"Actor: Colin Allen"

• Jammin' With The Blues Greats | DVD | (22/01/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £8.99

  Don't let the cheesy title put you off, because Jammin' with the Blues Greats, essentially a roadshow headed up by John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, is quality stuff, managing to convey all the virtues of the music without sacrificing one ounce of the atmosphere of what must have been an extraordinary gig. It's pretty much impossible to identify any one contributor as outshining the others, given that there are as many takes on the music here as there are practitioners, but it's worth noting Mayall's ongoing commitment to the form as the Bluesbreakers deliver "An Eye for an Eye", "Room to Move" and several other tunes. Buddy Guy and Junior Wells get a couple of numbers ("Messin' with the Kid" is wonderful), BB King gets three and Etta James just one. However, despite everyone getting the opportunity to cut loose on the finale ("CC Rider Jam"), the whole circus is totally upstaged by the 83-year-old Sippie Wallace, who is gently led onstage, leans on the piano and sings "Shorty George" with the kind of conviction that makes everyone else look like upstarts. On the DVD: Jammin' with the Blues Greats is presented in 4:3 aspect ratio and has only one extra feature, a John Mayall discography. --Roger Thomas

• All Night Long | DVD | (26/01/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Set in London's Jazz scene of the 1950s this atmospheric modernisation of Othello features a strong cast and appearences by some of the best-known names from the music world.