"Actor: Georgie Fame"

• Later With Jools Holland - Later - Giants | DVD | (20/10/2003) from £20.23   |  Saving you £-0.24 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Later... with Jools Holland--Giants is a collection of classic live performances from a decade of the late-night BBC music show. Everyone will have their favourites and, no doubt, differing opinions on what constitutes a musical "giant". What is indisputable here is the sheer volume and variety of artists and styles on offer. The 32 performers range from Pete Towshend to Blondie; Paul Weller to Willie Nelson; Leonard Cohen to Jeff Beck; Page and Plant to Ronnie Spector and the Divine Comedy. The acts vary in quality--Brian Ferry's posturing, staccato rendition of "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" and Georgie Fame's futile, asthmatic efforts to keep up with the beat on "Yeh! Yeh!" are notable low points--but thankfully the few weaker moments are more than compensated for by tour de force performances from the likes of Al Green, REM, Tony Bennett, Dusty Springfield and George Benson. Your enjoyment will obviously depend on a desire to see these greats play, but where else are you going to get both Robbie Williams belting out an impromptu performance of "Suspicious Minds" and Solomon Burke singing "Cry to Me" from an enormous golden throne? On the DVD: Later... with Jools Holland--Giants comes with a desirable selection of interviews with 10 of the featured performers. Sadly, they are tantalisingly short--never longer than three minutes, some little more than a minute--and never stretch beyond Holland's stock questions or brief, if entertaining, anecdotes. Also included are: a "playlist" feature, which allows you to select six of your favourite tracks and play them in an order of your choice, normal track selection, subtitles and a credit list. --Paul Philpott

• Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings - In Concert | DVD | (30/09/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Much as he loves his post-'Stones blues 'n' roots supergroup, the quiet bassist is content to remain just that in Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings, captured in the studios of the German TV music programme Ohne Filter--Musik Pur ("Unfiltered pure music"--snappy, or what?). The musicians give a good account of a selection from the band's recorded output; look out in particular for the excellent "Walking One and Only", "Anyway the Wind Blows" and the stonking workout at the end of the concert. BWRK includes Graham Bond, Gary Brooker, Georgie Fame, Albert Lee, Wyman's songwriting partner Terry Taylor plus various other players, all of whom clearly love what they're doing. Fame seems to be the frontman a lot of the time, a role which suits him, so it's too easy to forget that it's the little chap with the tiny hands somewhere behind him who's responsible for this classy little unit. On the DVD: Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings on disc offers standard TV 4:3 picture but a choice of sound formats (Dolby 5.1 or 2.0 and PCM Stereo) and has various extras including artist biographies, a self-congratulatory interview with the show's producer and a rather pompous account of the label's recording techniques. --Roger Thomas

• Georgie Fame And The Blue Flames - Cool Cat Blues | DVD | (11/02/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  In a career spanning almost 50 years Georgie Fame has carved a niche for himself as one of Britain's most versatile musical performers. From his work with Alan Price and hits like 'The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde' he has made his mark all over the world but it is his mastery of jazz and rhythm and blues that have endeared generations of fans. His distinctive voice and Hammond organ skills are to the fore on Cool Cat Blues recorded in concert in 1991 at the Theaterhaus in Stuttgart Germany. Featuring Georgie with 'The Blue Flames' - Guy Baker (trumpet) Steve Georgie (sax) Dave Cliff (guitar) Brian Odjeas (bass) and James Powell (drums). Tracklisting: 1. Rocking Chair 2. You Came A Long Way From St. Louis 3. Big Brother 4. Cool Cat Blues 5. Moondance 6. Jumpin' With Symphony Sid 7. Parchman Farm 8. Yeh Yeh 9. Cat'sEyes 10. I Love The Life I Live 11. How Long Has This Been Going On?