DVD

After Scorpions, we can say that the first real metal band from Germany was Accept, which started its career in 1979. Despite a discography with a lack of creativity, they had a kind of success in the mid 80’s, thanks most of all to the album Balls To The Wall and its title-song. Here is a DVD offering us a documentary about the band, but the music stays in front anyway. There are in fact 12 live tracks captured in Osaka, Japan in 1985, 3 live tracks captured in Sophia, Bulgaria in 1993 and 7 videoclips. We can also discover behind the scenes footage, pictures, the complete discography with at least 2 samples from each album and all the lyrics, and of course a biography. In bonus, the reverse side of the DVD is a CD on which we can hear previously unreleased audio tracks (including demo and acoustic versions). Which is also interesting with the DVD is that we can use it different ways: by seeing the documentary in one shot or by seeing only the parts we prefer. So, it would have been really difficult to ask for more because this is an excellent covering of the band’s career. We can also here all their classics that are interesting to come back to, like the excellent "Balls To The Wall", "Metal Heart", "I'm A Rebel", "Midnight Mover" and "Generation Clash". The only problem in my opinion is the lack of music creativity which is making them grow older in not a particularly good way and most of the tracks seem a little bit archaic. Many older bands are most interesting to see on DVD (Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, etc.). But, if you were the biggest fan of these German metal pioneers and you had all their posters in your bedroom, you will be happy to rediscover them on DVD. For the others, you will smile… Ah! The metal of the 80’s!!! (September 2006)

MVD

AC/DC - No Bull: The Directors Cut (2008)

The least we could say is that only a few seconds are necessary to the guys of AC/DC to install their energy on stage. The first track, the classic “Back In Black”, is not even finished that the crowd is already well warmed up. And this involving rock n' roll will continue for 2 hours. The concert for No Bull was captured on July 10, 1996 in Madrid, Spain, whereas the band toured all around the world with the Ballbreaker Tour. Released quickly, the DVD didn’t totally satisfy the producer David Mallet. The concert was thus completely re-edited in high definition, and the sound was remixed, as much in its stereo version than in 5.1 surround sound. Without being as great as Live At Donington issued in 1992, this improved version of No Bull succeeds in showing us a good outline of the unique performances on stage by this Australian group with a contagious energy. They play obviously all their classics: there are 20 of them, without counting the 2 bonuses recorded in Sweden (“Cover You In Oil”) and in Florida (“Down Payment Blues”). In fact, the main inconvenient about this DVD is that Brian Johnson has a rather defective voice, him being usually an exceptional screamer. Fortunately, the rhythm section is as good as its reputation and Angus Young always succeeds in impressing us with his guitar and his dance steps. He is straightforwardly untiring! In end of line, No Bull is a very good DVD which gives a right outline of the band in concert, even with a Johnson who is not at the top of his shape. (November 2008)

Columbia / Sony BMG

AC/DC - Family Jewels (2 DVD) (2005)

Here is a magnificent piece of collection making a great retrospective of AC/DC’s career. The DVDs contain 40 videos, TV performances and on stage performances between 1975 and 1990. There are only a couple of hits they had after that and that are missing to make it a complete anthology of their career. On the first DVD, covering the years 1975-80, they present the first singer of the band, Bon Scott, in exceptional performances giving us the opportunity to discover him and appreciate him like never before. A few blues and rhythm & blues classics mixed with the excellent hits of the band between its debut and the Highway To Hell album make a DVD of a unique quality. The second DVD includes 20 hits of the band in the years 1980-90 with Brian Johnson as singer. It includes the hits from the Back In Black album, their best and the one that sold the most around the world in their career. A booklet full of interesting information and a great presentation, as well for the booklet as for the menus, complete beautifully those 2 hours and a half of the best of AC/DC. Despite the few lacks, it’s definitely a double DVD to have in your collection. (July 2005)

All Time Low - Straight to DVD (DVD + CD) (2010)

After the release of the excellent Nothing Personal album in 2009, the pop punk / emo band All Time Low has experienced great success on tour. The documentary found here presents an overview of this tour, as much on stage as backstage. We can also discover the history of the band, including interviews with their parents. The 76-minute documentary shows also several songs captured in concert in New York City in December 2009. On the other hand, the DVD contains this concert in its entirety, very well shot with an excellent sound performance. Finally, a CD containing the same concert is included. Therefore, it’s a beautiful gift that the group offers to its fans which will be able to learn a little more about their favorite band in addition to discover them in concert. (August 2010)

Hopeless / E1

Anathema, A Moment In Time (2006)

The metal band from Liverpool, England Anathema was formed about 15 years ago already. Close to death metal when they started, they offer now a type of atmospheric goth metal not very far from the British progressive rock of the 70’s (most of all Pink Floyd). A Moment In Time gives us a concert captured in March 2006 at Metalmania Festival Spodek, Katowice, Poland. The band is greatly supported on stage by a string quartet which skillfully emphasizes some of the compositions of the band. There are however tracks that can seem annoying to non initiates, but we can appreciate anyway all their talent and the fans will be totally pleased. In bonus, there are 4 tracks from a concert in Krakow in 2004 and an interview with members of the band. (October 2006)

MVD

Arctic Monkeys - At the Apollo (DVD + CD) (2009)

The British new stars of the years 2000, Arctic Monkeys, arrive with a first DVD, after only 2 albums. It should be said that their success was particularly fulgurating right at their debut. The young band from Sheffield, England presents a concert at the Apollo in Manchester during which we can hear the best of their small repertory to date. Performed with a very good balance on stage, worthy of a group much more experimented, the show gives an excellent portrait of this indie rock band well of its time. Without being exceptional, the performance is solid and will please undoubtedly their young fans. In bonus, we can find a CD containing a concert recorded in Texas in June 2006. The CD has the main quality to present other songs by the group. The booklet is unfortunately lacking details, but the DVD/CD set offered in digipak CD format will have the advantage of not being too expensive to you. So, here is an essential item for the fans of the band. (June 2009)

Domino / Warner

Avenged Sevenfold - Live In The LBC & Diamonds In The Rough (DVD + CD) (2008)

Here is a CD/DVD set which I classify in the DVD category for one simple and good reason: the DVD (Live In The LBC) is definitely the piece of resistance of this combo whereas the CD (Diamonds In The Rough) rather acts as a bonus to the set, even if it’s also very good. The DVD presents a concert captured in Long Beach, California in April 2008, including the 12 greatest hits of the band during more than 76 minutes. An exceptional sound and superb visual help to emphasize the group which is in a very great shape, including M. Shadows whose voice is at its best. The only moment a little weaker in the concert is when they bring a fan on stage to sing “Walk” of Pantera. Fortunately, he was cut short, but it was disappointing not to hear the full version interpreted by M. Shadows. The concert reminded me per moments of Mötley Crüe because of the atmosphere reigning on stage. The performance could also be compared to a mixture between Linkin Park and System Of A Down. The CD accompanying the DVD contains covers (“Flash Of The Blade” of Iron Maiden and “Walk” of Pantera), rarities, a remix of “Almost Easy” and an alternate version of “Afterlife”. The fans of the band will certainly be pleased with this CD/DVD set. (November 2008)

Warner

Bad Brains, Live At CBGB 1982 (2006)

In the early 80’s, the hardcore punk band Bad Brains was at the top of its art. For the first time, we can see now images of them in concert on DVD, at the legendary CBGB in New York City for a hardcore festival on Christmas Eve 1982. With duration of almost an hour, the concert gives us a totally crazy atmosphere with the spectators going on stage one after the other and pitching themselves anywhere. The band was true to its reputation with a very energetic performance, despite a small stage (especially with people of the crowd in addition to the band). At a certain point of the show, the fuses blew up and it was a total blackout, which didn’t stop the band. The image quality of the DVD is great and the only negative point of this DVD is the poor sound quality, but the DVD is probably true to the sound they had in the venue that night. I also would have appreciated more bonuses, including maybe an interview with the band. For the fans of Bad Brains, this is a precious piece of collection they will want more than anything else. For the young punk fans, this is a great history lesson… (October 2006)

MVD

Bad Religion, The Riot (2006)

On December 29, 1990, the concert Bad Religion was supposed to give (with NOFX and Pennywise) had to be cancelled after only one performance (by Pennywise) when authorities considered the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood dangerous because it was overcrowded. That decision was not really appreciated by the fans and they started to pitch beer bottles before starting a riot. It's that riot we can see here in its entirety, filmed by Richard White, even if we don't really see everything that happened. In my opinion, the best part of the DVD is the parts of the concert they gave in 1988 at the University of California. The concert was full of energy and we can discover a young band that was at a few months of recording its best albums in career, and becoming a legend. The only problem with the concert is the sound quality that is not very good, but we have to see this DVD more like a collection item, a rarity to please the fans of the band. A couple of interesting bonuses show the band backstage for their reprise concert of the riot 1 month later at the Hollywood Palladium. We can also see their performance for the song "I Want To Conquer The World". (November 2006)

MVD

The Beach Boys - The Beach Boys and The Satan (2008)

Here is a documentary about the greatest American band of the Sixties, The Beach Boys, the only group which could compete with the British Invasion leaded by The Beatles. We discover in details their rise to success, thanks mainly to the genius of Brian Wilson, whom we can hear besides in interview. We can also hear Don Was, Kenneth Anger, Greg Shaw and Kim Fowley. Where the documentary is different, it’s that it presents a dark side of The Beach Boys whereas the band was associated to Charles Manson. Dennis Wilson indeed became implied in a sect of Manson called The Family. The main problem of the documentary is that we lose the real main idea behind it after a certain time. The impressive rise of the group takes the advantage on the dark side which they seemed to want to put at the front, which is carrying somewhat to confusion. The other negative point of the DVD is that the documentary was produced for German television and we find considerable subtitles in that language. The documentary was released for the first time in 1997, but here is a new edition for those which would have missed it at the time. (April 2009)

ABC / MVD

The Beatles - Rare and Unseen (2009)

Here is a DVD primarily for the real hardcore fans of The Beatles. You will find previously never seen footage (we have to say there is no sound over this footage), accompanied by comments made by different people who have met the band at the time. The interviewees include Phil Collins, Steve Harley, Norman "Hurricane" Smith, Colin Hanton (their first drummer), Ken Dodd, Tony Booth, Gerry Marsden, Sylvie Vartan, and others. Footage found from the past includes their 1st filmed presence on stage in Liverpool in 1962, the shooting of Help! in the Bahamas in 1965, the shooting of Magical Mystery Tour in 1967, footage from a performance at the Paris Olympia in 1964, as well as highlights of an interview by John Lennon for French television in 1975 (the only document including also audio). Interviewee’s comments can give us a different view about what is known of the band. On the other hand, the rare footage doesn’t provide much more. This documentary of about 1 hour is therefore definitely not for a large audience. (October 2009)

Wienerworld / MVD

The Beatles - Composing The Beatles Songbook: Lennon and McCartney 1966-1970 (2008)

The Beatles had their most creative period between 1966 and their split-up in 1970. During those years, the two main songwriters of the band, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, defied themselves constantly to write the best songs it was possible to create, at that time where the influences were more and more varied thanks to psychedelic and experimental music. Their close cooperation of the debut became only writing in parallel making it possible to easily differentiate the compositions from Paul of those of John, even if their two names were still appearing side by side as songwriters. It’s this creative force which they talk about with many details in this 112-minute documentary. Experts and friends come to give their point of view on the writing of these two geniuses through the albums of the group between Rubber Soul (1965) and Abbey Road (1969). We discover how much the Beatles became little by little Paul’s band because John brought less and less ideas and had other interests. Here is thus a very interesting DVD allowing us to know a little more about the real story behind the greatest band in pop music history. (June 2009)

Pride / MVD

The Beatles - Composing The Beatles Songbook: Lennon and McCartney 1957-1965 (2008)

In 1957, Paul McCartney met John Lennon and joined him within The Quarrymen. This collaboration was going to evolve to become the creative force behind The Beatles in 1962. After having most of all interpreted songs composed by others, the duet started to write, in team, some of the best songs of the British pop catalogue. On the other hand, starting in 1964 on the original soundtrack of A Hard Day’s Night, the 2 composers began to write by themselves before making the final arrangements together for the band. At that point in time, competition quickly settled between McCartney and Lennon which benefited from the occasion to challenge each other. Their different personalities and influences then created a duality in the music of The Beatles, which was going to increase in the second half of their career. This documentary goes with details through the first years of the career of The Beatles, the rather merry years, as much in the songs than within the group. These years reached the top with the Rubber Soul album, a record which makes perfectly the link between the first half of their career and their more intense and experimental period of the second half. The documentary presents comments and opinions of various specialists of The Beatles, journalists and friends, who allow us to go deeper in the first half of creation of the greatest band in history. The 80-minute DVD is really interesting and should please as well the many fans of the band and a younger generation which would like to know a little more about The Beatles. (September 2009)

Pride / MVD

The Beatles & Cirque du Soleil - The Beatles LOVE: All Together Now – A Documentary Film (2008)

The LOVE show by Cirque du Soleil, based on the music of The Beatles, is at the Mirage hotel in Las Vegas since the summer of 2006. This mega-production consisted in reworking the musical tracks of the famous quartet and to make of it a circus extravaganza. Its success is huge, even if at first some purists were scandalized by the sacrilege that would be done in attacking the music of the greatest band in history. But where the problem is since the original idea came from George Harrison and that the project received the approval of the 2 remaining members, Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, as well as the widows Olivia Harrison and Yoko Ono Lennon. Moreover, it’s the 5^th Beatle, Sir George Martin, and his son Giles who dealt with the musical reconstruction of the band’s work. This documentary presents the process of creation of this imposing show in company of director Dominic Champagne, founder of Cirque du Soleil Guy Laliberté, and all the team at Cirque. We can follow the various stages of the rehearsals with the occasional presence of The Beatles to give their approval and/or their comments. We can also see them at the premiere on June 30, 2006 whereas they seem completely pleased with the final result. The 84-minute documentary is supplemented by 3 other short documentaries in bonus. Quite as interesting, those present with more details the process of transformation of the music, the surround sound integration in the theatre built specifically for the show, as well as all that is surrounding the show (costumes, accessories, lightings, audio recordings, and more). In end of line, All Together Now presents sufficient extracts of the show and music of the band so that it’s entertaining and not only a bunch of interviews. It will be interesting as much for those who saw the show as for those who would like to go to Vegas to discover this unique production. (December 2008)

Parlophone / EMI

The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour Memories (2008)

Here is a documentary presenting the memories of various witnesses of the shooting of the Magical Mystery Tour movie by The Beatles in 1967. We can hear anecdotes of people who were close to The Beatles at that time, including among others Paul’s brother, Mike McCartney, which contributed to the film. The narrator of the documentary is Victor Spinetti who played in the movie. This DVD makes it possible to discover many secrets behind the shooting of that film which was made to substitute a real tour, whereas The Beatles had decided to concentrate on their studio work. The 54-minute documentary is passably well done, even if we can unfortunately hear no music by The Beatles themselves, as well as extracts from the film. On the other hand, rare or never seen video footage and photographs can be discovered here, which can be particularly interesting for a hardcore fan of The Beatles. This is also an essential document for any collector, but a larger audience is likely to be rather indifferent to such documentary presenting a very precise time of the career of The Beatles. Extras adding up 20 minutes present other details of the interviews not retained for the documentary, but they are rather useless. Magical Mystery Tour Memories can be regarded as an interesting documentary, but non essential… (January 2009)

