The Movie:

In the summer of 1966, Bob Dylan was in a motorcycle accident that caused him to withdraw from the public eye while he recuperated. Some have conjectured that the burnt-out Dylan was never really involved in such a crash and that he just used it as a cover story to explain his sudden decision to turn hermit. Whatever the circumstances, Dylan's sudden seclusion led to one of his most creatively fertile years, in which he recorded dozens of tracks with his buddies the Hawks (aka The Band) and wrote dozens more lyrics that never got set to music. The recordings were never meant for public consumption, but Dylan sent some of them out as writer's demos for other performers to record. This led to bootlegging, which finally convinced Dylan to authorize a ...Read the entire review

The Movie:

There's a funny plotline in the "Sunday Funday" episode of the new series You're The Worst (which I just had the pleasure of reviewing), where the insecure lead character Jimmy tries to get Gretchen, the woman he is dating, to pick whether she prefers Peter Gabriel-led Genesis or Phil Collins-led Genesis. She claims to like both versions of the band equally, which he finds impossible. The show turns this into an allegory for his desire to have her commit to him and not date another dude on the side, but the storyline touches on one of the key battlegrounds in rock music. As much as "Stones vs. Beatles," or "David Lee Roth vs. Sammy...Read the entire review

The Movie:

Directed by Sam Dunn, Reginald Harkema, and Scott McFadyen Super Duper Alice Cooper charts the career of the man born Vincent Furnier, the son of a preacher who, during the sixties, started a band with some friends named Dennis Dunnaway and Glenn Buxton while living in Phoenix, Arizona. Michael Bruce and Neal Smith would join the band shortly thereafter. Like almost everyone else at that time these guys were heavily influenced by The Beatles but would soon start taking things in their own direction. A few years later the group named The Spiders would change their name to Alice Cooper and head out on the road, their lanky lead singer becoming increasingly more dramatic with his onstage persona. Incorporating makeup and strange fashion into their stage show and then far more theatrical elements pulling from horror movies and science fiction shows, the band found success wit...Read the entire review

In 10 Words or Less
Back for more, wackier adventures with the pop primates

Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: Good sitcoms
Likes: The Monkees
Dislikes: Repetition, wackiness for wackiness' sake, '60s psychedelia
Hates: The concept of "out of print"

The Story So Far...
Brought together in the mid-1960s for the purpose of making a musical TV show, Mike Nesmith, Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork instead developed an honest-to-goodness band and became stars of both stage and screen, even earning the respect and admiration of the band they were based on, The Beatles. Though the series lasted just two seasons, they've been active, on and off, for decades and are fondly remembered today, as much for...Read the entire review

In 10 Words or Less
The original pre-fabricated pop-music/comedy sensation

Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: Good sitcoms
Likes: The Monkees
Dislikes: Repetition
Hates: The concept of "out of print"

The Story So Far...
Brought together in the mid-1960s for the purpose of making a musical TV show, Mike Nesmith, Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork instead developed an honest-to-goodness band and became stars of both stage and screen, even earning the respect and admiration of the band they were based on, The Beatles. Though the series lasted just two seasons, they've been active, on and off, for decades and are fondly remembered today, as much for their music as for the show. There have been seve...Read the entire review

With series such as "The Tracey Ullman Show" and "Tracey Takes On" under her belt, it's no wonder that Tracey Ullman brought her comedic skills back to cable with the series "Tracey Ullman's State of the Union." The series feels like a combination of her previous efforts, but with a more focused premise. Again, Ullman sheds light on all of the humorous aspects of her character's lives, only this time many of the characters are not imagined, but very real and very American.

"State of the Union" takes an up-close look at America and the people who give it, well, character.When the series first started I couldn't help but worry that it was going to be a collection of dead-end skits that provide solid efforts, but little substance. By the time the first thirty minutes rolled by, I was gladly mistaken. "State of the Union" is anything but lackluster as Tracey Ullman offers her take on the Amer...Read the entire review

THE MOVIE:

More Than This: The Story of Roxy Music is a pretty straight-ahead television documentary about the influential glam rock band who recorded from the early 1970s through the mid-1980s. In its earliest incarnation, it counted Brian Eno amongst its members, but the driving force of Roxy has always been Bryan Ferry, the honey-voiced lothario who wrote the songs and sang them. More Than This was compiled in 2005 after several successful reunion tours and on the occasion of recording a new album, with even Eno pitching in at the studio. That album has yet to surface.

