Longform Music Releases: The Review Thread

[on:]

I've always loved longform music videos/dvds, be they concerts, video collections, or just hour-and-a-half band arse-abouts.  Therefore, here's a thread for reviewing and recommending some of the better ones:

Foo Fighters - Everywhere But Home

Not to be confused with the latest Evanescence effort, but this is - for me - one of the best longform music releases.  It contains two full Foos gigs, one video (Toronto), one audio (Rekyavik) as a two-hour soundtrack to an awesome Foos Photo gallery), and selections from two further gigs (one supporting the Chili Peppers at Slane Castle, and one acoustic club gig in Washington DC).

These four selections cover all of the Foos bases, there are certain variations in song choices (no Stacked Actors in the acoustic set  ), so when either viewing or listening to the full sets, you DO have some variety to it.

Dave Grohl's banter is on top form, as always, he's an amiable and amusing guy.  As for the band, if you've ever seen them (and I have - four times), then you'll know, they never disappoint.  They rock the house.

If it's your bag, pick it up.

I'm going to add more later, but for now, discuss:

[Reply #1 on:]

Slipknot - Disasterpieces:

A whole concert from London (kinda weird they chose London and not the US to film it, but enh) in support of their "IOWA" album. They filmed it with - I think it was 30 cameras - one on each band member's mask, 3 or 4 on the instruments, 3 in the crowd, 5 or 6 onstage, etc, etc, etc....During ONE SONG performance, the camera angle changes like every second to a new one. And the backstage stuff is cool, too. On the second DVD of the set, they have all the music videos they made up to the point the DVd was released - and even have the original claymation video for the song "Wait and Bleed" (taken out of rotation early on and replaced with a video of a live performance from Ozzfest `99) - which is still one of the coolest videos I've ever seen....anyway, the DVD kicks ass. If you like Slipknot, you probably already own it. If you're interested, check it out.

[Reply #2 on:]

Yeah, I've seen Disasterpieces, the concert is wicked (British crowds are nuts, and the London Arena had all the seats off the floor).  Totally blistering, and the band are wickedly tight.  Particular highlight was Joey Jordison's drum solo.

Speaking of drum solos:

Rush In Rio:

Amazing live set from Canada's greatest export, consisting of a gig which lasts the best part of 3 hours, containing all the best stuff from Rush's back catalogue (By Tor And The Snow Dog, anyone?).

The show is amazing, for a stadium show, remarkably sedate, and has Rush's usual flourishes (big screen, lasers, and the lovely addition of an animated dragon and lots of pyro).

This set is worth it for two things, (1) the 1 hour Documentary on how much it was a miracle that the show happened in the first place, and (2) Geddy Lee has the best bass amps in the world ever.

[Reply #3 on:]

Live Aid DVD

Bought this historic concert on DVD and I hate it.

The main reason I bought it was to see the reformed Led Zeppelin, but of course they were the only group the refused to have their band's performance on the DVD.

Other performances that were good:
-Paul McCartney, Let it Be
-Eric Clapton, Layla
-Tom Petty, American Girl
-Black Sabboth, Paranoid

All in all it deserves a C+

[Reply #4 on:]

If you hate it, send it to me. U2's performance is great...

[Reply #5 on:]

Conversely, I love the Live Aid DVD.

There are so many great performances on there, U2, Queen, David Bowie are all fantastic.  A lot of the US leg is weaker by comparison, but still good for a few, like Madonna and Duran Duran.

[Reply #6 on:]

speaking of Queen, I recently picked up their On Fire At The Bowl DVD. It's a kick-ass show from '82, and any self-respecting Queen fan should own it. The video quality is probably only a 5.5 or 6 (out of 10) at the most, but it's certainly watchable enough...the audio quality, however, is phenonemal, and can be listened to in either 5.1 or DTS.

I second the Rush in Rio DVD. What's especially cool is that the newer material holds its own, and I dare to say "Secret Touch" was one of the best performances of the show IMO.

[Reply #7 on:]

Lightning Bolt - Power of Salad

The chronicles of a two-piece band's quest across America touring. Asides from Brian Chippendale included. I like it, so I'll just tell you what to expect.

-Crazy animated music videos for 13 Monsters and a remix of Saint Jacques
-A video recording of the band's last practice before going on tour

Then for the feature:
-My hero(a guy from Providence with long dreadlocks and a Locust shirt) moshing in the crowd
-Another guy pulling his pants down randomly
-A house show in Lubbock, TX played in a kitchen where Chippendale takes all the shelves out of the fridge and sits in it
-Dave Auchenbach(Load Records sound engineer) in the crowd looking very confused
-A conversation about how worn in clothes and other things are cool
-Tons of live clips

I'll have to watch this again soon.

