Music Scene - The Best of 1969-70
A ratings disaster when it premiered on the ABC network on September 22, 1969 (and lasting a mere 16 weeks before cancellation),Music Scenenow stands as a sublime time capsule of the "flower power" era. Although it was smartly conceived by the hipper-than-average producers of the controversialSmothers Brothers Comedy Hour, the show was riskily scheduled opposite ratings juggernautsGunsmokeandLaugh-In, and its fate was sealed. Now, with the passage of decades, these shows display a laudable effort to lure serious rock music into the pop-cultural mainstream--there were few if any opportunities for these acts to gain prime-time TV exposure, so it wasn't unusual to find Janis Joplin, Sly & the Family Stone, or Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young colliding on the guest list with bubble-gum pop stars like Bobby Sherman and MOR crooners like Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme.Struggling to bridge the generation gap, host comedian David Steinberg--with a group of five regular cohosts including Lily Tomlin and occasional guest hosts--is a well-chosen mouthpiece for Hollywood's anti-Nixon liberalism, able to distinguish the important (Joe Cocker, Richie Havens) from the ridiculous (the nonexistent Archies and their #1 hit "Sugar Sugar" are duly dismissed). This Volume 1 DVD offers four complete shows, combining sociopolitical comedy with a potpourri of music (either live or lip-synched) selected each week fromBillboardmagazine's Top 100 pop, rock, country, and soul charts. An additional 21 bonus performances are packed onto side B, along withMusic Scenepromo spots featuring the Rolling Stones. All in all, this may be one of the best DVDs to showcase nostalgic TV in a meaningful and entertaining way, by rescuing a short-lived series from oblivion to remind us of the very best (and not-so-best) that American pop culture had to offer during the height of the Vietnam War.--Jeff Shannon