Two concert films from the
mid-1960s are now being released on Blu-ray –
The T.A.M.I. Show and
The Big
T.N.T. Show. These movies feature performances by James Brown, The Rolling
Stones, Bo Diddley, The Lovin’ Spoonful, Ray Charles, Donovan and many others,
and are excellent documents of the music of the time. The films are being
released as a two-disc set, which includes bonus material and a 35-page
booklet.
Disc 1: The T.A.M.I. Show
The T.A.M.I. Show has been known under several titles, and the one
on this disc is actually Teen-Age Command
Performance. It a filmed concert that took place at The Santa Monica Civic
Auditorium in 1964, featuring Chuck Berry, The Beach Boys, Marvin Gaye, James
Brown and The Rolling Stones (among others). The concert is hosted by Jan and
Dean, who ride in on skateboards, and who also perform a couple of songs
themselves: “The Little Old Lady From Pasadena” and “Sidewalk Surfin’” (during
the latter, one takes a skateboard out of a guitar case and rides around on the
stage). Most of the acts are joined by dancers on platforms behind them. The
choreography is by David Winters, who is assisted by Toni Basil. Basil will
always have a special place in my heart because of her dance with Davy Jones in
Head. And actually, one of the
dancers in this film is Teri Garr, who also appears in Head.
There are some excellent
performances here, and the film is worth watching especially for James Brown
And The Flames, who easily steal the show. Chuck Berry opens the concert with
“Johnny B. Goode” followed by “Maybellene.” Interestingly, as Chuck is playing,
Gerry And The Pacemakers take up their instruments, and then actually take over
“Maybellene” halfway through. Very weird. They then go into “Don’t Let The Sun
Catch You Crying,” followed by “It’s Gonna Be Alright.” The audience of
screaming teenagers is quite loud. Hey, it wasn’t just The Beatles that
received that sort of wild adoration. There is also one older guy in a suit in
the audience, who seems to be enjoying himself. Chuck Berry and Gerry And The
Pacemakers trade off songs for a bit, with Chuck doing a very short version of
“Sweet Little Sixteen,” as one hot chick with feathers dances behind him
(apparently that’s Pam Freeman). By the way, you can’t see much of the band
backing Chuck, but it’s The Wrecking Crew, which includes Leon Russell (look at
him at the piano with short hair).
Smokey Robinson And The
Miracles do “That’s What Love Is Made Of,” “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me” and
“Mickey’s Monkey.” And hey, are those cops in riot gear in the background? Marvin
Gaye does a really good rendition of “Hitch Hike.” There is very little stage
banter from the performers, but Jan and Dean do joke a bit occasionally while
introducing an act (as with a fire extinguisher when introducing James Brown
And The Flames). When introducing Lesley Gore, they sport sweatshirts that
read, “Gore Gore Gore Gore.” Lesley Gore does one of my favorites, “You Don’t
Own Me,” which was later covered by Joan Jett. Hey, what’s with the Vaseline on
the camera lens for the close-ups? And yes, she does “It’s My Party,” taking it
straight into “Judy’s Turn To Cry.”
One of the film’s highlights is
the set by The Beach Boys (which apparently was taken out of several prints and
wasn’t available on the bootleg videocassettes of this film). They start with
“Surfin’ USA” and “I Get Around.” Then Brian Wilson takes over lead vocals for
“Surfer Girl” (with more Vaseline on the camera lens). They wrap up their set
with “Dance, Dance, Dance.” The Beach Boys are followed by Billy J. Kramer And
The Dakotas, who start with their big hit, “Little Children.” Interestingly,
the other three songs of their set were all written by Lennon and/or McCartney,
including the wonderful “From A Window,” a really cool tune. The Supremes do
some of their hits, including “Baby Love” and “Where Did Our Love Go.” The
Barbarians do just one song, “Hey Little Bird.”
As I mentioned, James Brown And
The Flames are easily the biggest attraction of the film. The dancers
disappear, since James Brown does his own dancing, accompanied by The Flames,
and needs no help. He starts with “Outta Sight,” and follows it with “Prisoner
Of Love.” One of the drummer’s sticks goes flying. But things really get going with
“Please, Please, Please.” Each time James Brown falls to the stage, the guys
pretend to help him up. It’s a captivating performance. And then during “Night
Train,” when James Brown asks, “Are you
ready for the night train,” the crowd goes wild. It’s a fantastic set, and
when The Rolling Stones follow, it’s a bit anti-climactic. However, it’s
wonderful seeing this early footage of the Stones. There are no dancers on
stage during the Stones’ set either. They interestingly begin their set with a
Chuck Berry song, “Around And Around.” They also do “Off The Hook,” “Time Is On
My Side” and “It’s All Over Now.” Then, introducing “I’m Alright,” Mick Jagger
says: “Thank you very much. This is one
we do. It’s called ‘It’s All Right.’” Mick plays maracas on that tune.