Though short in presentation (the program is just over 50 minutes), More Than This is an all-encompassing biography, starting with the formation of the band, visiting their e...Read the entire review

The Product:
They had names like ELP and Yes, simple monikers which often hid a massive sonic landslide of musical invention. Formed out of a desire to push the very envelope of instrumentation and steeped in a "veddy British" love of all things pomp, circumstantial, and classical, the newly named "prog rock" ruled the charts in the days before disco, before punk declared every long hair with a penchant of an extended solo or concept album a "dinosaur." Today, these performances and performers are appreciated for how much skill and aural slight of hand was invested in their efforts - no more so than the inventive keyboardists who took a fledgling device known as a "synthesizer" and redefined the entire 33&1/3 experience. Such pioneers as Keith Emerson, Brian Eno, and Rick Wakeman used their place as part of seminal bands to bolster their profile while broadening the auditory countryside....Read the entire review

THE SHOW:

John Denver was many things during his lifetime: an environmentalist, a humanitarian associated with numerous charitable causes and one of Colorado's most beloved sons. Setting aside all of his personal pursuits, it is safe to say that his fans will always remember him as one of the most popular folk singers of the 1970s. Over an amazingly prolific 35 year long career, Denver released 29 studio albums which generated 44 singles of which 12 shot to the top spot. He enjoyed most of his mainstream success during the 1970s and early 1980s before slowing down during his later years to focus on causes close to his heart. During the peak of his popularity, he toured Japan to perform 7 concerts in 1981. This show was the first of those concerts recorded at the NHK hall in Tokyo on May, 14th 1981. It captures Denver performing his biggest hits with assistance from his large backing ...Read the entire review

The Movie:

From what little I know about progressive rock bands, I know that Toto reached popular status with 1982's Toto IV album, which included the hit singles "Africa" and "Rosanna." Nevertheless, I was surprised to see that they've continued to perform and release albums in some version or another. As the '80s waned down and the US album sales dwindled, they continued to release records, finding Top 10 success in Sweden and Norway.

While they catered to the Nordic demographic, the band managed to have a following in Europe and Japan as well, and this concert, supporting the Falling in Between album, was recorded at Le Zenith in Paris. The Parisian arena was sold out and its crowd was frothing for the musical stylings of Toto, and they got it in spades. The set list for the show was:

"Falling in Between"

"King of the World"

"Pamela"

"Bottom o...Read the entire review

The Movie:

I've listened to and even bought one of the albums of Marshall Mathers, a.k.a. Eminem. I've seen portions of his pseudo-autobiographic movie 8 Mile. I get that he's creative, and I particularly like his self-deprecating manner when he conducts himself in press gatherings. He's talented. I get it. But honestly, his attempts to offend and titillate by poking fun at just about everyone under the sun? Sorry, they just feel like immature acts for attention by a person who grew up with a mother who wasn't exactly parent of the year material.

Just in rattling off some of the people he's tried to parody in his music based on what little I know about him, it's a formidable list. You have George Bush (though to be fair, that target is passed around quite a bit), Sarah Palin, Mariah Carey, Moby and Michael Jackson, to name a few. But people still flock to his music in droves; ...Read the entire review

The Movie:

Most people nowadays might not be into Deep Purple's music, but if you're of a certain age, you at least know how their music in the late '60s and early '70s heavily influenced bands that regularly headlined rock shows in the '80s and '90s. The band was huge in the British musical landscape, with several albums reaching multi-platinum status. And with songs like "Hush" and "Smoke on the Water" still played by today's acts, Deep Purple's music lives on.

