if anyone has bought the Soul Train DVDs yet,

**Cory Ander** · March 11th, 2010, 02:16 PM

I'd like to know if they contain only the musical performances or also the dance sequences, scramble board, interviews, et al. I couldn't tell from the descriptions online. Thanks. 3/11/2010

**Bernie** · March 12th, 2010, 09:58 AM

It hasn't been released yet as they are still offering an early bird pre-release sale offer. Will be great to hear what it contains once its shipping.

**Cory Ander** · March 12th, 2010, 01:36 PM

I'll be interested if they're complete shows and not just the musical performances, since most of the musical "performances" were lip synched. But the show brings up great childhood memories for me.....I'm also very curious why the producers were so protective and seemed to resist releasing the shows on DVD until now. I seem to remember reading somewhere that people who posted performances from the show on You Tube got some kind of "cease and desist" letters for doing that just like the people who posted Prince videos did. 3/12/2010

**BrunoRepublic** · March 12th, 2010, 02:31 PM

Originally Written by Cory Ander

I'm also very curious why the producers were so protective and seemed to resist releasing the shows on DVD until now.

If it were easy to do and potentially profitable, it would've been done already.

My guess is that it's because it is potentially a massive legal/publishing nightmare for a product they figured would have relatively little commercial appeal. Depending on how the original contracts were signed, they might have to go back to the rights-owners of all the material, and renegotiate permission and royalties for every single song that was ever performed on the show.

I suspect what we'll get are "highlights", where they put out the stuff that was easiest to license.

**boogienights** · March 13th, 2010, 06:49 AM

Actually I was looking at the Time life page on it and thinking...whilst some of these are great tracks and performers, I was kinda hoping for the disco era on one or two discs, not lumped together. The stuff I want is from 77 to 81 really. Would be interested to hear more about this.

**Discomanic** · March 14th, 2010, 12:59 PM

Unfortunately, these DVDs doesn't contain the full shows. Time-Life has sort of called them The Best Of just like they did with the Midnight Special DVDs.

**Cory Ander** · March 15th, 2010, 08:55 PM

Originally Written by Discomanic

Unfortunately, these DVDs doesn't contain the full shows. Time-Life has sort of called them The Best Of just like they did with the Midnight Special DVDs.

thanks. It seems really strange though, that after hesitating for so long, the DVDs won't contain the complete shows. I would have loved to have seen them without annoying commercial interruptions, and now I wish I'd just recorded the shows onto VHS tapes a few years ago when a "retro" TV station in my area was re-running them. I'll bet a lot of the dancers who appeared on the show would have preferred complete shows also. Think I'll pass on buying them for now unless I see them at a decent price. By the way, my voiceover instructor appeared on the show as a singer, but I'm not sure he'd want me to reveal any more info here. 3/15/2010

**Discomanic** · March 16th, 2010, 06:25 AM

Cory:
I don't know if you have Centric TV available in your area but they are showing some classic Soul Train episodes. Centric TV is the old BET J. They've already shown a few Soul Trains basically the ones that were shown as The Best Of Soul Train before Don C. sold them.