When 2003 was declared the Year of the Blues, I expected there would be a few surprises and a few chestnuts being dug out of the archives from various record companies, magazines and so forth. What I didn't expect was the impeccable treasure chest that I would find in The American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1966 Vols. I & II, now available on VHS & DVD. The American Folk Blues Festival was the brainchild of Horst Lippmann and Fritz Rau, two gentlemen that promoted jazz shows in Europe and were also responsible for bringing the now legendary Jazz At The Philharmonic series to Europe. Together, acting upon a suggestion from noted German jazz journalist Joachim Berendt, they came up with the idea of bringing the cream of the American blues crop at the time to Europe for an appearance on Jazz Gehort und Gesehen (Jazz Seen and Heard), a bi-monthly TV show produced by Sudwestfunk, a German station located in Baden-Baden, and a coinciding tour. Their liaison in the states was Willie Dixon, who was greatly responsible for the sensational talent that appeared on these tours, and also coordinated many different aspects of the tours such as passports, birth certificates and so forth for the artists. Dixon was brilliant in his choice of not only the headline names but in his choice of musicians he assembled as the core backing band of which he was a member quite a few times. Coincidentally, Lippmann was also the director of that same TV show, which is how the wonderful and rare footage that has not been seen in close to 40 years. Both of these spectacular volumes are not in chronological order as far as the year the footage was shot, which is actually fine due to some slick editing. For purposes of continuity, I am going to take each volume individually and disregard any yearly chronological order.

Volume I wrecks your mind right from the get go with three segments from 1962, opening with T-Bone Walker picking out a version of “Call Me When You Need Me,” accompanied by the equally immortal Shakey Jake on vocals. The scene segues into Walker introducing Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, who raise the roof with the red hot “Hootin' Blues” before turning things over to Memphis Slim for a moving treatment of “The Blues Is Everywhere.” Roosevelt Sykes introduces Otis Rush, who howls and picks his way through a gritty presentation of “I Can't Quit You Baby.” Rush was relatively unknown outside of Chicago at the time and tended to steal the show every night on the '66 tour with this piece. Perhaps one of the most overlooked guitarists in blues history is Lonnie Johnson; this clip of him performing “Another Night To Cry,” from 1963, is utterly priceless. One of the grand mistresses of the blues, Miss Sippie Wallace, was on hand for the 1966 tour and belts out a scrumptious version of “Women Be Wise,” with piano accompaniment from Little Brother Montgomery. You are probably salivating by now, but believe it or not it only gets better from here... and this is only Vol. I, folks. John Lee Hooker turns in a 1965 solo rendition of “Hobo Blues” that is a sight to behold, followed by a blazing performance of “Five Long Years,” done the same year by Eddie Boyd. Look closely over Boyd's shoulder and you will see a young Buddy Guy tearing things loose on guitar. If that isn't enough for you, Walter “Shakey” Horton is next blowing his lungs out on “Shakeys Blues.” The camera is focused only on Horton, but the off camera band playing behind him is Eddie Boyd on piano, Buddy Guy on guitar, blues drummer elite Fred Below and 'Lonesome' Jimmy Lee thumping the bass. Some lineup, huh? From 1966, Junior Wells is next playing his now classic “Hoodoo Man Blues,” backed by Otis Rush on guitar, Jack Meyers on bass and once again Fred Below on drums. Big Joe Williams made the trip in 1963 and wowed the crowds with “Mean Stepfather,” as did Mississippi Fred McDowell with his brilliant 1965 version of “Going Down To The River.” The absolute best is saved for last on Volume I, with four numbers from 1963 that all run concurrently as they closed the show that year and will have your jaw flapping in the breeze like a windsock. Memphis Slim begins by introducing another piano player, Otis Spann, whom he calls “a young man who we call the future of the blues as he has only been playing the blues for about 25 years.” He is accompanying Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller) on a gut wrenching version of his signature piece “Nine Below Zero.” The fun continues as Otis himself is spotlighted for a barn burning version of his own “Spann's Blues,” and, yes, you can see his hands! The legendary Muddy Waters is next with “Got My Mojo Working,” backed by Sonny Boy on harp, Willie Dixon on bass, Spann on piano, Matt 'Guitar' Murphy on guitar and Bill Stepney on drums. I don't think there has ever been a greater assemblage of blues talent on one stage as on the finale to the '63 show “Bye Bye Blues.” Besides the players just mentioned, they are joined by Victoria Spivey, Lonnie Johnson and Big Joe Williams, who each take a turn at the mic for a verse, along with Memphis Slim trading places with Spann on piano. To see that much blues history on one stage playing together can only be described as... AWESOME. I'm going to keep under wraps the bonus track on Vol. I, as some things should best be left as a surprise, but will tease you with the name Earl.