Wienerworld / MVD

Big Audio Dynamite, Live: E=MC²

When Mick Jones decided to form Big Audio Dynamite after the bursting of The Clash, it’s a wind of freshness which was brought to the danceable pop rock genre. The group innovated indeed thanks to the use of samplings and beat boxes in a music which integrated rock, reggae and hip hop. Personally, I never really liked their music which is despite everything almost the logical continuation of the last recordings of The Clash. But, this performance recorded in 1992 at Town and Country Club in London, England succeeded in reconciling me with their music. Here, it’s the second version of B.A.D. we can see in a particularly energetic performance. I think that we never saw Jones having as much fun on stage, even during the good years of The Clash. He seems like a fish in water. The groovy songs of the band, with a DJ coming to add his touch to the whole as much during the songs than during the breaks, make so that there’s no weak moments in the 50 minutes of the concert which quickly succeeded in raising the crowd to its feet (a crowd that was already convinced but it doesn’t matter). The concert concludes with the classic from Prince, "1999". This is a very simple DVD containing only the concert, without any extras and booklet, but it’s definitely worth the cost if you’re a fan of Mick Jones, even if Big Audio Dynamite never really interested you. (June 2007)

Cherry Red / MVD

Billy Talent - 666 Live (DVD + CD) (2007)

The tour which followed the release of their 2nd album brought Billy Talent almost everywhere around the world, at some of the largest venues. There is a very good outline of it with this DVD and CD package. The DVD contains the equivalent of an entire concert, but divided into 3 cities: Brixton in England, Dusseldorf in Germany and the MTV Rock AM Ring festival in Germany (a mega outside concert). For the CD, one finds the integral concert in Dusseldorf captured on February 20, 2007. The whole is offered to us in a beautiful digipak case, even if the booklet doesn’t explain much and most of all shows photographs of the concerts. The worst thing about the DVD, which is at first sight very interesting, is the weakness of the 5.1 surround sound mixing. Volume varies constantly and at a certain time we have the feeling our system is defective, whereas it’s rather the balance between the instruments which they completely missed, especially when one passes from the whole group to only one instrument and vice versa. In bonus, the DVD offers other photographs on a music background, but it’s too little too late. Whereas the DVD should be the major part of this box, it’s in fact the CD which becomes more interesting and it deserves to pay the price. The fans will surely appreciate nevertheless, in spite of some growls of impatience while listening to the DVD in the 5.1 version. (January 2008)

Warner

Blackalicious, 4/20 Live in Seattle (2006)

Blackalicious is a very good hip hop alternative duo and they are offering us now a DVD including an excellent concert, as well as interviews with Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel. The performance is at a top level for the sound as well as for the lighting and the general atmosphere there was at the venue. Gift of Gab raps in a spectacular way on the first track, "Alphabet Aerobics", which is a good way to create quickly a good atmosphere. There are no weaknesses and the 1 hour DVD includes enough material to be interesting without offering unnecessary stuff. Anyway, we can see in bonus a visit of the tour bus as well as the video for the track "Deception". So, the DVD is interesting from the beginning to the end and we can replay the entire concert on a regular basis without having to take all the night. The fans of good hip hop have to discover Blackalicious if it’s not already done and this DVD will help to convince them of the quality of the product they have to offer. A very good choice! (December 2006)

MVD

Blood Sweat & Tears, Spinning Wheel (2007)

The band from New York City Blood Sweat & Tears is a perfect fusion between jazz and rock. Several even see them as one of the best groups of all time in the genre. They sold approximately 6 million albums between 1967 and 1978 before splitting. The singer David Clayton-Thomas then reformed the group in 1980 for a record and a tour and it’s one of these concerts we can find here. It was captured at the Civic Theatre of Halifax, England on April 9, 1980. The 7 musicians gave a very good performance, even if I consider that it was more for the jazz fans than for the rock fans. The concert includes the greatest hits of the band, and covers of Billie Holiday ("God Bless The Child") and Jimi Hendrix ("Manic Depression"). With 58 minutes, the DVD doesn’t contain anything more than the concert, but it will recall excellent memories to their fans of that time. (July 2007)

Cherry Red / MVD

David Bowie, Under Review 1976-1979: The Berlin Trilogy (2006)

By the mid 70’s, David Bowie was the biggest pop star in the UK, but his personal life was in turmoil. In a bid to escape the chaos of his drug problems and to flea from the media spotlight, he eventually found his way to Berlin where he started to work on 3 albums, among the most personal of his career, without hiding behind a persona like Ziggy Stardust. Those 3 albums we call the Berlin trilogy are Low, Heroes and Lodger. Some fans declared they were disappointed about those 3, being more attracted by the Ziggy Stardust era, but others said Bowie was at his best with the trilogy. This DVD presents an independent review and criticism for that era of the David Bowie’s long career. The albums he recorded at the time, in collaboration with Brian Eno, present creative music. This music would stay aside of pop music, but would have a lot of importance in the music history. He experiments more than ever in genres from proto punk to ambient pop rock. This DVD, most of all for the fans of Bowie, presents with details that period of his career that can seem dark, but was so creative. We can hear interviews with a panel of esteemed experts, plus live and studio performances. Without making you discover the complex David Bowie persona, you will have the opportunity to discover anyway interesting years of his career. (December 2006)

MVD

James Brown - Double Dynamite! (2008)

The godfather of soul, James Brown, had ups and downs during the Seventies and Eighties, even if he always continued to tour in a ceaseless way. They present us here 2 performances of high quality captured in 1980 and 1985. Firstly, Brown was on stage at the famous Studio 54 in New York City, la Mecca of disco music, on March 26, 1980. In a very rhythmed performance, Brown offers the best of this famous funk style he created. What can seem somewhat repetitive at the beginning becomes quickly hypnotizing during nearly one hour. In a very different context, we find James Brown on stage at the Chastain Park Amphitheatre of Atlanta in 1985. Whereas it was perhaps during the darkest years of his life, Brown succeeds anyway in offering a great performance, once again in a one-hour concert offering few moments of rest, except maybe for his cover of “Georgia on My Mind” paying tribute to Ray Charles. A beautiful and extremely detailed 13-page booklet comes with the DVD presenting an overview of his career and the history behind the 2 legendary venues in which he performs. This DVD will please every James Brown fan. It’s a quality DVD thanks to a very good surround sound and in spite of a standard format screen image. This is a DVD every fan of this true legend has to own. (April 2009)

Charly / MVD

Buzzcocks - Live At Shepherds Bush Empire 2003 (DVD) (2006)

The English punk band Buzzcocks played Shepherds Bush Empire in London on April 27, 2003. That performance was captured and is offered now on DVD for our greater pleasure. We can experience 5.1 surround sound which emphasizes perfectly this excellent concert of the group. They offer nothing less than 32 tracks for a total duration of 95 minutes. The more the concert goes on, the more they manage to raise their level of a notch, for an extremely strong performance. Talking is useless and the group rather prefers to connect the songs together. We can count one problem at the beginning of “Keep On”, whereas the complete confusion reigned when no one knew which song they had to play next. Except for that, these are true pros that we can see on stage, even if the context has changed much for the last 25 years and that the voices are not anymore the same ones. In addition to the concert, the DVD offers many extras, some more interesting than others, the most relevant being a long interview with Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle. A very interesting DVD for the fans of the band and an excellent way of discovering them for younger people… (July 2008)

Secret / MVD

The Byrds - Under Review (2 DVD) (2007)

Perhaps at the beginning of the Sixties The Byrds were one of the least creative groups musically in comparison with the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan and the bands of the British invasion (the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, etc). On the other hand, they were maybe the best musicians among all these legends. They made their appearance as a folk group, but their talent of musicians only made it possible to create new genres like folk rock and country rock. On this double DVD, experts make an in-depth return on the career of the group, analyzing deeply each moment of the evolution of their music through their various albums. In fact, the most important problem of this double DVD is precisely to be too much detailed with more than 3 hours of material. It’s enormous for a band which existed only 9 years and which, with only a couple of really interesting albums and a handle of radio hits, is very far from the success of the Beatles. It’s thus a true challenge of being able to view the 2 discs until the end without falling asleep. So, it’s necessary to be a hardcore fan of the group or of the evolution of folk music in the Sixties to see a true interest from the beginning to the end. Also, those which find that documentaries are always a little too much an overview will be particularly excited by unpacking this double DVD. (December 2007)

Sexy Intellectual / Chrome Dreams / MVD

Johnny Cash - The Man, His World, His Music (2000) (2007 re-issue)

Here is a 90-minute film reviewing the various facets of the life of this legend of country music. The music is at the center of the film whereas we can see images of Cash in various contexts: hunting, in family, with friends, on tour, in studio or on stage. These various images give a good portrait of his life, while presenting him on tour at the end of the 60’s. We can see him in duo with his wife June Carter, as well as with the folk legend Bob Dylan (who turned country in contact with Johnny Cash). We can also see Carl Perkins on stage performing his classic "Blue Suede Shoes". Among the 21 tracks offered here, we can hear several Cash classics, even if it cannot be seen like a compilation of his greatest hits. It’s sure we cannot expect an image quality of the years 2000, but the video capture has the advantage of bringing us back to an environment of the 60’s. The fans of Johnny Cash will appreciate undoubtedly this film which gives a good outline of the persona. (October 2007)

Cherry Red / MVD

Chic - Live At The Budokan (2008)

Guitarist Nile Rodgers and bass player Bernard Edwards led the funky disco group Chic to the top in the late Seventies. But they didn’t stop there because they also wrote and produced the 2 greatest hits of Sister Sledge, “He's The Greatest Dancer” and “We Are Family”, in addition to working with David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Madonna and Diana Ross. This DVD presents the last concert of the band, recorded on April 16, 1996 in Tokyo, 2 days before the death of Bernard Edwards of pneumonia. The DVD thus wants to pay tribute to the late bass player and besides, we can find 2 tribute articles in the bonus features of the DVD. The 69-minute concert presents of course the greatest hits of the band (“Freak”, “Dance, Dance, Dance”, ““Good Times”, and more). Sister Sledge also come to sing their 2 greatest hits, without forgetting Slash (former Guns N’ Roses) which comes to electrify “Freak” of a guitar solo to frighten the Japanese crowd that came to hear disco music and only disco music. The most interesting aspect with Chic is their funky sound of a great musical richness which doesn’t become obsolete and remains effective on stage 20 years later. Rodgers makes and introduction and a conclusion to the concert, not failing to thank his late colleague and friend. He also comments on the performance in another version of the concert offered in bonus. In conclusion, this is a DVD of first quality presenting and emphasizing well one of the best groups of the disco era. The booklet also presents many interesting details. (March 2009)

Charly / MVD

Leonard Cohen - I'm your Man (2006)

Leonard Cohen is a poet and songwriter born in Montreal which was always critically acclaimed as well as he was a main influence for many artists. His songs have a particular emotion he knows how to communicate beautifully with his low and deep voice. In January 2005 in Sydney, Australia, around ten artists were reunited for a special tribute to this living legend. Among them, let’s name U2, Rufus and Martha Wainwright, the McGarrigle sisters, Beth Orton, Nick Cave, Antony (from Antony and the Johnsons) and Jarvis Cocker. I’m Your Man is a Lian Lunson documentary presenting sequences from that concert separated by interviews with the most important participants. Cohen was absent at the concert, but he is well present on the DVD with and interview we can hear in parts in which he presents his life and his songs in a very personal way. To conclude the documentary, he even offers us the song "Tower of Song" with the help of the members of U2, a track recorded in studio. This documentary is a very sincere and moving tribute, made with class, but not perfect. The songs from the concert are sometimes cut short to leave the space for the interviews, which are not always really relevant. Even if the documentary can be interesting for the new fans, many of them will maybe get lost, even fall asleep well before the end of the 103 minutes. I think we have to be a real Cohen fan to keep our concentration on the songs and on the interviews. In bonus, the DVD gives us 4 never seen performances captured in Sydney, as well as an additional interview with Cohen. The 5.1 sound is available, but you won’t really hear it, because there are no special sound effects. (January 2007)

Christal Films

Dengue Fever - Sleepwalking Through the Mekong (DVD + CD) (2009)

Here is a documentary about the Californian band Dengue Fever whose female singer, Chhom Nimol, is of Cambodian origin. The Khmer alternative rock group visits the country of origin of its singer giving the opportunity to the people that were persecuted for a long time to rediscover the music which made them vibrate in the 60s. As the musicians say themselves, the most impressive part in this voyage was to see the glances of pride and admiration in the eyes of those people in front of these foreigners who play the music of their youth. We can see some performances of the band on stage in TV shows and more. The DVD is accompanied by a CD containing the soundtrack for the documentary. This CD constitutes some kind of a compilation of what the group produced to date, in addition to a pair of rarities and some alternate and live versions. We find nothing less than 17 tracks of which several of great quality (“Seeing Hands”, “Today I Learnt To Drink”, and so on). The CD/DVD set of Sleepwalking Through the Mekong is an excellent way of discovering this unique band. (May 2009)

M80 / It’s Alive!

Depeche Mode - The Dark Progression (2009)

The British band Depeche Mode is undoubtedly the greatest electronic act in history, having begun 30 years ago, a few years only after the debut of this new music genre. This unauthorized documentary of 97 minutes presents in details the evolution of their career, from the happy beginnings musically to explorations a little darker, while passing by their industrial experiments. It also presents the beginnings of electronic music before the arrival of Depeche Mode, question of explaining the origins of the band. We can hear various musical extracts of the group, as of other artists who influenced them. So, here is a particularly interesting documentary to discover Depeche Mode or simply to learn a little more about their evolution. (July 2009)

Sexy Intellectual / Chrome Dreams / MVD

D.O.A. - The Men of Action (2009)

The Canadian version of the Sex Pistols, D.O.A., crossed the line of the 30-year career. For the occasion, they offer a superb DVD containing 26 videos, most of them recorded live. So, the DVD can be used as the ultimate compilation for the band, in spite of the presence of live tracks. Moreover, it was remastered for a quality audio result. We can also listen to the 26 videos accompanied by comments by Joe “Shithead” Keithley, the singer, guitarist and leader of the band. In bonus, Sudden Death Records includes in the package their 2008 album, the excellent Northern Avenger. The album, which was produced by Canadian Bob Rock (Metallica, Mötley Crüe), includes the very effective “Human Bomb” and “Police Brutality”, also included on the DVD, in addition to the cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Who Will Stop the Rain”. This is thus a great gift the band is offering to its longtime fans to celebrate its 30th anniversary. (November 2009)

Sudden Death / MVD

D.O.A. - Smash The State: The Raw Original D.O.A. 1978-81 (2007)

The punk group from Vancouver, Dead On Arrival (D.O.A.), had an important influence on contemporary punk music. We find them here at the top of their career in various performances, primarily in the San Francisco Bay where they were very successful on stage. We can hear more than 20 tracks as well as bonuses (the video for “World War 3”, a report with interviews). The recording quality is far from being perfect, but fortunately it doesn’t prevent from discovering the incomparable energy of the group in concert. This is a DVD which will enable you to suitably discover this single group of the Canadian punk scene. (June 2008)

Sudden Death / MVD

Snoop Dogg - Drop It Like It's Hot (2008)

This star of gangsta rap presents here a concert which was captured on February 23, 2005 in Brussels, Belgium. Snoop Dogg offers an excellent performance, worthy of his reputation, even if he is most of the time rather static on stage. The addition of female dancers on some tracks helps for the atmosphere and makes the show a little more dynamic. He plays nothing less than 20 tracks for a total of 68 minutes. We can hear obviously most of his greatest hits including “P.I.M.P.” and “Drop It Like It's Hot”. In bonus, we can also hear 2 tracks captured at Sumfest in Jamaica in 2001, “Wrong Idea” and “Deep Cover”. We can as well read the 10 commandments as they originally appeared in Q magazine and 10 minutes of before the concert footage. In addition to the DVD, we can read a very detailed 20-page booklet including his biography, filmography, various contributions and appearances, discography and a chronology of the most important events since the beginning of his career in 1992. In end of line, Drop It Like It's Hot is an excellent DVD, a necessary purchase for his numerous fans. (November 2008)

