s "This Land is Your Land") capture the voice of an American legend in its infancy. Like all great music (like the concertos that grew from the breathless skin of Bach’s hand, like the blues-cut belly howl of the great John Lee Hooker), each of these momentslives on in the subconscious mind of our history: bridging the vacant divide, shattering musty shackles, living on forever. ~John Aiello

Susan Lacy, the creator of PBS’ acclaimed American Masters series on Channel Thirteen/WNET New York (which produced the Scorsese-directed Dylan documentary), spoke to us recently about the role she played in bringing No Direction Home to fruition. Without her guiding hand, it seems unlikely that this lasting portrait of the then-and-now Dylan would have enjoyed such a classy and engrossing frame. Lacy, whose productions are known throughout the world for their depth and resonance, is a living example of how meaningful the television medium can be: After 20 years, her work remains a multi-layered inspiration to hearts and eyes and minds from around the globe.

I understand you are the founder of the brilliant "American Masters" series. Can you tell me briefly about its genesis and what you initially hoped to accomplish through it?

Well, American Masters goes back almost two decades. We’re entering our 20th season and our 160th film. I first had the idea to do it back in 1984. Actually it was all quite simple. I wanted to create a series that would be based on the giants of 20th-century culture. I wanted to bring their lives and work together under one umbrella. It was a hard sell really. The same question kept cropping up: "Who wants to watch stories about artists?" It’s like it was so hard for some to see that stories about artists can be full of drama - -artists have demons and they always seem to be in processes of overcoming something. You see, American Masters was never about being some "Sunday morning biography show," but instead, a vital series on many different levels. We started out in 1986, and the critics loved it. And in these last 20 years, we’ve had a great deal of success; for example, we’ve won Emmys in 5 out of the last 6 years. [pauses] American Masters is not about filling television time. Instead, it’s meant to be as textured and layered and nuanced -- as interesting -- as the people we’re making movies about.

These productions must be quite intricate and complicated to orchestrate....

Yes, they are; and I wear quite a lot of hats in the production process. One of my major roles is to make sure we have secured the rights to material and to insure we have access to the things we need. My central motivation is to make first-rate films and be original and inventive in the process. And this can be quite complicated and quite expensive. Many places are competing to do these projects, but they are not always as concerned with attaining the same quality and originality that we are. A lot of my work is centered around giving us access to all the material that we need to be able to create these movies.

Can you tell me briefly about your background and how you came to PBS?

I actually have a Masters Degree in American Studies, and I came to PBS shortly after graduate school. I had been living in Rome at the time with my first husband, having just written an article for American Studies Magazine on how television could impact the arts. A short time after it was published, my then-husband and I eventually moved to New York, and I was able to get an interview at Channel Thirteen[WNET New York]. To make a long story short, I got the job and began exploring some arts and performance programming ideas. Soon after, we launched The American Playhouse series [among some other productions]. That was all 26 years ago! As I said, we started the American Masters series in ‘86, and I’ve been working on it ever since...

What was the impetus behind the Dylan project and making "No Direction Home?"

Well, Jeff Rosen [one of Dylan’s long-time managers and one of the producers for this film] was sitting on a wonderful archive of material, footage from Dylan’s 1960s' world tours, some really magnificent stuff. In addition, he was doing all of these interviews on his own, trying to capture information about that time from all the people who were there, trying to get it all down while these people were still alive. Yet, even though Jeff had this great archive of material, I don’t think he really thought he had the makings of a film until Bob Dylan agreed to do an interview with him [Rosen]. That tied the threads of the narrative together.

So this project goes back many years?

Yes, definitely -- I had wanted to make this movie forever, and I think I called Jeff about it once a week for 10 years! I definitely wasn’t the only one who wanted to make the film, and when I actually got the call about doing it, I felt incredibly lucky and privileged -- there’s just was so much to say with it. I also really feel fortunate that Scorsese agreed to direct it. He’s just amazing in so many ways, and the film truly took on a life of its own when Marty came aboard.

Did you interact much with Dylan and Scorsese during production?

Certainly not with Dylan - nobody did. But with Marty, yes. Especially during the last six months of production, as the story was coming together. Most viewers don’t realize that directing is a very private experience. The whole process [in the beginning] is about finding your feet and finding the story and making it your own. It’s a very private thing. And directors, including myself [Lacy has written and directed several of the American Masters installments], don’t let anyone in until they’re absolutely ready.

How did the footage and interviews come together? Who had the creative control?

Marty, of course! And the material, it came together in a very natural way. First, there was the immense archive that Jeff had been collecting and compiling which he made available for the film. In the process of editing and shaping it, Marty had specific things he wanted to see. For example, he might say, ‘get me all the music you can find from Hibbing [Minnesota] from the 50s’ -- and we would try to get him as much of those kinds of things as we could find. The editing itself took 2 full years to complete. You must realize that the directing process is a decision-making process: every frame is a new decision. And when you have such a wealth of material like we had for "No Direction Home," it becomes very difficult. You see, the director’s process is the creative process itself.

Did the Dylan camp censor any ideas or attempt to impose restrictions in any way?

