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Seven years on from the sadness of losing the great man we have the joy of this production.
It really does capture the essence of Jake’s live performances.
I must have seen him around the time of this recording (possibly at Southport’s Arts Centre) because he was doing the “3 Joke” thing š
For those unfortunates who didn’t get to see him I can’t recommend this highly enough. Notwithstanding the fact that the sound and vision may not be up to the “…and Songs” quality, it certainly doesn’t detract from the overall effect. In fact it could be argued that it’s more like being there because, after all, when one takes one’s seat at a concert that’s the view one gets throughout the show. So it is with this.
A heartfelt thankyou to all those involved in bringing this to us.
And a heartfelt thanks to Jake for being so good.So I just finished watching it – You simply must get this. As has been noted before this is also very useful as a guitar lesson – you can see just what a really smart guitarist Jake was. My wife – an Oberlin and Yale music school graduate couldn’t believe the voice leadings he was coming up with – she feels of all the guitarists she has heard he plays most like a pianist. His playing is great throughout – for me a real highlight is the version of To Do With You – always a favourite song anyway – but his chords on this one are just magic. He is in good voice throughout – what a great Christmas treat.
Got mine on Christmas Day from a most-bemused brother, who looked somewhat confused when I told him what I’d like. I’ve only had time to watch bits of it last night – had to stay up til 1am to manage it, too. But what a delightful thing it is: the sound quality is ok, especially with a bit of tweaking, and the picture isn’t too bad…well, it gave me a bit of headache on a big plasma TV, but it got better when I shrank the aspect ratio a bit.
But the image is almost irrelevant: what comes across is Jake’s sheer warmth and modesty. Such a lovely, self-effacing start to things, and he keeps up the same tone throughout, which is a delight for someone who’s only got to know him recently, through albums and Live Performance. The Brassens at the end is a particular delight: having come to Jake via Georges, the warmth and admiration in the way he speaks of Brassens are lovely. I know a French chap who plays in a Brassens tribute band (Les Soutiens Georges…lovely pun!), and I imagine Dans l’eau de la claire fontaine will become his route into Jake’s world…
Huge thanks to all involved – a fine job, and well worth buying for anyone having doubts.
my husband bought me this for Christmas and I love it,I was lucky to see Jake play live quite a few times and I still treasure an autograph he gave me back in 1989 at the Kings Head.I just love all of the dvd and cant thank you enough for it .Lou Bryan
Finally got to see my copy of this – it had been mixed in with bills for our pub, somehow! I have to say it was well worth the anxious waiting. My compliments to all who have worked on this. I used to edit education videos – children painting and talking, educational visits, etc. in the early 1990s and know how difficult it was in the days before digital recordings. This is an incredible piece of work! Major credit also to whoever recorded it in the first place….Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I am now looking forward to many long, tedious night-shifts with my colleagues wondering why I’m sitting in semi-darkness chuckilng away constantly (I recommend a laptop and earphones!).
Once again, many thanks to all concerned.
B)I know I’ve already posted on this thread, but I have to repeat for anyone in two minds about buying a copy of this – it is absolute magic!
I have now spent a couple of nights watching the dvd through, beginning to end, without a break. This gives the feel of a Jake live concert as near as I am ever going to get; It is wonderful viewed piecemeal, but pure genius whne seen in its entirety! :cheer:Got mine ! And the first thing I would like to say is that considering the original film was shot twenty years ago with an amateur video camera I didn’t expect this level of quality.
So, congratulations to all concerned by this tour de force !
Like Dave Knibb I watched the DVD through a couple of days ago and again last night, taking great care each time not to laugh my head off ā¦ and enjoying to hear Jake state that he Ā«Ā can’t tell jokesĀ Ā» ! ā¦:laugh:
I also found the Ā«Ā family repertoireĀ Ā», as well as the children song one, as funny as his well-known masterpieces and was glad to discover that the concert also included such strong pieces as The Remembrance ( or The Bull, of course !).
Finally I can’t forget to mention the Ā«Ā cerise sur le gĆ¢teauĀ Ā» we are left with when he Ā«Ā finishes us offĀ Ā» with that charming song of his Ā«Ā beloved Georges BrassensĀ Ā», sung in French !
Well, indeed this is a document all admirers of Jake and Georges ( and of some very great ones from other countries, like Paco IbƔƱez and Tom Lehrer, to mention only a couple of them ) should always have near at hand !
But will you have enough copies for everybody ?
MichelI have had my DVD for a while now; I have watched it in ‘bits’,in straight sittings ( more than a few times) I have laughed till I cried, then cried until I had to laugh, analysed, picked up some more chords, felt empty inside when I remembered that I had missed him by a whisker while serving in Germany (on our camp, only round the corner!) and just when I thought I’d discovered his best i.e. ‘The Bull’ along comes ‘Our Dog’ oh! what mastery, what poetry, what luck to have known his work … for my part, I shall play and sing his praises until I’m unable.
I’m really impressed with the DVD. Thanks to everyone who’s put such a lot of work into producing it. I wish I’d got to see Jake live, but this is a fantastic concert showing Jake on top form.
I told Vin Garbutt recently that he got such glowing praise from Jake on the DVD. He was really impressed, and wasn’t aware of it. He told me about the time that Jake told him the joke about King Harold (the one in the concert). I forgot to ask him about the railway station meeting, but I will next time I see him.
I really hope more concerts can be found, and put out? Maybe an earlier one too?
Once again, great stuff and many thanks.
Glenn :silly:
I’m planning to see Vin in a few weeks time here in Edinburgh so I may mention it again. Does he have a copy of the DVD?
Ian
Not yet, put I promised I’d buy one for him.
Say hello from me when you see him. He’s touring Australia at the moment & I’m following his blogs on Myspace.
I’m supporting Vin at Loftus in July. That’ll be my third time supporting him. Always great fun, and he’s such a gentleman.
Enjoy the gig
Glenn š
I received this last Friday and spent a very enjoyable part of the weekend viewing it. I remember having seen Jake on TV many moons ago and, in spite of his inspired lyrics, I always felt he came across as rather dour. Having viewed the DVD it just goes to show how wrong you can be! He really looks to be thoroughly enjoying himself and although the images are hardly Hi Def it certainly gives a feeling of actually being there. Highly recommended š
Thanks to all involved in producing this excellent bit of nostalgia
Valerie
Got this for Christmas and watched it last night. thoroughly enjoyed it. Really impressed with the quality. I loved his awkwardness on stage, it added a nice energy to the performance.
A huge thank you to all involved in getting this together. It is tremendous. Having seen Jake live on several occasions – including one night when there were only about 10-15 people there, which went on to become one of the most enjoyable evenings of my life – it is good to have a visual reminder of just how good he was in action.
As previous posters have mentioned, the sound and picture quality is far better than we could have expected given time and the limitations of the recording equipment.
My copy arrived the morning my aged mother was rushed into hospital with heart trouble. Watching this DVD helped me calm down that evening – laughter is a great healer!
I’m heartened by the fact that the DVD is still being enjoyed by people but still rather disappointed that this topic has only mustered 28 replies.
How are we ever going to convince the “powers that be” within the BBC to release a DVD of “….& Songs” when so little enthusiasm has been shown on a site such as this which is dedicated to the great man ?
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