Charly / MVD

Nick Drake - Under Review (2007)

Completely unknown during his short career, Nick Drake became a true legend after his death of an overdose of antidepressants in 1974, whereas he was only 26 years old. On his 3 albums, he was able to reinvent British folk rock in a very “English” single style, thanks to his voice as well as his guitar. This DVD makes an excellent retrospective on his life and career, showing at the same time at which point he influenced the future generations. The unauthorized documentary of 90 minutes presents comments by various journalists, musicians and friends, who were close to Drake or who were inspired by him. One can also hear various extracts of his music, in addition to seeing a great number of photographs. Under Review is a very good way of discovering a little more about Nick Drake. (February 2008)

Sexy Intellectual / Chrome Dreams / MVD

The Drifters, Greatest Hits Live (2007)

The 4 current members of the legendary Drifters offer us for the first time on DVD a Drifters’ concert captured in 2006 in England. We can hear nothing less than 31 songs including all the band’s greatest hits like "Save The Last Dance For Me", "Sweet Caroline", "Come On Over To My Place", "Love Games", "Some Kind Of Wonderful", "Stand By Me" and "Kissin' In The Back Row Of The Movies". The performance is exceptional and we can hear the whole with a surround sound for our greatest pleasure. In bonus, we can see an exclusive performance with Gary Brooker for "A World Of Love", plus various interviews. The concert lasts 104 minutes and the extras add 50 more minutes to this very generous DVD. For the nostalgic ones of R&B of the 50’s and 60’s, it acts as a superb DVD which recreates perfectly the mood of that era, even if the 4 current members were not even born at the time... (September 2007)

MVD

Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan Never Ending Tour Diaries (2009)

Winston Watson was a drummer for Bob Dylan from 1992 to 1997 for approximately 400 concerts almost everywhere around the world. Throughout this tour, he took many notes and it’s what he presents us today in this documentary of 100 minutes. He tells us how he was hired initially and got on stage for the first time in a festival in Kansas City in front of 80,000 people without knowing what he would have to play. Then, it seems that this lack of communication was constantly a part of the entourage of Dylan throughout the following years. All that Watson had to do was to be there to play the evening of the show. In the beginning of the documentary, we are interested by what he has to tell us, but after a moment, this almost uninterrupted interview becomes rather wearying. It’s only cut by short animations on the DVD and some footage of Dylan in concert, without the sound. The only music heard on this is that of Highway 61 Revisited, about which they make a large place. The documentary enables us to discover another point of view of the character constituting Bob Dylan. On the other hand, only the biggest fans will be able to watch it until the end. (August 2009)

Highway 61 / MVD

Bob Dylan - 1978-1989: Both Ends Of The Rainbow (2008)

Here is a documentary of more than 2 hours treating of the most controversial era of Bob Dylan’s career. In 1978, religion became the center of his life and a trilogy of albums resulted from it, albums on which he literally preached the benefits to believe in God, separating definitively the saved from the damned. At that time, he certainly lost more fans than he gained some. In the Eighties, he was as lost as other musicians at that time, but nevertheless, he succeeded in offering a few interesting moments, with the culminating point being the album Oh Mercy. This documentary presents a great number of specialists or friends who were close to Dylan and which give us their point of view about this part of his career, tracing a final line with what he had made since his early years. We can hear some music extracts, but in fact, interviews primarily dominate this documentary. It will appear quite long to you whereas they review in details, often a little too much, each album during that period and Dylan’s state of mind. Moreover, we can hear in bonus interviews with Bob Dylan during his most fervent phase of Christianity. His fans (who remained faithful to him in spite of that very particular phase) will be very interested by what they will learn about that period while going very in-depth. The others will probably find the documentary too long and inaccessible and they will have problems to keep attention until the end. (August 2008)

Chrome Dreams / MVD

Bob Dylan, The Golden Years 1962-1978 (2 DVD) (2007)

This double unauthorized biographical DVD about the American folk legend Bob Dylan is regrouping 2 DVDs released separately before. The first DVD, Tales From A Golden Age : Bob Dylan 1941-1966, presents in a great way the beginnings of the now famous singer and songwriter from Minnesota. We can discover his first musical experiences as a teenager. But, which is particularly interesting, it’s to discover his first recordings and how fast his career grew up, until his major albums of the mid 60’s, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde On Blonde. The second DVD, Bob Dylan 1966-1978 : After The Crash, presents what occurred after his motorcycle accident when he had to stay aside of the music industry for several months. We discover how creative he was at the time and how he redirected towards country music, working with the legendary Johnny Cash. They present the difficulties and the good shots of the 70’s, but the 120-minute DVD is way too long to preserve the interest. This 2^nd part of the box definitely puts shadows over the first one. Fortunately, we find new and rare material, which can make it possible for his biggest fans to make great discoveries. (September 2007)

Chrome Dreams / MVD

Europe, The Final Countdown Tour 1986 – Live in Sweden (2006)

In 1986, the hard rock band from Sweden Europe reached fame all around the world thanks to the album The Final Countdown and its title-song. Other singles from the album like "Rock the Night", "Cherokee" and the ballad "Carrie" also got big airplay. The band was immediately compared to Bon Jovi and Def Leppard, other very famous bands from that era, but Europe didn’t survive to the 90’s. We heard about a comeback by the band in 2004 (and I don’t care at all about it), but most of all they just released this DVD. It was captured in their own country during the world tour of 1986, 20 years ago. The greatest hits of their career are in fact in this one hour concert which is great visually, in widescreen format. Otherwise, the sound is not very good, despite the possibility we have to listen to it in 5.1 surround sound. In bonus to the concert, we can hear interviews with the band from this year, a visit at the studio where they recorded The Final Countdown album, a gallery of photos and a biography. This DVD is a good way to bring you back into the heart of the 80’s, an era in which the hair was more important than the creativity in rock music. For the ones who could be interested, the band also released recently a new album, Secret Society. (January 2007)

MVD

Finger Eleven - Us Vs Then Vs Now (DVD + CD) (2007)

Here is the first DVD for this Canadian alternative band. It contains 2 performances captured in Toronto and Vancouver in 2007 which enable us to discover all their energy on stage. There’s also a whole list of archive tracks including some in concert, performances at MuchMusic (with one from the time of Rainbow Butt Monkeys), interviews and their videos. You will thus hear all there their hits in a form or another: “Good Times”, the ballad “One Thing”, “First Time”, “Paralyzer” and so on. A CD is also included and it contains 14 rarities: never released songs, demo versions and a remix of “Sick Of It All”. The main disadvantage of the package is that we can hear many different things all mixed up together. On the other hand, what is presented here makes an excellent overview of the group’s career, and the fans as well as the neophytes who will want to discover them will like it as much. Us Vs Then Vs Now has definitely much content for our money! (February 2008)

Wind-up / Warner

The Flaming Lips - U.F.O.s At The Zoo: The Legendary Concert In Oklahoma City (2007)

On September 15, 2006, the American alternative group The Flaming Lips performed in a unique concert at the Zoo Amphitheatre in its hometown of Oklahoma City. This much awaited concert by the fans presented a great stage setting around a spaceship from which the band members went down at the beginning of the concert, like aliens. This mothership would take them back at the end of the performance and take off under the crowd acclamations. They definitely made everything they could in terms of lightings, smoke, giant balloons and other artifices, which gave a huge show. The most important negative point of the DVD is that the concert is stopped by short films about the preparation of the concert, including comments of fans. It would have been largely better to be able to view the concert entirely and to have the documentary in bonus. It’s important to note that the DVD, with its 5.1 surround sound, is a MVI (Music Video Interactive). It thus allows, in addition to the concert, to have access to MP3 files for all the live tracks, to make your own ringtones (in the US only with URTone), to make your own mix of “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song” (with NU-MYX), in addition of having access to icons, wallpapers and a booklet in PDF format. It’s a superb gift for the fans of the group, but the others are likely to lose themselves in all that, even if they discover a very good group on stage, available for the first time in DVD format. (December 2007)

Warner

Genesis – Remember Knebworth 1978: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2007)

Knebworth was one of the most important festivals in England in the Seventies. After the visit of groups like The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd, the festival accommodated in 1978 the new Genesis band, without Peter Gabriel. The people also saw on stage Jefferson Starship, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Devo, Roy Harper (a regular of the festival), Brand X and Atlanta Rhythm Section. This DVD contains a documentary about this huge festival, especially for the preparation phase. Among the most interesting elements, we can see a full performance in rehearsals of the most recent Genesis hit at the time, “Many Too Many”. Then, there is their presence at the concert for the song “The Lady Lies”. Unfortunately, with less than 25 minutes and no other performance on stage, the documentary will seem quite poor to you. We can find anyway in bonus an in-depth interview with the promoter of the festival, Freddy Bannister. Finally, people who had the chance to be on the spot at the time will be able to remember good memories with a copy of the official 28-page program that was sold on site at the event. (May 2008)

Voiceprint / MVD

Green Day, Bullet In A Bible (DVD + CD) (2005)

With its most recent album, American Idiot, Green Day was able to make us forget Dookie with maybe what will become its best album in career (we will have a better opinion about it after a little more time). One thing is sure, it's that the band was going on tour with great quality material, and you can hear it on Bullet In A Bible, a package of a CD and a DVD. In fact, in my opinion, it's most of all a DVD accompanied by a CD because the DVD is certainly the main part of this package. The images have been caught during 2 concerts in London in a stadium of 60 000 people in the summer of 2005. It was the 2 biggest concerts of the career of the band and there was a lot of energy, on stage and in the crowd. Everybody seemed happy to be there. Proof of the quality (and fame) of their most recent album, the band played many new songs in the first half of the concert and the crowd seemed totally conquered, screaming all the lyrics in case Billie Joe had forgotten them. They were all so efficient those new songs that when the band dove in its repertoire of the 90's, beginning with "Longview", the crowd seemed to have lost a lot of energy. What's better than "Basket Case", their first hit in career, to bring back the atmosphere of the beginning and there will be no more weak moments after that. I was sorry they didn't play some great songs from their repertoire of 10 years ago, but I can understand they don't have the desire to play them as often as they did in the past, or maybe they were just cut in the final mix of the DVD. The intensity of this concert made me think it's probably difficult for a musician to go home alone after all this adrenaline, certainly more efficient than a heroin dose. It can maybe explain the dependence of many musicians to hard drugs, trying to recreate the buzz they had on stage. About the DVD, something that annoyed me at the beginning was the interviews between the songs, which is breaking the rhythm of the concert. But, after a couple of them, it was ok, and they are very interesting anyway. And it gives us the opportunity to catch our breath during the concert which is not a bad thing. The CD will only give you the concert itself. Bullet In A Bible is one of the best concerts on DVD I saw in the last years. A great purchase! (January 2006)

Guns N’ Roses – 2 Classic Albums Under Review: Use Your Illusion I and II (2007)

In September 1991, Guns N’ Roses made history by releasing 2 albums simultaneously, and was thus going to become the only group in history to occupy the Billboard chart positions 1 and 2 in the same week. This documentary presents these 2 albums in depth, as well as the tour that surrounded them. It includes rare footage of the group at that time, as well as interviews with musicians and vocalists who worked with the band in studio and on stage. We also hear comments of friends, biographers, journalists and DJs who followed them closely for years. What is particularly interesting with this DVD, it’s that in addition to reviewing each track of the 2 CDs, it presents the group from its debut until now. It’s thus not only a documentary about Use Your Illusion I and II, but also a documentary about the whole career of the band. (April 2008)

85 minutes

Sexy Intellectual / Chrome Dreams / MVD

Guns N' Roses, DVD Collector's Box (2 DVD) (2007)

This box gathers 2 DVDs published a few years ago about Guns N’ Roses and its singer, Axl Rose. They are unauthorized DVDs by Rose and the group but, even if one had requested his opinion from Rose, he would have probably said no anyway. Sex N’ Drugs N’ Rock N’ Roll presents the history of the band by interviews with specialists of the Los Angeles hard rock scene. They present their difficult debut, until the latest years of Axl with new musicians. Each album is presented, even the famous Chinese Democracy which is still not on sale after years of speculation on its date of release. The Prettiest Star introduces the Axl Rose persona with his unpleasant attitude. They talk about his childhood in Lafayette, Indiana before he becomes one of most acclaimed rock 'n' roll stars in the world. They come back of course on Chinese Democracy and some other elements are repeated on the 2 discs since they had not been produced in the beginning to be presented together. An interesting portion of this 2^nd DVD, it’s that they go a little further in the details of the bands which preceded Guns N’ Roses. Chris Weber, one of the guitarists of Hollywood Rose, tells us with details how all those people crossed to make Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns (2 groups in which sang Axl Rose) finally amalgamated to become Guns N’ Roses. The story is rather complex and all these explanations largely help to see it more clearly. We can also hear the enriching comments by the former band’s manager, Vicky Hamilton, which gave them their first chance in the industry. The two documentaries are particularly interesting to discover a little more the less known parts of the band. The most disappointing about the DVDs is we don’t hear any Guns N’ Roses music on them. It can be sometimes rather aggravating, especially when they speak about a particular album and that the background music has nothing to do with the band. (March 2007)

Chrome Dreams / MVD

Hanoi Rocks - The Nottingham Tapes (2008)

Formed in Helsinki, Finland in 1979, Hanoi Rocks was to some extent the hyphen between the New York Dolls and Guns N’ Roses. After having moved to Stockholm then to London, the group finally dissolved in 1985 without having truly obtained success. On the other hand, they left an indelible trace in the history of rock n’ roll music with their interesting mixture of punk and glam rock. Their energetic rock n' roll, particularly on stage, inspired several of their contemporaries. It’s precisely about one of these single performances we can find on this DVD. This is a concert captured on April 23, 1984 at the Palais in Nottingham, England. The band is very well leaded here by a Michael Monroe in great shape. Hanoi Rocks plays 14 tracks for a total duration very close to 1 hour. Through their best songs, we can find covers magnificently reinvented for the occasion including “Up Around The Bend” of CCR, “I Feel Alright” of the Stooges and “Blitzkrieg Bop” of the Ramones. On The Nottingham Tapes, Hanoi Rocks presents a rock performance of first quality, a concert which was concluded in a total disorder whereas the crowd invaded the stage at the time of the last track, “Blitzkrieg Bop”. (September 2008)

Cherry Red / MVD

Richard Hell & The Voidoids - Blank Generation (2010)

Blank Generation is a musical drama first issued in 1980 and featuring Richard Hell and Carole Bouquet. Nada, a French journalist (Bouquet), is working on a documentary about a rising music star, Billy (Hell). A tumultuous relationship is established between both, forcing the young artist to make difficult choices. The film depicts the New York punk rock scene of the late 1970s, as well as arts in general at that time. Even the avant-garde artist Andy Warhol can be seen playing himself. We can also view performances on stage by Richard Hell & The Voidoids captured at the famous CBGB. Produced by the German Ulli Lommel, the movie presents some interesting aspects of that time, even if we can find several moments frankly annoying. In fact, the most interesting element of this DVD edition is the addition of a new 42-minute interview with Richard Hell about the film. So, here is a DVD which is only for the hardcore fans of Richard Hell and in particular that time in contemporary music history. (April 2010)

