Just after Gangs of New York was released I heard about a series being made about The Blues and kind of shrugged it off afterwards. I had not previously seen any of Scorsese's documentaries like My Voyage to Italy or a Personal Journey so I didn't really expect anything special from it. A friend of mine knows about my interest in Scorsese films and asked me if I wanted the Feel Like Going Home episode on DVD directed by Martin Scorsese as a gift. I said yes as it would start me off into watching his documentaries and if this is anything to go by the rest he has made then I have got to start building up my Scorsese Documentaries because after I saw this I thought Wow. It was good timing as well as I have just recently started listening to the likes of John Le Hooker and Muddy Waters. Feel Like Going Home though really opened my mind to what the Blues really means and where it came from. The story follows a Blues Guitarist called Corey Harris who goes on a pilgrimage to find out more about his ancestors who first started playing the Blues and Scorsese's own knowledge of the music.
If you are a Martin Scorsese fan then cast your mind back to the beginning of Gangs of New York when The Dead Rabbits are preparing themselves to go up against The Natives. Listen to the music in the background whilst Amsterdam is holding his fathers hand. It sounds just like some of the music you hear in this. The very first scene in FLGH where two black men are holding a drum to them and another one is using the whistle instrument sounds just like the music used in the scene in GONY. I was wondering where that sound came from and now I kind of know. I am yet to see the rest of the episodes Directed by Clint Eastwood, Wim Wenders etc but if they are anything like this then this will go down as one of the greatest series ever of it's kind. Blues Fans will think this is the best thing since The Blues and I think it will like mine open up whether they are young or old to The Blues and just get them started off watch this to see how it developed originally.
A powerful and inspiring look to the Birth of The Blues.
