American Epic

I watched the PBS showing, and it was great. Disc 2, with the sessions with current performers.....a-fing mazing. Moving. If you don't grin and get chills and wish all music were still as real as this...... If music, real music, historic music, is meaningful to you, buy this, and the cd, and the record. The artists and producers deserve Grammy awards all around, and all our thanks.

Cheating Spouses, too much to drink, "what are your intentions." The themes and stories told in the songs that take center stage in the documentary. From the Hawaiian Islands to the Mississippi delta, the early American music recordings showcased had the same themes as rap and hip-hop have today. Not much as changed. Without performers such as the Carter Family and the Memphis Jug Band neither Country music nor blues/R&B/ and even rock would be the same. But the documentary also tells how the recording and dissemination of music across the country become an integral part of the social construct. You don't need to be a fan of all the genres in the film to really enjoy the story. The accompanying film of the album project by Jack White & T Bone Burnett is a true delight as modern artist cover and sing music from the period - recreating a 1920's recording session on the last functioning record cutter from that period. Get the documentary, get the songs, get the Session film and enjoy.

The first disc contains the documentary about the first vinyl recordings and the folks who recorded them. Fairly interesting, once. The 2nd disc is the Jack White, T-Bone Burnett produced sessions with the Western Electric direct to disc cutting rig with 2 different but similar microphones and the 43A amplifier used to drive the cutting stylus. Not sure about the sound being from that setup or discs made during the session. There is a audio post production company credited at the end. Again its interesting but only once. Wish I could have just watched and heard all this on demand instead of having to buy the Blu-ray. A great history lesson and many things I did not know and can certainly appreciate but limited entertainment value. Just FYI...its in mono as the first recording were and there is a chapter on the disc where they have a short in a portion of the microphone or cutter amp that had me going for a minute.

A great musical journey from one genre to another cross country. I particularly enjoyed time spent with Mississippi John Hurt.

Recently viewed this mini-series on PBS (actually, via the PBS app on my Amazon Fire TV) and found it a superb recollection of the early American electric recording scene. The amount and quality of the research needed to pull this together is remarkable, as is the production quality. As much for the music extracts, as well as the feelings conveyed, I knew this is something I will want to reference, view and enjoy repeatedly.The final "episode", consisting of a series of today's musicians in actual recording sessions using the restored equipment, is priceless.

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this informatice enjoyable PBS special. The rare footage is with more than the price alone

Great video! Watching Elton John, Bernie Taupin, T-Bone Burnette, and Jack White develop "Two Fingers of Whisky" alone is worth the price! Great performances and exploration of music in America and the development of recording!

Amazing story and Music!

This does not work in my player.

Pour les amateurs de vestiges musicaux, vous ne pouvez passer à coté. La première partie propose un survol des pionniers en tout genre comme la famille Carter et Mississippi John Hurt, la réalité difficile du sud Américain aux alentours de la grande dépression de 1929, la façon que les scouts enregistrait la musique dans les petites villes, bref un passage obligé pour ceux qui aiment l'histoire de la musique.La deuxième partie nous plonge dans plusieurs sessions organisé par Jack White et son équipe enregistrés à l'ancienne avec la technologie de l'époque. Plusieurs figures connus se prêtent au jeu avec brio comme Elton John, Willie Nelson, Beck, Le rappeur NAS et l'acteur Steve Martin. Un pur plaisir !

If you're a true music fan and someone who likes to learn about a musician's influences (did you buy Robert Johnson records because you enjoy Eric Clapton) then your collection requires this series and probably all the accompanying records! My only complaint: it isn't long enough!