MVD

Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden And The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (2008)

In the mid-Seventies, nobody knew that there was an old wave of British heavy metal, until a new wave appeared. In parallel with the beginnings of the punk rock movement, new rock acts with heavy sounds, influenced by blues, rock n' roll or progressive rock made their appearance anywhere in England. This documentary presents in a particularly detailed way that important period in music history, whose sound is still reflected today through the music of a great number of rock and metal bands. The DVD insists especially on Iron Maiden, the group which dominated that new wave of British heavy metal during many years and which was the most successful throughout the world. But, the 2 hours and 25 minutes of the documentary go well beyond introducing Saxon, Samson (Bruce Dickinson’s first band, before becoming the most important Iron Maiden singer), Praying Mantis, Diamond Head and Tygers Of Pan Tang. They also talk about Judas Priest and Motörhead, as well as presenting how Def Leppard went from being an important band of that new wave to a powerful commercial hard rock act in America. The documentary concludes by showing how the new wave of British heavy metal was able to influence a whole generation of metal musicians in America, most of all Metallica. The documentary makes it possible to study in details that era of the history of music thanks to the comments of journalists and specialists, but also of several musicians of the time: Paul Di'Anno and Dennis Stratton (original members of Iron Maiden), Brian Tatler (Diamond Head), Rob Weir (Tygers Of Pan Tang), legendary drummer Thundersticks (Samson), Tino and Chris Troy (Praying Mantis), as well as the members of Girlschool. This very interesting documentary contains in bonus other extracts of interviews which come to add to a DVD that is already quite exhaustive. (December 2008)

Sexy Intellectual / Chrome Dreams / MVD

Michael Jackson - The Life and Times of the King of Pop 1958-2009 (2009)

This pseudo-documentary, which wants to be the perfect companion to This Is It, presents unfortunately huge defaults. Firstly, the film assembles primarily a bunch of exclusive footage from the last days of the life of Michael Jackson, without really documenting anything. The excerpts of the best moments of the memorial paying respect to him are touching and illustrate well the impact that he had during his career. On the other hand, they are surrounded by unspecified comments from fans, without much interest. Most of the footage offered is not accompanied by narration and thus it doesn’t tell anything captivating. The most informative portions of the movie are excerpts from Entertainment Tonight. Jackson’s music is absolutely not heard and it never tells anything about his career and his life. So here is a document which seems very opportunistic, just to benefit from the interest around the death of the king of pop. (February 2010)

RockCity / MVD

Michael Jackson - The Trial and Triumph of the King of Pop (2009)

After the death of the King of pop on June 25, all has been said about him. His album sales have reached new heights and any available material about him finds a buyer. This behind-the-scenes documentary chronicles the criminal trial that had to face the singer in 2007 for sexual abuse and for which he later was acquitted of all charges. The 76-minute documentary presents essentially the undying support of fans swarming the courthouse during the trial to protest their hero’s innocence, as well as words of encouragement from various stars including Kanye West, Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), Jon Voight, Ashford & Simpson, Jermaine Jackson, and so on. It attempts to discredit all the charges against him and clarify the more controversial sides of his personality. It also attempts after the trial to restore his reputation. Unfortunately, the documentary directed by Pearl Jr doesn’t tell much more about the trial or about Michael himself, everything having already been repeated dozens, or even hundreds of times in the media. One of the most touching moments of the documentary is probably the press conference where Michael announced his farewell tour in London, a series of concerts he would never make... This documentary containing no music of the King of pop, is exclusively for his most loyal fans which are always thirsty to know a little more about their idol. (September 2009)

Elbow Grease / RockCity / MVD

The Jesus Lizard, The Jesus Lizard

Here is a concert captured in Boston in 1994 by one of the noisiest American alternative bands. In the heart of the grunge years, the guys from Chicago played music which was fitting rather well in the movement. Kurt Cobain of Nirvana even named them like one of his influences. What we find here is a completely crazy concert whereas the singer, David Yow gives himself completely, without any reserve. At several times of the concert, we see him surf on the crowd while continuously singing as if it was nothing. The surround sound improves largely a rather poor basic sound. The DVD has the advantage of presenting well the energy emerging from their concerts. In bonus, we can hear 5 tracks recorded at the famous CBGB in New York City in 1992, as well as an interview with Yow before the Boston concert. This is a DVD the fans of the band will primarily like. (August 2007)

MVD

Janis Joplin - Final 24: Her Final Hours (2010)

Janis Joplin was quickly recognized as an exceptional singer. Regarded as the bad girl of blues, her moments of sadness and loneliness involved her towards dependence with alcohol and hard drugs. In April 1970, she decides to take her life in hand and she succeeds in giving up heroin. On the other hand, 6 months later, she will fall in it again which will cost her life. She gets from her drug dealer pure heroin at nearly 50% and she will die hardly an hour after having injected it, at 1:30 a.m. in the night of October 4, 1970. Final 24 is a series produced in Canada and diffused on television in 2007. This documentary of 48 minutes presents a dramatization of the last 24 hours in the life of Janis Joplin. In the first half, the many flashbacks presenting her life and her career make us wonder about the relevance of the topic of the documentary about the last hours of her life. But, we realize quickly that it’s important to have a good portrait of what occurred before to explain the last 24 hours. Well produced, the documentary presents in a beautiful way the life of Janis Joplin and the circumstances around her tragic death. (July 2010)

Cineflix / MVD

KISS Loves You (2007)

Here is a documentary by Jim Heneghan talking about the KISS phenomenon. Produced over a period of 10 years, KISS Loves You begins in 1994 whereas the group was at the lowest point of its career. Their many fans throughout the world were organizing conventions and were starting tribute bands, hoping largely that the group comes back on stage with its make-up and costumes on which made it famous. At the time of the announcement of their reunion in 1996, the fans became completely hysterical after having anticipated so much the return of their favorite group. KISS remains still today certainly the group for which one finds the most personifications, probably not very far behind Elvis. A true worship is dedicated to the group which is considered by several the only true rock n' roll band on stage with all the effects necessary. The main interest of this film is to show how much KISS had influence on people and knew how to gain their respect. The main movie lasts 1 hour and 13 minutes, but it’s also possible to see 1 hour and a half of bonuses. (December 2007)

8th Grade / SVT / MVD

KISS - KISSOLOGY: The Ultimate KISS Collection Vol. 3, 1992-2000 (4 DVD + bonus DVD) (2007)

Here is the 3rd box set of the series, covering this time the years 1992-2000. We can see once again different concerts and other previously unreleased footage for a total of almost 10 hours. The strongest moment of this DVD set is certainly the famous unplugged concert at MTV which was only available on CD until then. Will they reach a 4th box set for the years 2000? (February 2009)

568 minutes

KISS - KISSOLOGY: The Ultimate KISS Collection Vol. 2, 1978-1991 (3 DVD + bonus DVD) (2007)

After a first DVD box set covering the beginnings of the group and, at the same time, their most creative years musically, here is now the follower. These 3 DVDs make it possible to have an overview of the best years of the band in concert, but they also go through the poorest years musically which presented some good hits, but nothing to compare with their classics. One sees the passage of Vinnie Vincent on guitar replacing Ace Frehley. Later, it is Bruce Kulick we can see on stage. One also sees the substitute of Peter Criss on drums, Eric Carr, and what impresses quickly, it is to see at which point he contributed to improve the rhythm section of the band, hitting much stronger than his predecessor. The 3 discs present 2 complete concerts of great quality: one captured in Sydney in Australia in 1980 (which is possibly the best concert I saw from them) and one captured in Detroit in 1990 which makes us discover their greatest hits of the Eighties in addition to their classics. Several other concerts are presented, but only in their strong moments and without repeating once again the classics they have interpreted in each one of their concerts for 30 years. Moreover, we can see various TV appearances, including their first appearance without make-up on MTV. Finally, it includes videos and a rather poor fantastic film from 1979 featuring KISS (KISS In Attack Of The Phantoms). In bonus, there is a 4th DVD presenting a concert captured in Tokyo in 1988. The whole package is once again offered in a splendid box including a detailed booklet. (November 2007)

406 minutes

KISS, KISSOLOGY: The Ultimate KISS Collection Vol. 1, 1974-1977 (2 DVD + bonus DVD) (2006)

This KISS 2-DVD set, with a title letting us guess there will be one or more continuations, constitutes the ultimate work by that legendary band. KISS is well known for exceptional stage performances, in spite of many poor quality albums, with the result that the DVD is the ideal format to emphasize them. On the 2-DVD set offered here, we can find a heap of images (concerts, TV shows, and more) collected between their beginnings in 1974 and 1977. This is their most creative era and the DVDs show us how fast they reached the top. With 4 full concerts, you will have a lot for your money. On the other hand, it's preferable not to look at everything on the same night because with more than 6 hours of material covering a period of only 4 years, there are moments that can seem repetitive from one concert to another (for example, you will hear "Firehouse" in each concert with always the same setting). On another side, you will always be impressed by the energy of the group on stage, an energy making each of their concerts entertaining. As bonus, you will hear another full concert, this one captured on December 20, 1977 in Largo, Maryland. At the end, even if this is a DVD set that will offer you several video evenings, you will wait eagerly for volume 2 and followers. (April 2007)

Kraftwerk - Kraftwerk and The Electronic Revolution (2008)

This documentary presents not only the story and influence of German electronic group Kraftwerk, but also all the electronic movement of that time. It starts as far as at the days after World War II in an evolving Germany to present how a new music genre was developed with influences of British and American rock as well as free jazz. Through this overview of Krautrock music, they present obviously the bases and evolution of one of the most important German bands in history, Kraftwerk. The fans of the collective and of this music genre will certainly be pleased by looking at this ultra detailed documentary, allowing to learn much more about the subject. On the other hand, the less important fans are likely to be bored quickly, because the documentary extends too much in length with 3 hours of duration, without counting the bonus features… (March 2009)

Sexy Intellectual / MVD

Laibach - Volk: Dead in Trbovlje (2008)

Laibach is a collective of musicians formed in Slovenia almost 30 years ago. They offer us an industrial sound, sometimes atmospheric and sometimes energetic, entirely based on percussions, synthetizers and voices. They present us here a concert captured in March 2007 during the Volk album tour which presented songs based on or inspired by national anthems. The first half is primarily atmospheric whereas they offer us 13 of these 14 national anthems. After that hour in which several pieces will probably succeed in making you annoyed, or even asleep, the second half, much more dynamic, is very welcome. These 6 tracks will give you a good outline of the origin of bands like KMFDM and Rammstein which were able to add guitars to the genre. In spite of good moments, these tracks aren’t able to awake the crowd and to bring back an atmosphere a little more festive in this concert which, in end of line, is only for their biggest fans. The concert ends in a prerecorded medley of almost ten minutes during which the musicians salute the crowd before leaving, and we’re left in front of the credits. The DVD offers in addition ten videos of the tracks presented in the first part of the concert, plus “Vaticanae” which we cannot hear on stage. (January 2009)

Mute / EMI

Avril Lavigne - The Best Damn Tour: Live In Toronto (2008)

After having presented us her best album to date in 2007, The Best Damn Thing, Avril Lavigne left for a world tour with a particularly well constructed concert. The Toronto concert was captured and it’s now offered to us on DVD. We can see an Avril Lavigne all smiling which seems particularly happy to sing at home, in Ontario, with her mother and her grandmother in the audience. At the opening track, the mega hit “Girlfriend”, Avril doesn’t seem very comfortable to have to be integrated into the choreography of her dancers. Fortunately, she won’t have to dance much for the rest of the show. During her performances, Avril has sometimes a nonchalant attitude. She then seems annoyed and thinking about something else. Also, she’s not the most energetic one on stage, but she sings perfectly. During the rock n’ roll tracks, she lets herself go a little crazier (“I Always Get What I Want”, “Everything Back But You”). On various occasions throughout the concert, it’s pleasant to see her play different instruments, even if she’s certainly not the best musician. She plays electric guitar in “My Happy Ending” and “He Wasn't”, acoustic guitar in “Don't Tell Me”, piano in “When You're Gone” and she even offers a short jam on drums. Pauses in the show to give her the time to change clothes are filled by a dance session and a video presenting various images of the young singer on the sound of her version of Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation”. At the finale, Avril sings the remix of “Girlfriend”, as well as one of the greatest hits from her first album, “Sk8er Boi”. The concert lasts only one hour and 15 minutes, but it’s intense and perfectly put together. The DVD unfortunately doesn’t contain any bonus features, but the image and sound quality of the concert is amply sufficient to make a DVD of great quality. (December 2008)

RCA / Sony BMG

Limp Bizkit - Rock im Park 2001 (2008)

Before the guitarist Wes Borland leaves the group in 2001, Limp Bizkit made a mega stadium tour. This is one of these concerts, a show captured in Germany on June 1, 2001 and which we can find here on DVD. The concert can be viewed in its original version as presented on television (1 hour and 26 minutes), or in a remixed version of 1 hour and 14 minutes. The images, even in full screen format, are of great quality. For the sound, you have the choice between stereo or surround. The only problem, it’s that there is a delay of approximately 1 second between the sound and the image in the surround sound version, which can be particularly frustrating. The other aggravating detail, but that one is not a big surprise, is the attitude of Fred Durst. He is straightforwardly unpleasant with the German crowd insulting them even because they don’t understand or speak English. During “The One”, he brings a girl on stage to dance and at the end he says that it was awful and that she ruined the song… But, that belonged to the character and we should not be shocked about that. Besides these various details, it’s a good performance on stage and all their hits are played, at a moment or the other of the concert. In bonus, we can see a 8-minute interview with DJ Lethal. We also find a booklet with the biography and the complete discography of the band. (July 2008)

Charly / MVD

Living Colour - The Paris Concert (2008)

Living Colour was at the New Morning club in Paris in July 2007 for a performance in which we could hear all their hits. Nearly 20 years after their impressive debut, these legitimate sons of Jimi Hendrix prove that they didn’t lose anything of their energy, but especially of their virtuosity. With several songs passably stretched in solos of guitar, bass or drums, the New Yorkers don’t hesitate at all to spread out all their talent. The concert starts strongly with the excellent “Type”, one of their greatest hits in career, in which they insert an extract of “Police and Thieves” of The Clash. They also play “Sacred Ground” and “Glamour Boys”, in addition to covers like the R&B classic “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” and “Crosstown Traffic” of Hendrix (the strongest moment of the DVD), before closing the whole on 2 other great hits: “Love Rears Its Ugly Head” and “Cult of Personality”. The moments a little less spectacular will hypnotize you as much, with the result that in end of line we find very few weak moments in this 107 minutes exceptional concert when the group is at its best and connects the 17 tracks without any presentation. Since the concert was filmed in high-definition, the DVD, which also offers a surround sound, gives you a quality which won’t break your pleasure in no case. A must have for the fans of the group! (April 2009)

In-Akustik / MVD

Madonna, The Confessions Tour (DVD + CD) (2007)