No, absolutely not. I’ve been told Dylan won’t ever look at this film. He’s more about looking forward, not looking back. But getting back to your question -- there were no limits. We wouldn’t allow that. We just don’t work that way. To the contrary, it was very free. There were no limitations or boundaries, and Marty was able to focus completely on the material. [short pause] I guess the only real ‘limit’ we had [to adhere to] was to keep the film to these five specific years [61-66], ending it in 1966 at the point of Dylan’s motorcycle accident. I think that’s probably where Dylan felt comfortable ending it. But in actuality, that was the absolute right decision. Centering the story at this point allowed us to show the tremendous impact Dylan had on the culture [as it was happening].

In your mind, what carries "No Direction Home" to its amazing plateau?

Marty reached a great arc with the story, certainly. But I don’t think there has ever been as interesting a portrait of an artist in the process of ‘becoming’ as what we were able to accomplish here. Dylan was in a period of white heat creatively, and even though he was making some amazing music, the world seemed to want him to be something more. And he never bargains with that. Not once. In the end, the story becomes a cautionary tale about the artist struggling against his own fame.

What has the public response to the film been?

The reaction has been fabulous. I don’t think we’ve had one negative review, which is quite amazing. The film really was an ‘event’ -- a happening. And we’d never quite experienced anything to that degree before. Remember, there were four different companies promoting pieces of the show [Sony; PBS; Simon and Schuster; and Paramount], so there was a buzz and an awareness to the whole thing. So naturally, you’d think that that kind of attention would spark some cranky negative reaction, but it didn’t happen here.

So what’s next for you Susan, where do you take the series from here?

We have a lot of projects we’re moving forward on. Right now we’re in production on several films -- [pieces] on Woody Guthrie, Nat King Cole, the John Wayne/John Ford story, Marilyn Monroe, and a three-hour epic on Andy Warhol. We also have a big film on the Grateful Dead upcoming. And that’s just for next season.

Looking back, which of your films stand the tallest in your mind?

People ask me that question all the time -- and I can’t do it! I can’t pick. I’ve done so many wonderful pictures, and I can’t pick from my ‘babies’ that way...

DOCURAMA PRESENTS

BOB DYLAN

in

"DON'T LOOK BACK"

DON’T LOOK BACK - 65 Tour Deluxe Editon. BOB DYLAN. A Film by D.A. PENNEBAKER. Pennebaker/Hagedus Films & Ashes and Sand. Distributed ByDocurama.

By John Aiello

This is the 65 Tour Deluxe Edition of the seminal rock and roll documentary that gave the public its first celluloid glimpse into the music and mystery of Bob Dylan. Without a doubt, Don’t Look Back is one of top two music films ever made (paling only in comparison to Martin Scorsese’s No Direction Home, which continues the Dylan story where Don’t Look Back leaves off).

For the second time in the last 40 years, Don’t Look Back is the musicrelease of the year, a film capturing the young Dylan at his finest hour, on the road in Europe circa 1965, performing impeccable acoustic versions of “Tambourine Man,” “Don’t Think Twice” and “To Ramona” (among others).

Don’t Look Back, which intersperses concert footage with “scenes from the road,” is an absolutely riveting display of the young master’s depth, humor and poetic presence, while Pennebaker’s direction remains a thing of utter and striking beauty: Confident in his material, the director just sits back and lets the story unfold before our collective Eye.

As many know, this in-concert-documentary has countless hallmark moments, including one special scene where Dylan is flanked by the shadowy image of a bearded and dark-eyed Allen Ginsberg – a picture symbolic of the way he was able to blend the vision of the Beats with music to create a sparkling new wheel of poetry.

And even though most music fans know the story of how Dylan’s evolution into rock and roll changed the cultural landscape, this cinematic masterpiece now known as 65 Tour Deluxe is very much a vital new work of art.

Here, Pennebaker (in collaboration with Docurama) has taken the spectacular advances in digital transfer and applied them to Dylan’s whirlwind tour of 1960s Europe. The result is a picture that resonates with depth and clarity, as many of those once hazy hand-held shots have been sharpened and honed to bring out every edge of Dylan’s magnificent stage presence.

Yes, many of us have seen this footage tens of times, but that does not detract from the way the digitization makes it all seem so fresh and original again – crystalline and cool, colored with infinite contour, allowing us to peer into the essence of the mirror and find this series of heretofore undiscovered layers.

In addition, viewers are allowed into the Pennebaker vaults and given a whole new film to savor: Bob Dylan 65 Revisited (the companion disc) offers another look at the young Dylan, as we embark on this fascinating journey into the director’s out-takes, many never-before-seen snippets of footage painting a picture of the film behind the film. Suddenly, we come to see that the idea for Don’t Look Back was borne in a Dylan gig: Born here in the spur of the moment in the blood-dirty rawness of song, born here in the sweetness of breath flowing like poetry off the torn tips of the tongue.

65 Tour Deluxe is a real treat for long-time Dylan fans who will be able to re-connect with a piece of music history that forever changed the way the world perceived the role of the songwriter in relation to popular culture. This particular release features insightful and incisive commentary from Pennebaker himself, as well as comment from Dylan’s former road manager, Bob Neuwirth (in addition to several more pristine and uncut live performances from the tour).

Although Don’t Look Back has deep meaning for Dylan freaks and sixties flower children, this movie will also have broad appeal to rock and roll fans of all ages: Along with Elvis and the Beatles’ invasion of America, this was a defining musical moment. And as Dylan’s vocal comes to be juxtaposed with the director’s ‘blow-by-blow’ review of the film-record he so artfully created, we come to taste each and every reason why Don’t Look Backstill remains atopso many top-five lists.

