DVD: The Who - Kilburn 1977

Label: Image Entertainment

Released: November 18, 2008

I've always known that the Beatles are rock's greatest band. There's no denying it. But I do have to wonder why I question that every time I listen to the Who. I think it's because the Beatles made rock music what it is, but the Who actually embodied it like no one else. (The Clash is probably the only band that I think of in the same way). The two shows on this DVD are a lot like hearing that stutter in "My Generation" or the huge guitar of "Baba O'Reilly" for the first time. It's just great rock n roll in its purest, most deliberate form.

By the time of the Kilburn show, the Who had an incredible catalog with which to build a great show. By the time they've amassed this kind of material, most bands have been at it too long and lost too much of their hunger to deliver on their own greatness, but nothing could be further from the truth about the Who. They come off a year-long hiatus and yet, other than the recording quality, they sound like they'd spent that year pounding out these songs in a garage, not relaxing on the fruits of their labors. "My Generation" gets reworked, but everything here feels as fresh and new just on the electricity alone. Interestingly enough, this came the same year punk exploded and I can't help thinking that punk may not have been necessary had other bands been playing it like the Who, with wild, reckless abandon and the heart of kids. I know, that's two bold statements in one review, but I don't make them lightly.

You'll watch the Kilburn show and think, "Man, this is one of rock's greatest bands at the peak of their power!" Then, throw in disc two and wonder, "How could they have been at their peak in 1969 also?" The answer is simple though. The Who never lost their sense of what their music was about and who it was for. They just stayed that good. Neither the video nor the audio for the earlier show is as good as it was eight years later for the Kilburn show, but somehow it gives an even better sense of how loud the world's loudest band was. You could turn the volume down to a whisper and there's still a very tangible sense that it's just LOUD.

Who is rock's greatest band? It might be almost unfair to answer right after watching this one.

Rating: 10/10 (only because I can't give it 11!)

If you're curious about my rating categories, read the description.

DVD: Smashing Pumpkins - If All Goes Wrong

Label: Coming Home Media

Released: November 11, 2008

In June of 2007, the reunited Smashing Pumpkins (or Billy Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlain and some new members) decided to forgo a US tour and instead do two residencies, one in Asheville, NC and the other at the vaunted Fillmore in San Francisco. This was, as Jimmy Chamberlain said in the documentary portion of If All Goes Wrong, "art for art's sake," finding the band putting the present ahead of their celebrated past.

The live portion of the DVD is captured from the Fillmore shows. A full third of the songs are previously unreleased and includes none of their big hits from their commercial prime. The performance is a successful meeting between studio perfection and live connection. It is clean, yet intense and emotional. Most importantly, it is not capitalizing (and cashing in) on the past. This is what they're doing right now, not an attempt to pick up where they left off.

The documentary gives an unusually deep look into what went into these shows. Corgan is at times as pretentious as expected, but more often, he's down to earth and even amusing, so this is a look into a side of him that his music hadn't really revealed before. There is a certain disparate nature to these shows that becomes more apparent in the documentary. On one hand, there is a sense of serendipity, embodied by a Corgan associate's comment that "Billy is about chance" when discussing the selection of the Asheville location. The shows were clearly not intended to be a money-making venture (at least not directly) and they do find the band taking chances. On the other hand, the cost of the production, rather than its artistic value, is at times used as justification for Corgan's high expectations. Just as it successfully walks the line between sound quality and live emotion, it also seems to find success navigating the waters between its artistic and business faces.

Oddly enough, this set is better fitted to someone who enjoys artistic exploration regardless of their feelings about Smashing Pumpkins than it is to "fans." Those who remember enjoying their slacker anthems back in the mid-90s will be as sorely disappointed with this DVD as I suspect Corgan and company would be with such nostalgia. The material here may not be their very best work (nor their worst), but it definitely shows that Smashing Pumpkins are not willing to rest on their laurels and be satisfied cashing in on something they did at a different time. As Chamberlain says, "What's comfortable about art? It's not supposed to be comfortable." Perhaps those words best sum up this set. It ended up being something I respected more than I enjoyed.

Rating: 8/10

DVD: Vans Warped Tour '07

Label: Image Entertainment

Released: December 2, 2008

For years, the Warped Tour has managed to find a healthy balance between DIY punk ethics and corporate involvement. Granted, the corporate presence has increased quite a bit over the last decade, but Kevin Lyman and company still put on a great show while keeping tickets and merchandise cheap and leaving at least some of the barriers down between bands and fans.

This DVD from the 2007 tour also finds a happy medium between punk and professional. The sound quality and editing is anything but amateur. On the other hand, the camera angles have more of a by-the-seat-of-the-pants quality, with many shots from the crowd perspective and of the crowd itself. With everything from the old school punk of Bad Religion and Pennywise to the emo/screamo of Chiodos to the funk and reggae of Fishbone, the DVD contains performances that capture both the energy and eclecticism of the Warped Tour. The one big fault here is the absence of one of the coolest things about the Warped Tour, the smaller, little known bands. The interview portion is mildly insightful at best, but may be worth sifting through for a few words from some favorites.

For the most part, this is as good a representation of the Warped Tour as you can get without going. However, just a song from each band (and no summer sun) isn't enough to get the real feel. The Vans Warped Tour '07 DVD isn't for anyone who wouldn't typically attend the tour (obviously), but it's a decent artifact if the Warped Tour is up your alley.

Rating: 6/10

If you're curious about my rating categories, read the description.

DVD: Punk's Not Dead

Label: MVD

Released: July 8, 2008

Most documentaries are just visual histories of a band or a scene. The trouble is that they take a scientific approach with a hypothesis that they attempt to prove over the course of the film. But punk is a human story and one that, at its best, has dictated its own future. Punk's Not Dead lets the story tell itself, no judgments, no science.

