NEW RELEASE
MAC ARNOLD: Nothing to Prove , the documentary that follows bluesman, Mac Arnold
from the farm he tends back to the blues he left many years ago ... when he brought his unique
bass blues lick - which grew out of the mixture of SC Piedmont gospel, R&B, & country music and
the strings of a homemade gascan guitar - to the Muddy Waters Chicago Blues band in 1967, and
to work with legendary musicians John Lee Hooker, Tyrone Davis and the James Cotton Band.
- A film by Stan Woodward
DVD's of this Southern Blues Roots Folk Heritage Documentary are sold on this website
THIS IS THE FILMMAKER'S FINAL DOCUMENTERY THAT ENDS A LONG CAREER OF DOCUMENTARY WORK WITH HIS SIGNATURE HAND-HELD CAMERA STYLE THAT MADE POSSIBLE HIS "VOX POPULI" (" of the people") WAY OF STORYTELLING. WITH WORKS THAT ARE DISTINCTIVE WITH RESPECT TO CAPTURING A "FADING FEAST", AS SOKOLOV CALLS IT IN HIS BOOK BY THE SAME NAME, WE ARE BENEFITTED BY STAN WOODWARD'S CAPTURE
AND PRESERVATION OF FOLK HERITAGE COMMUNAL COOKING TRADITIONS WITH ANCESTRAL TIES THAT ARE
MAINTAINED BY "KEEPERS" - AND ARE SUCCOMBING TO A DIGITAL GENERATION WITH A NEWFOUND PRE-OCCUPATION WITH THINGS THAT RENDER THESE TRADITIONS VERY MUCH A THING OF THE PAST, AS THEY LINGER IN THE PRESENT. A MILD STROKE RESULTED IN STAN WOODWARD'S DEVELOPING AN UNSTEADY
HAND IN HIS HANDHELD CAMERA WORK AND OTHER WEAKNESSES THAT CAUSED HIM TO END HIS FILMMAKING. |
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