Packaged with the Don’t Look Back companion book and a flipbook of the “Subterranean Homesick Blues” cue-card sequence.

Go to Docurama for information.

On the Starbucks Controversy

By John Aiello

A lot of people are pissed off at the news that Bob Dylan’s new album (the widely bootlegged Gaslight Tape which reportedly features an early version of the classic "Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall") is being sold through Starbucks coffee stores instead of in the general market place.

Opponents to this decision decry Dylan as a sellout because he’s chosen what they think is an overtly Capitalist venue in which to sell his record. Personally, I don’t buy the argument. In the poet’s own words, "the times they are a-changing." And so is the way an artist has to market himself.

In times past, folks would wait with bated breath for a band’s new record to hit the bins. We were addicted to the romance of it all: the jacket art; the liner notes; the complimentary concert posters that came with so many albums. But no more now.

Today, kids aren’t going into record stores the same way previous generations did. Instead, they huddle together in coffee shops like Starbucks and use these cafes as sanctuaries in which to hear music, buy music, share stories, and talk among themselves. Like it or not, Starbucks are the cornerstones of the new urban community - and they are here to stay.

I mean, take a firm look around: Go to the movies or the baseball game, and Starbucks is there. As are Coke and Pepsi and Nike. And so many other corporate giants. These entities are simply a part of our culture now and there is no escaping it.

Actually, Dylan’s smart enough to see this. He’s actually opened his eyes to the fact that you have to bring the music pools to the places where the people gather. And in 2005, that place is Starbucks. Truthfully, how many other artists -- if they had the commercial juice to pull it off -- wouldn’t try to cut a similar deal?

Finally, it’s time to let the false nostalgia go. It’s not 1965 anymore, and too many of this man’s old fans have become necromancers feeding off the idea of what they think his songs mean in much the same way that parasites feed off living walls of flesh. It’s one thing to admire a poet’s work and find personal meaning in his vision. It’s quite another thing to believe that your standards and beliefs co-mingle with his.

The fact of the matter is that Dylan owns his songs. He owns the mind that made them. And he’s free to circulate them where he wants to in any form he chooses. So, if hearing Bob Dylan’s bare-boned growl inside a Starbucks offends you so deeply, well - you’re perfectly free not to buy coffee there.

Seeing the Real Bob Dylan at Last

By Paolo Carmassi

BOB DYLAN LIVE 1964: THE CONCERT AT THE PHILHARMONIC HALL. Bob Dylan. Columbia/Legacy.In early 1961 in New York City, Harry Jackson, a cowboy singer and a painter, told Nat Hentoff after listening to Bob Dylan in a small club that "He’s so goddamned real, it’s unbelievable!" Nat, a prominent music critic at the time, went to see Dylan shortly thereafter. Bob had the same effect on him and Nat quickly became friends with the young singer. Hentoff’s marvelous line in the liner notes of "The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan" bears repeating: "The irrepressible reality of Bob Dylan is a compound of spontaneity, candor, slicing wit and an uncommonly perceptive eye and ear for the way many of us constrict our capacity for living while a few of us don’t." After listening to the recent Columbia Bob Dylan release, "The Philharmonic Hall Concert," Nat’s words reentered my mind. They sum up the heart of this precious live 2-CD package. Nothing seems to have changed: this musical document is as pure, as honest, as fresh, as real, and as timely as it was when Bob created it.

I have followed Dylan’s career since his debut album, "Bob Dylan", in 1962. What we have here in "The Philharmonic Concert" is Bob at his early best and in many of his moods. During the concert, he tells the audience "I’m wearing my Bob Dylan mask tonight." On the contrary, Bob has taken his mask off. The authentic Dylan has always been revealed while performing on stage. It is easy to hear on these CDs that Bob wants his audience to have a good time and to learn and discern. I have always felt that Bob’s sense of humor is one of his greatest assets. He’s a funny man and it is prevalent throughout this show. Was he really putting us on when he said he was a song and dance man in "Don’t Look Back?"

This performance represents an artist who is the personification of originality and purity of expression. This is the young Shaman ready to explode and expand the horizons of all who listen to him, a major, creative revolutionary who, with the Beatles, would change the face of music throughout the world.

There have been many Bob Dylans. He is the chief chameleon. Very capricious. We all know this. "The Philharmonic Concert" presents my favorite Bob Dylan: the poet, the seer, the humorist, the social critic, the political observer, the wordsmith who assimilated and synthesized all the great existential themes found in history, philosophy, and literature, and crafted them into magnificent songs.

Yes, the music: many of the classic young Bob Dylan songs are here. Among them we find: "A Hard Rain’s A-gonna Fall", his first epic, his first novel in lyrical form, and it is a complete novel in song. Each line is written and sung as if it would be his last. "The Times They Are A-changing" is an anthem for a generation. "To Ramona" is a transcendent love song never before realized by any other author. "Gates of Eden and "Mr. Tambourine Man" are poems that inspired millions of admirers and writers. "With God on our Side" is an incredibly powerful, ironic insight into our brief history and into the abuse of power. "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Corroll" is an incisive perception of racial and class structure that still abounds in our country today. "It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)" is a genuine American poem that Allen Ginsberg loved and that opened my young eyes to the illusions and lies that condition us from being truly free. Dylan saw the bondage we inherited from birth and was able to delineate it through his art.