It follows punk from the Ramones through the Pistols and Clash, on to Black Flag and Minor Threat. It picks up the punk revival of the late 80s and early 90s and its subsequent commercial breakthrough via Green Day up through the corporate-sponsored Warped Tour. The interviews include a few big names like Rollins, MacKaye, Biafra and Armstrong, but dig deeper as well into the Charlie Harpers and Jimmie Purseys, right down to the kids who make their own scenes happen (with whole sequences on little sub-scenes like Drunk Tank House as well as bits sent in from kids around the world).

Punk's Not Dead succeeds largely because it gets it. It doesn't take an outsider's view or have that old "back in the day" condescension, but instead focuses on the ever-changing and evolving state of the punk scene and how it has managed to be an alternative for thousands of kids even after it was co-opted by mainstream culture.

Rating: 8/10

DVD: James Brown - I Got the Feeling: James Brown in the 60s

Label: Shout Factory

Released: August 5, 2008

There is little doubt that James Brown is an iconic figure in American music. From "Please, Please, Please" to "Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)," Brown has found a way to resonate not only within the Black community, but also in a broader America. As Al Sharpton says in The Night James Brown Saved Boston, the first of three DVDs in this set, "James Brown made mainstream cross over to Black." Like James Brown, so too did the Civil Rights movement crossover so that today we all reap its benefits.

When you watch The Night James Brown Saved Boston, you will see how one man in one moment made all the difference. There is nothing I can write to prepare you for the power of that moment. The whole documentary, over an hour long, focuses on that moment, but also puts it into the context of the America that led up to it, what happened in other cities that didn't have such a moment or such a man and what followed. It shows how a man changed a moment, how that moment changed the man and how the man went on to change people.

As if the documentary isn't enough, the entire concert is included on the Live at the Boston Garden, April 5, 1968 disc. Unlike the documentary, this shows in detail just why James Brown could make a difference: not because he was a profound thinker or a gifted speaker, but because he connected with people on an emotional level. When he asked "Can't I get respect from my own people?" they listened, because they were his people, not because of race, but because of what they shared in his music.

If you still haven't had enough of Soul Brother No. 1, Brown's March 1968 appearance at the Apollo (which also found its way to television as James Brown: Man to Man) is also part of package. While it lacks the historical urgency of the Boston Garden show, it does demonstrate that James Brown didn't need to be in the midst of one of the 20th Century's most poignant moments to raise his intensity to a fever pitch. While it doesn't quite measure up to the Boston Garden show, it's better recorded and better filmed. Among its best moments, one wasn't even musical. When James Brown discusses his vision for Black America, it's clear why he held such sway over the crowd in Boston only a month later and therefore ties the entire package together.

Does anyone question that James Brown was the most intense performer of all-time? If so, they haven't seen these shows. Call him what you want, Mr. Please Please Please, Soul Brother No. 1, Godfather of Soul, but the bottom line is the man performed with an energy, urgency and intensity that puts everyone else to shame.

Rating: 10/10

DVD: Joy Division

Label: Miriam Collection

Released: June 17, 2008

This documentary was clearly released in tandem with Control and, while that was surely a good move commercially, it makes it difficult to get as involved in this versus Anton Corbijn's brilliant dramatization. Of course, the two aren't quite the same, Control being the story of Ian Curtis and Joy Division the story of the band itself. Nevertheless, this documentary has a hard time getting out of the shadows of Control.

Director Grant Gee tries to draw parallels between the band and the city of Manchester, focusing on the city's and the band's rise and fall as well as all the landmarks for each that are no longer there. It's a clever idea, but it seems to get lost at times and never flows smoothly.

Clever conventions aside, the film does a good job of telling Joy Division's story. The bulk of the interviews are with surviving band members Peter Hook, Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris as well as Factory Records founder Tony Wilson and Curtis' girlfriend Annik Honoré, but it also got insights from those outside of the inner circle such as the Buzzcocks' Pete Shelley and other contemporaries. Oddly enough, all contributions for Deborah Curtis are quotes on the screen and not filmed interviews (a convention understandably used also for the late Rob Gretton).

Joy Division deals more with the band than with Curtis' personal life and therefore sheds a kinder light upon him. While I'm not sure he should get a pass, there is more to the story than his personal problems and they did a very good job of dealing only with those parts that directly affected the band.

Overall, this is a good rock documentary. It's intelligent and clever, but offers no truly great insight into Joy Division. As Peter Hook says in the film, they were four guys who had no idea what they were doing...unless Ian did and we'll never know. It's certainly not as riveting as Control, but this one is about music more than people and that is both its strength and its weakness.

Rating: 6/10

DVD: Control

Label: The Miriam Collection

Released: June 3, 2008

As a long time Joy Division fan, I was very interested in Control. Ian Curtis is one of those enigmatic, sad characters whose mystery was deepened by an early demise. Because the film was based on his wife's memoir, I hoped it would provide insight into why Curtis burned so brightly and briefly, changing the face of rock music without even having the time to know that he had. Control proved to be all that I hoped...and then some.

As a film, it is nothing short of brilliant. Filmed entirely in black & white, the sharp shadows and stark scenes reflect both Joy Division's music and the suburb of Manchester from which they hailed (or at least Curtis' view of it). The depth of field is kept narrow throughout, reinforcing both the hollowness and the humanity of the story. There is an understated richness to Control's minimalism that mirrors Joy Division's music. The cinematography alone makes the film worthwhile, easing even those not familiar with Joy Division into the story. The dialog and acting is never gratuitous, allowing the drama of the story itself to find full fruition. Anton Corbijn has made a film that transcends the "rock movie" genre. Control stands on its own.