One of the tours with the most revenues in 2006 is now available on DVD, The Confessions Tour by Madonna. We can see a complete 2-hour concert live from London, England. This is an uncensored version because it includes "Live to Tell" showing Madonna crucified with a crown of thorns, footage that was cut for the TV version. We can hear many tracks from her excellent latest album Confessions on a Dance Floor, with 2 different versions of her hit "Sorry". But classics were not forgotten because we can hear "Like a Virgin", "Ray of Light", "Erotica", "La Isla Bonita", "Lucky Star" and a steroid version of "Music" entitled here "Music Inferno", one of the good moments of the show. We have to say there are many great moments on that concert because Madonna is better than ever. She is like a good wine and she becomes better and better with the years. It’s even very impressive to see her go on stage with an incredible energy all along the 2 hours. We sometimes have the feeling that it is her dancers that have to take breaks to be able to continue to follow the beat for the entire concert. Among the other good moments of the show, we have to mention "Jump", "Sorry" (in its original version), "I Love New York" and "Hung Up" concluding the show in a mega party. We can definitely admit that the queen of pop music reigns more than ever and that every other "little" singer of the same genre will have to work much more to reach this level of excellence. The only thing I disliked about this concert is that they forgot some classics like "Material Girl", "Holiday" and "Hollywood" that could have replaced without any problem some of the songs offered (or could have been added to the concert). As bonus, the DVD offers tour rehearsal footage and exclusive photo gallery. The CD accompanying DVD is only a shorter version of the concert with 13 of the best tracks, but without "Ray of Light" and "La Isla Bonita". The Confessions Tour DVD will certainly figure among the best DVDs of the year. (March 2007)

Jonah Matranga, There's A Lot In Here (DVD + CD) (2006)

Jonah Sonz Matranga was a member of the alternative/metal band Far in the 90’s which released 2 albums and did non-stop touring. The Californian originally from Massachussetts Matranga works now in solo and he gives many concerts in his region where he has now a good base of fans. What is offered here is a DVD including 3 things: a concert in an Anaheim venue, an intimate concert in a living room in Southern California and many videos creating a movie, The Volunteers. For the Anaheim concert, we can first hear Matranga by himself with his guitar and a beat box. He doesn’t hesitate to stop his performance to make comments on the crowd or to talk to someone in particular, but he always comes back greatly to the emotion of his song. A few songs later, his musicians join him to make it a bit heavier. For the intimate concert in a living room, we can discover the real talent of Matranga when he’s alone with his guitar (and once again a beat box with a couple of pre-recorded samples). He reminded me of Billy Bragg in some moments in his way to communicate the emotion of a song with only his voice and an electric guitar. The CD also included here contains the best moments of the DVD selected by Matranga himself, from the Anaheim concert and the intimate concert. It includes 12 tracks for a total of 55 minutes (there are 32 on the DVD including the 11 videos). If you like songwriters with a garage sound, this DVD will please you totally with great compositions. (May 2006)

Equal Vision

John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers - Live At Iowa State University (2008)

John Mayall is acknowledged as the father of British blues and he has discovered some of the most acclaimed musicians of the last 40 years, including guitarists Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor. In 1984, Mayall came back with a new incarnation of the Bluesbreakers featuring Coco Montoya and Walter Trout on guitar. It’s a concert from that time which is presented here on DVD, a concert recorded in 1987 at Iowa State University. The near 50-minute concert presents a blues performance worthy of John Mayall. We can appreciate his versatility (keyboards, harmonica, guitar, and so on) in addition to noting all the dexterity and pure talent of his guitarists, particularly Trout which is letting himself go lose and plays rather impressive solos. It’s only unfortunate that the sound doesn’t give justice to that single performance. The only interesting element of the bonus features is a short 49-second backstage interview with Mayall… (December 2008)

Quantum Leap / MVD

Mission of Burma, Not a Photograph: The Mission of Burma Story (2006)

Mission of Burma is a post-punk band that was active between 1979 and 1983. The band only released an EP, Signals, Calls and Marches, and an album, Vs. They were anyway an important influence for bands like the Pixies and Nirvana. The band decided to reunite 19 years later to play a couple of concerts, before reforming full time and recording 2 albums, ONoffON in 2004 and The Obliterati in 2006. This DVD presents us the story of the band from its creation to its ending due to the guitarist Roger Miller hearing problems. We can also discover their return on stage in 2002 and the recording of their first album in more than 20 years. The 70 minute documentary includes commentaries by each of the band members, friends, family, musicians that were inspired by their music and music critics. The production of the DVD is particularly well done with the integration of many music sequences from the years before the band was formed until now. We can also see performances from a couple of concerts of 2002, as well as in the studio. All the live performances we can see in the documentary are also available in their entirety in the bonus section of the DVD. I have to admit I didn’t know the Mission of Burma music very well, but the DVD gives us the opportunity to discover the band. At the end, I think it’s most of all an album for the fans of the band who will have on hand the complete story of their favorite band. (January 2007)

MVD

Keith Moon - Final 24: His Final Hours (2010)

In the Final 24 series, which is doing a dramatization presenting the last hours of a celebrity, one can discover the last moments in the life of Keith Moon, drummer for the legendary British group The Who. A real party animal, Moon wasn’t missing any occasion to go out and have fun, alcohol being always a part of these delirious moments. Until this night of September 1978 when he was never again going to awake, following an evening of drinking way too much. Once again, the documentary, integrating a dramatization of the events, is very well produced. It succeeds in making us go in a beautiful way in the universe surrounding the character, and to even make us realize how important he was as a drummer in the history of music, having revolutionized the way of playing. (August 2010)

Cineflix / MVD

Van Morrison - Under Review 1964-1974 (2008)

Here is a documentary presenting the best of Van Morrison’s career: its influences, its debut with the band Them and its best years in solo. It’s primarily an analysis of these 10 years by various specialists. Through interviews, we can see rare footage on stage and on TV, but they are unfortunately a little too short. We can also hear audio extracts of interviews with Morrison. The documentary succeeds in perfectly making us become aware of the importance Van Morrison had in the history of contemporary pop and folk music. To the documentary of almost 2 hours are added some extras without much importance (extended interviews, an interactive Van Morrison challenge and biographies of the contributors). (July 2008)

Sexy Intellectual / Chrome Dreams / MVD

Bob Mould - Circle Of Friends (2007)

Captured at 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. on October 7, 2005, this concert by Bob Mould was released on DVD exactly 2 years later. For his first concert to be offered on DVD, he is surrounded by keyboardist Richard Morel (Morel), bass player Jason Narducy (Rockets Over Sweden, Verbow) and drummer Brendan Canty (Fugazi). Chemistry settles greatly between the 4 musicians and Mould benefits from it to offer us the best of his entire career. He indeed draws in the material by Hüsker Dü and Sugar including his whole solo career until Body Of Song, his latest album (at the time of the concert). Mould is not very talkative but he’s full of energy and he connects 23 tracks during more than 90 minutes. Lightings can seem sometimes aggravating, but anyway the entire place is left for the music in this excellent concert which will charm his fans from the beginning. A 10-minute documentary begins the DVD and makes some kind of an introduction to the musicians. (February 2008)

MVD

Muse - Under Review (2010)

Here is the best documentary about the career of Muse to date. It presents in details their debut as teenagers in their hometown of Teignmouth, England, their influences combining classical music and metal. Thereafter, they go in every detail about their evolution on each one of their albums, whereas the trio succeeded in creating one of the largest scale sounds among the British bands of the latest years. The DVD includes rare performances and footage of interviews with the band. We can also find exclusive interviews, including one with their former manager, Safta Jaffrey. On the other hand, with 1 hour and 46 minutes, the main film will seem to be somewhat stretched for certain people less impassioned about Muse. It’s anyway an excellent way of discovering them. (May 2010)

Sexy Intellectual / MVD

Muse - Haarp (DVD + CD) (2008)

After the excellent album Black Holes And Revelations, the following Muse tour could only be huge. It’s what we note here thanks to the capture of two concerts at the Wembley Stadium in London on June 16 and 17, 2007. We can see here the trio truly at the top of its career during a concert of 1:40 obviously making a good review of their last album, but also going to draw in their previous recordings. Through its best compositions, the group proposes to us as many experimentation and single arrangements as they could do on record in the past. It’s in fact one of the first things impressing on the DVD, because they succeed in offering live sound arrangements as effective as if it has been done in a studio. Many artists would even have problems to reproduce in studio the guitar and electronic sounds that Muse presents on stage. The surround sound mix of great quality emphasizes also well all these unique sounds of Muse. The DVD also offers an exceptional image quality in widescreen format with a particular texture clearly highlighting the lightings and stage set. In fact, Haarp is a DVD of the last generation with all the qualities necessary so that we can as much appreciate the group in the comfort of our living room that if we could have been present on the spot, in the middle of the crowd. In spite of the lack of interesting bonus contents, this DVD is a great gift for the many fans of the group. The CD presents an audio summary of the DVD and its exceptional sound quality makes it also interesting, if you don’t have a DVD player around. (May 2008)

A&E / Warner

New York Dolls - All Dolled Up (2005)

Bob Gruen and his wife Nadya Beck started one day to follow the New York Dolls with a camera, with the feeling that the group could become important. They finally shot more than 40 hours of material over 3 years, filming the group in various moments of their life on tour. It’s a condensed version of this material we can find here in this 95 minute documentary to which they added bonus material to reach 230 minutes. Behind their female costumes, we can discover 5 young naive guys that don’t realize at all that they will become a major influence for many musicians to come. When we see and hear them on stage, we realize how many bands that followed straightforwardly copied their attitude and their music style. It was the case initially for the Sex Pistols, but especially for most of the glam rock and hard rock acts of the Eighties. Guns N’ Roses, among others, are their direct descendants. This documentary has the advantage of presenting the group from every angle, including various live performances. The sound of these performances is unfortunately not at the height of the 5.1 mixing which is offered and which is not useful at the end because of the “bootleg” quality of the recordings. In spite of this disadvantage, which is not too important finally, the film marvelously succeeds in bringing us 35 years back and literally plunging us in the environment of the group at the time. Among the most interesting extras of the DVD, we can find 12 complete live performances. Finally, even if the DVD doesn’t emphasize sufficiently on the music of the group, it constitutes undoubtedly an excellent document to make us know better this important group in the history of music. (April 2008)

MVD

Nine Inch Nails - Metal Machine Music: Nine Inch Nails and the Industrial Uprising (2009)

Here's a 136-minute documentary presenting more than the career of Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails. Indeed, beginning with at least 30 minutes of presentation of the genre mixing punk rock and electronica, the DVD offers a complete history of industrial music, starting with Throbbing Gristle who probably invented the movement in the 1970s, to Ministry and Skinny Puppy on the metal side through electronic music by Depeche Mode on the pop side. Nine Inch Nails is somewhere between metal and pop with aggressive guitars and catchy melodies. This accessibility, which differentiates them from the founders of the genre, helped them to bring industrial music to another level in the 1990s, offering a sound for a wider audience. Through interviews with different specialists and some musicians, it’s the history of this group they detail here, showing us the importance that Nine Inch Nails could have had on the artists that followed. So here's a very good documentary to elaborate a little more on industrial music and learn more about Nine Inch Nails. (August 2009)

Sexy Intellectual / Chrome Dreams / MVD

Nirvana - Unplugged In New York (2007)

The famous acoustic concert of November 1993, which appeared on CD in 1994, had never been released in video. Here is finally this excellent performance of Nirvana on DVD, in its entirety, and with a 5.1 surround sound. The sound is in fact almost perfect and allows us to rediscover greatly the quality of the songs interpreted in acoustic version. We can hear 3 additional tracks compared to the original version aired on MTV: “Something In The Way”, “Oh, Me” (with Meat Puppets) and a short improvisation of “Sweet Home Alabama” of Lynyrd Skynyrd. We can also hear various comments by the musicians between the songs. In bonus, we can also see the MTV final version, in addition to a short documentary on the production of this TV special and 5 tracks played in rehearsal. Among these tracks, it’s particularly interesting to see the massacre of “Pennyroyal Tea” which Kurt Cobain finally decided to play by himself during the concert, doing of it one of the greatest moments of the evening. Unplugged In New York became truly a collector's item following the death of Cobain a few months later, whereas it remains one of the best filmed concerts of Nirvana. A must have! (March 2008)

Ozzy Osbourne, Live & Loud (1993)

It’s true it was released many years ago, but I only knew the CD version until now. But after having seen the DVD, I didn’t have any choice writing something about it. Live & Loud was issued first in 1993 in a very primitive version of the DVD, because the 112 minutes presented here, without any menu or extra, were impossible to fit on one DVD only and they did a double face DVD to contain all the stuff. The DVD was captured during the No More Tears tour and we can see images from 3 concerts perfectly arranged which is making almost a movie instead of a simple concert DVD. That tour was announced like his farewell tour which is always adding a particularly captivating element. The advantage of this DVD in opposition to the other different Ozzy DVDs is that we can see him in a great shape, like his 3 musicians also. The track listing of 18 songs is totally impressing with no weakness. In bonus, we even have the opportunity to see the 4 original members of Black Sabbath playing one song ("Black Sabbath" in fact). The energy is flowing all along the DVD, the crowd is very active and it’s hard to leave our TV screen being afraid to miss something great. This is certainly one of the best live DVDs I’ve ever seen. By seeing and hearing Live & Loud, we realize there is not much metal bands to eclipse Ozzy, which is able to control the crowd when he wants to. With Black Sabbath, he was the creator of that genre 35 years ago and he’s still the leader of it, no matter what we can say about him. (February 2006)

Pallas - Moment To Moment (2008)

The neo-progressive British movement of the early 80’s, dominated by Marillion, also counts the Scottish of Pallas. Even if the band produced only a few albums in almost 25 years, they succeeded in creating a legion of extremely faithful fans. We find them here in a 90-minute concert captured in Katowice, Poland on October 31, 2007. They interpret their 12 best compositions in a good performance, accompanied by splendid lightings. The mixing in 5.1 surround sound makes the whole even more interesting, for the greatest pleasure of their fans. On my side, not knowing them very well, I couldn’t really let myself hang by their music. Also, the group is not necessarily the most dynamic on stage. Despite everything, it’s about an effective and well produced DVD. In bonus, we can find a documentary on tour, rehearsals, an interview with Graeme Murray and Alan Reed, and even more. (August 2008)

Metal Mind / MVD

Pennywise, Home Movies (2004)

Home Movies was already issued in VHS format in 1995. At last, we can have it in DVD format. This DVD, of a total time of a little more than 40 minutes places the music far behind. It's most of all the atmosphere on tour with Pennywise they present here. We can see different jokes the guys do to themselves in the hotel rooms and we see some of their numerous hangovers. But, we can also hear songs in rehearsals and on stage. Among them, there is a part of a show outside where there is absolutely no security at all and where the fans energy comes a little bit too much through the musicians that have many problems to continue to play their instruments. This DVD is for the fans only and it won't teach you anything about the California punk band's music. (December 2004)

Epitaph

Pink Floyd, Meddle: A Classic Album Under Review (2007)

Meddle is considered by several like the first real Pink Floyd album. Without saying that, I would say that it’s certainly the album which really started the post-Syd Barrett era and which allowed the following record, The Dark Side Of The Moon, to become one of the greatest albums of all time. Meddle is composed of 2 main pieces, "One Of These Days" at the beginning and "Echoes" at the end. It represents for the first time the new sound of Pink Floyd which would become more important during the following years. This DVD is a recapitulation of each track of the album by experts and people who were close to the group. But, it presents much more than that since the first half describes in a detailed way the beginnings of the band and each album until Meddle. Moreover, a bonus of ten minutes serves as a tribute to Syd Barrett, deceased in the summer of 2006. This is a very interesting documentary for those who would like to learn a little more about the beginnings of this legendary progressive rock band. (June 2007)

Chrome Dreams / MVD

Pink Floyd - The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story (2 DVD) (2007)