The changing styles in Bob’s singing over the years have been recognized by all his fans. These pieces are all sung with the ache of beauty and of loss; they are all sung with the triumph of spirit and of soul; and they are all sung with the force, faith, and commitment to that which is ever eternal: truth.

"The Philharmonic Concert" ultimately displays the immense humanity, dignity, poetic vision, and reality of America’s greatest 20th century songwriter.

Order at amazon.com, or go to the Bob Dylan web site.

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© Paolo Carmassi. June 2004. All rights reserved.

Paolo Carmassi is an expert onBob Dylan's music. He lives in California.

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EAGLE ROCK ENTERTAINMENT

VAN MORRISON: LIVE AT MONTREUX. 1974 & 1980. DVD. Eagle Rock Entertainment.

By John Aiello

Recently, Mickey Jones, who played drums for Bob Dylan during Dylan’s famous 1966 world-tour, said something in his own “home-movie” of that tour that profoundly defines the reason why people buy records and go to concerts.

In sum, Jones said that people don’t listen to music – they experience it. And that experience of sound is just what Van Morrison’s first-ever DVD, Live at Montreux, is all about.

According to the DVD’s distributor, Eagle Rock, Morrison hand-picked these performances from his vast catalog of work, ostensibly because they transcend the confines of human time and allow for a brand-new generation of listeners to experience the power of his early and middle-period work (in the same way so many small congregations of eyes and ears experienced these songs as he sang them from the holy altars of the stage in the half-lit darkness of some still-born hour).

Live at Montreux provides an absolute record of how energetic and vital those early Van Morrison shows were. As the DVD shows, here was a guy driven by the same passions that drove Elvis and James Brown and Little Richard – these men driven by the invisible rhythms of the music, these men driven by the need to talk to their audiences through the ghostly spirit-voice of an indefinable Muse.

From the first strains of “Wavelength” (track one of disk one recorded July 10, 1980) we become part of a magnificent ride. In “Wavelength,” Morrison is able to unite himself with his audience in a spiritual pursuit: The simple idea of the song is to inspire us to communicate via the ‘wavelength’ of dream-mind and memory, inspiring us to communicate through the breathless echo of song and melody, inspiring us to communicate with the living and the dead through the transparent magic of music.

Basically, this is the same kind of journey we go on when we sit and read one of Shakespeare’s plays or one of Blake’s “Songs of Innocence.” Simply, even though Blake’s been dead for hundreds of years, his poems endure, bringing the power to place us outside the sacred window of time: Suddenly, we are riding with the poet now riding with him breath-for-breath though the dark skeleton kingdoms of his heartbeat, tasting the very same images he tasted as he sent each chain of words burning down the blank-brows of the page.

In essence, this process is about the cycle of light coming full circle, enveloping sky and wind, devouring river and storm in a single spasm of reflex. Now, as we watch Morrison play (almost playing to himself in front of the mirrors of an invisible crowd), we have been invited into his secret world where clear-crystal strands of words catch fire and burn into great new ash-piles of song.

Via this perspective, pieces like “Kingdom Hall,” “Moondance,” and “Wild Night” are much more than tokens of nostalgia twisted by the tear-stained passage of too many years. To the contrary, these songs serve as testaments to the life of a man whose only mission was to enlighten a generation with his gift – the gift of being able to perfectly marry the essence of a poem to some swelling Blues-arrangement that could us fill us with rapture (as we prayed for the song to just swirl on forever and swallow us up).

Yet, as great as the literary content of these pieces are, the fact that we are watching one of the great living Rhythm and Blues singers in the relative infancy of his career should not be lost. Disk two (recorded June 30, 1974) truly spotlights Morrison’s voice, his ability to take a song and kill it and then strangle the melody right back to life before our eyes has never been more stunning than in this rendition of “Naked in the Jungle” (a little-known classic that marks the unbelievable range of both the singer and poet whois Van Morrison).

These mentions, however, serve only as random highlights – the brilliant surprises coming in rapid succession. For example, the recitation of “Tupelo Honey” features magnificent keyboard work from veteran Jeff Labes and some spine-chilling saxophone bleats from Pee Wee Ellis, while “Troubadours” blooms into the whole heart of a poem: This holy moment now captured on film as musician cues band with a single nuanced glance, this holy moment capturing Morrison in half-trance, bending at the waist, shooting arrows at the moon with the broken altars of his eyes.

In the end, Live at Montreux will thrill long-time fans who finally get that pristine Van video for which they have been searching. In addition, younger fans get a chance to see first-hand why so many continue to hold Morrison in such reverence. Going back to “Wavelength,” we see him now: Bare-naked on stage, heart the shape of a new-born flower, heart the shape of a perfect open wound, crying out to God, beckoning the stars for a cup of food.

Go to Eagle Rock for more information.

Other Notable Eagle Rock releases

DIXIE DREGS. LIVE AT MONTREUX (1978). Eagle Rock Entertainment.