The fact that it is based on Debbie Curtis' story certainly raises some questions about the validity of the film's conclusions. The fact that this story doesn't vilify Ian Curtis though, should dispel those doubts. That's not to say that Curtis isn't a villain, just that the facts play that out more than Debbie Curtis' telling of them. The fact is that he abandoned his wife and child for a rock band and a girlfriend. Did he really come home, look down at his smiling daughter and just walk away? Maybe not, but that at worst is a bit of dramatic license that illustrates what he really did. Ian Curtis made one fatal mistake: He thought life should imitate art, not the other way around. He paid for that with his life and Debbie and Natalie paid for it with their husband and father. Annick, Curtis' girlfriend, paid for it with her 15 minutes of fame.

Having spent years with Joy Division, the movie may have ended my days with their music. My "Love Will Tear Us Apart" subway poster may never go back up on my wall. The movie is that good. The music is still amazing, but now I see that the human cost was just too great.

Rating: 10/10

DVD: The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder: John, Paul, Tom & Ringo

Label: Shout! Factory

Released: April 1, 2008

I've had a bit of a stormy relationship with John Lennon, not that it would matter to John. His greatest public achievement was the band that made rock n roll matter and mine is...well...this website. Besides, John was dead by the time my relationship with him began. I was nine (almost 10) when John was shot. I remember it in the news, but mine was not a musical household and I really wasn't interested in much other than Kiss. However, throughout my teenage years, the Beatles (and John in particular) became increasingly important, transcending my journey from pop to metal to punk. I've never been one for idol worship...except John. He is the only celebrity I've ever wished I could meet. Through those years, I made excuses for John's treatment of Cynthia and Julian. I made excuses for his excesses, for his "Lost Weekend" and for his grandstanding as an "activist" (what did the Bed In do for peace anyway?).

Later, I became increasingly disenchanted with John Lennon. I put more weight on the rotten man that I suspected he really was and less on the public persona under whose spell I'd fallen. The Beatles remain to this day my favorite band and Lennon is the biggest difference between their work and the sappy nonsense that has made up so much of McCartney's career. Still, I believe I'd rather live without all of that if it had meant that one particular kid had had an actual father rather than a sperm donor who claimed his son had come from a whiskey bottle.

All that being said, the truth probably falls somewhere in between the two very different John Lennon's I had built in my head and Tom Snyder's interview with Lennon shows that. John is hardly at his wittiest, but he seems to be as frank and honest as he was capable of being. It's no wonder the interview was replayed, by overwhelming request, just after his death. Unlike other interviews where John is more clever or scathing or jovial, this is an intimate self-portrait at a time when he was regaining control over himself. The additional interviews with Lennon insiders about his passing also give a glimpse into what may have been the true John Lennon.

What wasn't clear to me when I was 9 was that John Lennon's death had a big impact on people. I knew this in reading about it later, but these interviews with John and with his friends just after his death bring a clarity that escapes historical knowledge. None of this completely changed my opinion of John Lennon. I still think I'm a lot closer than all the people who think "Imagine" is a great mantra for peace, but it does show that I am now, just as I was before, only judging part of the man. The strength of Snyder's interview is that it neither glorifies nor disparages John Lennon. It just shows him as he is.

The second disc contains interviews with Paul and Linda McCartney and Ringo Starr that are less exciting than being in a coma.

Rating: 6/10

DVD: Kurt Cobain - About a Son

Label: Shout Factory

Released: February 19, 2008

It's hard to ask someone to talk about themselves over an extended set of interviews and not seem self-absorbed. For Cobain, it would probably be impossible to ask that over a twenty minute sit-down let alone something this extensive. Cobain comes across as a whiner, whether he's crying about his childhood, his health issues or his fame. It makes it clear why he struggled so much with fame. It was so counter to all that he wanted to believe in. And it was counter to who we wanted him to be. He says that punk rock fed his low self-esteem, because punk didn't expect him to be a rock star. Things sure did change.

The interviews aren't what makes this film special though. About a Son recognizes that the story is about more than Kurt Cobain. Other than a few old stills scattered throughout, there isn't a picture or a video of Kurt or Nirvana. Instead, it focuses on places and the everyday people in those places. We've all seen live footage of Nirvana at all phases of their career, but here we get to see what Aberdeen and Olympia and Seattle were really like. There are no Nirvana songs here either. Instead, it's filled with the music that was part of the environment that made Kurt and everyone in that scene who they were as people and artists. That music is filled in with scoring by Ben Gibbard (a master of both mood and simple honesty) and Steve Fisk.

About a Son takes a common though extensive set of interviews and turns them into a work of art all their own. This tells more than Kurt's story. It tells the story of the towns, the scenes and all of us in the process. I've often wondered, "Why Nirvana? Why were they the voice of the musical revolution? Of a generation?" I don't know if there will ever be a good answer to that, but this film at least gives some insight by reflecting not Cobain's image back, but that of the people and the times.

Rating: 10/10

DVD: Tad - Busted Circuits and Ringing Ears

Label: MVD Entertainment

Released: February 19, 2008

Tad is the forgotten band of Seattle's grunge explosion, but there is a case to be made for them being among the scene's most important artists. In Busted Circuits and Ringing Ears, it is said that in 1989 "Yeah, I'm friends with Kurt," meant Tad bassist Kurt Danielson, not Cobain. They were perhaps the loudest and rawest of the bunch, giving even Mudhoney a run for their money, and their influence was felt throughout the tight-knit musical community. This film, chock full of interviews with everyone from the band members themselves to Jack Endino, Butch Vig, Bruce Pavitt, Jonathan Poneman and Charles Peterson, plus live footage and stills from the time, is really everything a rock documentary should be. It captures both the facts and feel of Tad's story.

Everything is covered, from Tad's first 7" (on which Tad Doyle himself played everything) and their European tour with Nirvana (where Tad was often the bigger attraction of the two) to their difficulty with MTV over the "Wood Goblins" video (MTV said it was "too ugly") and the legal and label troubles that plagued them each time they seemed on the verge of commercial success. Despite the difficulties, they came away with quite a few great stories including trouble with a Bill Clinton poster promoting their Inhaler tour and the lawsuit filed by the embarrassed parties over their 8 Way Santa cover.

