And This Is Free: The Life And Times Of Chicago's Legendary Maxwell St.

Description

During its heyday in the early to mid 20th Century Chicago's Maxwell Street market area represented one of the most fascinating chapters in American urban history. People congregated there in the thousands to shop for bargains in stores and on pushcarts, and for piles of second hand junk and cut-out goods. They went, too, for the endless entertainment of street musicians, amongst which were many of Chicago's blues greats, hucksters, rousing preachers, street entertainers, and much more, including the great hot dogs and Polish sausages. This multi-pac production captures the delightful atmosphere of Maxwell Street in its DVD and in the booklet and the great blues music in its CD. DVD: includes the classic 1964 documentary on Maxwell Street, "And This Is Free", an intimate slice of life portrait capturing all the characters and flavour of the market, and "Maxwell Street - A Living Memory", a captivating look at the area's early days at the start of the century. Other sections present beautiful early photos with narration documenting them, and early film footage, including the famous chicken man.Total running time 100 minutes. CD: features Maxwell Street blues fixtures. The 24 page, oversized booklet features you-are-there perspective from various writers who spent years delighting in Maxwell Street's endless panorama of entertainment. It also includes many beautiful period photos.