Various Artists - DVS Video Sampler
Digital Video Singles is an idea (and a company) brought to fruition by OVOW Media who are based in Somerset. Their aim is to find, rescue and restore classic music performances, captured on film and videotape, and make them available to buy. They scour the dusty vaults of television studios, motion picture libraries and private collections to find some of the pivotal moments in music history. They have managed so far to put together quite an impressive collection of rare and classic performances and a flick through their online catalogue throws up some nice little gems.
They have managed to discover an eclectic mix of music; from Eartha Kitt singing 'Just An Old Fashioned Girl' to 'Black Magic Woman' by Santana. All points in between have been catered for and the time span of the collection is quite amazing. 'All Or Nothing' by the Small Faces, Iggy Pop's 'The Passenger' and 'Orangefield' by Van Morrison rub shoulders with Sister Rosetta Tharpe's 'Didn't It Rain' from 1964, 'Sweet Soul Music' by Arthur Conley and Billie Holiday's 'Strange Fruit' from 1959.
These long forgotten recordings capture the artist more than an mp3 does; to see the artistes actually performing at that particular moment in time puts the performance in total perspective. Fed up with downloading mp3s, collecting a library of classic music videos is a nice idea and one which I feel will appeal to most music lovers.
There is a lot to choose from and I'm sure there is plenty more out there that will eventually become available to download. Already they have rare footage available from the likes of Bob Dylan,The Moody Blues, George Harrison & Eric Clapton, Elton John, The Four Tops, Dusty Springfield and Otis Reading. They aim to have 200 videos available to buy within the next few months so I'll be popping back on a regular basis.