I haven't seen 'An American band' and I want to get it, but would like to know is it good viewing?
I've trawled ebay but want to find out which of the version is the proper unedited version, is it the one which is on the DVD with 'I just wasn't made for these times'?
Also does anyone know if there is a region 2 (UK) version of it, because my DVD player is a bit crap and won't play any others!
If you want "An American Band" on DVD, the only version I know of is the DVD that features both "An American Band" and "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times." This DVD uses the full-length version of "An American Band." There were a few different versions previously available on VHS, and I think the "Anniversary" version was the shorter. But if you get the "double feature" DVD, you should have the full length version. I don't know if there is a Region 2 version of that DVD, though.
As for the question of whether "An American Band" is good viewing, that is debatable. If you're a big Beach Boys fan, though, the documentary is worth it simply for the musical audio and video bits that aren't available elsewhere. Most of the musical footage is all chopped up with all sorts of tricky audio and video editing going on (for instance, while most of the live 1983 footage shown near the end is from the 7/4 Atlantic City show, the close-up footage of a raspy Dennis talking and trying to sing is actually from a show later, I believe in August of 1983 in Costa Mesa. Many writings and articles I've read have referred to this footage of Dennis as having taken place at that Atlantic City show.) The documentary aspect of the whole thing is rather shaky. You never hear one mention of David Marks, Blondie Chaplin, Ricky Fataar, Bruce Johnston's 1972-78 departure from the band, and a billion other important things. Brian's circa 1976 comeback is sort of lumped in with his second circa 1983 comeback. And forget about coverage of individual albums other than "Pet Sounds" and "Smile."
Also, hunks of footage are lifted from the 1976 "It's OK" TV special, but sometimes a bit out of context, or really without any context at all. (I think that bit with Carl trying to buy a car is from that special, but maybe somebody else can answer this: did that bit originally air or is it an outtake? I don't recall seeing that either on my murky VHS copy or the official European DVD release.) All of the BB's except Brian apparently participated in the documentary to some degree, resulting in rather embarrassing (either in their scripted nature or just pure cheesiness) narration bits from Al, Bruce, Mike, and Carl. Without "new" Brian interview footage, they rely mostly on 1976 "bed interview" footage from the "It's OK" special.
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