[Reply #8 on:]

One I'd recommend to you Lampy is Fugazi's Document DVD.  You might like it.

As promised, elsewhere:

Incubus - Alive At Red Rocks

This is how I like live concert DVD's to be shot, a no nonsense, point-and-shoot effort (unlike the Evanescence DVD, which I've mentioned elsewhere, annoys me with the endless camera-jiggery-pokery).  This is quite differnt.  Basic 10 camera shoot, of a beautiful band, playing beautiful music, in a beautiful location, with beautiful fans.

I caught the band on this tour, last year, and was hugely impressed with them.  Brandon Boyd's voice (if you like it) holds up amazingly well next to the records, and you want to hit the little fucker he's so bloody good.

The set on this Live DVD is slightly changed from when I saw them, but the meat of the set is still there, the bass/piano version of "Drive" and the versions of "Vitamin" (complete with Drum bit, which is awesome).  The segue of "Stellar" and a cover of The Police's "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da", is also a highlight.

Excellent.

[Reply #9 on:]

Metallica - Some Kind of Monster

Ok so I know this is a movie, but here seemed to be the best fit anyway. I really enjoyed it, it gave a real insight into the bands tensions and personal struggles with themselves and each other. James and Lar's relationship was really falling apart, which made for both entertaining but also heartfelt moments. Having two huge ego's in the same room can be quite funny. The Dave Mustaine session was one of the highlights, really makes you feel sorry for the guy. Also this movie gives you a good insight into the recording process of an album...

The extras are awesome, it's like another whole movie! I've got over 5 hours out of it now, and I have to respect Metallica for dropping their hard "Metal" image and being real on here for everyone to see. Also good for people who aren't even fans of the band, because you can relate to them as people, not just musicians...

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Also, on an unrelated note I dunno if anyone's interested, but there's gonna be a 10 years of Glastonbury DVD out in March. I'm a bit torn on this, it has Prodigy performing Breathe, and some other decent acts. It also has crap like Robbie Williams who I'd rather not own, so I'm unsure overall...

Blur – ‘This Is A Low’ (1994) 
The Levellers – ‘One Way Of Life’ (1994) 
Elastica – ‘Connection’ (1995) 
Prodigy – ‘Breathe’ (1997) 
Radiohead – ‘Karma Police’ (1997) 
Placebo – ‘The Crawl’ (1998) 
Robbie Williams – ‘Angels’ (1998) 
Fun Lovin’ Criminals – ‘Scooby Snax’ (1999) 
Manic Street Preachers – ‘A Design For Life’ (1999) 
The Chemical Brothers – ‘Hey Boy Hey Girl’ (2000) 
Moby – ‘Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad’ (2000) 
Travis – ‘Driftwood’ (2000) 
Coldplay – ‘Yellow’ (2002) 
Faithless – ‘We Come 1’ (2002) 
Ash – ‘Shining Light’ (2002) 
Supergrass – ‘Pumping On Your Stereo’ (2003) 
Primal Scream – ‘Rocks’ (2003) 
Basement Jaxx – ‘Good Luck’ (2004) 
Franz Ferdinand – ‘Matinee’ (2004) 
Paul McCartney – ‘Hey Jude’ (2004)  http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0007LYDS2/qid=1107546297/s     r=1-1/ref=sr_1_8_1/202-5637067-8945469

[Reply #10 on:]

I thought that Lars' story of the Mustaine meet, on the band commentary was utterly priceless, and illustrates how much Dave Mustaine just can't get away from Metallica.

EDIT:

That Glasto DVD looks like it may be teh suxx0rs, I mean, where is Pulp and Oasis from 1995 (the year of Britpop - surely seeing Jarvis doing "Sorted For E's And Whizz" would be better than fuckin' ELASTICA!)?  Where are the headliners from 1998 (the year I went), all we get is Placebo and Robbie Williams? - the best bands that year were the Foos and Rocket From The Crypt, dammit!

I only applaud the inclusion of "This Is A Low" as it's apparently a golden Glasto-moment.

[Reply #11 on:]

a couple of recent acquisitions...

YESspeak--a decent but not too spectacular documentary of Yes, focusing on the current/classic lineup (Anderson, Howe, Wakeman, Squire, White) during the 35th (!!!) Anniversary tour. HOWEVER, what makes it worthwhile is the 3 hours of bonus audio tracks from said tour, including "South Side Of The Sky". If you can get it for $15 or so, take a chance.

The Kids Are Alright--Yeah, it's nearly 30 years old, but any rock fan should watch this at least once, especially this super-cleaned up DVD version. Many cool extras to keep you occupied as well, including a John Entwistle "OxCam" for a few songs.