All of this is set within the changing Seattle scene as grunge took off and in some ways left these favorite sons behind despite having left their mark on all of their friends who made it to the top. Best of all though, the film shows the real people behind the band. They deal frankly with their setbacks (including the role their own excesses played in their troubles). For a band that was on the outer limits of crazy, there's a surprisingly down to earth story behind it all. At the end of the film, Kurt and Tad get together after seven years. It's not a poignant moment after some bitter estrangement, just two friends happy to see each other and have a Sprite.

Rating: 8/10

Myspace

DVD: Inside the Smiths

Label: MVD Entertainment Group

Released: January 22, 2008

This is the story of the Smiths through the eyes of Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke. Who you ask? The guys who sued Morrissey and Johnny Marr a few years back. Oh yeah, they were also the rhythm section of the Smiths. Under the circumstances, I expected Inside the Smiths to a bitter, one-sided history that mars the story of one of rock's great bands, but that's not what I found. Instead, Joyce and Rourke seem only interested in telling their story, not in badmouthing their former, richer bandmates.

The film, made up of a series of interviews interspersed with music, old photos and film clips, portrays a very human side of the story from the Smiths' roots in Rourke and Marr's friendship all the way through the break-up, with only minor mention of the lawsuit. It touches on the odd set of influences that came together in the band (Buzzcocks, Neil Young, Rory Gallagher), the making of the records, the drug problems and the differences even about when to call it quits. While the subsequent lawsuit would make it seem like the band was divided two against two, it really seems that Morrissey was the one out there on his own much of the time. As Mike Joyce says, Morrissey didn't want to live in his world and he didn't want to live in Morrissey's, but that tension was positive. Joyce and Rourke make no secret about the dominance of Morrissey and Marr, yet they don't express this with bitterness or anger. In fact, at one point Rourke even expresses a desire to mend his relationship with his old friend Marr. When he and Joyce speak of Morrissey, it is frank, but not disparaging even when Joyce in particular recalled times when he was most annoyed with the singer. Rourke deals very openly with his drug problems, making no excuses and even having a laugh about it with Peter Hook. Their story brings a human angle to the moment when Johnny Marr left and to the ensuing confusion of trying to carry on.

The film is, of course, incomplete for lack of input form half of the Smiths. However, it does a lot with the half that it has and certainly tells the lesser known side of the story. It has a very conversational and intimate approach that makes Joyce and Rourke seem very accessible and human. While I doubt Joyce when he says it was a "great friendship" until they broke up, I do recognize that the statement comes from a hopefulness that pervades this film as opposed to a dishonesty that's happily absent.

Rating: 8/10

DVD: Nirvana - Unplugged in New York

Label: Geffen Records

Released: November 20, 2007

I have long felt that Nirvana is grossly overrated. Bleach was a good grunge album and Nevermind managed to both transcend the genre and be in the right place at the right time, exploding into the faltering world of commercial rock. Even so, it's more commercially important than musically. In Utero, however, is one of the two "Emperor's New Clothes" of 90s rock (the other being U2's Zooropa). After all, who wants to admit that they don't get it? Well, I get it...all too well. It's the bloated ramblings of someone selling their punk rock soul for self-importance. Sure, I'll give Cobain credit for not just spitting out another Nevermind, but it would have been nice if he hadn't believed the hype about his genius, because if In Utero proves anything, it's that Cobain is no genius. His death cemented the album's inflated legacy and protected it from ever being reconsidered outside of the euphoria of having mainstream rock finally say something other than "let's party." To me though, Nirvana was a dead end street at this point, a one trick pony who couldn't learn something new, but was too . Nothing anyone has written or said has ever made me reconsider this. Giving In Utero countless second chances hasn't either. But one thing has: Nirvana's Unplugged in New York.

For such a good idea, MTV's Unplugged had been a spotty affair. There were some great ones to be sure, but most were mediocre reworkings of hts and covers. So, when the broadcast of Nirvana's Unplugged session was on the horizon, recorded just a short time after the release of the, to me, very disappointing In Utero, I wasn't exactly jumping up and down. All of that changed when I saw it. Kurt Cobain's struggles with fame were absent. He seemed comfortable in his now famous skin for the first (and perhaps only) time. The band's ability to translate their loud, abrasive music into this more refined environment and be more powerful speaks volumes about them. Even the three songs they perform from In Utero have that power. The guest appearance by the Meat Puppets doesn't stink of rock snobbery. Instead, it's a natural collaboration that likely would have failed (much like the Meat Puppets' next album) had it appeared on a regular studio album. They didn't play all the big hits. It was intimate. Quite simply, Unplugged in New York was the creative pinnacle of both MTV's and Nirvana's existences. It all went down hill from there.

The original MTV broadcast is on here, but the main feature is the full concert as those lucky enough to be there saw it. The MTV News: Bare Witness feature has some interesting moments, but is largely full of stupid memories colored by years of Cobain worship following his death. The rehearsals show a bit more of the band's personality, a nice bonus, but are certainly not essential. While the bonus material isn't great, it doesn't have to be, because the main feature is still amazing, even for those who, like me, aren't caught up in the cult of Nirvana.