For music fans, going to the Montreux Jazz Festival is like a pilgrimage to see the Pope – this stage where seminal acts have gathered for over 40 years in a grand ritual of entertainment and art. In 1978, a kick-ass jazz-fusion band from Georgia called the Dixie Dregs descended on the legendary Montreux stage and presented the audience with a blended sound that they hadn’t heard before. The Dregs (formed by Steve Morse and Andy West) are known as a band that, simply, cannot be classified. Instead, their particular sound is branded in original tones that build through a delicate amalgamation of jazz and rock and classical (framed around mid-South bluegrass). Unique and pure, the Dixie’s style paints a living definition to the idea of fusion. This DVD, just released by Eagle Rock, offers a brilliant film-record of a band that is often forgotten when fans think of ‘classic’ players. However, the pieces collected here serve as a permanent reminder that the Dixie Dregs, fueled by those unrelenting guitar lines that rise off the gnarled branches of Morse’s fingers, were cutting through virgin territory: More than anything, the Dixies are about braiding textures and tones into supple new melodies as we come to see how one distinct thread of style can segue into another (jazz-cool into rock-and-roll thump) in a seamless transition. In Live at Montreux, we are able to taste and touch and feel the best of the band’s ‘stage face,’ as songs like “Patchwork,” “The Bash” and “Kathreen” capture some truly gorgeous moments in a lasting testament to the cutting-edge genius of this band. In addition, Allan Sloan’s violin work stuns us: At once, Sloan’s sound is ethereal, depthless and haunting, the tear-swept tear-whispered echo of his instrument as enormous as the beauty of the Montreux experience itself. ~John Aiello

Go to Eagle Rock for more information.

FROM THE

DVD CORNER

NEW DYLAN ON A NEW DVD

Previously Reviewed

BOB DYLAN: 1975-1981. ROLLING THUNDER AND THE GOSPEL YEARS. Directed and Produced By Joel Gilbert. Highway 61 Entertainment Productions; Music Video Distributors.

By John Aiello

At first glance, the slipcase of this forthcoming DVD will disappoint hard-core Dylan freaks who no doubt will quickly note that there are no Bob Dylan songs included in the production.

However, that sentiment quickly dissolves once you get this one in your player: Even though Bob Dylan is an unauthorized documentary that’s been produced with no input from Dylan or his camp, this film is an exceptional ride that contains heretofore unknown facts about one of the singer-songwriter’s most pivotal and creative periods.

When Dylan took his now famous "Rolling Thunder Revue" on the road in ‘75 he sought to bring the spirit of Jack Kerouac’s spontaneous prose to his fans, preaching from the altars of the rock and roll stage. It was a magnificent tour that wound its way through the silent tongues and tangled gut of the Americas; going on for a year, its likes would never be duplicated.

Bob Dylan begins with a chronicle of this seminal roadshow, taking us on a ride through a half-decade period in the poet’s life which would see him write three records and go on another huge world tour (finally culminating in a complete revision of his religious an artistic focus). The years 75-81 were huge for Dylan, and huge for his fans as well. It’s an alluring era when we witnessed the chameleon Dylan transform himself time and again in search of a door to the sweet purity of self-expression and self-knowledge.

Gilbert’s Bob Dylan is a bold undertaking, and viewers will immediately be struck by how much new information they get here. Framed around interviews with so many of the supporting figures from Dylan’s late 70s work, the film is jump-started by its ability to give us the ‘stories behind the songs.’

Interviews with former boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter are sweeping and intense, as Carter himself paints a vivid picture of the introspective Dylan who came to visit him in prison and then wrote a 10 minute epic about the wrong-way road of Carter’s murder trial and subsequent imprisonment. Carter speaks of a Dylan who had gone directly back to his 1960s’ roots to write a topical song about the black experience-- a song that he hoped might somehow help to free a man who was obviously wrongly accused. To hear Rubin Carter speak of Dylan in these personal and human terms is truly startling, and even passing fans will sit enthralled.

In addition, Rob Stoner, who played bass for Dylan on a couple of legendary tours, tells of how the "Street Legal" and "Desire" albums were recorded, also sharing behind-the-scenes details of how the 1978 tour of Japan unfolded. Stoner’s eloquent monologues fill in major holes in the Dylan story, broadening our understanding of what the singer was going through when he embraced Christianity with such passionate fervor. Although these are highlights of the DVD, they are only the tip of the iceberg. Other nuggets include interviews with Jack Elliott and the genius-producer Jerry Wexler, along with inside looks at both Rundown Studios and Muscle Shoals Studio.

With a running time of 4 hours, this DVD is a majestic and very telling look at the creative process of a musician who has both fascinated and mystified us since he took New York by storm in 1962. And in a way, it’s almost better that Dylan and his music are missing from the production: As strange as it sounds, I think it makes the narrative stronger to allow the key "side-players" from the period to build this compelling story that records the steps of a man on an artistic and personal journey to find God in the beauty of his multi-dimensional muse.

CLASSIC RHYTHM AND BLUES. Volume 3. Hosted by Ben Sidran. Produced by Kim Lyon and Gary Peet. Music Video Distributors. This one leaps off the screen with kick-ass R&B from the best of the genre. Pieces like Baby Doo Caston’s "Low Down Dog" and John Lee Hooker’s razor-honed "Boom Boom" are augmented by Sidran’s analysis, these comments create living time-capsules of song and artist and serve to illuminate the greatness behind the music. Good sound. And well formatted design, with artist biographies offered as a special feature. Would make a nice addition to any Blues collectors shelf. Running time: 50 minutes. ~John Aiello

