Beat, Beat, Beat: The Best of, Vol. 1

Beat Beat Beat - not to be confused with the German TV show Beat Club (which was a staged music show) - was the late 1960s version of American Bandstand broadcast in Frankfurt Germany. Teens sat in the stands or danced which current pop stars performed on stage. Most of the bands played live while the solo vocalists lip-synched their hits to a recording. The artists who appeared were often British pop stars with a few American artists who became bigger in the UK than in the US. The show ran for 26 episodes from 1966 through 1969 and all were recorded and archived in the German TV archives.

To my knowledge, this is the first time performances from these shows are being issued on home video - at least in the US. While some performers are big names worldwide, others had success only on the east side of the Atlantic Ocean.

This DVD is one of three "Best of" volumes released in the US from Music Video Distributors. It is the longest one -at 42 minutes - with 13 songs shown in crisp black and white images. Right from the start you know this isn't "American Bandstand" or even Britain's "Ready Steady Go". As the little know - over here - Barry Ryan stands among a large audience of teens and lip-synchs his recording of "Eloise", the teens sit there stone-faced with their arms crossed. Are they bored? Isn't Rock and Roll supposed to be happy music? Who knows? But it's sort of eerie. Next up is a rare opportunity to see and hear Brian Auger and Trinity with Julie Driscoll on vocals. Great camera work and a live improvised performance. BUT the sound is distorted and the lyrics hard to decipher.

Highlights on this disc include two fine numbers by The Easybeats and Herman's Hermits - announced in English as "Herman and His Hermits" <g> - with lead Peter Noone beginning to look mature. Cat Stevens is here with a song called "Granny" (again lip-synching), a piece of pop fluff.

I'm really glad these performances are available - especially the live band tracks -and if you are a fan of any of these groups you'll want to see this DVD. But I deleted a star because of the poor sound quality on too many of the tracks and another for the quality of the some of the artists - most notably the aforementioned Ryan and two by Casey Jones & The Govenors - a purely pop Beatles knock off.

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"

from pricebomb:
Beat Beat Beat was a German music programme that ran during the sixties. Not to be confused with the other well known German pop programme Beat Club Beat Beat Beat was broadcast out of Frankfurt commencing in 1966. The programme ran to 26 episodes between its launch in 1966 and the final programme in January 1969 all of which are still in the German television archives. The shows were eclectic affairs and included performances by artists as diverse as Eric Burdon and the New Animals The Move Sam and Dave Cat Stevens and Barry Ryan to name just a few.

This first compilation is an eclectic one featuring Casey Jones and The Governors Cat Stevens Easybeats Hermans Hermits Chris Farlowe Barry Ryan Brian Auger and the Trinity Ft. Julie Driscoll. Hits include two number one hit singles Chris Farlowe with Out Of Time and Eloise from Barry Ryan.

Tracklist: 1. Barry Ryan - Eloise 2. Bryan Auger and the Trinity & Julie Driscoll - Save Me 3. Bryan Auger and The Trinity & Julie Driscoll - Road to Cairo 4. Casey Jones & The Governors - Don't Ha Ha 5. Casey Jones & The Governors - Come On and Dance 6. Cat Stevens - Granny 7. Cat Stevens - Mathew and Son 8. Chris Farlowe - Out of Time 9. Chris Farlowe - Ride on Baby 10. Herman's Hermits - No Milk Today 11. Herman's Hermits - Speed On 12. The Easybeats - Loving Machine 13. The Easybeats - Friday On My Mind

I bought this DVD solely for the Julie Driscoll/Brian Auger/Trinity bits.
They perform 2 songs, "Save Me" and an awesome "Road to Cairo".
While there is some distortion on Julie's mike on her loud notes (and from the ripping bass at the end of "Cairo"), that's part of a powerful live performance from 1969.
Otherwise, the sound is fine.

The big issue I have with this DVD is that Julie Driscoll and the group performed 2 other songs on their Beat3x show set (24 January 1969): "Black cat" and "Why was I treated so bad". Plus, the DJ conducted a wonderful brief interview with Julie, which can be seen on YouTube.
These 3 items should've been included on this disc.
After all, the makers of the disc put Julie's photo on the cover.

The other performers on this DVD were too juvenile to bother watching for any length of time.
They might provide a laugh for some viewers, though.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 3 reviews  3.3 out of 5 stars