Loretta Lynn – In Concert Classics
Picture: C
Sound: C Extras: C- Concert: C+
In a time when Country Music has become a pale imitation
of Pop/Rock of the 1970s, it was nice to see Loretta Lynn at her height in a
1978 TV performance. Unfortunately, Loretta
Lynn – In Concert Classics features a show that runs only 40 minutes,
despite running on public television.
It is unfortunate this is so short, because Lynn is in good form and the
showmanship is in tact.
The songs are:
1) Hey
Loretta
2) You’re
Looking At Country
3) We’ve
Come A Long Way Baby
4) You
Ain’t Woman Enough
5) I Fall
To Pieces
6) Walking
After Midnight
7) Crazy
8) Let Your
Love Flow
9) Me &
Bobby McGee
10) Out Of My Head & Back In My Bed
11) Make ‘Em Like My Daddy
12) One’s On The Way
13) The Pill
14) Don’t Come Home A Drinkin’
15) Coal Miner’s Daughter
I never was the biggest fan of the genre, though some of
the crossover hits were interesting, but at least it was distinct. More than crossover hits or other pop
trivialization (could too many seasons of Hee Haw hurt things?), it
seems some of the simple, laidback nature of the genre at this point eventually
turned out to eventually be the set up for its downfall and ethnic cleansing
into that something phonier and less authentic than anything from the Urban
Cowboy cycle could have been. It
should also be noted that the covers of Patsy Cline songs are done as a medley.
The full frame 1.33 X 1 image is soft and shows its
age. We have seen better quality NTSC
analog tape from the time, so who knows why this is as soft as it is, unless it
was shot that way somewhat for Miss Lynn’s sake. I doubt that. The Dolby
Digital 2.0 Mono is dull and flat, though it is more limited than expected. Perhaps the transfer is second generation or
so. The only extra is a nearly
9-minutes-long look at Lynn’s career from recent times, though it is an
abbreviated version of a longer program.
Too bad it is not here in its entirety, because the DVD had room. This is for fans only.
- Nicholas Sheffo