Here is the ultimate documentary to present Syd Barrett, the founder of Pink Floyd. First released in 2005, the DVD is now re-issued in a deluxe version. The original documentary of 48 minutes is obviously still present, with a 5.1 surround sound, interesting for the rare sequences in concert. On the other hand, this time, we can find a second DVD containing the integral interviews with the members of Pink Floyd: Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Richard Wright. This documentary is rather sad when we see which direction the life of Syd Barrett took, after having been known as one of the most creative musicians of the 60’s. In fact, he locked up himself for the rest of his life. On another side, the documentary is particularly interesting to discover all the aspects of the beginnings of Pink Floyd. We also discover that the album Wish You Were Here was to some extent a tribute to Barrett and that he even showed up in the studio during the sessions for “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”, whereas they all needed a certain time before recognizing him. The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story is a touching documentary which all the fans of the group will like. (June 2008)

Zeit / MVD

Pixies, Loud Quiet Loud: A Film About the Pixies (2006)

Between 1986 and 1992, the Pixies released 5 albums giving them the opportunity to place the foundations for what would become later grunge music, most particularly with Nirvana. Moreover, Kurt Cobain declared the Pixies were his most important influence. It’s incredible how this band was influent on the next generation, with no popular success, especially in its own country, USA. This DVD presents a documentary on the activities of each member since their break-up, as well as their 2004 reunion for a tour. We discover how much those 4 musicians have nothing to tell to each other and their only uniting point is their music. They insist maybe a little bit too much on that, because at a certain point we know they are bad communicators with each other and it’s not necessary to show them in the same room “not talking to each other”! After 30 very interesting minutes making us learn a lot, there are unfortunately parts that seem too long among the 55 other minutes. The clips from the 2004 tour are really good, but there are not enough of them. If they had paid more attention to the music, it would have made a much better DVD. There are more than 30 minutes of bonus material (deleted scenes and commentaries), as well as a 16 page booklet, which is adding value to the product. Finally, it’s anyway a good DVD, well made and extremely interesting for any fan of the Pixies who would want news of the band since their break-up. But, it can’t be a good introduction for a new fan which won’t really discover all the qualities of their music. After all, this is a documentary… (December 2006)

MVD

Poison - Seven Days Live (2006)

On April 23, 1993 was captured a concert in Hammersmith Apollo Theater in London by the hard rock group Poison, and it’s what we can see here during 82 minutes. 15 tracks are offered obviously presenting all their greatest hits from 1986 to 1990. Unfortunately, this is a concert from the Native Tongue tour with Richie Kotzen replacing C.C. DeVille on guitar, with the result that there are several tracks from that rather poor album. On the other hand, the 4 guys remain at the top of their reputation of great performers. Firmly supported by very good images and a surround sound, the band gives us a lot for our money, and gives good memories to its hardcore fans, 20 years after the release of its first album. (November 2007)

82 minutes

Cherry Red / MVD

Iggy Pop - Lust for Life (2009)

Lust for Life (not to confuse with his album of the same title issued in 1977) is a documentary about Iggy Pop produced in 1986. With a 41-minute duration, the short film explores in-depth the era of Iggy with The Stooges and we can even find a very interesting interview with Ron Asheton, guitarist and founder of The Stooges who died last January. We can hear various live extracts of Iggy Pop at different moments of his career, but the core of the documentary is an interview with Iggy in which he speaks about his influences, his motivations, and more. This is an interesting film, but which will only bring very few new elements to the fans of the first hour. (July 2009)

ABC / MVD

Iggy Pop, Live At The Avenue B (2005)

Here is a concert of Iggy Pop captured in Bruxelles, Belgium in 1999. He appears on stage with his good friends of The Trolls to present the greatest hits of his 30 years career, in solo and with the Stooges. We can see a Iggy still in a very great shape despite his 52 years of age at the time (he is now 58!). He has nude chest like always and doesn’t’ have any fat. He is totally unchained on stage and he dives into the crowd like if he was still in his 20s and never used any drugs or alcohol in his life. And all that without ruining the quality of his voice! The only clue he gives us about some kind of maturity is we don’t see his butt, but that is not really something we miss. He plays a lot with the crowd, sometimes too much for the security guys. The one we call the godfather of punk seems simply possessed when he goes on stage and this concert will keep you on your feet until the end. The DVD contains only the 88 minute concert without any extras, but what a concert! Iggy Pop is an example to take for many young punks who don’t really know what to do on stage. (October 2005)

Elvis Presley - Destination Vegas (2007)

Destination Vegas is an unauthorized documentary which wants to make a return a little more in-depth over the years of Elvis in Las Vegas. Until now, that period of his life had especially been subject to mockeries because Elvis was not more than a caricature of himself, with a health which was degraded quickly. The film lasts unfortunately only 45 minutes and the first half is devoted to make an overview of his career since the beginning, which either is rather interesting, but is not the goal announced at first. It only makes also a simple overview of his years in Vegas with new audio and video extracts. What I found oddest, it’s the way the assembly was carried out whereas one returns unceasingly with performances of his beginnings. For example, they speak about a song of 1969 and the following image brings us back to a televised performance of his early years which doesn’t have anything to do with that song. They bring us back even 2 times to the same performance of “Tutti Frutti”. This is thus a rather weak DVD which is offered to us, a documentary which will not really satisfy the fan of Elvis sufficiently far, and that the least important experts will find uninteresting. Other new audio extracts are offered to us in bonus, as well as a series of photographs, but it’s nothing to recover the obvious lack of interesting material. (January 2008)

Wienerworld / MVD

Queen - Rock Montreal (2007)

At the end of 1981, after several huge events, it was planned to make a film of the Queen concert. On November 24 and 25, 1981, they thus filmed the 2 concerts in front of crowds of 18.000 people in the late Forum of Montreal to make of them a film in 35 mm cinema format. The band was then at the top of its career and it’s a raw and rock concert they offered to their fans, whereas the keyboards had not made yet their appearance in the music of the group. All their greatest hits so far were obviously included (“We Will Rock You”, “Somebody To Love”, “Under Pressure”, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “We Are The Champions”, and so on) and we can hear those in alternation with a little less known tracks which were not necessarily going to reappear very often in their concerts thereafter (“Dragon Attack”, “Get Down Make Love”, “Let Me Entertain You”, and so on). This concert can be compared advantageously with the one we can find on the excellent DVD Live At Wembley Stadium, captured in 1986 and issued in 2003. On the other hand, we hear obviously less hits of the Eighties, and it gives almost the feeling of an intimate show in comparison with the 60.000 hysterical people present at the Wembley Stadium. The quality of the image in panoramic format is excellent and the surround sound is quite simply irreproachable. This is thus one of the good live DVDs by Queen to have been released, a document to be discovered… Various editions of the DVD are available, of which an edition with a bonus DVD including their performance at Live Aid. (April 2008)

Queen - Under Review 1946-1991: The Freddie Mercury Story (2007)

After several documentaries including overviews of the career of the group Queen, here is a DVD detailing the career of its blazing singer, Freddie Mercury. We can still obviously see outlines of the band’s career, album by album, but the difference this time is that one takes as angle the character of Freddie Mercury. After all, Queen cannot really exist without Freddie. The proof: the arrival of Paul Rodgers in the group these last years required the use of another name, Queen + Paul Rodgers. The DVD also treats various solos projects of Freddie and we can hear several extracts of his career simultaneously with Queen. Many experts, friends and artists who pay homage to him on stage come to express their point of view on a singer that is regarded as one of the greatest performers of the 20th century. It’s a very good way of discovering a little more about the man who allowed Queen to fill off arenas and stadiums almost everywhere throughout the world. On the other hand, those which want to learn some more on Queen will not have anything again in comparison with other documentaries available about the band. (December 2007)

Sexy Intellectual / Chrome Dreams / MVD

Queen, DVD Collector’s Box (2 DVD) (2007)

Queen is a British pop rock band which had a quite unique career, out of any musical movement. These 2 documentaries gathered present the whole career of the group thanks to the opinion of musical experts and friends of the members of the band. It’s in fact regrouping 2 DVDs released originally in 2004 and 2005, Magic Moments (more than 60 minutes) and Under Review 1973-1980 (more than 100 minutes). Personally, I especially appreciated the second one since it makes an excellent summary of the quartet in the 70's. It reviews each album one by one including the most important singles released and presenting footage of those tracks (videos or live footage). They detail some songs presenting the way of playing guitar of Brian May and explaining how he managed to create this completely single sound that we know of him. On Magic Moments on the other hand, they only make an overview of the whole career of the band and concentrate more on the personal life of the guys (even a little bit too much), particularly that of Freddie Mercury. Its most important negative aspect is that it doesn’t contain any music of Queen, which can be very aggravating. For example, they talk for several minutes about "Bohemian Rhapsody" and what we hear in the background is unspecified music which is only a little bit similar to the music of Queen. Perhaps you will find interesting elements anyway, but in any event, the DVD Under Review 1973-1980 is worth the cost of the box set to itself. You can also get the DVD entitled Under Review 1980-1991. (July 2007)

Chrome Dreams / MVD

Queen, Under Review 1980-1991 (2006)

To follow upon DVD Collector’s Box presented last month, here is now Under Review 1980-1991. This documentary does exactly the same work as Under Review 1973-1980 which was included in the box set. It presents each album issued by Queen in the 80’s, until the death of Freddie Mercury, and even beyond. This is the period in which the group reached the top of its fame, filling stadiums almost everywhere around the world. The group continued to propose music apart from the musical movements. They released a disco album with Hot Space, but it was in 1982 and the movement was already finished, then in any event, the disco music of Queen had nothing to do with what had been in vogue on the dance floors at the end of the 70’s. The disease of Mercury made the second half of the decade a little more difficult, even if they succeeded with one of their most solid albums in 1989 with The Miracle. This 78 minute DVD makes an excellent coverage of the career of the band in the 80’s and allows us to know a little more about them. This is a superb documentary in which all the comments of experts and friends are relevant and never annoying. Moreover, we can see and hear rare live footage. (August 2007)

Chrome Dreams / MVD

The Queers, The Queers Are Here (2007)

After a 20-year career, time had come for The Queers to present us a DVD. The punk rock band, disciple of the Ramones, never really had success, remaining apart of the musical industry. But, according to Joe Queer, it’s perfect like that. When we hear him talk about the current punk rock bands on the DVD, we understand he doesn’t want to be associated at all with those "fucking bands". The DVD of a little more than one hour offers primarily concert footage filmed between 1993 and 2005. We can also see videos for the songs "Don’t Back Down", "Tamara is a Punk" and "Punk Rock Girls" as well as an animated video for "I Can’t Get Over You", all separated with interviews with Joe Queer, singer, guitarist and leader of the band. A 5.1 audio version is offered, but the poor sound quality of the concert footage is very little improved by the surround sound. Like there were many changes of musicians around Joe during those years, the personnel constantly varies throughout the DVD. The Queers Are Here, in spite of its imperfections and the fact that it is incomplete, offers us a good overview of the best songs of the band and allows us to discover them a little more. (March 2007)

MVD

Rage Against The Machine - Revolution in the Head and the Art of Protest (2010)

Since its debut in the early 1990s, Rage Against The Machine is known like one of the most important protest bands of its generation. It’s what this documentary put in front while presenting before everything else the protest side of the group, sometimes eclipsing its music. They even go back in time until the first protest movements in the United States, the most important protest artists in history, and so on. During the first 30 minutes of the 106-minute documentary, we thus find ourselves to rather look at a documentary about protest artists than speaking about the band whose name is however on the cover of the DVD. This way of extending in length can be aggravating and is likely to annoy the fans of the group who won’t be patient while waiting to hear about their favorite band. On another side, the many details concerning the protest artists locate RATM in time and offer a very full portrait of this movement. The history of the band is also well covered with several music extracts. The documentary thus achieves perfectly its goal to present in details Rage Against The Machine, even if it could have been largely tightened. (March 2010)

Sexy Intellectual / MVD

Ramones, End Of The Century: The Story Of The Ramones (2005)

30 years ago appeared a punk band from New York City that gave an opportunity to rock n' roll to survive in a changing music industry. Unfortunately for them, the Ramones were eclipsed commercially by a second british invasion leaded by the Sex Pistols and The Clash, 2 bands that were themselves influenced by the Ramones. This lack of popularity was there for all their 20 years career, even if the critics agree to say that without the Ramones, rock music would be very different today. On this DVD, a documentary of almost 2 hours, you will discover the complete story of the band, from its debut at the CBGB in NYC, to its induction into the rock n' roll Hall of Fame in 2002, with a special mention to the death of Joey in 2001 and Dee Dee in 2002, 2 months after the Hall of Fame ceremony. There is only the death of Johnny in 2004 that was not mentionned. This DVD will give you the opportunity to discover every aspect of each of the characters, the tensions between some of the members and the problems they had to face. Everything is presented on a musical background of their best songs, even if we could dislike the little presence of the music. Anyway, there are parts of a couple of great live performances of the 70's that are very impressive. I was lucky to see them in concert in the middle of the 90's, and even if it was impressive, it was far from the energy of their debut. Many modern "punk" bands should take the time to sit down and take a look at this documentary to take a real rock n' roll lesson and to discover it's not necessary to run from one side of the stage to the other to be energetic on stage. Special features include other parts of the interviews not chosen for the documentary, but that are as interesting. I don't think this DVD is the best way to discover the band if you don't know anything from their music, but if you heard some of their albums and like them, you won't have any choice but buying other albums of the band after the viewing of this story. If you're a fan, you can't hesitate to buy this DVD to learn more about the band you think you know by heart. (May 2005)

Keith Richards - Under Review (2007)

Under Review is a documentary about the career of Keith Richards, and at the same time, of The Rolling Stones. Indeed, having primarily evolved within this mythical group for the last 45 years, the career of Richards is almost the same as the Stones' in spite of some solo albums and other solo projects in the 80’s and 90’s. The documentary is particularly well made with the opinions of many experts. We discover the very first influences of Richards in rock n' roll and blues (Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, and so on) and how he used those influences to build his own guitar style. The explanations of the guitar specialist Wolf Marshall are particularly instructive and show us how fabulous and unique Richards is as a guitarist, succeeding in mixing perfectly rhythm and lead guitar. We can obviously also learn a little more on his dependencies to drugs and his great authenticity. This is a true rocker and a unique performer like there is very few, and we can truly wonder how he can still be alive after all those abuses. To see the importance he granted to musical creation in his life, we must understand that it’s probably what holds him still upright, even if his best creative period goes back to the 2^nd half of the 60’s and the early 70’s. In addition to the various interview sequences, the unauthorized DVD presents live footage or images of their every day life, including great classics of the group ("Satisfaction", "Jumping Jack Flash", "Brown Sugar", "Tumbling Dice", "Start Me Up", "It's Only Rock n' Roll" and several others). This extremely interesting documentary is impossible to avoid for any fan of Keith Richards and The Rolling Stones. (October 2007)

118 minutes

Sexy Intellectual / Chrome Dreams / MVD

The Rolling Stones - Rare and Unseen (2010)

The Rare and Unseen collection finds footage that was lost for years. In this case, we can discover interviews granted by the members of the Rolling Stones during their long career, as well as different images shot when they were traveling. Without really learning us something new, the 65-minute documentary presents some interesting elements showing us how the guys have evolved during all those years. The documentary can be an excellent complement to any collector of the Stones, but as there is no music by the band, music lovers will remain somewhat on their appetite. (August 2010)

Wienerworld / MVD

The Rolling Stones - Under Review 1967-1969 (2007)