In this two-disc set from Eagle Rock, the band's work from its founding in 1968 to its 1976 is touched on. It includes interview footage from many of the members and features a variety of performances. Some of which were done for German and other international television outlets (including a performance of "Hush" on "Playboy After Dark"), while other songs are pulled from concert footage. They cover a variety of the band lin...Read the entire review

THE SPECIAL:

The Willie Nelson Special (given the amended title The Willie Nelson Special--with Special Guest Ray Charles for this DVD release) catches the iconic country troubadour in a 1985 performance at the Austin Opry House. He was riding high at this point in his career, thanks to his recent pop radio hit "To All The Girls I've Loved Before" (a duet with Julio Iglesias), his appearances on the "We are the World" single and as part of the country supergroup The Highwaymen, and his organization of the first Farm Aid benefit.

Nelson and his band (with the help of guitarist Jackie King) perform a relaxed, intimate set of standards and Nelson's hits. The real attraction, however, is the appearance by Ray Charles (I can't help but think that this disc's release falling less than a month before the arrival of the new Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis Play the Music o...Read the entire review

The Movie:

Sometimes I become this "grumpy old man" when it comes to new music. I firmly think that 98 percent of new music - and the artists who make it - is more from the marketing of the artist rather than heaping praise on whatever substance they may have. It's no longer about records; it's about products and commodities. If you're a pretty face and possess a trace of musical aptitude, people will go out of their way to make sure you're the proverbial next big thing. You don't have to write a song, or even come up with the ideas in some cases. If you are deemed to have a little bit of charisma, the corporate machine can go on and on for as long as it wishes.

Which brings me to Jason Aldean. To me, Aldean doesn't seem to really have much in the way of talent or appeal, yet in a short span, he's accomplished successes that would leave guys like Johnny Cash or Hank Williams Sr. asto...Read the entire review

The Season:

THE SPECIAL:

Like most of the American pop audience, I first became aware of the British group Jamiroquai in 1996, when their mind-bending video for "Virtual Insanity" (from their Traveling Without Moving album) became a breakout MTV hit. The accompanying album was an enjoyable slab of neo-Stevie Wonder R&B/funk/pop, and the group has been worth keeping an eye on ever since; though they've misfired occasionally, and never really capitalized on that American success (these days, they're best known for "Canned Heat," the song that Napoleon Dynamite dances to), they've still produced a steady stream of interesting, danceable music.

Which is why Jamiroquai: Live at Montreux 2003 is something of a disappointment. It's not a bad concert, by any means, it's just listless and somewhat underwhelming; the long, improvised renditions often run on considerably longer than they...Read the entire review

The Movie:
OK, I admit it up front, I'm a cynic. I stayed away as much as possible from what I saw as the completely overhyped "news" coverage (which continues more or less unabated to the day I'm writing this review) of the death of Michael Jackson. I have to wonder if similar coverage will be granted to the man who in my estimation not only was largely responsible for Jackson's own preeminence as an adult performer (in the "Off the Wall" and "Thriller" years, arguably Michael's high points, career wise), but also a man who has indelibly shaped popular and jazz music for well over half a century. It makes me a little sad to realize that when Quincy Jones passes, yes, he'll get acclaim and some passing recognition, but probably none of the hoopla that surrounded Jackson's death. I have a feeling Mr. Jones wouldn't want it any other way.

This incredible musical genius, whose middle name ...Read the entire review

The Movie:

When I see the bands I remember in my younger days still playing shows now like they were when I was growing up, it really makes me feel old. But the Black Crowes have been playing concerts and releasing albums since their 1990 debut album "Shake Your Money Maker." Brothers Chris (who handles the vocals) and guitarist Rich Robinson have set the foundation for the musical style of the band - a unique mix of southern rock, blues, folk, and other elements.

How unique is it? Well, Chris has had eclectic musical tastes for quite a while. In fact, the band's first album included a hit song that was a cover of the Otis Redding song "Hard to Handle." The second album, 1992's "The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion" featured an unlisted version of Bob Marley's "Time Will Tell." Some of the band's other reinterpreted songs captured on audio and video discs include classics from ...Read the entire review

Note: I previously reviewed the Blu-ray version of this release. This review repeats non-format specific sections of that review.