BOB DYLAN. WORLD TOURS. THROUGH THE CAMERA OF BARRY FEINSTEIN. 1966-1974. Directed and Produced By Joel Gilbert. Music Video Distributors. Feinstein had rock journalism’s most prized house seat during Bob Dylan’s world tours in both 1966 and 1974 (when the singer returned to the stage after an 8 year hiatus from performing). Here, Dylan’s most talked about stage shows are chronicled through the electric eye of Feinstein’s camera, startling images that capture the musician in mid-growl, center of the ascent, ascending from the icy porches of Hibbing, Minnesota into the world’s greater consciousness. Sexy and haunting, with discussion from drummer Mickey Jones (1966) that serves to narrate the first-ever rock and roll ‘super tour.’ Running time: two hours. ~John Aiello

JOHNNY GUITAR WATSON: MUSIC HALL IN CONCERT. Gerd F. Schulze, Executive Producer. Music Video Distributors. This cat’s influence on R&B guitar drips down through the work of Van Morrison, Mike Campbell (Petty’s Heartbreakers) and Eric Clapton -- a player of richness and nuance whose style would often be imitated, yet never copied. Here, we have an hour of his best stage work, with great renditions of "Gangster Of Love" and "Mother For Ya" that will rock the house down in a naked swirl of bloody-hot-passion. Kids who like the blues but don’t know of Watson’s high-ranking place should be introduced to Music Hall In Concert: this natural out-growth of the idiom’s layered history. Running time: One hour. ~John Aiello

IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT

GOTTA SERVE SOMEBODY: The Gospel Songs Of Bob Dylan. Directed By Michael Borofsky. Image Entertainment.

-Bob Dylan, "When He Returns"-

-Bob Dylan, "I Believe In You"-

When Bob Dylan "went religious" in 1979, many of his fans were lost, incredulous -- rabid with ire; I imagine in their minds they just couldn’t understand how the media-proclaimed prophet of the 60s could abandon them. Yet, because of their own naked prejudices, they missed some of the most passionate, bare-boned music Dylan has ever made.

In Gotta Serve Somebody, director Michael Borofsky presents us with a documentary about this controversial and enthralling segment of Bob Dylan’s storied career. Basically, Serve Somebody documents the making of the 2003 Columbia Records album "Gotta Serve Somebody," a record which stitched together some of the greatest Gospel voices of our time (Shirley Caesar; Dottie Peoples; Rance Allen; The Fairfield Four) doing vintage interpretations of Dylan’s oft-disregarded Gospel catalog.

However, as this video affirms, there is a reason this record was nominated for a Grammy a couple of seasons ago. And that reason is simple: This is beautiful and timeless music which strikes at the cores of psyche and soul like a triumphant hammer. Simply, this is the music from which legends and poets and seers are brewed.

Borofsky begins his film in stunning form, juxtaposing Arlethia Lindsey’s poignant rendering of "Dylan’s classic "Every Grain Of Sand" with a live performance of Dylan reciting "When He Returns." This in-concert snapshot was taken in Toronto in 1980 (during one of the "Gospel Tours"); and as the video unfolds, we bear witness to an unforgettable moment. The moving frames capture Dylan at the piano. There, frozen bare at the core, mouthing the words to a hymn to the Christ -- a chilling performance that reigns perfect in every single way.

Hit the rewind button and listen again: Dylan’s vocal freezes us, cutting to the bone, chilling and haunting, cutting with the holy vengeance of knives. At once, the listener feels great pangs of hunger and tastes blood on the edge of a memory. At once, the listener folds into the mouths of the words as they crystallize in time and conjure images of the moon as She descends the mountain to weep:

"The iron hand

Me to tears..."

-Bob Dylan, "When He Returns"-

Gotta Serve Somebody would be worth the price of admission for this live Dylan performance alone. Yet, rest assured, there’s much more here to devour your consciousness and your imagination.

As noted, the movie’s mission is to show the motives and motivations that brought these varied artists together to pay homage to a pair of Dylan’s most ignored records (1979’s "Slow Train Coming" and 1980’s "Saved"). Borofsky intersperses artist interviews with studio performances in order to show the passion of the moment, chronicling the hours and minutes that gave birth to the music.

By all means, this is a brave project, as many of Dylan’s long-time fans still aren’t interested in a period they regard as a wayward bump in the great poet’s road. However, the people who were there with Dylan (former band members Jim Keltner, Fred Tackett, Spooner Oldham and Regina McCrary, in addition to producer Jerry Wexler and journalists Paul Williams and Alan Light) staunchly defend his sincerity and focus.

And as each of them speak out, their observations pierce with a perfect allure, serving to humanize a mysterious and reclusive artist whose very being has been driven by the motion of the mind. When I hear McCrary talk of the concerts she did along side Dylan in the early 80s, I taste the archetype of a man who was born only to think and search, this holy exploration into altars and crosses, this journey to define the eye and tongue of the self.

Gotta Serve Somebody swells and bulges with great music. How does one pick centerpieces? No review could ignore Dottie People’s riveting version of "I Believe In You"-- a moment is frozen in camera time as a single eye sits alone in a church, trembling in its dawn-lit pew where an angel at the altar talks to God. And then there’s Rance Allen in the studio doing his version of "When He Returns:" this cut is pure organ-driven gospel - a melody meant to move the congregation from its collective chair and steal away old apathy, a song attacking each of the five senses simultaneously (the lines overflowing in the righteous vigor of the light). Finally, The Chicago Mass Choir’s rendition of "Pressing On" (led by Dylan’s former back-up singer Regina McCrary who stops singing momentarily to candidly speak of how the loss of her child forged a deep undying faith) will make you want to cry: McCrary’s vocal teems and soars, her bloody and brazen belief in the aura of the Christ pushing these crystal storms of music to invisible pinnacles -suddenly, it becomes impossible to question a piece of art this multi-dimesional and confessional and pure.