Rating: 10/10

DVD: Iron Maiden - Live After Death

Label: Universal Music

Released: February 5, 2008

The fact that this DVD flat out rules is no surprise. Iron Maiden is one of metal's most technical and most literate bands and, as if that's not enough, they're a blast live. Other than a few foggy Spinal Tap-esque moments during the epic "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," Maiden never comes across as self-indulgent. Their stage, with all its Egyptian props and its huge, animated Eddie, is quite a spectacle, yet it never (even in those few clichéed moments) overwhelms the music. Bruce Dickinson, already one of the genre's top vocalists, is also an incredibly dynamic performer. He's everywhere, never stopping. Nicko McBrain is more exciting live than on record and Dave Murray and Adrian Smith put all the technical skill they have in the studio on display. And all of them pale next to Steve Harris. He is not only metal's best bassist, but one rock's best as well and he does it without being flashy. Any questions about Harris' skill are answered right here. In some shots, his fingers are moving too fast for the human eye. Literally. He's just that good and like Dickinson, he's wonderfully engaging on stage.

Unlike the superficial content of so many of their peers, Maiden has always been able to translate a good command of literature and history into great rock n roll. This is never more evident than in Dickinson's gratuitous drug reference of the night. Any other band would just ask the crowd if they liked beer or pot, but Dickinson's pot reference involved stories about Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Queen Victoria! Even when he's being stupid, he's smart.

It's no surprise that this film has held up well over the last 23 years. Iron Maiden was so unique and so few bands have even come close to matching them that they're still fresh today. And Live After Death is one of the great concert films of all time, catching a truly great band in their prime. Why, oh why didn't I catch them live back then? The DVD isn't a substitute for being there, but as consolation prizes go, it's nothing short of awesome.

In addition to the original concert that was released on VHS in 1985, this DVD re-issue comes with a second disc which includes videos, stills, live footage and two short documentaries. As if disc 1 wasn't enough, the bonus material isn't just the regular third-rate add-ons. The footage from their trip to Poland is particularly interesting. It was a bold move by a bold band and those young Polish rock fans of 1985 probably have an appreciation for Maiden that none of us can even understand.

Rating: 10/10

Website

DVD: Flipper - Live Target Video 1980-81

Label: MVD Entertainment Group

Released: February 19, 2008

Flipper is one of those bands that no one really likes for the music. It's poorly constructed, disjointed and generally just a big mess. Nonetheless, they have fans, even 21 years after the death of singer Will Shatter and a spotty catalog at best since that time. The question then is, "Why?" The noisy, atonal confusion of their set at Berkeley Square in 1980 isn't nearly as inspired as I expected. Nor does it rise to the level of mayhem that I expected from a band that doesn't seem to do anything in a conventional manner. Even in the studio, there are hints of insanity that I hoped would be exponentially greater live and they weren't. It was perhaps mildly crazy and aside from crowd participation on "The Wheel," the whole thing was just plain dull.

The Kezar Stadium show from 1981 is more organized (though you could never call it tight). While it still lacks the madness I expected from Flipper, they do have a rather ominous presence in contrast to the silliness of the Berkeley Square gig. Even a better show doesn't quite get this over the hump of watchability though. Flipper remains an esoteric experience that likely requires being in the mood even for their biggest fans. Spending 71 minutes watching two concerts that are difficult to make sense of even in their best moments is a chore. As an historical document, the DVD does provide some additional evidence of just how wide open punk still was in San Francisco in the very early 80s, but it fails to really convey what I felt like. I guess you had to be there.

Rating: 5/10

DVD: Yes - Their Definitive Fully Authorized Story

Label: Image Entertainment

Released: January 15, 2007

I'm a fan of Yes. I understand that they have serious flaws from Jon Anderson's esoteric, eastern-philosophy-lite lyrics to their frequent substitution of calculation for emotion, but somehow, they manage to get away with it in my book.

Like Yes' better moments, this DVD often finds itself short on thrills, but long on quality nonetheless. The biggest problem is that the whole thing is 95% interviews. There is very, very little live footage and only slightly more vintage images. While that makes it rather dull and difficult to connect to the music (isn't the music the point?), there is still value here. Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Peter Banks, Steve Howe, Bill Bruford and Alan White as well as managers, journalists and other insiders all share their point of view quite honestly. They deal frankly with firings, members quitting and the pressures of the business end of music. You also get to see Steve Howe looking like a mad scientist these days and that's kinda cool.

The second disc provides more interviews (probably overkill after the 204 minutes of disc 1) and three music videos. "Owner of a Lonely Heart," while perhaps not a true Yes song to prog purists, is a classic video, but the "Wonderous Stories" video doesn't add much value. "Tempus Fugit" is a strange inclusion, because there is a camp for classic Yes line-ups and another for the Trevor Rabin era, I doubt there's anyone who runs to the defense of Drama. Disc 2 also includes a still photo gallery, but I for one have never found the galleries on DVDs to all that interesting and this one is no different.

Yes - Their Definitive Fully Authorized Story is interesting, but that hardly qualifies it as a great rock film. For the die hard Yes fan, there is plenty of good information, but it might be more enjoyable to get your old Yes album out and listen while you watch, because there's just too little music here. If you're a casual Yes fan, there's just not a lot here.

Rating: 5/10

DVD: Blackmore's Night - Paris Moon

Label: Steamhammer

Released: November 6, 2007

At its very best, this DVD hints at Spinal Tap's "Stonehenge." Of course, that's the last thing Blackmore and company were going for, because they actually take this stuff seriously. Sure, he could get away with this kind of fantasy crap when Ronnie James Dio sang with him, but Candice Night is no Dio and the music makes breeze rock look like speedmetal. Night comes out looking like a young Stevie Nicks, but her sappy demeanor coupled with the dull, overwrought songs quickly dispels that illusion. Night isn't a strong singer by a long shot and while the others seem to be entirely competent players, they are no more interesting. I think Blackmore's Night would like us to believe that they've wedded renaissance music with rock, but if that is in fact their goal, they're sorely lacking on the rock end of that marriage. This makes pretentious nonsense like the Trans Siberian Orchestra look like real rock n roll. I guess I should have seen it coming when the package looked like the Lord of the Rings special edition DVDs!