After a strong beginning whereas the Rolling Stones primarily were recognized thanks to their unique covers of classic R&B songs, the group truly exploded with the mega hit "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" in 1965. After a certain period of experimentation, the group had its best creative years before the turning of the following decade. It’s this exact period of the 45-year career of the Rolling Stones they analyze here in every detail. They introduce the whole with the presentation of the experimentation of the albums Between The Buttons and Their Satanic Majesties Request, before presenting the masterpieces Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed. This unauthorized documentary offers us comments by specialists and people who were close to them during that single period of the history of rock music, a period which was going to cement once and for all the style of the Rolling Stones for the decades to come. The 85-minute documentary is thus particularly interesting, as much for the fans of the band than for the musicologists. (March 2008)

Sexy Intellectual / Chrome Dreams / MVD

Ja Rule - 2005 (2008)

In 2005, the rapper Ja Rule was touring the world. Two of these concerts were captured and mixed to be presented here on DVD. They are concerts which took place in March in Germany and Belgium. We thus see on this DVD a mix of the 2 performances for duration of almost one hour. 5.1 surround sound is of first quality, but it’s the visual which is the most impressive whereas several images are placed on top of each other, including even sometimes extracts of videos. The main disadvantage of the concert is that no guest artist can be seen and all the feminine voices come from the studio recordings. On the other hand, they mainly fill this problem in the performances we can see as bonuses, recorded in Manchester, whereas we can see mainly Ashanti for 2 tracks including the mega hit “Always On Time”. Several other bonus features are available, which requires the presence of a second DVD to contain it all. On the other hand, except for certain interviews, there are much useless contents which are addressed to the hardcore fans exclusively. As a whole, this DVD of Ja Rule does what we could be waiting and is a nice gift for his many fans. (October 2008)

Charly / MVD

Rush, R30 (30^th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) (2 DVD + 2 CD) (2005)

In 2004, the Canadian band Rush was on tour for its 30 years, all around the world. So, they present here one of these concerts, in Frankfurt, Germany. Considered at their beginning like the first metal Canadian band, even if they were more in the progressive rock style, Rush gives us here most of the best songs of their career. In this 2 hour performance, you will be able to see how in a good shape are the guys. You have to be in a great shape when you do this kind of rich music with only 3 musicians… But, it helps when the 3 members of the band are true virtuosos on their respective instruments. They are particularly impressive to see play, which is making it a concert pleasant to look at and to listen to, even if there are no particular special effects. The huge talent of the musicians makes all the work. The 2^nd DVD presents 5 very interesting interviews recorded between 1979 and 2002, as well as many never seen videos and songs in concert. This deluxe version comes with 2 CDs in bonus including the entire concert of the DVD. Everything is offered in a beautiful box including a sticker and 2 guitar picks autographed by Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee. The only things I think are missing in this beautiful collection object are the lack of biographic notes in the booklet, and the absence of details on the tracks offered. We can also complain about the fact they didn’t play one song or the other, but the band’s repertoire is so huge it’s impossible to please everybody in a unique concert. Instead of buying this deluxe version, you can also buy the regular version with only 2 DVDs, which can be perfectly suitable for you. In one case or the other, this is a great anthology of our best Canadian band. (September 2006)

Scissor Sisters, We are Scissor Sisters... And So Are You (2005)

Here is a DVD by one of the most creative bands to have make a breakthrough in 2004 with their excellent first album, a self-titled one. The Scissor Sisters are a band from New York City offering a pop sound most of all light and perfect to dance with influences of the 70’s like Elton John and David Bowie. We know them most of all for their disco version, very Bee Gees style, of "Comfortably Numb" of Pink Floyd. Their most important asset: to take elements of the past to build a unique, personal and very modern sound. On this DVD, we can see all the flamboyance of the band in a 80 minute concert in which they offer us as much for our eyes than for our ears. They are definitely real stage animals and they started in fact in the New York club circuit well before releasing their first album. If you liked them with their first record, you will be totally seduced after the viewing of this concert, bringing a new dimension to the band. In addition to the concert, you will see a half-hour documentary, as well as 5 videos ("Comfortably Numb", "Take Your Mama", "Mary" and 2 versions of "Laura"). Despite a booklet with no information at all, it’s a DVD that will give you a lot for your money! (April 2005)

Sex Pistols - There’ll Always Be An England: Live From Brixton Academy (2008)

To celebrate the 30th birthday of Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols, the 4 original members of the Sex Pistols performed for 5 nights sold out at Brixton Academy in November 2007. It’s one of these concerts we can visualize here in its entirety, in high definition and with a 5.1 surround sound. The montage succeeds in collecting perfectly the crowd’s energy and Johnny Rotten’s madness (we have to call him now by his real name, John Lydon). Even if we have practically the feeling to look at a concert by John Lydon and his musicians, it remains that the band offers a solid performance on stage during 77 minutes (the time to play about their entire repertoire plus covers). The only problem is that the scale of the concert and the images a little too polished doesn’t fit very well with the underground punk movement they founded in England. The age of the musicians also removes even more credibility with their anarchist message. Right at Lydon’s entry on stage, we have the feeling he just entered the skin of his character of young 1977 punk rocker. This is anyway a good concert which will make it possible for younger people to discover them on stage, but this type of performance cannot be compared with the atmosphere there was at the time in the small dirty venues they used to make disorder more often than any other bands in the genre. In bonus, we can view the documentary The Knowledge which presents a guide to London by the Sex Pistols. With more than 90 minutes of duration, it includes backstage footage of the Brixton concerts and other rare footage. (January 2009)

Fremantle / Rhino / Warner

Shakira - Oral Fixation Tour (2007)

The last concert of her Oral Fixation tour in Miami in fall 2006 was captured and this is what we find here on DVD. It’s a 1 hour and a half concert Shakira’s offering to us with a perfect mix of genres and a lot of dancing. Very comfortable on stage, this short woman succeeds wonderfully in covering all the space under her bare feet. She manages to seduce her audience as soon as at the first track, “Estoy Aqui”, and it will be the case until the end, even if she travels between Latin pop, rock, Arab beats and ballads. Always very sexy, she uses brilliantly her moves to her advantage. It’s necessary to note the presence of 2 distinguished guests, the voices behind her greatest hits from the albums Oral Fixation vol. 1 and 2: Alejandro Sanz on “Tortura” and Wyclef Jean on the mega hit “Hips Don't Lie”, ending the show. The concert is largely emphasized by an exceptional image quality. For the voice, we can suppose that a recording assists her on certain occasions, because her voice remains always perfect in spite of the numerous movements of dance. If it’s not the case, she’s definitely in an exceptional physical shape! The DVD adds to the concert 2 tracks captured on other concerts of the tour (“Obtener Un Si” and “La Pared”), as well as a video for “Las De La Intuicion”. We can also view 2 short documentaries on her 397 days on tour and her charity activities in her native Colombia. Finally, a not very useful CD is offered with 6 songs from the concert. (October 2008)

Epic / Sony BMG

Shakira, Live & Off The Record (DVD + CD) (2004)

Shakira had a huge success with her 2001 album Laundry Service, most particularly with the mega hit "Whenever, Wherever". On this DVD, we can see a concert from the tour that followed this album in Rotterdam, Netherlands. We can see Shakira in complete control of the crowd and it’s always surprising to see a so small woman filling a so big stage. The Colombian pop rocker seduces totally the audience with her inventive way to dance on a mix of rock, pop, Arab beats and of course, Latin music. I was in fact surprised by her rock side that is very important on stage with 2 guitarists. She even plays the classic by AC/DC "Back In Black" in a great way. She surprises us once again when she appears on drums at the beginning of "Rules". Nothing really impressing, but she proves she touches really to everything (lyricist, composer, singer, musician, arranger, producer... and an excellent show girl). In "Octavo Dia", she takes position on politics, and immediately after, in "Ready For The Good Times", she pleases herself in becoming a pop singer of the 80’s. The 1 hour and a half concert ends with her 2 biggest hits, "Objection (Tango)" and "Whenever, Wherever", with numerous explosions and confettis to conclude this imposing concert. There are in fact a couple of songs that left me totally uninterested, but it’s a concert of first quality that is offered here. The DVD also includes a very good documentary of 60 minutes, moving in some moments, in which we discover her a little bit more, for our own pleasure. In addition to the DVD, we also have a CD containing 10 songs from the concert on the DVD. We would have maybe appreciate to have a little more detailed booklet, but because Shakira is filling totally our eyes with this DVD of 150 minutes, we wouldn’t have the time to read the booklet anyway... (June 2006)

The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead: A Classic Album Under Review (2008)

The British band The Smiths truly became famous with its 3rd album, The Queen Is Dead, in 1986. This is the album which enabled them to make history as one of the greatest bands. The Under Review series offers on this DVD an in-depth analysis of the album with many interviews and footage. With 2 hours of documentary, also talking about other moments of their career, this analysis is indeed rather thorough. Even a little too much since it comes a moment when we’re not listening anymore. Their earliest fans, who wish to learn a little more about their favorite group and this album they love, will certainly find the information they want. On the other hand, others won’t probably like it much. The DVD also includes extras, but they’re not very interesting. (October 2008)

Sexy Intellectual / Chrome Dreams / MVD

Bruce Springsteen - Under Review 1978-1982: Tales Of The Working Man (2007)

The American rocker Bruce Springsteen had his best years between the mid-Seventies and the mid-Eighties, between the albums Born To Run (which made him famous) and Born In The U.S.A. (his most successful record). This documentary presents briefly these 2 albums, but especially the 3 discs he did between them, Darkness On The Edge Of Town, The River and Nebraska. Several specialists talk about his best years as an author, making of Springsteen the worthy successor to Bob Dylan. Through comments of specialists, we can discover various music extracts or interviews with the singer himself. The 82-minute documentary does a very good portrait of this legendary American singer, which thus makes of it an interesting DVD for his fans. On the other hand, there are a few interesting elements for those who don’t know well his work. (January 2008)

Sexy Intellectual / Chrome Dreams / MVD

Cat Stevens - Tea For The Tillerman Live (2008)

On June 8, 1971, whereas he was at the climax of his career, Cat Stevens offered a unique performance in KCET studios in Los Angeles. This intimate concert is presented to us for the first time on DVD. We can hear 8 songs including the hits “Moonshadow” and “Wild World”. This rare performance is more than interesting to discover this incomparable folk singer who had a great career until 1978. Unfortunately, with a total of only 30 minutes, the concert will seem too short to you, even if we also find in bonus a 5-minute animated film entitled Teaser And The Firecat. (February 2009)

Wienerworld / MVD

Iggy & The Stooges - Escaped Maniacs (2 DVD) (2008)

Two years after getting back together to record some tracks for the Iggy Pop album, Skull Ring, The Stooges gave a solid performance at the Lokerse festival in Belgium on August 6, 2005. It’s this 65-minute concert we find here in 2 versions. Most of the songs of their 2 first albums are interpreted here, in addition to 2 titles drawn from Skull Ring, “Dead Rock Star” and the title-song. Unfortunately, we cannot hear anything from the classic Raw Power, which thus becomes automatically the weakest point of this excellent DVD. Iggy is completely unchained here, like always, and he’s firmly supported by the music of the Asheton brothers and Mike Watt (Minutemen). But pay attention that the 2 DVDs offer us much more than a simple concert! The 2nd disc enables us to discover an excellent 60-minute retrospective of the last 30 years. We can also see in bonus very good interviews with Ron & Scott Asheton, Iggy Pop and Esther Friedman. On the whole, it’s thus more than 5 hours and a half of material which is offered to us, everything necessary to satisfy the most demanding fans. On January 6, we were shocked to hear the news of Ron Asheton’s death. He will always be remembered by everyone. (February 2009)

Charly / MVD

Stryper, Greatest Hits: Live In Puerto Rico

The Christian hard rock band Stryper, which especially had success in the mid Eighties, is still indeed active. The proof: this DVD recorded in March 2004 in Puerto Rico. We can hear obviously their greatest hits (like the title says) recorded in front of a rather young crowd which probably discovered the group via their parents. What strikes from the very start, it’s the great shape of the 4 guys whereas they don’t have anything of the fat guys in lycra we can see in several other groups of the same era which are still active. On the contrary, they look better than in their good years whereas the big hair and make-up were the standard. We can realize it better in the bonus concert footage from 1989. These tracks complete perfectly the "greatest hits" aspect of the DVD because we can hear the other hits they had that are not included in the 2004 concert. The most important negative point of the main concert is that we discover quickly how most of their songs didn’t grow very well. At the time, they seemed to have a corrosive side in spite of the recurring topic of the religion, but 20 years later, they only seem musically poor. There are about only the songs drawn from To Hell With The Devil, their best album, that still have an interesting life ("The Way", "Honestly", the title-song, and more). At the end, it’s nevertheless a good show, a concert which will recall memories to many people who lived that period. Moreover, you have the choice between a stereo and a 5.1 surround sound. (May 2007)

MVD

TAD - Busted Circuits And Ringing Ears (2008)

Not like other bands of the Seattle grunge scene of the early 90’s, TAD remained aside of the musical industry. On the other hand, they are considered by several as the heaviest and noisiest grunge band in concert. This 90-minute documentary presents the ups and downs of the group’s career, which extended over a period of about ten years. We can hear insightful interviews with some of the most respected musicians from Seattle: Krist Novoselic and Chad Channing (Nirvana), Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), Mark Arm (Mudhoney), and several others. We can also hear comments by the Sub Pop label founders (Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman), that label having been a crucial piece of the grunge movement. Throughout the DVD, we can hear and see live footage. On the other hand, most of it is too short to truly present the music of the group. It will be necessary to await the 5 videos offered in bonus to finally hear all the possibilities of their sound, which can be a little aggravating for the neophytes of Tad Doyle’s band. Despite everything, Busted Circuits And Ringing Ears makes an excellent overview of the career of this band with a very particular way. (September 2008)

King Of Hearts / MVD

Johnny Thunders - Who’s Been Talking? (2007)

This former member of the New York Dolls and the Heartbreakers continued his career of rock n' roll star until his death on April 23, 1991, in spite of his dependence to hard drugs. This DVD contains one of the last concerts offered by Thunders whereas it was captured at the time of a mini-tour in Japan on April 3, 1991, 20 days before being found dead at his home in New Orleans. We can see a guy in great shape on stage whereas he reminds us more than ever his idol, Keith Richards. He offers nothing less than 22 tracks including 2 medleys: “Hit The Road Jack/I'm Not Your Stepping Stone” and “Louie Louie/Hang On Sloopy”. Among the songs played, we can hear some from the New York Dolls era for our greater pleasure, of which the excellent “Personality Crisis”. The main problem in this concert of more than one hour is the poor quality of the image, recovered from the analogical recording of the time. On the other hand, the sound remixed in 5.1 is excellent. For the atmosphere at the venue and the interaction with the crowd of Citta Club in Osaka, forget that because practically any crowd noise was deleted in the final mix. It’s almost embarrassing when the moment of the encore comes, but it’s understood that the DVD doesn’t reflect truly the atmosphere on the spot at that time. In spite of its defects, Who's Been Talking? is a very beautiful document for the fans of Johnny Thunders. We can see in bonus a very detailed written biography of his career. (March 2008)

Secret / MVD

U2 - The Rebirth of Cool: U2 in the Third Millennium (2008)