The dancers then do come back out,
as do the other bands, and they close out the show with “Let’s Get Together.” The T.A.M.I. Show was directed by Steve
Binder.
Disc 1 Special Features
The first disc contains several
special features, including a commentary track by director Steve Binder with
music historian Don Waller. Steve Binder talks about how the project came
about, and about the movie’s theme song. He also explains that T.A.M.I. stands
for Teenage Awards Music International. The stuff about how the whole thing was
filmed and put together is really interesting and unusual. (“I was sitting in a makeshift control room,
basically doing the camera cutting as they were performing,” Steve Binder
says.) They talk about the dancers, the audience and about each of the acts,
including about how The Beach Boys were cut out of the film and then put back
in. This is a really good commentary track, and will be of interest to all
music fans.
The special features also
include an interview with Steve Binder, four radio spots, and the film’s
trailer (the trailer’s narrator erroneously says The Beach Boys play “The
Little Old Lady From Pasadena”). You can also watch the trailer with an
introduction and commentary by John Landis, who was in the audience when the
film was made.
Disc 2: The Big T.N.T. Show
The Big T.N.T. Show is a filmed concert from 1965, and originally
released in 1966. It features performances by Joan Baez, The Byrds, Ray
Charles, Donovan, The Lovin’ Spoonful and several other artists. During the
opening credits sequence, there is a shot of The Trip, and on the marquee is
Lovin’ Spoonful with The Grass Roots as the opener. Coming soon are The
Miracles and Marvin Gaye, both of whom performed in the first film. The Big
T.N.T. Show was produced by Phil Spector and directed by Larry Peerce. The
concert opens with David McCallum leading the band in an instrumental rendition
of “Satisfaction,” which is interesting, as the Stones closed out the first
film, but it’s a rather lackluster beginning. Things then get going with Ray
Charles performing “What’d I Say,” which is fantastic. Some of the crowd goes
nuts, but others are remarkably sedate. Petula Clark then sings “Downtown,”
performing it from within the audience.
The Lovin’ Spoonful do “Do You
Believe In Magic,” with a false start. It’s cool that it was left in the film.
They follow that with “You Didn’t Have To Be So Nice.” Both of these songs were
hits for the band. It’s a treat then to see Bo Diddley perform, though it
always seems weird that he sings about himself. Here he performs “Hey Bo
Diddley” and “Bo Diddley.” I love that one of the three female backing
vocalists also plays rhythm guitar. It’s odd to have Joan Baez follow Bo
Diddley. Talk about a shift in gears. Joan plays within the audience, doing “500
Miles” and “There But For Fortune,” performing them solo. We then go back to
Ray Charles, who does a really good, though very short, version of “Georgia On
My Mind” and a fun rendition of “Let The Good Times Roll.” (Hey, look at the
little boy with his fingers in his ears, trying to block out the sound of the
screaming girls.) Joan Baez, seated next to Phil Spector on piano, then sings “You’ve
Lost That Loving Feeling,” which is a bit weird, as you might imagine. The
Ronettes do their famous “Be My Baby” and “Shout,” accompanied by dancers. The
band is in the orchestra pit rather than on stage this time.
It’s surprising how much the
teenage girls freak out when Roger Miller is introduced. I like him, don’t get
me wrong, but I would not have expected such a reaction from young girls. He
does talk a bit about his music: “It’s
not exactly rock music, it’s not exactly folk. It’s sort of depressive jazz.”
And yes, he does “King Of The Road.” He follows it with the goofy “England
Swings.” Check out the dancers during that song. David McCallum introduces The
Byrds by quoting “Turn! Turn! Turn!” And that’s the song The Byrds choose to start
their set. Wow, David Crosby looks impossibly young. They also do “The Bells Of
Rhymney” and “Mr. Tambourine Man.”
One of my favorite
singer/songwriters is Donovan, and in this film he plays “Universal Soldier,”
“Summer Day Reflection Song,” “Bert’s Blues” and “Sweet Joy,” performing them
solo, the last of them from within the audience. Then Ike And Tina Turner get
things cooking with “Shake,” which leads straight into “A Fool In Love” and then
“It’s Gonna Work Out Fine.” “Please, Please, Please” was a highlight of the
first film, and it’s also a highlight of this film, with Tina going out into
the audience, singing directly to certain people. They then end with “Goodbye,
So Long.”
Disc 2 Special Features
The second disc contains three
short interviews. The first is with Petula Clark, who talks about Phil Spector.
John Sebastian then talks about that false start on “Do You Believe In Magic,”
and about the two songs his band plays in the film. Henry Diltz, of The Modern
Folk Quartet, talks about getting the gig, recording the theme song and about
not getting on camera. The Big T.N.T.
Show – An Eclectic Mix is a featurette which contains more from those three
interviews, as well more from the interview with Steve Binder. The second disc
also includes the film’s trailer.
The T.A.M.I. Show/The Big T.N.T. Show is scheduled to be released
on Blu-ray on December 2, 2016 through Shout! Factory, as part of the Shout
Select series.
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