The Day That Music Changed The World. "Live Aid - Against All Odds"

Live Aid: Against All Odds (2011) 

Not Rated

Starring Bod Geldof, Midge Ure,

Produced by the BBC

The Story:

After the success of Do They Know It's Christmas, Bob Geldof decided that Band Aid should try something even more impressive. Live benefit concerts in July 1985, both in England and America and other locations round the world, and beam it to everyone else via satellite. It had never been done before, and most skeptics said it couldn't be done, period. But with some hard work, elbow grease, and outright lies, the greatest concert in music history did indeed happen.

This is their story.

This amazing documentary is available in 2 parts on YouTube. Each part is 90 minutes.

It keeps you grabbed from the minute you start watching until it's over.

Then you wish for a few more parts to the documentary.

So unless you were lucky enough to catch this on the BBC a few years back, you've likely never seen it.

The documentary does a great job of getting just about anyone and everyone who had something to do with Live Aid for the documentary, and they still manage to squeeze in enough of the performances to really bring back the memories.

So brazen was Geldof to get people to appear, he listed them as performing, oftentimes without even checking with those acts to see if they were willing and able to play.

Then he would lie to each band and say "well, they're in, so why aren't you?" and vice versa.

It's an incredible amount of chutzpah on Geldof's part, and it's an event that will never be duplicated again.

Then there was the American side of things where so many artists were pulling out because the American promoter was a giant POS that everyone hated. :)

Pair that with hosts that have an absolute disdain for the musicians that will be appearing, and it was a recipe for disaster.

Or at least if they do, it will probably roll off a lot smoother than this one did.

So go behind the scenes and see how they pulled this concert off and all the headaches and heartbreaking moments that went into the greatest concert of them all.

Final Grade: A

If You Can Breathe, You Can Play..."Pocket Full Of Soul: The Harmonica Documentary"

Pocket Full of Soul: The Harmonica Documentary (2009)

Not Rated

Written and Directed by Marc Lempert

The Story:

A musical instrument so simple, it's often regarded as a child's toy, the harmonica has made a huge impact on American music since it's introduction to the states in the 1850s. This wonderful documentary will take you on a historical tour of the instrument and those musicians who have wielded it to create some electrifying music over the decades. While you may not be familiar with many of the names, the list of musicians who have used it is a veritable who's who of musical talent.

I hadn't planned on watching a documentary on the harmonica on April 18th, but when you find out that it's National Harmonica Day and there is a documentary on the subject, interest gets piqued.

Then when you discover that it is narrated by my personal favorite harmonica player, Huey Lewis, it's a no-brainer!

The documentary is both as structured and relaxed as that of the many players that are interviewed alongside the archival footage.

Usually disregarded as an actual musical instrument, when a player takes to the harmonica and learns how to wield that little pocket harp, the effects can be amazing and one person with a harmonica can outdo an entire band with the amount of force and energy that they can elicit.

The harmonica is also not strictly for 1 genre of music. While it would be hard to imagine the Blues being performed without a harmonica, it gets some love from jazz, classical, rock, country, and even hip-hop.

Another film that was backed by the fans and the people who love the subject matter and not the studio, you can tell this was a labor of love by all involved.

I was lucky enough to catch this on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZQSUib0U-g&feature=youtu.be

Not sure if there is a charge or anything now that National Harmonica Day is over, but if you're a fan of music or music history, this shouldn't be missed.

Final Grade: A-