The Dick Cavett Show: Rock Icons

The Dick Cavett Show: Rock Icons

Shout! Factory, $39.98

Despite hailing from Nebraska, Dick Cavett's sensibilities are far from Middle American. Running sporadically from 1969 through 1975, Cavett's late-night ABC talk show was a futile but fascinating attempt to woo the young, progressive set from Johnny Carson's camp. Part of that formula was booking rock acts and giving them more than just a song. This 3-DVD set compiles nine Cavett shows, starting with 1969's post-Woodstock show starring Jefferson Airplane, Joni Mitchell, David Crosby, and Stephen Stills. Crosby still has fresh mud on his pants, and the Airplane somehow avoids the bleep when singing "Up against the wall, motherfuckers!" during "We Can Be Together." Everyone conveys a sense of having borne witness to history, even though their vacuum-sealed impressions are less than 24 hours old. When Sly & the Family Stone appeared in 1970, Cavett's obtuse line of questioning and Stone's passive-aggressive torpor result in a cringe-worthy interview that spirals into total absurdity when Sen. and Mrs. Fred Harris throw their earnest advocacy of Native American rights into the conversational mix. In addition to soul-baring renditions of "Get It While You Can" and "My Baby," the three Janis Joplin episodes highlight her quick wit – a refreshing contrast to the Southern Comfort caricature her legacy often gets reduced to. Joplin holds her own in discussing issues of the day with Chet Huntley and isn't afraid to let buxom Raquel Welch know Myra Breckenridge wasn't that important after all. David Bowie is disconcertingly skittish in his 1975 appearance, but hearing his fresh take on "Young Americans" makes up for that. While the infamous Cavett show with John Lennon and Yoko Ono is inexplicably absent, an elongated 1971 interview with George Harrison captures shades of immediate post-Beatles resentment along with plenty of side-splittingly droll humor. Americans don't make talk shows like this anymore.