Vol. II starts off just as priceless as Vol. I with a 1964 clip of Sonny Boy Williamson performing a solo entitled “Bye Bye Bird,” before joining Hubert Sumlin, Willie Dixon, Sunnyland Slim and Clifton James for a scorching cover of “My Younger Days.” The same band next backs Sunnyland Slim for “Come Home Baby,” with Williamson joining in on harp and featuring two amazing solos from 'Little' Hubert Sumlin. Willie Dixon fronts two numbers, with each done in a different year. “Nervous” is from 1962 and features the genius of T-Bone Walker on guitar and the masterful craftsmanship of Memphis Slim on piano for a slow smoky jam. 1963's “Sittin' And Cryin' The Blues” also has Memphis Slim on piano, but this time the guitar player is Matt Murphy who sparkles like a gemstone. The legendary Lightnin' Hopkins is pleasure personified to watch as he picks his way through a smoldering take of “Mojo Hand,” from 1964, as is Victoria Spivey singing her soul out on “Black Snake Blues,” backed by Lonnie Johnson and Sonny Boy Williamson, from 1963. T-Bone Walker's performance of “Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong,” from 1962, may have you forgetting to take a breath as you watch this incredible guitarist work his own special brand of magic. Roosevelt Sykes' “Tall Heavy Mama,” from 1966, may also have the same effect on you in this all too brief glimpse of one of the blues' grand piano masters. Matt Murphy gets the spotlight for his own “Murphy's Boogie,” a high energy number from the 1963 show that shows why he was one of the most requested session guitarists in Chicago at the time. Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee make another appearance on Vol. II with the toe tapping “Stranger Blues,” from 1962, that is a portrait of country blues at its most finest. Mae Mercer introduces the artist that will entertain you for the three numbers that precede the finale. She introduces him as 'The Taildragger,' but most people know him by the name of Howlin Wolf. Howl he does for shattering versions of “Shake For Me” and “I'll Be Back Someday,” and completely rips down the house with “Love Me Darlin.” This 1964 footage of The Wolf is worth double the list price of these discs alone, as it captures the true unadulterated spirit of this legend. You might want to take hold of your head which more than likely will be spinning after Wolf's numbers, because the finale “Down Home Shakedown,” from 1965, might just cause it to explode. It should have been titled “Down Home Harp Blowdown,” because that is what it is. In order of solos, Big Mama Thornton, Walter “Shakey” Horton, J.B. Lenoir, Doctor Ross and John Lee Hooker (yes, you read it right) take harps in hand for a spectacle that has to be seen to be believed as they are backed by Buddy Guy, Lonesome Jimmy Lee and Fred Below. If you thought the finale of Vol. I was good, wait'll you see this! Like Vol. I, there are not one but two bonus tracks that I'm going to leave as a surprise, but will say that they are both Magic.

I got so lost in telling you about the artists and performances that the technical aspect (which is what makes these so timeless) got a bit overlooked. First off, all of this incredible footage was done on what was then state of the art, two-inch videotape in black & white, and is in pristine condition as if it were recorded yesterday. This, in itself, is amazing as these have been in storage for 40 years. The quality will astound you, trust me. The camera angles and what the cameras focus on were light years ahead of anything that was being done here in the states. Anyone who has watched archived television footage of, let's say, rock bands shot during the '60s knows what I mean. This stuff is not a bunch of close-ups of the artists' faces while they are playing their fingers to the bone. While there are a few of those, the main focus was still capturing the music they were playing, which is not surprising because the fluid and imaginative camera work was by a gentleman named Michael Ballhaus, who would in later years serve as the cinematographer for Martin Scorsese (isn't he a big blues fan?) on such films as Goodfellas, The Last Temptation of Christ and, most recently, Gangs of New York. The audio is just as good as the visuals. None of this was lip-synced and was captured live as it happened and given a very high degree of audio engineering at the time of its recording. It's been digitally re-mastered to today's standards, but just one listen will tell you that the beginning product was gorgeous to start with. Included with both discs is an 20-page booklet, with a few photos taken on the tours and commentary by Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones and Ray Manzarek of The Doors, along with an in-depth history of the festivals written by Rob Bowman. There is also a track by track credit of every musician who played on them. The American Folk Blues Festival continued through 1970, taking a break in 1971. Lippman and Rau promoted two festivals in '72 before putting it on hiatus until 1980, when it was resurrected for a few more years before being permanently retired in 1985. The two promoters were visionaries when you consider that, at the time they started these festivals, some of the artists performing on them could barely get a record deal in their own country. Blues festivals in the United States didn't really even exist until about 1969. It took a pair a men from another country to make us realize, through the future rock musicians that went to see these festivals, how unappreciative and disrespectful we in U.S. had been to our own unique and original music culture. Sadly, Horst Lippman passed away in 1997, but left behind a legacy behind that, if I could, would personally like to thank him for. His partner Fritz Rau is still with us, and still active on the German music scene today. These two very precious volumes are so affordably priced that it would be a disgrace if every blues fan in the world didn't own them. When you watch the credits at the end of both of these videos, be sure to watch them all the way through to the end because there is a very touching message to Lippmann and Rau which pretty much still rings true these many years later. It says: “A very special thanks to promoters Horst Lippman and Fritz Rau for bringing these artists to Europe and helping to change the course of popular music.”