Phish: IT--I know the naysayers will roll their eyes, and I don't give a frog's fat ass: this DVD freaking rocks. Very few bands have as much musical chemistry as these guys, and if you can remove yourself from the verse-chorus-verse comfort zone of mainstream radio, you'll be able to see for yourself. Sparkling audio & video, and a phenomenal light show never hurts, either...   

[Reply #12 on:]

For Melll...

Glastonbury 1994-2004 DVD

Well I decided to take a chance and buy it. Let's cut to the chase, the main reason I bought it was for Prodigy's 'Breathe' performance. There are some other artists on here which I also like, which finally persuaded me. I've seen it all now and it's a very mixed bag, unfortunately mainly sour and not enough sweet...

Most of the performances here are average to "meh". I'm not a fan of Franz Ferdinand but their performance was alright. Same with Supergrass. It was funny seeing Elastica, sounds very mid 90's, short and sweet though. Ash were... Ash really, what you'd expect, solid but not exceptional. Coldplay were one of the highlights, good song pick but the audience sung half the song for him! Still a good performance though...

Now to the bad and disappointing. I was looking forward to Moby's performance, I love his 'Play' album. But this performance was very disappointing because you can hardly see Moby at all! It's mainly some fat woman singing and because the vocals are kept in from the studio recording (that being a man), it sounds most... errr weird with a woman singing over it and hearing half a mans voice. The Chemical Brothers did a great song, but it was crap live. We get a snippet of video of a corridor over and over again until we have motion sickness, plus the song is drawn out. Placebo were boring as hell, I like some of their songs but this was barely a performance. Primal Scream were pretty mediocre too. And as for Faithless, never liked them and that wasn't about to change here. Basement Jaxx, no thanx, this started to remind me of Moby's performance, but at least Moby's was a good song. And as for Robbie Williams, do I even need to say anything?...

Now onto the better performances. I likes Blur's 'This Is A Low' performance a lot, plenty of soul and emotion and a great song. Probably my second fave performance on the DVD. Radiohead's performance was good, but didn't do the studio version justice. Manic Street Preachers were good, excellent song choice. I wasn't too keen on the camerawork or lighting on this particular performance though. Paul McCartney's was alright too, he seemed pretty into it and got the crowd going even if it did drag...

And now onto my favorite performance, you've guessed it, Prodigy! And what a performance it is! Ok so I'm probably biased anyway, but there's no denying it's the standout performance on this DVD, yes it really is a performance! Prodigy are totally into it, and the confrontation between Maxim and Keith makes it very entertaining. The camerawork is excellent and the lighting is perfect for the song. It's got great contrast, it's dark, but there's plenty of light to see what's going on. Keith even does a bit of dancing here and there. My only criticisms are not to do with the actual performance, but the fact they hardly showed Liam at all which is a shame. Also a little more crowd would have been nice. Fantastic performance and not only the best on the DVD, but one of Prodigy's own bests too!...

Now onto picture and sound. The picture quality on the whole is very good, sharp and detailed. A couple of the older performances aren't so sharp (Levelers, Elastica and for some reason Moby's). As for the sound, very good! Every performance has great sound, clear and reasonable bass too.

The extras are pretty poor, nothing much too interesting but worth a look...

Now onto my biggest complaint, the omissions. Why the hell weren’t Oasis on here? The festival organiser (forgot his name) is interviewed in one of the extras from 1995 and says that Oasis are the best band they've got that year and it shows a few second snippet of them. Why the hell weren't they on here then? And also where were Skunk Anansie? I remember they did an amazing Glasto one year. What a shame...

In conclusion, to be honest I'd say this DVD is quite average. Worth buying if you're a huge Prodigy fan like me because there simply isn't any live Prodigy footage available on DVD anywhere else yet. And if you like most of the bands in question, there are a few good performances. It’s not a bad DVD by any means Beware of the disappointing ones though...

[Reply #13 on:]

Thanks for that, man.  Now I know not to go out and get it.  My main reason would have been because I was there in '98, but they show two performances I didn't actually see on the day (While Robbie Williams was on the main stage on Sunday afternoon, I was at the Other Stage watching Deftones, who were freakin' awesome).

I'm picking up lots of pro-shot bootleg dvds at the moment, the latest being Metallica's (Fan Can #4) "Banned In Philly" parking lot show in 97 which is awesome.  When I have the inclination, I'll review the best of 'em.

[Reply #14 on:]

Deftones played there? I never knew that! I wish they were on this DVD instead of Robbie Williams then...

