Guest Reviewer: Gary Dean Murray The box set of Casey Kasem’s Rock and Roll Gold Mine should be called “A Brief History of Rock and Roll (incomplete and very abridged). Meaning, it’s a very nice introduction to earlier days of rock. It has some of the bases covered but also contains many omissions. For those who have been living under a rock for the last three decades, Casey Kasem has been counting down the top 40 hits for over 30 years. He’s the voice of popular music and one of the most recognized DJ’s in the world. Those pipes have been telling world audiences who is hot in American Pop Music for a generation.

This series, Rock and Roll Goldmine, was a TV show that has been put out on DVD form. The copyright range from 1984 to 1989, so there must be more than these five selections. But, this is putting the best foot forward and giving a taste of shows to come.

The series starts out with “The Sixties” and all have introductions and comments by Casey. He, like the coolest history teacher, puts the performance clips into their cultural perspective. Most of these clips are live performances, most from a TV show called “Beat Club”. This could be called early MTV but with a definite 1960’s TV feel. There are spinning zooms and switcher solos (see Wayne’s World), with cut away rolls. The series starts with Jefferson Airplane doing “White Rabbit”, with young Grace Slick taking center stage and letting the audience know that she is in charge and this is her world. After that comes The Doors doing “People Are Strange” and proving that early production values were as strange. This film reeks of nostalgia. One of the highlights in this DVD is The Who doing “My Generation” on the Smothers Brothers Show. This is the show that introduced The Who to American TV and is supposedly the moment where Pete Townsend’s hearing problems started (watch the ending explosions). After that is the weakest part of the disc The Small Faces singing “Itchycoo Park”. No, the song is a wonderful bit of pop, but the band is lip syncing to their pre-recorded track. And, that is the problem with this collection, a good portion of the clips are bands not playing. The rest of the DVD is Steppenwolf, Blue Cheer, Cream, Canned Heat, Jimi Hendrix (“Purple Haze” at Monterrey Pop) and ending with Janis Joplin belting out those cosmic blues on “Try”. The presentation ends with an interview with The Beatles done in Holland, when Ringo was out sick. That’s the problem with this series… No Beatles and No Rolling Stones. I know how hard it is to get rights to performances, but the two dominant groups are not represented in song or in this collection.

The Soul Years in the second DVD and it’s much more complete and actually tries to define ‘soul’. That task falls on the Godfather of Soul himself, James Brown. Then the audience is treated to a very young James doing “I Feel Good”. He’s lip syncing his performance, but his over the top dancing makes up for his actual faking to the music. This DVD is the biggest ‘must own’ of the series, because most of the major influences are represented. It’s missing a chunk of Motown, but it has Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Ben E. King, Sam and Dave (burning up the stage) and The Temptations (a lip sync but the best dance moves of the series). There is Stevie Wonder when he was “Little Stevie”. But, the last two make the DVD. First up is Ike and Tina Turner performing “River Deep, Mountain High”. This wasn’t a big US hit, but it does showcase the excitement that was the Ike and Tina show. The last clip is one of my favorites “When a Man Loves a Woman” by the great Percy Sledge. This is a belting bit of soul music, with a man expressing his heart on stage.

Next is The San Francisco Sound. It’s all about the Haight/Ashbury music explosion. Van Morrison leads the showcase with “Domino” one of my all time favorite pieces of music. Van is one of the best writers and performers on the planet and here both are perfect. Big Brother and the Holding Company do a rough and grungy “Ball and Chain” with Janis Joplin singing like a woman possessed by the spirit. “Truckin’” is the Grateful Dead’s strongest song and one of their biggest hits. The clip is when the band was young and full of fire, pushing the groove and finding its soul. Carlos Santana performs “Jingo” an early hit from his revolving group of sidemen. The biggest clunker here is Country Joe and the Fish doing their Woodstock hit “The Fish Cheer”/ “Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die Rag”. While every other song on this disc stands the test of time, this tune reeks of all that is corny about the 1960’s. But, the disc ends with Steve Miller doing “Livin’ in the USA” another great song from a great artist. Most of these songs are still played on the radio and all are considered classics, in one way shape or form. But, the best part about this disc is the fact that none of the performances are faked, all are done live on stage almost always in front of an audience.

The fourth disc is probably the weakest disc. It is on the British Invasion. The biggest problem… no Beatles and no Stones. Heck, not even Herman’s Hermits, Deep Purple, Spencer Davis or The Zombies are here. Don’t get me wrong, there are some impressive artists on this DVD, but it’s woefully incomplete about the British Invasion. The first two up are Gerry and the Pacemakers and Peter & Gordon. Both good groups, but not stellar performances. Gerry does “How Do You Do It” and not “Ferry Across the Mercy”. Peter & Gordon sing “World Without Love” not “I Go To Pieces”. The middle three are the meat of the show; Manfred Mann doing “The Mighty Quinn”, The Animals singing “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” and Joe Cocker belting out “Delta Lady”. These artists represent all that is great about the British Invasion, even when it’s not their best song. But the highlight is next The Kinks rocking out “You Really Got Me”. The Kinks are one of the best bands of the 1960’s, British Invasion or not. They made hit after hit and were still able to hold on when rock became ‘serious’ (see most rock LP’s after Rubber Soul). This DVD ends with Procol Harum, The Hollies (okay), The Troggs (good), the Yardbirds (better) and Traffic (there you go). The other problem with this DVD is the overuse of faking to the music. These bands should have been let loose and played, not just pretended.

The last DVD in the series isn’t like the others; it is not a series of performances. It is a short and slight documentary on Elvis Presley called “The Echo Will Never Die”. Through old news reports, movie clips and interviews with those who knew him; the audience is given an overview of Elvis’ life and career. Starting with his Memphis influences of country, gospel and R&B, Elvis forged a new path of American Music. This documentary stays upbeat focusing on the positive aspects of his career. The interviews are as varied as Tom Jones, Sammy Davis Jr., Ursula Andress and music critic David Marsh. Everyone knows the ending of Elvis, or as David Marsh puts it, he’s “The flawed hero of the 20th Century.”

The biggest fault with this series is length. All five videos could have easily fit on a two -- disc set. And there are no extras, not even listings if artist accomplishments and discography. These discs could have been much more than what is presented.

It should be noted that even though the show is in Color, more than half of the performances are in black and white. Remember it’s about the 1960’s when most TV programs didn’t broadcast in Color. Yes, they lived in the Stone Age.

Are they fun to watch? A big yes. Are they a must own collectable? Only for the super music geeks. Or for a teacher like Jack Black in School of Rock on Rock History 101.

DVD specs. Region ALL; Picture Full screen; Sound 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround/ 2.0 Hi-fi Dolby

Running times: The Sixties 47 min; The Soul Years -- 42 min.; The San Francisco Sound 38 min; The British Invasion 42 min.; Elvis: the Echo will Never Die 48 min.

MPAA Rating: Not Rated (TV G)

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We'll give Casey Kasem's Rock and Roll Goldmine a B.