The Movie:
As my dear, departed Mother was fond of saying, "Life isn't fair." Eric Clapton is proclaimed a God, while Jeff Beck is proclaimed a tempermental devil, if people even know whom he is to begin with. Though Beck succeeded Clapton as guitarist for The Yardbirds, and went on to at least sporadic chart success with a variety of groups and sounds for the next decade plus, somehow his name has never entered the lexicon at large for great guitarists. Certainly musicians and insiders know who he is, and respect his inerrant musicality and melodic fortitude, but I for one have always felt it a shame that he hasn't received more global recognition and acclaim. While he rarely displays the blistering technical overkill of, say, a John McLaughlin, Bec...Read the entire review

THE CONCERT:

Recorded in Liverpool on July 19, 2003, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and Friends: 70th Birthday Concert captures Mayall,"the father of British blues" (as he's introduced), in spry and spirited shape, running through a set of recent and classic numbers with the help of some famous friends. He's backed by the current version of his Bluesbreakers band, but this is a group that changes personnel more often than a fast-food restaurant; former members went on to form such iconic bands as Fleetwood Mac and Cream. During the course of the two hour-plus show, Mayall is joined by two of his most famous alumni: former Rolling Stone Mick Taylor and the great Eric Clapton, who came to the Bluesbreakers after leaving the Yardbirds in the mid 1960s.

Eagle Rock's film of the concert gets off to a bit of a rocky start. The first three songs are performed by just Mayall and...Read the entire review

The Movie:

B.B. King is something of a mainstay of the world-famous Montreaux Jazz Festival; he first played there in 1979 and has since appeared nearly 20 times at the music fest on the shores of Lake Geneva. The new Blu-ray B.B King Live: Live at Montreaux 1993 captures King, his guitar Lucille, and his excellent band as they perform a marvelous 99-minute set at the 1993 festival.

After decades of performance, the man knows how to make an entrance--the first couple of numbers are nicely up-tempo mood-setters, in which his fine band takes turns soloing in preparation for the headliner. When he comes in, there's a funny speed bump when he starts to play before they've plugged Lucille in (he takes it in stride); once he's plugged in, off he goes.

I've seen a number of music DVDs that would work just as well without the image; it's a kick to hear a talented performer liv...Read the entire review

Savant's been collecting Moody Blues concert video for quite a while, looking for one that reflects my own personal memories of seeing them twice in 1969-1970. Once was at San Bernardino's Swing Auditorium and the other at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. One promising disc called The Moody Blues The Lost Performance Live in Paris '70 turned out to be a video of the Moodies lip-synching to playback in a French studio! I reviewed it fairly positively with the understanding that there just wasn't any full film record of a Moody Blues concert to be found.

The Moody Blues Live at the Isle of Wight Festival changes all that. The eighty-minute disc contains at least forty minutes of straight performing footage from the giant 1970 festival that, at least in te...Read the entire review

The Concert:

I'm a pretty casual Diana Krall fan; I've got a couple of her records, I always enjoy her mellow arrangements and smoky voice when one of her songs comes up during a shuffle on my iPod, and that's about it. But her new concert disc Diana Krall: Live in Rio is just plain enchanting. Filmed last November and featuring much of the same talent and music assembled for her recent bossa nova-flavored Quiet Nights album, Live in Rio has the same warm, mellow, at-home vibe that I so admired on last year's Live from Jazz at Lincoln Center DVD (featuring Wynton Marsalis and Willie Nelson).

The program begins with a brief series of Rio de Janeiro beauty shots (which are occasionally, awkwardly cut into the concert as well) before sett...Read the entire review

The Movie:
Visitors to my home in Portland, whether or not they are professional musicians, regularly marvel at what we comically refer to as my "wall of Brasilian music," a collection of probably well over 1000 CDs of various kinds of music from "down Rio way." While I was too young to experience the first wave of Bossa Nova, which really hit American shores in 1962-63 (yes, for you sticklers, it had been around since 1959 and several artists recorded Bossa Nova before Getz-Gilberto made it a household word), I was the perfect age to experience the second wave of the "Brasilian invasion" when Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 started charting regularly in the late 1960s. Brasil '66 literally changed my life--I had never heard anything so harmonically advanced or so rhythmically expressive, and it didn't hurt that the group's leader played keyboards, my instrument of choice. My love affair wi...Read the entire review