[Reply #15 on:]

Yeah, fantastic they were too.  Chino was pelted with mud for the entire set, they were loving it.

The standout performances from '98 were the headliners (Blur, Pulp, Primal Scream), Rocket From The Crypt, Deftones, and Foo Fighters (who played in what seemed like a monsoon, and reported the England v Columbia World Cup score while playing).

[Reply #16 on:]

 

Originally posted by Melllvar:
Foo Fighters - Everywhere But Home

Hidden easter eggs on this DVD make this it ever better!  A further gig from Dublin, and "My Hero" acoustic.  Awesome!

My Hero acoustic:
 
 
In the live acoustic set in washington, during the third song, "For All the Cows", You will notice a DC in the bottom right corner as Dave Grohl is saying "you have to pick your battles." that is your cue to hit the ENTER button on your remote. This will reveal an acoustic performance of the hit "My Hero" from the Colour and Shape album.

 Hidden Dublin Concert:
 
 
Select the "Slane Castle" option at the Main Menu. Press 3, then your ENTER button, then wait for the red arrow to reappear.
Press 8, then your ENTER button, then wait for the red arrow to reappear.
Press 2, then your ENTER button, then wait for the red arrow to reappear.
Press 5, then your ENTER button, then wait for the red arrow to reappear.
Press 4, then your ENTER button, then wait for the red arrow to reappear.
Press 6, then your ENTER button, then wait for the red arrow to reappear.
This will reveal hidden concert footage from Dublin!

[Reply #17 on:]

Not enough people are posting in here.   

Anyhoo...

Rush - R30: The 30th Annniversary World Tour



As concert experiences go, you can't get much better than Canada's greatest musical export (screw Bryan Adams, Rush are the Canadian band it's not embarrassing to like).  You get nigh-on 3 hours of great tunes, spreading from their 30 year career, taking in various changes of direction.  From sci-fi prog-rock epics of the 70's, to the techno synth-rock of the 80's and the back-to-basics sound of the 90's.  Rush have got pretty much, everything you'd want in a live show.  Amazing visuals, great songs, and incredible musicianship.



It's always an enternal shame (although I use the term loosely) that guitarist Alex Lifeson, being in the normal show-off role, is constantly upstaged by the far, far superior rhythm section, yes, both Geddy Lee and Neil Peart are practically untouchable in their repective fields (always coming top, or nearabouts in musician polls every year).



This DVD showcases all of the above, and is a fine companion release to Rush In Rio, possibly (knowing their attention to detail) mindful of their fans wanting to have a different repertoir to see, the setlist is almost (save for the usual setlist mainstays) completely different to that of the Rio DVD.

What makes welcome returns are such gems as Subdivisions, Mystic Rhythms and Between The Wheels (from 1984's Grace Under Pressure, one of my favourite Rush albums).



Yet again, another mainstay of Rush's live set are Neil Pearts mind-meltingly brilliant drum-solos.  This one Der Trommler sits nicely alongside O' Baterista from Rio and shows why The Proffesor is at the top of his game.

Extras on disk no.2 include some rare performances and interviews from their career (including some truly hilarious Alex Lifeson moments, namely, after Geddy Lee and Neil Peart read their specially prepared speeches at the Canadian Hall Of Fame induction, he gets out his shopping list).

Excellent.  9.5/10

[Reply #18 on:]

I recently got the DVD of the Cream Reunion Live at the Albert Hall

Really good gig.

9.1/10

[Reply #19 on:]

yep, the R30 DVD from Rush is a must-have. The surround mix sounds awesome on my home system. Hell, Lerxst's guitar on "Red Barchetta" sounded like it bypassed the speakers & was channelled straight to my head.

I woulda preferred the entire concert, however...while I understand the band didn't want too many repeats from the RiR DVD, I doubt many fans woulda complained.

[Reply #20 on:]

Led Zeppelin

Wow, just wow. 

It was so good I had tears in my eyes by the second song on the first disk, so overwhelmed I had to stop watching after Bonhams incredible Moby Dick in the Royal Albert Hall.

Better than an A++++

[Reply #21 on:]

Wow, indeed Faze!  That DVD's been on my list for ages, I really need to get it finally.

 

Originally posted by quagmire:
yep, the R30 DVD from Rush is a must-have. The surround mix sounds awesome on my home system. Hell, Lerxst's guitar on "Red Barchetta" sounded like it bypassed the speakers & was channelled straight to my head.

I woulda preferred the entire concert, however...while I understand the band didn't want too many repeats from the RiR DVD, I doubt many fans woulda complained.

Was great to hear the fantastic Red Barchetta as well as the Overture at the beginning (the addition of Jerry Stiller was very cool too!).

