Product Description
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When Dick Cavett joined the late-night talk show parade in 1969,
his intelligent wit pumped a much-needed breath of fresh air into
the format. The show offered guests a forum for controversial
opinions and didnt shy away from an occasional debate about
womens liberation or the war in Vietnam. The Dick Cavett Show
also became the late-night home of rock n roll, with a guest list
that reads like a whos who of the eras top performers.
The Dick Cavett Show: Rock Icons features 9 episodes from 1969 to
1974 featuring Janis Joplin, David Bowie, George Harrison, Sly
And The Family Stone, Stevie Wonder and many more. Highlights
include 3 episodes with Janis Joplin and "The Woodstock Show,"
taped the day after the festival with Jefferson Airplane, Joni
Mitchell, David Crosby and Stephen Stills. The shows also feature
Cavett's interviews with many of the fascinating personalities of
the day from Gloria Swanson to Debbie Reynolds to Raquel Welch.
Also included is the featurette Cavett Meets The Rolling Stones,
featuring live performance footage from the Stones and a
revealing backstage interview with Mick Jagger. Adding in
and perspective to the set are episode introductions and a brand
new interview with Dick Cavett.
Over 25 Historic Performances on 3 DVDs including:
Chelsea Morning Joni Mitchell
Somebody To Love Jefferson Airplane with David Crosby
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again) Sly And The Family
Stone
Young Americans David Bowie
To Love Somebody Janis Joplin
Try (Just A Little Bit Harder) Janis Joplin
Signed, Sealed, Delivered Im Yours Stevie Wonder
Bangla Desh George Harrison
Still Crazy After All These Years Paul Simon
Bridge Over Troubled Water Paul Simon with The Jessy Dixon
Singers
.com
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While it's a stretch calling Paul Simon or Stevie Wonder "rock,"
this triple DVD set presents nine entire, commercial-free
episodes where Dick Cavett welcomed music superstars to his
stage. From 1969-'74 his was the only talk show to invite these
acts to meet mainstream America, at least half way. Although he
might have been more comfortable conversing with crusty Hollywood
actors, Cavett's quick mind, relatively youthful demeanor and
respectful if slightly stilted approach worked moderately well
with music acts not accustomed to the restrictions of network
television. Here he interviews the good (a post-Bangla Desh
concert George Harrison is witty and honest, as is a very
articulate Paul Simon), the bad (Sly Stone in a druggy haze) and
the nervous (a painfully uncomfortable David Bowie fiddles with a
cane, looking as if he wished he was somewhere else), while
holding his own, sometimes barely, with the Woodstock generation.
The latter dominates an entire show as Jefferson Airplane, David
Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Joni Mitchell hold court the day
after the 1969 event. Janis Joplin appears three times (July '69,
June and August '70) and is sharp, intelligent and affable mixing
with guests as varied as Raquel Welch, Gloria Swanson and Douglas
Fairbanks Jr. A July '72 pre-concert chat with Mick Jagger
demonstrates how effectively the comparatively straight-laced
Cavett meshed with the Stones' lead singer backstage at Madison
Square Garden. Sonically, the primitive mono sound is
surprisingly well mixed, and the discs are conveniently chapter
divided to find the musical interludes, an enormous convenience
that helps skip some dull patter with Cavett's other guests.
These appearances by musicians that were rarely interviewed on
television are historically significant and will delight fans
that previously sufficed with sketchy bootlegs of this material.
--Hal Horowitz