Basin Street Revue

This is a collection of exciting R&B performances from the early-mid 1950's, including Amos Milburn, Faye Adams, Lionel Hampton, The Clovers, Martha Davis, Sarah Vaughn, Paul Hucklebuck Williams featuring Jimmy Brown on vocal (check out the 3 CDs of Williams' recordings from this era on Blue Moon Records!), and Herb Jeffries, among others. Every performance is a gem. The genial host, Willie Bryant, keeps things moving and the lowbrow comedy from Nipsey Russell and Mantan Moreland helps create a wonderful "revue" feel for the show. There are two other short-features, ROCK AND ROLL REVIEW and RHYTHM AND BLUES REVIEW, which are taken from the same source but feature all different performances. You should own all three. Nat Cole and Count Basie are listed, but I must have been out of the room when they were on, or this is an edited version of the film. Still, it's classic material, and where else are you going to get vintage Amos Milburn and Paul Williams performances on video???

Like its counterparts, 'Rhythm and Blues Revue' and 'Rock n Roll Revue' this film presents a number of music performances in a short running time, and each one is a gem. In the best print of the three films I have, 'Basin Street Revue' is definitely watchable and has good sound quality, which showcases the likes of Paul Williams Band, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, and Nat King Cole very well.

These short revues had plenty of zip and energy and the music has aged well over the past fifty years. Seeing shorts makes you really wish they made something equivalent now. Recommended, and easy to find on a number of DVD budget collections.