Aside from being about great ‘Gospel’ songs, Gotta Serve Somebody comes to collect a sheaf of great poems which speak to a journey isolated in time, speaking to a quest for Christ amid the personal challenges of being a rock-n-roll star. In short, this film serves as a beautiful testament to the growth of a seminal American artist, and it will no doubt be remembered as an important component to Dylan’s vast body of work.

NEW CDS

LUCKY YOU -- Music from the Motion Picture. Various Artists. Columbia Records/Sony Music.

A TIMELESS JOURNEY

RCA RED SEAL LIVING STEREO SERIES. In hybridSACD/CD format. Can be playedon conventional systems. Various Artists. Installment three in 10 CDs. Sony.

This package of CDs, just released by Sony/BMG Music Entertainment, serves as the third installment in the widely-acclaimed Red Seal Living Stereo series -- and it may just be the best piece of the puzzle yet.

Basically, these albums have nourished decades of classical fans, since they in fact compile the finest classical records that ever were spun into wax and blasted from a stereo. Moreover, this series does the unthinkable, taking sounds and concertos and symphonies we already know and adore and reviving them into fresh and clean new epics -- old pieces suddenly come alive to resonate with original breath, swallowed up in the sweet candlelight of so many unknown discoveries.

Who would have thought this possible 20 years ago?

Make no mistake, this magic ride is the product of superior technology that has allowed the original tapes to be remastered and digitally "restored" into bright and all-encompassing walls of sound (this unique technique of restoration encourages the listener to assume the engineer’s chair, witnessing the music come out of each separate ‘channel’ just as it was heard in the booth when the original tracks were laid down).

There’s no disputing that Sony’s technique of digitalization has set the bar for the industry (look no further than what they did with Bob Dylan’s oft-ignored 1978 classic, "Street Legal"). However, this series is truly something special, blending many different centuries together into a seamless symphony of concerts that is chilling to behold.

As you might guess, highlights abound, and the records that standout will differ based on a listener’s personal tastes and biases. In terms of general critical comment, all are impeccable: statements of art of the highest order, preserved in accordance with the highest musical standards of the era, worthy of endless ovations.

Personal favorites from our end begin with HI-FI FIEDLER. This record memorializes some stunning performances by Arthur Fiedler conducting the Boston Pops Orchestra – the versions of Rimsky Korsakov’s Le Coq d’Or Suite and Rossini’s William Tell Overture will nail you to your chair and keep you there, trembling in anticipation of more music. The experience is simply that rich.

Also notable is BEETHOVEN (Symphony No. 5; Symphony No. 6, "Pastoral"), with Charles Munch conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra . This record is new to the Living Stereo series and the way the tracks have been remastered renders it a haunting effort -- brimming with delicate energy, mournful pure evocative, exploding through the senses like the silver knives of stars.

Finally, MAHLER: Symphony No. 4 (with Fritz Reiner conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; featuring soprano Lisa Della Casa) is a tour de force -- a powerful and uplifting storm of sound and poetry and muscular beauty that has the ability to seal closed old wounds and paint away the pain in scenes of velvet. Even if the rest of the records were throw-aways (believe me, they are NOT!), this album alone would justify purchasing the package -- a marvel, born dark with wonder, melding the strains of a thousand years of music into a single perfect symphony.

Classical fans will simply be intoxicated by these records, by their sacred freshness, by the way each note resonates with bloody urgency - drunk on the moment, devouring time and space and the vacant mirrors of the distance.

For the true classical music fan, nothing can be better than the experience of hearing a piece of music that pummels you drunk with joy. And multiple listenings of the RCA Red Seal Series will only re-enforce this feeling, now, as the last feeble strands of echo rise into the wake of the moment, rising into the gorgeous naked moonlight hooves of the dawn.

Also featured in this series: RACHMANINOFF: Piano Concerto No. 3; PROKOFIEV: Piano Concerto No. 3 – Van Cliburn featured on piano, with Kiril Kondrashin conducting the Symphony of the Air & Walter Hendl conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. BRAHMS: Violin Concerto; TCHAIKOVSKY: Violin Concerto – Jascha Heifetz, violin, with Fritz Reiner conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. FRANCK: Symphony in D Minor; STRAVINSKY: Pétrouchka – Pierre Monteux conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Boston Symphony Orchestra (with Bernard Zighera on piano). STRAUSS: Scenes from Elektra and Salome – Inge Borkh, soprano; Paul Schoeffler, baritone; Frances Yeend, soprano, with Fritz Reiner conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chicago Lyric Opera Chorus. CHOPIN: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 – Arthur Rubinstein, piano, with Stanslaw Skrowaczewski conducting the New Symphony Orchestra of London & Alfred Wallenstein conducting Symphony of the Air. STOKOWSKI Rhapsodies – Leopold Stokowski conducting the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra & the Symphony of the Air. ANNA MOFFO: Opera Arias – Tullio Serafin conducting the Rome Opera Orchestra.

Order at amazon.com; or go to sonyclassical.com

By John Aiello

February 2006 saw the release of 10 additional titles as part of RCA’s unparalleled "Red Seal Living Stereo"series, taking up where last year’s stunning effort left off (see the above featured review for specific references to the mission of this historical series of recordings).