True too, would like to have had Red Lenses and Red Sector A (just prior to the drum-solo, but Mystic Rhythms and Between The Wheels mroe than make up for it.

[Reply #22 on:]

"Between The Wheels" was a GREAT addition...when I saw the R30 tour in person, I made sure not to peek at any setlist spoilers, so needless to say I was mighty pleased. I didn't know anything about the Jerry Stiller intro either, so that was a nice treat as well ("nah, they never play 'Bangkok'"...lol). I'm just slightly bummed that they cropped the medley near the end of the DVD...I was expecting to hear "By Tor" after "Grand Finale", but alas it was not to be. Still, a fantastic release. Also, it's great to see the boys having a blast onstage, even 30 years later...

And I second the Led Zeppelin DVD...probably amongst my Top 5 most satisfying musical purchases ever, it's that good.

[Reply #23 on:]

Mmm, a couple more reviews methinks:

Green Day - Bullet In A Bible



First thing to state about BIAB, is that the DVD sound is freakin LOUD!  Loud enough to blow out your speakers, or give your grandma a wee jolt.  That's a good thing.



Using longtime band video director Samuel Bayer, they've also pulled out all the stops when it comes to visuals too.  Sweeping helicopter shots taking in the massive bowl at Milton Keynes, and great close-ups on the band too.  There's nothing left to the imagination.



Songs-wise, it's the set No.2 from Green Day's world tour 2004/5, meaning that American Idiot isn't played in it's entirity and the're always the brilliant King For A Day/Shout segue (this time including Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life).

The stage show is all massive-bangs and huge-broad strokes, and Billy Joe knows how to work the 65,000 strong crowd.  It's enjoyable, loud and raucous.

8/10

Linkin Park - Rock Am Ring 2004



One from my collection of pro-shot bootlegs, and god bless German TV, because this is one of the very best.  Better even than LP's own official product, Live In Texas.



Ok, so why's it better?  Well, it's later in the Meteora Tour, so the band have their chops well and truly down, and the set is far far better.  The songs are slightly rearranged too, making it not just cut+paste live versions of studio tracks, they're fleshed out too.



Highlights are the inclusion of Step Up (in a medley with Nobody's Listening and It's Going Down) a brilliant Breaking The Habit and a rare cover of Nine Inch Nails' Wish (which is actually bloody good!).

There's the added delight of them getting some hapless German fan up on stage at the end, and the set being laced with plentyful obcenities.  It makes a nice change.

9/10

[Reply #24 on:]

*Bump*

Pink Floyd - P.U.L.S.E.

Finally!  This is released on DVD, and we get a package which it's been deserving.  The gig has been re-edited from the 1994 VHS Version, and there's the superior 5.1 sound, which is what The Floyd is there for.

The gig is amazing, anyone who's seen this already will attest.  It's a two-half with mainly "Division Bell" and "Momentary Lapse" tracks on the first half (save for the odd "oldie", and the traditional opener, "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" ).  But, it's the second disk which stands out.  A full performance of all of "Dark Side Of The Moon", followed by an encore of "Wish You Were Here", "Comfortably Numb" and "Run Like Hell".  Comfy has never been better, a mind-blowing guitar solo accompanied by awe-inspiring visuals, brings a lump to the throat.

Then there's the extras.

My favourite of these is "bootlegging the bootleggers" which is 3 songs captured from different hand-cam sources at PF's outdoor gigs.

The documatary "Say Goodbye To Life As We Know It" could've been longer, but this is a minor thing, very rarely do we get such insight into the Floyd, that really it's the music and the performance itself that should do the talking.

Which it does.

9/10

[Reply #25 on:]

*bump again*

Depeche Mode - Touring The Angel

Another fantastic longform music DVD.  When the genue of concert dvds is becoming a stale point-and-shoot affair, along comes this one which is more inventive with it's choice of effects and shots.

Directed by the guy who directed their onstage shoots (for the video screens) and it shows, all the props and tricks the guy uses are all evident in the DVD.  For example obscuring the camera for certain songs, employing still-photography for others, and incorporating the onstage visuals including the video screen sources, using static shots as well as multiple frames.  It still makes interesting viewing, and keeps the attention.

For the music, the new songs sit well with the old classics, and I must say I love "Precious" and "Suffer Well".

Excellent

9/10

[Reply #26 on:]

Jamiroquai - Hight Times The Singles 1992-2006
I've been waiting for a Jamiroquai DVD video collection for years. It's awesome to at long last have one, and a it's a good one. It has all of the videos including award winners like 'Virtual Insanity' and then there's also 'Black Capricorn Day' which was never released but is hilarious. The advantage of waiting so many years is that it means more videos have been made and included in that time. Although only missing video is the brand new one for Runaway which is a shame. Still, 25 video's is not bad...