Rating: 2/10

Just as a funny aside, Candice Night made an appearance at the Spoutwood Farm Fairie Festival in 2007. I've taken my kids to this thing and it's basically like a Star Trek convention for fairie fanatics. Yep, people over the age of 10 dressed like fairies and wizards and trees and other goofy stuff. If that's your thing, fine, but it certainly doesn't bode well for good rock n roll. Here's a silly video from the festival. Ms. Night makes an appearence about 3:15 into it.



Oh, one more thing. If someone would like a copy, I have one to give away. Contact me (there's a link in the menu to the left) if you're interested. First come, first served.

DVD: Kiss - Kissology Vol 3 1992-2000

Label: VH1 Classic Records

Released: December 18, 2007

Frankly, I expected the third volume of the Kissology to be the least essential. While the Revenge tour material was likely to be decent and the Unplugged reunion with Ace and Peter shouldn't be missed, the rest followed them through their years of touring with the make-up back on and the stage show back in all its supposed splendor in what can only be explained as an attempt to milk both their first generation fans for another go around as well as a new brood of mesmerized adolescents. I mean didn't they bring back Eric Singer at one point and have him put on the cat costume?

So, my hopes were low, but I had forgotten how exciting the Unplugged performance was and how that electricity extended into the initial reunion tour in 1996. Whether it was a money-grubbing scheme or not, they did bring their best and those performances show it, particularly the MTV VMA awards show under the Brooklyn Bridge. Disc three shows them at their worst (at least since the Elder) as everyone but Paul seems to be going through more of an ordeal than a good time. To Paul's credit, despite Kiss' numerous blatant money-making ploys, he seems to have always tried to adhere to the old Motown model of making a fortune by making the best product possible. However, his audience had become nostalgic middle-aged guys, evidenced by the crowd shots (did you see that goofball with his one sleeve rolled up to show off his the Kiss Army tattoo?) and that almost never produces good rock n roll.

Disc four was a nice surprise. It's Kiss' earliest filmed performance from December 1973. Why wasn't it included on Vol. 1? In typical Kiss fashion, they're more concerned with presentation than anything else and it was felt that the footage was too raw to kick the project off. It ended up being a good decision. Kiss, love them or hate them, had a long, successful run and it would be sad to see it end with a farewell tour where their hearts weren't entirely in it (once again with the exception of Paul). After the waning energy of the Farewell Tour show from 2000 which shows them as innocuous as apple pie (though not nearly as good), it's nice to be blown away by how shocking they must've been 27 years earlier. Can you imagine having been there?

None can compete with the first volume which finds Kiss first hungry to succeed and then at their peek where they still believed that the best way to make money was to produce a quality product, but Vol. 3 really does have some essential moments, even for the cursory fan.

Rating: 7/10

DVD: Kiss - Kissology Vol 2 1978-1991

Label: VH1 Classic Records

Released: August 14, 2007

I'd be surprised if anyone expected the Kissology installments to get better as they progressed just because the band clearly peaked during the period covered by Vol 1. I didn't find it odd that Vol 2 didn't have the thrill of the first one, but I was surprised at what a step down they took in the 80s. I really don't remember it being quite that bad. Where they were once innovators (as performers, not musicians), they were followers during this second period and while they brought in several more skilled players during this time, they became a great example of why the best technical skills aren't always what gets the job done.

While they may not have been able to survive with Ace and Peter any longer, Eric Carr, Vinnie Vincent and Bruce Kulick all exemplify why some bands are better off with less technically proficient players. There is no doubt that Carr and Kulick and even Vincent were better technicians, but the resulting cleaner sound was generally as dull as the new hair metal glory they were chasing.

After the Creatures of the Night material, there is little here that needs to be seen by anyone not blinded by a mindless love of Kiss. Nostalgia did make me want to see Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park again, but good sense made me turn it off and leave it in the memories of my Kiss-obsessed childhood. The unmasking on MTV may seem like a big moment in rock history, but it doesn't have any heart like the reunion did in the next decade even if both were strictly about maximizing their profits.

The make-up may have run its course, but once Kiss took it off, they also became followers, walking through the hair metal door that they may have opened, but that they had previously avoided walking through by being uniquely Kiss. Their music never broke down any barriers like their performances did, but through most of this volume, even their performances weren't over the top.

Like the other volumes, it is a nice package for the money (probably due to their marketing teams cost benefit analysis), but it isn't essential for anyone except die-hard fans.

Rating: 5/10

DVD: Paul McCartney - The McCartney Years

Label: Rhino

Released: November 13, 2007

Like Paul McCartney's post-Beatles career, this collection is erratic. Some of it is amazing, some is trite, some is timeless and some is dated. The first disc is by far the least interesting. While some of the very early classics are on there, the videos generally show Paul's escape to a pastoral life that may have been very refreshing for him, but makes for dull music videos. The second disc picks up with the shallow visual interpretation of "Pipes of Peace," but also contains a lot of McCartney's best solo work, from the Flowers in the Dirt singles on. Plus, there's a really interesting tour of Abbey Road studios from Paul as a bonus.

The real gem is disc three, the live shows. It includes 1976's Rockshow, excerpts from his amazing Unplugged appearance, his Super Bowl show and "Let It Be" at Live Aid. While it would have been nice to see the whole Unplugged show, the commentary on that set as well as Live Aid went a long way to make up for it. The real gem on this disc though is his headlining gig at Glastonbury in 2004. Thirty-five years and so many sappy silly love songs later, he shows that he's still quite relevant, particularly with a version of "Helter Skelter" that he may just steal back from Charles Manson.

Because McCartney's solo career is imperfect, this DVD too is imperfect. However, the highs are high enough to carry it and the live performances show that McCartney isn't the lightweight that he's often accused of being. In addition to being very comprehensive, the restored original films look fantastic and the menu gives you the opportunity to view the videos chronologically or in McCartney's hand-picked order. Obviously, it's a must-have for McCartney fans, but the collection also has a lot of value for anyone who appreciates McCartney's career.