Basically, what makesRed Seal so resonant and so sweetly haunting is the way the digitized restoration has enriched the sound of these albums and left them to leap -- bouncing from one wall to the other, surrounding the listener in the heart-beat-echoes of holy hands; simply, these are among the finest records of the classical genre ever to be made.

Remastered by lead engineer John Newton, each of these CDs thrives, foaming a true clarity of focus, foaming deep purpose and a certainty of vision. And each of these Cds: Cracking through the layers of human consciousness like some vibrant animal claw - at once commanding the complete attention of God, at once bringing breath back to the ancient strains of imagination.

Multiple listening will only re-enforce the magic: These records comprise music for the ages -- the depth of passion and desire which rise from these pieces will leave you awe struck and on the verge of tears. Simply, when the first poets contemplated the ethereal potions of music, they were only imagining these very records that were still centuries away from conception.

And multiple listenings will only re-enforce the magic: Every man in every lost corner of the world is blessed to have access to the Red Seal masterpieces.

NOTABLE NEW INSTALLMENTS IN THE SERIES

BEETHOVEN PIANO SONATAS: Moonlight. Pathétique. Appassionata. Les Adieux. Featuring Arthur Rubinstein.

MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 4: Italian. Symphony No. 5: Reformation. Boston Symphony Orchestra. (Charles Munch).

BERLIOZ Symphonie Fantastique: Love Scene from Romeo & Juliet. Boston Symphony Orchestra. (Charles Munch).

VIRGIL FOXENCORES: Featuring Boyce’s Ye Sweet Retreat and Schumann’s Canon in B Minor.

Order at amazon.com; or go to sonyclassical.com

HAVE WE TOLD YOU ALL YOU’D THOUGHT TO KNOW. Robert Creeley. Cuneiform Records.

By Jacob Aiello & John Aiello

In Have We Told You All You’d Thought To Know (a live concert performance by the late poet Robert Creeley, backed by musicians Chris Massey, Steve Swallow, David Cast and David Torn), the poet is presented to us in sparse and ephemeral tones - at once captured in the transcendent noise of these graceful jazz players.

Here, we find Creeley (who died unexpectedly earlier this year) in the guise of mythical creature, an icon of our time, holy chronicler of the times we only hear about in fairy tales.

Listen to the opening lines of the first track:

What’s heart to say/as days pass,/what’s a mind to know/after all?

Creeley’s voice - now a reptilian womb bright yearning wheel of desperation. And it glides leathery and warm, guiding the long ribs of music, high and then again low, guiding the piece to its snake-charmed conclusion.

You see, this is the secret place where every poet lives, here amid the writhing violins, among the wandering lines of bass clarinet , here lost in the spattering rain of the hi-hat - immersed in angel’s blood and searching for God.

Separate voice from words now and catch the real rhythm: The music, now torn into storms, hammers driving nails, nail us to a silent cross. You can hear the actual transformation take place in the rolling waves of Jazz, this great restrained control, as Creeley lassoes the rhythm of our breath, directing it toward his own private destination.

Now catch the loping rhythms again, the way the poet comes to grasp the reins, tight at first, then suddenly loosening the slack. And they dance like children in the snow until the master suddenly tightens the chain again, eyes carefully guiding the road, bringing it all back home.

Creeley asks us.

Is where you are enough for all to share?

But he doesn’t answer.

Instead, he leaves us alone within this brief moment of transcendence, one last holy glimpse through the soot-covered window of the poet. In the end, it’s a nice warm place in which to sleep.

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JOHNNY WINTER. Columbia Legacy. This self-titled debut album by the legendary Johnny Winter has recently been re-mastered and re-released by Columbia, bringing Winter’s fiery cool classic brand of the Blues to a whole new generation of fans. First released in 1969 as America wrestled with the issue of the Vietnam war, Winter burns ripe with that classic smell of the Blues - the ache of echo captured perfectly between the turning strings of guitar and voice.

This record should open up a lot of young ears to what music was like in the 1960s, the purity and spontaneity of the moment growing like roots through the eyes of each of these songs. Winter’s Texas-based approach is polished from the beginning, drawing from the deep history of the Delta, drunk on the ancient spirit of Robert Johnson, there on the trail of the devil glazed with freneticism and chaos, there in the shadows running down the old roads of Mississippi hour of the dawn.

Make no mistake, these are the songs of desperate men and hungry children and grave-diggers, the songs of the soul imprisoned by its own sick heart. Back in the days when Johnny Winter recorded these cuts, music served as a refuge for the youth of a torn and divided country. And this record offers perfect evidence of that fact: the music driven by the tension of the times, strangled by passion, groaning against the Kingdoms of the world.

Nearly every cut here is a classic -- but "Dallas" is simply riveting, displaying Winter’s range as a player. "I’ll Drown in My Own Tears" is also a stand-out, stained with the grief that brings the Blues. And note the great band that flanks Winter -- with none other that the master and legend himself, Willie Dixon, featured. Added to the original set list are three bonus tracks, including the impeccable "Country Girl."

Old fans will want to grab this record for their collection because the digital remastering done by Columbia has added an extra layer of sound to the original mix - which is now so much more cleaner and resonant. Meanwhile, younger kids keen on the Blues will want to check out Johnny Winter for its purity of passion and its starkness of vision: in this era of throw-away CDS and disposable art, this album shows us what real music can do. ~John Aiello

Order at amazon.com, or go to columbia-legacy