A few extras are worthwile, making of Lilltle L and some interviews with JK including a really old one from a Japanese radio show. Could've been more making of vids but what can you do? The DVD is easy to navigate, and you can just play all the vids back to back how it should be. Nice artwork and card packaging too!

9.5/10

[Reply #27 on:]

 

First thing to state about BIAB, is that the DVD sound is freakin LOUD! Loud enough to blow out your speakers, or give your grandma a wee jolt. That's a good thing.

I don't know how GreenDay does it, just like their cd Dookie, it seems to be louder than any other cd I own.  Whoever is their soundguy/postproduction on these cds/dvd deserves a lot of credit.

[Reply #28 on:]

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War Of The Worlds - Live On Stage

I've waited for this DVD for ages, hoping that they'd do one after announcing the tour last year.  It's been almost 30 years since the album came out in 1978, and it's out-lived two of it's contributors, namely, Thin Lizzy frontman, Phil Lynnott and significantly, narrator Richard Burton.

Technology, being as it is, is able to bring back Richard Burton, in the form of a computerised projection onto a ten-foot model head (it looks better than it sounds).  So, for all intents and purposes, he's alive and well and able to provide the inimitable commentary which he does on the album.  Good thing too, because no-one could've replaced him.

Of the rest of the original cast, there are a couple of returns.  Justin Hayward (of The Moody Blues) and Chris Thompson both reprise their parts on the album, as do some of the members of the Black Smoke Band (half of Jeff Wayne's ensemble is a 10-piece rock band, the other half being an orchestra, the ULLAdubULLA strings, conducted by Wayne himself).

New members of the cast, for me, are pale imitations of their previous incarnations, however, Alexis James as The Artilleryman is channelling David Essex, I swear!  It's a standout performance.

For Tara Blaize and Russell Watson (yes, him!) it's a big ask to stand in for Julie Covington and the late, great Phil Lynnott on "The Spirit Of Man" (my favourite track on the album), but they do pull it off pretty damn well.  Even if Watson comes across as an arrogant arse on the accompanying documentary, he is, after all a star in his own right - and don't we all know it   .

No one personality can rise above the production, and the piece as a whole, in my opinion, it's huge.

Production-wise, the whole this is amazing, as well as the "anamatronic" Burton-head, there's the full-sized Martian Fighting Machine, and a huge screen onto which the story is played out in computer animation.  Splendid.

For extras, there's plenty of behind the scenes guff, as well as the aforementioned documentary telling about how the whole thing came together.

Nothing short of brilliant.

9.5/10

[Reply #29 on:]

*BUMP*

Foo Fighters - Skin & Bones/Live In Hyde Park

I forgot to review this.  Awesome awesome double disk (exclusive to UK only, as Hyde Park was broadcast all over the US on DirecTV - where I bagged my bootleg version from).  This marks the first time I've featured on a home video of a band.  I was at the Hyde Park show, and it's great that I have this momento.

But first, the other disk is a fantastic acoustic run-through of all of the Foos' second disk softer efforts on the In Your Honour CD, and it's a by-the-numbers lesson in how to dial-back the performance to a chilled out saunter.  Dave relates to individuals in the audience, tells long stories about Kurt Cobain, living in LA and goads the extended band-members into goofing around during their intros.

But, for me, it's the Hyde Park disk which takes the cake.  It contains my musical highlight of 2006, which is the Foos getting out Lemmy to play "Shake Your Blood" from the Probot record, far eclipsing getting the remaining members of Queen to play "Tie Your mother Down" later on.

Recommended.

9.5/10

[Reply #30 on:]

Sex Pistols - The Filth And The Fury

Arguably the best music documentary ever made. 

Julian Temple's story of the rise and fall of The Sex Pistols is a riveting watch.  Taking in news, happenings and the cultural upheavals which brought about the rise of Punk.  As Temple was pretty-much ever present in the story of the Pistols at the time, there is a load of footage from the throughout their career, including shows at the Lesser Free Trade Hall, Screen On The Green, The 100 Club, The Longhorn, Winterland, and various TV shows.

All the members are features in (silhouetted) interviews, and even Sid Vicious speaks up.  All the major events are there, the Grundy interview, EMI Sacking, A&M Sacking, total vilification by the press and public of the UK (virtually banned everywhere they go - there was event a crisis-type tv program dedicated to Punk Rock, saying it was "...more dangerous than hyper-inflation or russian communism", ridiculous!)