Rating: 8/10

DVD: Rat Skates - Born in the Basement

Label: Kundrat Productions

Released: December 11, 2007

Born in the Basement is original Overkill drummer Rat Skates' documentary about the early days of thrash metal, from its punk rock and New Wave of British Heavy Metal roots to the days of its major label success. While there is some mention of other thrash bands like Metallica and Slayer, Skates focuses his attention on his own scene in NYC. And that focus is narrowed even further, because the documentary is really just an extended interview with Skates himself interspersed with video and stills. That limits the film's breadth, but also allows it dig deep into its limited subject matter and touch on details and bands that are likely unknown to anyone who wasn't there.

Because the film only shows the perspective of one man, albeit one who was as thoroughly involved in the birth of thrash as anyone could probably be, its total truth comes into question. At times, Skates almost seems to imply that his hard work and go-for-it approach were the primary factor in Overkill's and thrash's success. It's difficult to tell if he's trying to overstate his role or if this is simply the result of the same personality that drove his success the first time around. The production is amateur, but it would likely seem disingenuous to make a slick film about the DIY ethic.

Despite a few obvious weaknesses, Born in the Basement has plenty of real value. It provides a view into just how much effort was involved in making the music that many of us felt so close to at the time by making us privy to everything that happened behind the scenes. These guys worked like crazy for something they loved, regardless of whether it would ever pay off. It also shows how things have changed. Gone are the days of the Xerox machine. They've been replaced by the advent of iTunes and Myspace. While there are still bands that put their own album art together and screen print their own shirts, they do so by choice. Skates and his peers did it out of necessity.

Rating: 7/10

Website

Myspace

DVD: U2 - Popmart: Live from Mexico City

Label: Island Records

Released: September 18, 2007

Popmart finds U2 at their most bloated. The set is absolutely huge and probably has enough lights to illuminate a mid-size town. The grand entrance with the band entering as a boxing entourage heading to the ring of a championship bout (with Bono as the fighter) all set to the tune of M's "Pop Muzik" is about as over-the-top as it could be. They had costume changes. At one point, they return to the stage in what appears to be a UFO. With all this superficiality, how could they possibly connect with the fans?

Certainly, they could reconcile this show with much of their 90s material with its Eurodance angle, but they can't avoid their older selves, the more organic U2 that saved the 80s from synthesizers and hairspray. They seemed to falter on these songs at first. "I Will Follow" gets lost in the lights. "Pride," a song that usually gives me cold chills, doesn't resonate in the way it typically does. However, by "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," they start to scale back some of the extremes of the show and let these songs stand on their own, the way in which they were intended. From that point on, they seem to reconcile the sheer size of the performance with the personal nature of their music. When the crowd sings along to "Sunday Bloody Sunday," it's downright moving. When Bono brings a girl from the audience on stage during "With Or Without You," he might as well have brought the whole audience up. It was that kind of universal moment. And hugging that girl was in sharp contrast to how he played to the cameras early on. Sure, I could have done without "Lemon," but in context, it worked. They sandwiched "Please" between "Bullet the Blue Sky" and "Where the Streets Have No Name" as seamlessly as if they all came from the same album. The one big disaster is the credits rolling over the last song, "Wake Up Dead Man," and excellent and unexpected choice by the band, ruined by the producers.

Popmart probably finds U2 at just about their worst. Amazingly enough, the show was still phenomenal. They found a way to marry huge, contrived sets and rock star bombast with music that makes real human connections. They reached out and touched tens of thousands in a way that bands struggle to in clubs that hold a few hundred. While this might not be their finest moment, it leaves little doubt that they are the greatest rock band since the Beatles.

Rating: 9/10

DVD: Ramones - It's Alive 1974-1996

Label: Rhino

Released: October 2, 2007

I have but one complaint about this DVD although I have no reasonable solution to remedy it: I wish the DVD was made up of complete concerts rather than songs culled from various shows over the years. Of course the sacrifice would be the variety of shows that a career overview should cover, so it's a fair trade-off. That being said, I can find no other fault with it.

The double DVD captures the Ramones from their earliest days at CBGB's up to their final months playing together. Just as the Ramones best and most important albums came out in the 70s, so this compilation of performances also focuses on that decade with well over half of the performances culled from those years. Obviously, some of the early footage is extremely raw, but what it lacks in quality, it makes up for in historical significance. The earliest clip shows an almost entirely incompetent band with such confidence nonetheless that it's no wonder they went on to become one of the most influential bands in rock history. As time passes over the course of the video, the Ramones seem never to grow old. Even as their significance waned over the latter part of their career, they seemed to never be at the end of the road. That makes it even more shocking now that not only is the band defunct, but 3/4 of the original members are no longer with us. It's weird when they always seemed like a bunch of kids just beating the crap out of their instruments in true rock n roll style. In addition to the concert footage, there is also a few music videos and some goofy, but insightful interviews provided in the bonus section. It's Alive 1974-1996 is essential viewing not just for Ramones fans, but for anyone who enjoys rock n roll distilled into its purest form.

Rating: 9/10

Check out the trailer:

Review: DOA - Smash the State (and contest!!!)

Label: MVD Visual

Released: September 1, 2007

In the days where a huge corporate rock band like Rage Against the Machine reunites to enrich themselves under the guise of protest music, seeing a band who lived their message as DOA did is engaging and inspiring. When DOA was tearing up stages in protest to all they saw wrong with the world, there was no major label money, no big arena shows and no slick videos, just some kids trying to make a difference.

No one should be expecting quality recordings of these early events in DOA's career. While the first show (On Broadway, San Francisco, 1980) is actually surprisingly audible, it's immediately followed by by a second San Fran show at the Old Waldorf the following year which is poor even by home movie standards. Most of the DVD splits the difference between the two. What is missing in sound quality is made up for in DIY charm that captures the real energy and spirit of these shows. While I'm sure it's no substitute for having been there, Smash the State is likely the next best thing, capturing the band in all their rabble-rousing glory.

