HBO is running a wonderful program this week that is a special edited version of the The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary concert series held on October 29th and 30th, 2009 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The celebration included performances by U2, Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Simon & Garfunkel, Metallica, Lou Reed, Ray Davies, Ozzy Osbourne, Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, and Crosby, Stills and Nash. The first night ran almost 6 hours with Bruce Springsteen closing the concert with special guests John Fogerty, Darlene Love, Tom Morello, Sam Moore, Jackson Browne, Peter Wolf, and Billy Joel. I have seen a lot of these kinds of programs and never really been satisfied by any of them……until now!
I sat mesmerized by the steady procession of the rock and roll giants of the last 50 years as their faces, their music and their stories rolled across my television screen. This is a 4 hour compilation, so it is no small task to sit through the entire show. I chose to watch for about an hour and a half and then record the rest of it to see later. This is a well edited and compelling program.
The producers have given the viewer the best of all of the acts with no commercials, obviously, but peppered with breaks between the acts that are fabulous black and white video clips and pictures of all the artists who have passed from the scene, that have been inducted over the years and contributed their talent and personalities to the rich tapestry that is our rock and roll history.
And some of the best moments come when you least expect them! There is a wonderful reunion of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel performing three of their most famous pieces: Sounds of Silence, The Boxer, and Bridge Over Troubled Waters. They never sounded better, and if you are my age, all you have to do is close your eyes and drift back in time when those songs were integral to all our lives! When you open them, you see two men who are clearly older than you remember them, but the sound is the same!
Then there is a wonderful moment when Jeff Beck and Buddy Guy and Sting are all on stage together riffing with their guitars and you get lost in the emotional content and style that makes each of them so different and unique, and yet somehow they all fit together in the most wonderful way.
One of my favorite moments is when Stevie Wonder and BB King are on the stage at the same time with John Legend at the piano. “The Thrill is Gone” does not disappoint, and for me it wasn’t gone at all! And what about Springsteen jamming with Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine and John Fogerty? Their tribute to Roy Orbison is thrilling!
The Concert was a success because the producers were smart enough to bring all these artists together to compliment each other and perform each other’s music. Their jamming and sharing of all the songs that we all remember make this program one that I will save for a long time and watch over and over when I want to be uplifted by the great talents that have given us such inspiring music over the last 50 years.
Don’t miss this one!!! It is truly special!
By Larry Lancit
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