The fall is covered spectacularly well also, definitely kicking up a gear when Nancy Spungen arrives on the scene.  It's fair to say that she does more damage than a dozen Yokos, and several Courtney Loves.  Viscious' self-destruction is a sorry sight to see, and John Lydon's covering of it is genuinely moving.

"He died, for Christ's sake!  And they turned it all into 'making money', ha ha ha!  How hilarious for them.  I will hate them forever for doing that.  You can't get any more evil than that, can you Julian?

Vicious, poor sod."

Of course, it's Lydon who comes out with all the quotable lines, and he's lost none of his venom, specifically towards Malcolm McLaren, who I might add, is still spouting total bollocks, even trolling out his "My little artful dodgers" line.  Lydon's retort is particularly great, "You don't create me, I am me!".

The movie also cuts in footage of Lawrence Olivier's performance of Richard III (an inspiration for Lydon's onstage "Rotten" character) mirroring perfectly the rise and fall of the band.

Overall it's amazing to see what all the fuss was about, they were blacklisted by MI6, barred from having a No.1 single in the UK, followed all over America by the FBI and CIA - all this for a band.  Unbelievable, really.

Amazing.

9.5/10

[Reply #31 on:]

Iron Maiden - Live After Death

23 Years after the longform video came out, we finally have the DVD version.  And it's well worth waiting for.

Maiden's 1984/85 World Slavery Tour was arguably the finest metal tour ever, and has never been bettered (certainly by Maiden).  The elaborate stage set is a joy to behold (even after all this time), repleat with Egpytian sarcophagi, huge mummified "Eddie" and massive moving lighting rig.

Performance-wise, perhaps Bruce Dickinson's youthful exuberance meant that in those days his voice wasn't as good as it is now (he takes care of it better nowadays), however, it's a minor thing, because it all pales behind the band playing at a million miles an hour through their set.  Some of the songs played, are truly definitive versions too (Hallowed Be Thy Name for example, is blistering....)

This DVD doesn't stop at the 90-minute main feature too.  There's ton of extras.  Most notably, the 2nd part of their "History Of Iron Maiden" documentary, covering the recording of Powerslave and the massive undertaking of the tour which followed.

Also included, is the additional doc "Behind The Iron Curtain", chronicling the bands first foray into the Eastern Bloc (and the first time any band from the west took a full-production there).

Also included is higlights from Maiden's "Special Guest" slot (just under Queen) from 1985's Rock In Rio festival - which is worth it for Bruce Dickinson smashing his face open during "Revelations".

All in all, one of the best live concert videos ever, fully translates as one of the best DVDs.

Fab... 9.5/10

[Reply #32 on:]

Is there some obsession with rating things 9.5/10?

[Reply #33 on:]

I never rate 10/10, and 9.5 is the highest I'll go.

Is that a problem?  Just so happens my last three reviews in this thread have been excellent DVDs.  I should review some ropey ones.

[Reply #34 on:]

I wasn't saying it was a problem Melll, just that I found it peculiar. 

[Reply #35 on:]

I knew that, however, there are months between each review... 

I do have some which aren't so great...

[Reply #36 on:]

Like the recently released JoshTheater at The Living Room In His House?

I don't know...I actually like it.
I give it a 9.5/10.

[Reply #37 on:]

Moving along...

Muse - H.A.A.R.P. - Live From Wembley Stadium

I was looking forward to this one coming out.  It was the first set of gigs to be announced at the new Wembley.



I'm a big fan of Mark Fisher's work in stage design, and his studio have done some of the hugest and most ambitious rock shows in the last 30 years, and Muses stage set is monstrously impressive looking.  With a giant elliptical screen, six huge satellite dishes beaming light into the sky, and massive lit spheres adorning one end of the stadium.

The show is spectacular, however, there's one thing which niggles at me while watching it.  It could have looked so much better.  When the intro is playing the picture is in Black & White save for Dominic Howard's green trousers and Matt Bellamy's red suit, and they employed a "colourist" to gradually bleed the colours into the show during the opening songs.  So much so that the stage is picked out in colour, and everything else around it looks, well, dull.  Only later in the show does it not be too noticable.  For a show which was to be an assault on the senses, I expected the video production to be a little more colourful.

And for that, I'm taking two points off.

As for song selection, all the best tunes are there, I particularly like Map Of The Problematique and Butterflies And Hurricanes, the finale of Take A Bow is fabulous also.

8/10

[Reply #38 on:]

 

Originally posted by Melllvar:
Iron Maiden - Live After Death

23 Years after the longform video came out, we finally have the DVD version.  And it's well worth waiting for.

Maiden's 1984/85 World Slavery Tour was arguably the finest metal tour ever, and has never been bettered (certainly by Maiden).  The elaborate stage set is a joy to behold (even after all this time), repleat with Egpytian sarcophagi, huge mummified "Eddie" and massive moving lighting rig.