Bonus material includes a music video of only slightly better quality than the homemade live clips and a Canadian news report on punk from 1979 which heavily featured DOA, the latter being an interesting window into a time when punk was not so cool as it is today.

There is little question that DOA, love them or hate them, were the real deal. Can you imagine Rage or System of a Down forgoing the big paycheck to play the Anarchist Anti-Canada Day gig? While DOA has yet to realize their dreams of change, watching Smash the State leaves little doubt that the band believed in them. It's so convincing that I'm surprised there's actually a copyright on the box. I guess the world's still that imperfect.

Rating: 8/10

Website

Myspace

Contest:
Rather than ask some silly trivia question, I'm going to give a copy of the DVD to the person with the best answer to this question: What have you done to change the world?

I'll announce the winner on Monday, October 15.

The Casualties set to release new DVD/CD - "Made In NYC"

For all you fans of these children of Discharge and the Exploited, check out the trailer:

DVD: The Bangles - Return to Bangleonia

Label: Shout! Factory

Released: August 14, 2007

I've always loved the Bangles. Even the big sellout of Different Light still had the sweet harmonies and sixties jangle that I loved in their days in the Paisley Underground. I don't operate under the illusion that bands often recapture their prime when reuniting, but I did expect an energetic show and an enthusiastic crowd for this 2000 set at Hollywood's House of Blues. I got some of the former and none of the latter.

Part of the joy of a good live performance is drawn from the vicarious energy of the fans lucky enough to be there. Without that energy and its interaction with the band, there's really no point to a live recording. That's the biggest problem with this DVD. Most of the fan noise is filtered out, even between songs. That's just half the crime though. It really doesn't appear as though the crowd had much to offer anyway with only a few hands in the air for "Walk Like an Egyptian" and little other response. It looks like a crowd at the theater, not a rock show.

With little energy from the crowd, the Bangles are only partially culpable for a lack of excitement in their performance. Still, great bands rise above adversity and the Bangles aren't fully able to do that. Things don't get off to a good start with their cover of "Hazy Shade of Winter." One of the several fine covers from their prime, the song, Vicki Peterson's guitar leads in particular, drags as though they're unsure of themselves. By "If She Knew What She Wants," the band is in better form and they manage a soild if unspectacular performance. To their credit, they play five new songs that would ultimately end up on Doll Revolution (still three years away at the time of this show) rather than playing it completely safe with the material from their two biggest and least personally creative records. While they did pull three songs from All Over the Place (including "Hero Takes a Fall," which may be their best tune), I would have gladly traded "Angels Don't Fall in Love" (from Different Light) and "Get the Girl" (from the Austin Powers soundtrack) for "James" and "Dover Beach." Still, at least they kept the contributions form Everything to a minimum and threw in a solid cover of the Seeds' "Pushin' Too Hard." So, the set list was decent, but not perfect and once they got going, the did justice to the songs I love.

Return to Bangleonia showed me what I always suspected was true: The Bangles are merely a good, not great, band, no matter how much I love their music. Still, the songs sound good all these years later. It makes me wonder why the crowd was so dull. With a little help, the performance may have come across much stronger. It also makes me wonder why anyone would go to the House of Blues. It's not a venue that's conducive to fan participation and energy, so why not just stay home and listen to records?

Rating: 6/10

DVD: Various Artists - SXSW Live 2007

Label: Shout! Factory

Released: August 21, 2007

John Lennon once said, "If there wasn't a fight, it wasn't a good gig." So, what is it if no one even moves? Lennon was clearly arguing that a sterile show is never good and sterility is exactly the problem with SXSW Live 2007. The DVD is a collection of songs from shows at two Austin venues, the Bat Bar and the Lonestar Lounge, during SXSW back in March. While some of the artists offer decent performances the clubs and the crowds hardly have a pulse.

The Bat Bar was certainly the lesser show space. The stage was right out of Dick Clark's New Years Rockin' Eve and so was the crowd. Most of the performances were stiff, likely dulled by the lifeless audience. The Automatic Automatic's Alex Pennie jumped down into the crowd, but even this failed to invigorate them as he returned to the stage almost untouched. An impressive performance from Aqualung, pushing the boundaries of pop, didn't fare any better. Bowling for Soup, a band I'm sure well used to a rowdy crowd, had a few people jumping up and down, albeit carefully as not to crowd their neighbors. Even Polyphonic Spree's revival-fueled show got nary a heartbeat from the crowd. I have to wonder, do those people even like rock music?

Things got a little better at the Lonestar Lounge. It's really a sad comment on the Bat Bar that a place that looks like a Texas Roadhouse restaurant is a step up. The filming is much better during this segment, because it focuses on the artists rather than this lackluster crowd. Marc Broussard hits his groove with no help from the audience. Annuals push the envelope as if everything depended on their set. Mando Diao feed off of each other for an energetic performance. Joe Purdy manages to separate himself from time and place and lose at least a little control. But Lee "Scratch" Perry seemed as old as he is even if his message was current. His band, though younger chronologically, seemed even older. Kraak & Smaak had a soulful groove, but their stage presence was almost non-existent. Mostly, the artists lacked any of the edge that you'd expect them to have in the make-or-break environment that an event like SXSW supposedly is.

With all the hype surrounding SXSW each year, I expected that it was a great event, but if this DVD is indicative of what it's like, and worse yet what the future of rock and roll holds, we're in for some lean years. Most of the bands probably expected to make an impression with the right clothes and a safe set rather than taking the chances that have traditionally driven rock music, and all art, forward. The best I can say about this collection is that you might find a few artists to check out if you can try to picture what they would they be like at a real show.

Rating: 4/10