Later With Jools Holland - Hootenanny DVD

Jools Holland's long-established Hogmanay/New Year's Eve celebration Later … Hootenanny remains TV's definitive dad-rock haven after 11 years on air. This formidably well-stuffed collection is a best of the best: the easiest way to check out the guest list is to study the cover picture--there really are that many names. Amusingly, the compilation comes close to shooting itself in the foot by opening with Solomon Burke's rip-roaring "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love", thus giving the following 31 turns a near-impossible act to follow. If in doubt, watch it at the end,... as the everybody-up-on-stage version of Jeff Beck's "Hi Ho Silver Lining" that closes the disc is unfortunately a shambles. Along the way, though, there are plenty of highlights, the best of which add up to a triumph for the Welsh contingent. Cerys Matthews and Tom Jones do their best smoochy version of "Baby It's Cold Outside" before it began to wear a bit thin, the strapping Matthews managing to come on like a cross between Bambi and that girl you fancied in the lower sixth. Immediately preceding this is a gloriously menacing performance from John Cale in which he turns Johnny Mercer's jazz classic "I Wanna Be Around" into a leering, spitting threat to the listener's personal safety. There's something for everyone here, though, so just enjoy the show. On the DVD: Later … Hootenanny on disc has nothing much by way of extras other than a handy facility that allows you to programme a sequence of any six tracks of your choosing, which is quite clever. But with over 30 acts performing more than two hours of music on a single disc, you really don't need anything more. --Roger Thomas [show more]

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