If, like myself, you're a nostalgic middle-ager who wants to remember what the best in mid-60's pop was like for a couple hours, or, if you're under forty or so and want to know why it was so great, Phil Spector's "Big T.N.T. Show" is the one to watch.
Taped in concert at the Hollywood Palace and hosted by then-TV teen idol David McCallum ("The Man from U.N.C.L.E."), this show is so crammed with highlights it's hard to know where to begin. There's Ray Charles rockin' the house with the ultimate "Wha'd I Say," dynamite extended sets from the Byrds and Roger Miller; Donovan at his most pseudo-psychodelic (Check out the all-but-incomprehensible intro he gives to Joan Baez), Petula Clark taking us downtown, Baez singing "There But for Fortune" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," the latter with Phil Spector at the piano, Bo Diddley knockin' 'em out as only he could. The mind reels.
But this is a film better seen than described. Unfortunately, it's unavailable on video, so catch it the next time it's on AMC. You'll be glad you did. This film, along with "Woodstock" and "The T.A.M.I. Show," form the great film trilogy of 1960's pop/rock.