Lightning in a Bottle 2004

In the USA, 2003 was officially named ‘Year of the Blues’ and Martin Scorsese headed up an elaborate, multimedia project to rehabilitate the roots of American music. While New Zealand waits for the TV series, the 20 CDs, and the seven DVDs, we take you straight to the capper, Antoine Fuqua’s superb movie of the Radio City Music Hall benefit concert that kicked it all off. Spanning the generations from India.Arie and Macy Gray to Bonnie Raitt and B.B. King, it was a blues concert for the ages.

“A compact, fast-paced and entirely joyful celebration… the film’s historical framework, coupled with [the] lineup’s integrity, will satisfy novice and veteran alike… The many highlights include Natalie Cole tearing up W.C. Handy’s ‘St Louis Blues’ and multiple performances by Solomon Burke, Buddy Guy and B.B. King. Guy, in particular, shines throughout, penultimately with Angélique Kidjo on a fierce version of Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Voodoo Child’.” — Eddie Cockrell, Variety