The Movie:
This may strike some of you jazz heads as funny, but I first encountered Chick Corea through my love of the admittedly more pop leaning sounds of Sergio Mendes. Some mid-1970s Time Magazine review mentioned that the first iteration of Corea's seminal group Return to Forever (the one with Flora Purim, Joe Farrell and Airto Moreira) sounded like Mendes' Brasil '66 riffing on Miles Davis, or something to that effect. I didn't know at the time about Corea's own adventures with Miles, or his long journeyman keyboard work with such disparate artists as Stan Getz and Blue Mitchell. I knew even less about Corea's ties to Scientology, something that is alluded to in various RTF song titles. It was enough for me at the time to think that Corea was going to give me some version of Sergio's magic, and so I went right out and got Light as a Feather, an incredible and classic a...Read the entire review

The Movie:
Film lovers may know the name David Geffen as being the "G" in the SKG part of Dreamworks. But I first became aware of him decades ago in his guise as first an agent (there are hilarious stories of one his first clients, Laura Nyro, forcing him to wear a leash while she walked him like a dog in Central Park), and, later, a recording company executive. Geffen pioneered the concept of the "corporate band," supergroups assembled from the pieces of former big chartmakers. Such a beast was Asia, cobbled together from the remnants of Yes, ELP and, perhaps a bit anachronistically, King Crimson. Though Asia never really developed the artistic innovation of their members' forebearers, and had less of a cultural and chart impact than might have been hoped, the band had (and still has) excellent musicianship, if it's clad in rather pedestrian songwriting that exhibits little of the flair ...Read the entire review

The Movie:

Paul Rodgers' place in musical history can probably be best equated to that of the quiet, anonymous yet consistently solid performer. Rodgers has provided vocals to hits for no less than three bands. In the late '60s, his work as singer in the band Free led to the mainstream success "All Right Now," and the band released several albums before disbanding. Rodgers and friend, drummer Simon Kirke, went onto larger success when forming Bad Company, with songs like "Feel Like Makin' Love", "Shooting Star" and "Can't Get Enough" among the band's hits. In between leaving BadCo in 1982 and returning in 1998, he sang vocals for The Firm (Jimmy Page's first project after Led Zeppelin broke up) and sung on the band's hit "Radioactive." Rodgers also provided vocals on Queen songs with the approval and support of band guitarist Brian May, to the point of touring in 2004.

This particula...Read the entire review

The Movie:
As my dear, departed Mother was fond of saying, "Life isn't fair." Eric Clapton is proclaimed a God, while Jeff Beck is proclaimed a tempermental devil, if people even know whom he is to begin with. Though Beck succeeded Clapton as guitarist for The Yardbirds, and went on to at least sporadic chart success with a variety of groups and sounds for the next decade plus, somehow his name has never entered the lexicon at large for great guitarists. Certainly musicians and insiders know who he is, and respect his inerrant musicality and melodic fortitude, but I for one have always felt it a shame that he hasn't received more global recognition and acclaim. While he rarely displays the blistering technical overkill of, say, a John McLaughlin, Beck straddles a number of genres with appealing mastery, coaxing a variety of sounds from his Stratocaster that are alternately soothing and sc...Read the entire review

"If you take the Who when John Entwistle and Moonie were alive,thosefour together equaled eight when they were on stage. They wereastonishing,those four." - Rick Wakeman

Truer words were never spoken. The original members of The Whohad an amazing chemistry when they were on the stage together, and theywere astonishing. They seemed to feed off of each other's energy,creating some of absolutely phenomenal music. Their live shows weresecond to none, and one of their better performances was filmed at theIsle of Wight Festival on August 29th, 1970. Previously releasedby Image, a new remastered version of this classic rock concert hasbeenreleased. With restored video and remixed multichannel audio supervisedby Pete Townshend, this disc is a great chance to see one of rock'sgreate...Read the entire review