Performance-wise, perhaps Bruce Dickinson's youthful exuberance meant that in those days his voice wasn't as good as it is now (he takes care of it better nowadays), however, it's a minor thing, because it all pales behind the band playing at a million miles an hour through their set.  Some of the songs played, are truly definitive versions too (Hallowed Be Thy Name for example, is blistering....)

This DVD doesn't stop at the 90-minute main feature too.  There's ton of extras.  Most notably, the 2nd part of their "History Of Iron Maiden" documentary, covering the recording of Powerslave and the massive undertaking of the tour which followed.

Also included, is the additional doc "Behind The Iron Curtain", chronicling the bands first foray into the Eastern Bloc (and the first time any band from the west took a full-production there).

Also included is higlights from Maiden's "Special Guest" slot (just under Queen) from 1985's Rock In Rio festival - which is worth it for Bruce Dickinson smashing his face open during "Revelations".

All in all, one of the best live concert videos ever, fully translates as one of the best DVDs.

Fab... 9.5/10

Mell, thanks for the review.  I went out & got it, and, unlike most concert movies, this one does NOT disappoint.  As I've posted before, I first saw Maiden on their "Number of the Beast" tour, and was blown away; it was the fastest, most  furious & aggressive Metal I'd ever seen before (or since).  It was because of Maiden that I decided to learn to play guitar.  Even as good as that tour was, this DVD is better than that, I think.  Definitely a keeper...

[Reply #39 on:]

Rush - Snakes And Arrows Live

Considering that some have taken issue with my scoring system, I was wondering if and when it was possible to find a 10/10 offering to review.

Well, it looks like I've found it.

I saw this tour twice last year, and frankly the production was incredible.  As always with Rush shows, there's major musicianship, value for money and a liberal sprinkling of humour (what a concept!)...  All of this is caught in glorious HD on this set filmed at the Ahoy in Rotterdam.

Firstly, unlike the last offering (reviewed further up), R30, we have a FULL show to behold, spread nicely across 3 disks (disk 1 is the first half, disk 2 the second, and 3 is the 2008 leg's differences to the setlist, shot in Atlanta).  So there's no shortage of songs (the main set clocking up almost 30 songs), and around 3 hours of enjoyment.   Secondly, on top of the mahoosive setlist, there's the amazing stage show, courtesy of long-time Rush collaborator, Howard Ungerleider, there's 3 video screens both with visuals to accompany the songs, and the obligatory close-ups (as well as the hilarious intro movies - but more about that later), enough electronic lighting to rival an olympic opening ceremony, decending LED robots, lasers, pyro and, of course, rottisserie ovens for bass amps....

Thirdly, as this is Rush, and they don't take themselves too seriously (they take the music very seriously, just not themselves), we have the hilarious intro movies to the first and second half of the show, featuring Alex Lifeson and his frankly bewildering array of incomprehesible characters ("Hello!  I'm Envy!"), Geddy as Harry Satchel, a gruff Scot, ("Get your lazy arse out on that stage before I stick my hand up your jacksie and frog-march you there m'self!") castigating, well, himself for not getting to stage on-time.  Even the previously publicity-shy Neil Peart is getting in on it (which you'll see if you let the DVD credits play out).  Adding to this, you have SCTV's Doug and Bob McKenzie (The Great White North) introducing "The Larger Bowl" and South Park introducing "Tom Sawyer" (Cartman as Geddy Lee, in "Lil' Rush" is fab!).

All of this however, is just tinsel, or cherries on the cake, and it's the music which is the be-all and end-all to the procedings, and the songs are the stars really.  Standouts are "Between The Wheels", "Digital Man", "Mission" and the token oldie (from the first half), "Circumstances".   However, there are 9 songs taken from Snakes And Arrows, and starting the second half are five offerings featuring standout "Far Cry" and my fave "Spindrift".

Rush shows wouldn't be the same without the instrumentals and solos, and this is no exception, "Malignant Narcissism", leads into "Der Slagwerker" (The Drummer?) and then into Alex's 12-string guitar solo piece, "Hope".

The end of the set is saved for the big-time favourites, Spirit Of Radio, Tom Sawyer and YYZ are all trotted out, and the show ends with the customary bang...

If Rush were a popular band (instead of having a cult following) I'd say this was an essential purchase, but seeing as they're not readily accessible for the masses (which is a good thing), I'll settle by saying that this is the best Longform Concert DVD I own...

Don't take my word for it, watch "Far Cry" for yourself...

10/10.