Beat poetry and longer texts set to free-form blues, folk or
soul music always spark suspicion amongst a certain set of the population,
perhaps because of their pungent association with a certain breed of hippie
that’s no longer (or never was) in favor. Encouraged by writer Langston Hughes,
though, gangly, Tennessee-bred spoken word performer Gil Scott-Heron, the son
of a Jamaican footballer, did some quite interesting things; he tried his hand
at keyboard in several rock groups and published The Nigger Factory,
a raw examination of racial politics and activist university life in the 1970s.

If he’s never really broken out into the mainstream, and
additionally had to battle his own personal demons (he recently served a prison
stint of several years on a drug-possession charge), Scott-Heron is one of
those figures whom other artists you
admire would certainly recognize and cite as an important influence. His music
and lyrics, mixing the political with the poetic, and denouncing the repressive
violence and oppression inflicted upon African-Americans by society at large,
made him a cult hero in the eyes of radical rap and hip-hop musicians
throughout the world.

Newly released on DVD, this concert performance from July of 2001 at the New Morning club in
Paris showcases Scott-Heron’s fine,
bristling soul tradition, billed alongside the Amnesia Express. “Blue Collar”
kicks off the two-hour set, followed by the frequently sampled “A Lovely Day,”
an airy valentine of perfect-stride empowerment. Other tracks include “Three
Miles Down,” “Work for Peace,” “Angel Dust,” “There’s a War Going On,” “Did You
Hear What They Said?,” “Your Daddy Loves You,” “Everybody Loves the Sunshine,”
“Winter in America,” “95 South (All of the Places We’ve Been),” “Johannesburg”
and “The Bottle.” What one sees in these tunes, regardless of their familiarity
with the peddler, is the laid-track for the sort of social consciousness found
in rap from groups as disparate as Public Enemy, The Roots and Common.

Housed in a regular Amray case and presented in 4×3 full
screen on a region-free disc, this disc comes with fairly solid Dolby digital
5.1 and DTS stereo audio tracks. There are no DVD extras (an interview or
something would have been nice), but this DVD is a fine example of a fitfully rebellious
storyteller’s sterling ability. To purchase it via Amazon, click here.
B (Concert) C+ (Disc)