Superstars in Concert Sound of the City London 1964-1973   Starring: The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Otis Redding, Cat Stevens, Rod Stewart and the Faces, Ike & Tina Turner Revue and The Animals Distributor: Fabulous Films Ltd / Fremantle Media Enterprises RRP: £14.99 FHED3548 Certificate: 15 Release Date: 16 October 2016

Filmed between 1964 and 1973 and produced/directed by rock documentarist Peter Clifton, Superstars in Concert is an anthology film of the major music artistes of the time, which includes live footage, and behind the scenes material from The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix and many others. It is released by Fabulous Films/Fremantle Media Enterprises.

The full line-up is: Eric Burdon and The Animals, Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Otis Redding, The Rolling Stones, Cream, Blind Faith, Cat Stevens, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker, Mad Dogs and Englishmen Band, Ike & Tina Turner Revue, Pink Floyd, and Rod Stewart & The Faces.

Of course, these are/were top attractions, but the way this film is put together leaves a lot to be desired. For the man responsible for The Song Remains the Same, one of the best rockumentaries ever, there’s little or no continuity and adhesion. It amounts to just a load of pieces of film stuck together with no flow. In fact, it has quite a jolting effect in some places. For this reason it’s probably a better idea to use the Chapters Menu to dip in and out of the experience (and I don’t just mean the Jimi Hendrix Experience!).

The quality of the footage varies but on the whole is pretty good. The stand-out selection for me is Pink Floyd playing 'Careful With That Axe Eugene'; it’s extremely clear and precise, certainly close to being as fine as the version on their Live in Pompeii film. I also liked the studio-type footage of Cat Stevens, and what a brilliant, timeless song. It’s good to see Cream perform (particularly Ginger Baker), too. Some bands are given much longer than others, so I began to tire of The Rolling Stones, Otis Redding, and even The Faces.

On the whole though, this will please Hippies and Ageing Rockers everywhere. Dads and grandads can show their offspring what real music was like, before the hip-hoppy-acid-bath-in-the-garage days!

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Ty Power