The Old Grey Whistle Test – Vol. 3

Lindisfarne Meet Me On The Corner
David Bowie Oh You Pretty Things
Jackson Browne Jamaica Say You Will
Steppenwolf Born To Be Wild
Stealers Wheel I Get By
Roger Daltrey Giving It All Away
Humble Pie Black Coffee
Fairport Convention Brilliancy Medley
Freddie King Boogie Funk
Brinsley Schwarz Surrender To The Rhythm
Robin Trower A Little Bit Of Sympathy
Supertramp Dreamer
Johnny Winter Jumping Jack Flash
Richard and Linda Thompson A Heart Needs A Home
Janis Ian At Seventeen
Al Stewart Year Of The Cat
John Martyn & Danny Thompson Couldnt Love You More
Chris Rea Fires Of Spring
The Jam A Bomb In Wardour Street
BB King When It All Comes Down/Hold On
John Cooper Clarke I Dont Want to be Nice
Joe Jackson Sunday Papers
Simple Minds Chelsea Girl
King Crimson Frame By Frame
Orange Juice Rip It Up
Howard Jones No-one Is To Blame
Sade Is It A Crime
Jesus & Mary Chain In A Hole
Lone Justice Sweet, Sweet Baby (Im Falling)
Half Man Half Biscuit All I want for Xmas
Bangles Walk Like An Egyptian
Also includednewly filmed interviews with Presenter Bob Harris, founding producer Mike Appleton and musicians Roger Daltrey, Hamish Stuart, Roddy Frame, Rick Wakeman, Bill Nelson, Kevin Ayers, Bob Geldof, Nick Lowe, Robin Trower, Edwyn Collins and Jools Holland. Plus additional interview material with: Roger Daltrey, Rick Wakeman, Edwyn Collins, and Bob Geldof on Live Aid.
Playing all 31 tracks on The Old Grey Whistle Test Volume 3 will make some viewers believe the producers are now beginning to scrape the bottom of the barrel; others will think that finally they’re getting around to the good stuff. Given that the series somehow managed to take an enormous range of music on board while at the same time seeming entirely consistent (surely the secret of its success), there’s evidence for both points of view. The case for the prosecution might cite Janis Ian (her melancholic self-obsession now seems indulgent to the point of prissiness), Al Stewart (“Year of the Cat” is simply a dreary song) or Orange Juice (did they ever really mean anything much to anyone?). The case for the defence, however, is pretty strong overall, with highlights such as Bowie doing “Oh You Pretty Things”, Johnny Winter covering “Jumping Jack Flash” as if he was its rightful owner, and Kings BB and Freddie bringing it all back home with two excellent performances.
There’s something for everyone along the way. Proggers get Discipline-era King Crimson, which saw Adrian Belew saving the band from disappearing up its own fundament; folkies get an unplugged Fairport Convention; punks get John Cooper Clarke and the Jam; somebody or other gets the Bangles. However, if there’s one track that justifies the existence of this disc all by itself, it has to be “In a Hole” from the Jesus and Mary Chain, whose glorious nihilism made the Pistols seem like a folk group.
On the DVD: The Old Grey Whistle Test Volume 3 DVD is presented in old-telly 4:3 ratio and offers numerous extras, including contributor profiles and links, a commentary and an artists’ gallery. –Roger Thomas