History Of Rock 'N' Roll, The - Boxed Set DVD

 Way too much missing to be "definitive"
The Time/Life History of Rock & Roll is a 10-volume video collection that involves 10 hours of what Time/Life would like the public to believe is the most comprehensive video work ever assembled on this subject. True, this set is worthy of viewing and owning as a historical document for any student wishing to explore or relive rock’s history. However, omissions become glaring and obvious as this enormous topic is further explored. From the roots of rock and roll to the branches of rap music, MTV and beyond, Time Warner’s producers of this series are far too content to mention only the cross-section of major artists and songs from each era at the expense and expanse of way too many important artists, contributors, trends, fads, viewpoints – you name it. When one finishes watching the series, the commentary of Pete Townshend and Tom Petty are far too plentifully conveyed. It becomes obvious that the producers accessd a limited pool of artists who agreed to interviews (and were probably paid well) in contrast to obviously lacking contributions or mention of a sea of artists and groups. Omissions include Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, the 13th Floor Elevators, The Doobie Brothers, Dave Clark Five, Hawkwind, Captain Beefheart, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Ted Nugent or the Amboy Dukes, Gene Vincent, Arthur Brown, Steve Miller, Thin Lizzy, Buddy Knox, The Turtles, The Fugs, Pearl Jam, Phish and literally a thousand others. In fact, one could make a strong argument in favor that the list of excluded talent missing from the History of Rock and Roll would rival or best what the producers DID choose to cover. Even the Beatles get short shrift over the Rolling Stones. Bands like Jethro Tull are barely mentioned. After 10 hours, this becomes ingratiating. By the tenth volume of the series (circa 1995), rap has infested the subject of this documentary and the whole direction loses its center of gravity in favor of trying to envelope rap as a subcomponent of rock and roll for the purpose of this documentary. In light of the omissions, this is an unforgivable breech of the topic. It’s hard to understand how video and time devoted to the emergence of Boy George outweighs any mention of The Moody Blues or Creedence Clearwater Revival in history. Calling this series “the history of major label corporate pop music” would be much more honest. Its hard to believe that a documentary cannot better fulfill its objective in over 10 hours. Contrasting the completeness of better documentaries (e.g. Ken Burns Civil War, for example), there is nearly anger welling up in the viewer as each era and topic of music wholly ignores far too many important contributors to excuse. As one who lived through the times, I cannot dispense my own memories of what was important and memorable of the music. Although this series does achieve many of the major themes, it falls too far short from being a comprehensive treatment and thus fails in many ways about being historically complete.
Submitted by Peter (Portland OR)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No  4 of 4 found this helpful.

 History of Rock N Roll - Fantastic
Overall this collection covers all that you need for a thumbnail of the "History of Rock N Roll". From the Blues to Punk, all the important influences throughout the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's and mid 90's are covered here. With the original rockstars themselves offering their personal experiences, such as Pete Townsend, Mick Jagger and Bruce Springsteen, just to name a few while Gary Busey narrates throughout. I 've read bad reviews about this package because the reviewer was expecting full vintage performances and more coverage about thier favorite band which in this documentary format would be impossible...it would be 30 volumes long! If you are expecting full performances then this doc is not for you, if your are expecting a brief and interesting look at the history of Rock, then you can't get any better than this. The only flaw that I can mention is that it's not currently up to date as this doc was created back in '95 - '96 so it's over ten years behind the times. Finally for the price of this package it's worth it, ten hours for under $40, I nearly spend that to see a movie with my family.
Submitted by snerp (Kelowna, BC, Canada) 
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No  0 of 1 found this helpful.

 great
informative, and very well done....
Submitted by maddogstreet7 (puerto rico) 
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No  0 of 1 found this helpful.

Have you seen this movie?