All You Need is Love (DVD series)
Artist: Tony Palmer
Label:  Voiceprint ( http://www.voiceprint.co.uk)
Time: 17 Episodes, ca. 53 minutes each
 
There may never have been a more definitive look at popular music than this series from the 1970s, inspired by John Lennon and directed by a man with stunning musical sensibilities.
 
After filming over 1,000 hours and interviewing hundreds of people, Tony Palmer has compiled seventeen episodes that look in detail at popular music from its African roots to the 1970s. Discs cover specific styles and also trace the developments from one genre to another. Topics start with ragtime, jazz and blues, progressing to such areas as rhythm & blues, musicals, country, blues, rock n' roll, folk, ‘sour rock,’ and glam rock. On the way he stops off for themes like protest songs.
 
Because Palmer made this in the ‘seventies, he was able to interview major players who are no longer with us. In these days of factory pop with stars cultivated for their novelty value and dropped after a couple of releases, when their most instant songs have been milked dry, it is remarkable that the big figures from his later episodes have gone on to even greater fame. 
 
Based on the review copies of Episodes 1 & 2, Palmer delights in both proper investigation and story-telling. The scope is far too wide to be able to do justice to the whole of popular music, but the stops he makes along the way certainly give a strong insight into the zeitgeist and if he can get a personal angle on a style, he will do, such as the compelling story of Scott Joplin as the personification of ragtime in episode 2.
 
Across the series there is plenty of exclusive footage – live as well as interviews – and Palmer brings out underlying themes in the journey as he traces the progress of entertainment. The theft of much black music is a case in point. 
 
Despite the research and content, the DVD presentation is quite soft and blurry, which appears to be the quality of transfer from 4:3 ratio original film to the NTSC format, which means losing the top and bottom strips. Some (with the benefit of hindsight) may also find Palmer’s personal views contentious. 
 
Given the era it was made, interviewees are given time to talk, rather than being wanted only for a proof-text soundbite. They include Stephen Sondheim, Benny Goodman, Bing Crosby, Sam Phillips, Dave Brubeck, Dizzy Gillespie, Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, Phil Spector, Bill Wyman, Paul McCartney, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimi Hendrix, Mike Oldfield, The Beach Boys and Eric Clapton. These are huge names – of which there are many more here – and sometimes seeing them off stage turns a famous name into a real person. This is where much of the education lies: following the whole story towards your own favourites takes you to the inside of other genres that you might otherwise have ignored.
 
Voiceprint offer a full 5-disc boxed set, but also the individual original programmes (and they are currently available up to the twelfth episode). All formats come without any extras, but each of the single episodes contains a bonus DVD that skims across the whole series for over fifty minutes. 
 
A monumental project like this is unlikely to ever be repeated, making this record a classic overview of music that has meant so much to so many. Despite the visual quality, it is full of engaging content. Everyone will learn something from this, and most music lovers should find it a thrill.
 
Derek Walker