Wednesday, January 18 2012
The Film, ‘Medeski Martin & Wood: Fly in a Bottle’ Mirrors the Band’s Career to a Tee
Just as with their music, a funky and experimental form of free jazz that has led the way for improvisational music since their start in the early '90s, this film moves in and out of traceable and functional steps for its entirety.
Thursday, December 15 2011
The Hollies: Look Through Any Window 1963 – 1975
This is a thorough and thoughtfully presented look at one of pop music's treasures during the most prolific period of the band's career.
Tuesday, December 6 2011
‘Cream: Royal Albert Hall’: It’s as Close to the Actual Concert as You Can Get
Cream reunited for a series of shows at the Royal Albert Hall in May of 2005. The stunning performances are now available in high definition on Blu-ray.
Tuesday, November 29 2011
Procol Harum: Live At the Union Chapel
The 2003 performance Procol Harum: Live At the Union Chapel is now out on blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Rock.
Wednesday, November 16 2011
Meet the New Blood, Not the Same as the Old Blood: ‘Peter Gabriel: New Blood: Live In London’
Alas, what sounded pretty good on record doesn't translate all that well onto film.
Tuesday, November 15 2011
‘Rush: Time Machine 2011: Live In Cleveland’ Rush Is Still Thriving After All These Years
All the elements of classic Rush are here: Ace performances, classic songs, and a scarcity of women.
Monday, November 7 2011
‘Pretenders: Loose in L.A.’: Simple and Stark
In songs like ""My City Was Gone" or "Back on the Chain Gang", where we want more passion, we get merely passable.
Wednesday, October 26 2011
That’s All Right, I’ve Still Got My Guitar: ‘Blue Wild Angel: Jimi Hendrix Live at the Isle of Wight
The standouts of this set are the 15-minute rendition of "Machine Gun" and the ten-minute-plus "Red House", both of them swaggering, apocalyptic tunes that push the limits of what is expected in a guitar-based "pop" song.
Friday, October 21 2011
‘Dream Theater: Live At Budokan’: Truly Bang for the Buck
Those who missed out on the album and DVD the first time around will be wise to grab this one––it’s the best of the band’s live lot from an era in which Dream Theater seemed incapable of doing wrong.
‘Robert Plant’s Blue Note’: Chasing a Sound
Robert Plant’s Blue Note posits that it is Plant's search for the emotionally expressive sound, the "blue note", that has led him on every musical journey he has taken over the course of his nearly 50 year career.
Wednesday, October 19 2011
He Performs This Way: ‘Weird Al Yankovic: Live! - The Alpocalypse Tour’
"Weird Al" live is as great a concert spectacle as you will ever see. If for some reason you can't make it, this DVD will do nicely in its place.
Tuesday, October 18 2011
‘Nirvana Live at the Paramount’: Stand Near This Fire
Nirvana were always like some neighborhood kid's angsty little brother: loud, intense, and thoroughly unguarded even as wise-ass irony leaked through the veneer.
Friday, October 14 2011
When Cool and Not Cool Collide, You Get the Tepid ‘Jimi Hendrix: The Dick Cavett Show’
Jimi is great as usual, but this DVD -- not so much.
Monday, July 25 2011
‘Deep Purple: Phoenix Rising’: A Far Cry from Peak Purple
Jon Lord and Glenn Hughes recall Deep Purple's slow decline and sudden fall.
Monday, July 18 2011
Lots of Talk, Little Action in ‘Neil Young’s Music Box: Here We Are In the Years’
Neil Young’s Music Box: Here We Are In the Years is an unauthorized documentary DVD in which music critics discuss Neil Young's musical influences, as well as his ongoing influence on his peers and musicians that have come in his wake.
Tuesday, July 12 2011
A Document Good Enough to Eat: ‘Bob Dylan: The Other Side of the Mirror’
The film showcases several songs from each year, both from the festival’s daytime workshops and nighttime concerts, and the music is often as startling as Bob Dylan’s physical and charismatic alterations.
Tuesday, June 28 2011
‘Spectacle with Elvis Costello: Season Two’ Gives Us Shows Worth Rescuing From a Fire
In Season Two of his interview-and music shmoozefest, Elvis Costello reveals his inner cheese.
Monday, June 20 2011
‘Primal Scream: Screamadelica Live’: the 1991 Performance In Its Entirety
History suggests that there was something here, something, indeed, to write home about, something that made those in the UK so mad for Primal Scream.
Tuesday, June 7 2011
‘AC/DC: Let There Be Rock’: The Working Class Ethic, Amplified
AC/DC revitalizes the sounds of working-class life through their music, unleashing and claiming the vitality that capitalism normally disciplines and harnesses for the benefits of the bosses at the expense of the workers.
Monday, June 6 2011
Pure Imagination in ‘Brian Eno: 1971-1977: The Man Who Fell to Earth’
This doc provides a look at one of the most exciting figures in rock music at his creative peak. So, how is it that it is so painfully dull and free of insight?