After a period a little more experimental in the 1990s when the band somewhat lost credibility and fans, U2 came back in good shape in 2000 with All That You Can’t Leave Behind. This documentary primarily tries to show this comeback of the group in the years 2000 with a style easily recognizable for the fans of their debut and which made it possible for the band to regain with certainty its place as the biggest act in the world. They obviously detail the creation and the production of All That You Can’t Leave Behind, but also that of How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb issued 4 years later. Doing some parallels with the past, the documentary of 68 minutes is immediately interesting. Unfortunately, it’s less the case after a moment whereas there is not so much to tell after all. Moreover, having been produced in 2008, the DVD is unaware of the end of the decade and the album No Line on the Horizon released this year. The idea to present the comeback of U2 in good shape in the years 2000 is excellent, but perhaps it’s not enough for a full documentary. They could perhaps have added an aspect in concert while speaking a little more about the 2 huge tours the band did and the 3D concert captured on the Vertigo tour. Despite everything, the fans will certainly appreciate the comments of the experts and they will go a little deeper in the music of their favorite band. Maybe they won’t learn much, but they will be able to approve the various comments heard and to be thus reassured in their opinion about U2. (June 2009)

Sexy Intellectual / MVD

U2, The DVD Collector's Box (2 DVD)

This box set of 2 DVDs gathers DVDs released in 2003 and 2004 about U2 (An Unforgettable Journey) and about its singer, Bono (God’s Favorite Son). Those are unauthorized biographies on which you will not hear any music by U2. On the other hand, the 2 documentaries present in a detailed way the formation of the group in Dublin, Ireland whereas the 4 friends were still in high school. It overviews the career of the most important band of the last 20 years by interviews with journalists as well as close relations of the band members. The already detailed information of the DVD about U2 is magnificently supplemented by the DVD about Bono whereas they still add more information about the beginnings of the group. On the DVD devoted to Bono, they talk with more details about the implication of the singer in the community, as well as his many meetings one on one with international leaders. On these 2 DVDs, there are 2 hours of material which enable us to still discover a little more about the group that we already know very well. (May 2007)

Chrome Dreams / MVD

U.K. Subs, Warhead: 25th Anniversary Marquee Concert (2006)

In London on October 24, 2002, the British punk band U.K. Subs was celebrating its 25^th anniversary at the famous Marquee. It's that historical concert we can see here in a very good performance of 68 minutes. The concert started a little slowly with a few weaker tracks, but after that, the fast beat took the stage. We can find 21 tracks including the classics "New York State Police", "Tomorrow's Girls" and "Down On The Farm". Even if in my opinion the U.K. Subs didn't record many good albums, it's particularly interesting to rediscover them 25 years later. And the concert is presented with the big lighting and sound, which is making it maybe one of the biggest shows they did in their entire career. The DVD also contains a very good interview for a big total of more than 2 hours of material. With the surround sound 5.1 in bonus, this is definitely an excellent DVD that is offered to us, a DVD that will remind good memories for the oldest ones and will make the youngest ones discover another real punk band of the British wave of the late 70's. (November 2006)

MVD

The Used, Berth (DVD + CD) (2007)

The pop punk emo band The Used once again presents a CD/DVD package before issuing a new album, as they had done between their 2 first discs. This one thus becomes somewhat superfluous for those who would have got Maybe Memories. The DVD includes a full concert of more than one hour captured in Vancouver on September 25, 2005. The group presents a beautiful energy on stage in spite of several poor songs and of too long pauses between some of them. The crowd strongly contributes to insufflate energy to this concert. The DVD also includes a completely useless 37-minute documentary about their life on tour, a documentary in which nothing’s really happening in fact. The only interesting thing that we find is a new song at the end of it, "Handsome Awkward", a track which will be included on their forthcoming album that will be released in April. As bonus, we can see the videos for the tracks "Take It Away", "All That I've Got" and "I Caught Fire", as well as questions and answers for almost 30 minutes. The CD includes only 9 of the 11 tracks of the concert presented on the DVD. In my opinion, they should have included at least the full concert on it. In conclusion, it’s a package for fans only, containing interesting elements, but much more useless material. (March 2007)

Reprise / Warner

Voivod - Tatsumaki: Voivod Japan 2008 (2009)

In September 2008, the legendary Quebec metal band Voivod visited Japan for the first time during the Thrash Domination Festival. The 63-minute concert at the Citta Club in Kawasaki was captured with 3 cameras and we can find it here on DVD. Late guitarist Denis “Piggy” D’Amour is replaced by Dan Mongrain, whereas we can see for the first time in 7 years their original bass player, Blacky. We can hear a dozen tracks from the 7 first years of the band, whose climax is their excellent cover of “Astronomy Domine” from Pink Floyd (in the Syd Barrett era), which appeared on Nothingface in 1989. In addition to the excellent concert, we can discover 3 bonuses: a performance of 3 songs captured on July 17, 2009 at the Imperial Theatre in Quebec City for the Summer Festival, a 20-minute interview with Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters), a long time fan of Voivod, and finally a faux mini-documentary not really interesting. This DVD presents in a great way the energy of the band on stage in addition to showing all its experiment. It’s thus an excellent way of discovering or rediscovering the greatest metal band in Quebec history. (January 2010)

MVD

War, Loose Grooves: Funkin' Live In England 1980

War is a jazz/funk group of 7 members which especially evolved in the Seventies and with which worked Eric Burdon of The Animals. The DVD offered here presents a concert recorded on April 9, 1980 at the Civic Theatre in Halifax, England. We can hear 8 tracks, with some having never-ending solos of harmonica, saxophone or guitar. The concert lasts 51 minutes and it includes the hits "Low Rider" and "Why Can't We Be Friends" (this last one played as encore). The sound that is not very good unfortunately badly emphasizes the very good performance of the musicians. Moreover, you will not find any extra on the DVD, which would certainly have helped to increase its value. It’s unfortunately a DVD for the fans only since few neophytes will be charmed by this concert which is however very good in that genre. (June 2007)

RPM / MVD

The Who - The Who, The Mods and The Quadrophenia Connection (2009)

Here is a documentary presenting the evolution of the band The Who from its debut to the album Quadrophenia that they present like the apogee of the group. They insist particularly on the Mod culture (modernist) in the middle of which we could find The Who, but also The Kinks and The Small Faces. That subculture originating in London is based on clothes fashion and a creative pop music. The documentary is interesting when it presents how the group evolved, but constant links with Mod culture and Quadrophenia become annoying after some time. But, as it’s the first goal of the DVD, we cannot be too frustrated about its creators. In spite of very interesting moments, including unique concert footage, it’s definitely not the best documentary about The Who. It rather presents a particular point of view on the band, an interesting point of view but not sufficiently complete. (December 2009)

94 minutes

Sexy Intellectual / MVD

Amy Winehouse - The Girl Done Good: A Documentary Review (2008)

After a career of hardly 5 years and 2 albums, they already offer us a documentary about the talented British singer Amy Winehouse. The first question we have to ask is obviously: "How will they do to fill up 79 minutes with a so short career?". And it’s precisely what is quickly disturbing. After various experts and friends came to say she has a single voice, an overflowing creativity and an extraordinary personality, the documentary becomes soon repetitive. The references to the styles of the 60’s are interesting, just like her jazz style integrated perfectly into pop music. Firmly supported by footage of Amy and her influences of the past, these references become the heart of the DVD which establishes a very good link between the jazz standards and the contemporary Amy Winehouse. On the other hand, they can talk about her 2 albums as much as they want, as well as her personal problems, it remains that they rather quickly explore the entire subject. Her fans will probably appreciate anyway this documentary and they will perhaps look further into certain aspects of her career they didn’t know yet. At the end, this is a good detailed portrait of the beginning of her career. (June 2008)

Sexy Intellectual / Chrome Dreams / MVD

The Yardbirds - The Story of The Yardbirds (2008)

Here is a DVD presenting the first supergroup of rock n' roll. The Yardbirds indeed launched the career of 3 of the best guitarists in history: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. Even if the band existed only for 5 years, between 1963 and 1968, they were able to bring rhythm & blues to another level, using heavy riffs which were going to be used a little later in the first moments of heavy metal. The DVD contains a 52-minute documentary presenting interviews with band members, as well as concert footage, especially captured during TV shows. Even if it can seem short, the documentary is particularly full of information and presents an excellent portrait of this legendary group. In bonus, we can find a 14-minute performance by the band from a German TV show in 1967, whereas the group was at the time a quartet following the departure of Jeff Beck 1 year earlier. The DVD also includes a detailed booklet especially treating of the group’s reunion in the early 2000s for the recording of a new album with many guest artists. Birdland was going to be issued in 2003, 35 years after their separation. (May 2009)

HIQ / ABC / MVD

Yes - The New Director’s Cut (2 DVD) (2008)

Here are 2 DVDs presenting 2 full concerts captured on the world tour for their 35th anniversary at N.I.A., Birmingham (on July 3, 2003) and at Glastonbury Festival (on June 29, 2003). We can see the original members of Yes in an exceptionally good shape. They play most of all classics of the Seventies, excluding totally the more popular hits of the group during the following decade. With these 2 performances and many interviews with the band members, this is here a very complete document to introduce these giants of progressive rock. We can see and hear the huge talent of these great musicians. The only detail that is not perfect on the DVD is the fact that the interviews are presented between the performances on stage. I would have preferred to be able to hear the concerts without interruptions. For others, this assembly will be more interesting. Also, the Birmingham concert resumes on the 2nd DVD, another interruption which I would have liked to be able to avoid. In spite of these less interesting aspects, the fans will have very much for their money. This 2-DVD set is probably the best document of its kind to be issued about Yes to date. (March 2009)

Classic / MVD

Neil Young - Under Review 1976-2006 (2007)

After Under Review 1966-1975 released earlier this year, here is a documentary presenting a retrospective of the 2nd part of the career of Neil Young. Many experts trace a portrait of the various albums issued by Young. They explain how he was wrongfully associated to the punk movement at the end of the Seventies, whereas he had only applauded the movement. The influences of punk and Neil Young do not have in fact anything in common. The DVD presents sometimes rare performances on stage, as well as rare extracts of interviews, which adds enormously to this unauthorized documentary. Under Review 1976-2006 is an excellent way of discovering most of the career of Neil Young, even if you should also get the first DVD of the series to have an outline of the best years of his career. (November 2007)

79 minutes

Sexy Intellectual / Chrome Dreams / MVD

Frank Zappa - The Freak-Out List (2010)

Frank Zappa was one of the most important composers of the last 50 years. Influenced as much by classical, jazz and R&B, he was able to create a unique avant-garde rock sound, even if it was very difficult to access. Inside the cover of his first album with The Mothers of Invention in 1966, Freak Out!, he had announced his influences and never changed his opinion throughout his career. The main characteristic of that list was first that it included more obscure artists than known artists, then that he introduced artists of completely different genres, generally not fitting well together. This documentary of one hour and a half makes it possible to make an overview of the main influences of Frank Zappa and to understand how he could integrate all these various influences into his creative music. The documentary is particularly interesting when we consider that we are these years in a time which requires more than ever to mix the genres together to create completely original music. Zappa did it already 40 years ago, whereas the history of rock was however still quite young. Here is a documentary that is essential for any Zappa fan, but also for any music lover. The explanations can often seem very technical, but the film remains very interesting anyway. (June 2010)

Sexy Intellectual / MVD

Zebra - The DVD (2008)

For its 30^th anniversary, the group from New Orleans leaded by Randy Jackson, Zebra, offers us its very first DVD. Of a duration of more than 2 hours, the documentary tells us the history of these spiritual sons of Led Zeppelin thanks to interviews with the 3 members, as well as various friends and collaborators. After a presentation of approximately 25 minutes about the beginnings of the band, the documentary is integrating live tracks, captured in 2006 at The House Of Blues in New Orleans and at The Downtown in Farmingdale, New York. The DVD also offers several bonus features, making an extremely complete document of it about the trio. I would have liked to be able to view a concert in its entirety, but the excellent sound we can hear makes us appreciate every song, even if they are not joined together. Moreover, the assembly they made, with a presentation of each song, makes the whole rather pleasant. Here is the ultimate document of Zebra to get… (September 2008)

Vision Work / MVD

Various artists:

All My Loving

All My Loving is a TV documentary by Tony Palmer that was initially broadcasted on the BBC in 1968 and which is finally available on DVD. The 60-minute film presents for the first time the influence of music on pop culture through the most creative artists of the modern era. We can see previously unseen footage from the greatest artists like The Beatles, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Eric Burdon and Pink Floyd. But, there are also very interesting interview segments with guys like Frank Zappa, Paul McCartney, Manfred Mann, and more. The whole is mixed with typical footage of that time, including the Vietnam War. This DVD primarily makes it possible to take conscience again at how the creativity was at its apogee in the pop music of the 60’s. On the other hand, I thought that the mixing was somewhat unstitched and with some lengths, which I didn’t like and made me think I didn’t agree with all those which spoke in praise about this documentary through the years. It’s anyway an excellent report of the most outstanding artists of the 60’s and all the modern era, artists who provided the foundations for their followers. In bonus, we can hear a 40-minute interview with Tony Palmer who explains in details the genesis of the film, which largely came from a suggestion by John Lennon, and the BBC's reluctance to air it. (October 2007)

Isolde / MVD

Black Metal Satanica (2008)

In the Eighties in the Scandinavian countries was born a movement in parallel with death metal named black metal. This musical genre talking about Satanism and anti-Christianity became extensive in the Nineties whereas some musicians transported into reality what they were preaching in their lyrics. At that point in time arrived self-mutilations, suicides and murders, without forgetting the many burnt churches and the vandalized cemeteries. It’s an overview of this movement that is much more than musical that we can see in this 78-minute documentary presenting interviews with various members of black metal bands. The documentary succeeds in rendering comprehensible to us the motivations of those musicians. On the other hand, where the documentary misses the objective, it’s that we speak very few about music, as if the music wasn’t really important and was only a means of communicating the anger of its creators. I’m not a big fan of this musical genre having never discovered great artists, and I would have liked if they could have make me discover something interesting. With this in mind, the DVD has an important lack, but for a horror documentary, there’s nothing better. Fear is guaranteed! (February 2009)

Deadline / Cleopatra / MVD

Desperately Seeking Paul McCartney (2008)

In August 1965, a young journalist for ABC-TV named Ruth Anson asked Paul McCartney if he had any projects of marriage. He answered then: “Only if you’ll marry me”. Forty years later, she wishes to find Paul to know if he remembers her. Thanks to the producer Marc Cushman, a team will be able “to help her” in her search which will be filmed for a documentary. Cushman realizes soon that there is nothing very interesting for such documentary and he brings it in a more comic direction, in the style of reality-TV. He handles his production to become more entertaining and at the same time, more embarrassing for Ruth. In end of line, Desperately Seeking Paul McCartney is a reality movie without too much content, which doesn’t present at all McCartney or The Beatles. The original soundtrack contains only new compositions in the Beatles style by Alan Bernhoft, David Mark Peterson and Marc Cushman. We can entirely hear the music of the film in the bonus features of the DVD. As a whole, this documentary proves to be a light entertainment, but not really interesting. (November 2008)

BRI / MVD

I Need That Record! The Death (Or Possible Survival) of the Independent Record Store (2010)

During the last decade, more than 3.000 independent record stores had to close in the United States. The attitude of the major record labels and the supermarkets is the main cause of it. The appearance of the MP3 and the more important place of the Internet also make that the rising generation is unaware of this kind of specialized shop where we could find real jewels. The documentary of 77 minutes presents an excellent portrait of this declining industry, victim of new technologies and new ways of consuming music. We can hear interviews with huge fans of this type of shops: Ian Mackaye (Dischord Records, Fugazi, Minor Threat), Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Mike Watt (Minutemen), Lenny Kaye (The Patti Smith Group), Chris Frantz (Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club), Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers), Pat Carney (The Black Keys), and several others. Everything makes us believe that perhaps the new life of vinyl records we could note in the last years will make it possible for the independent shops to survive and to even see the appearance of new ones. On the other hand, nothing is less sure, but the documentary is very interesting to present an important aspect of the last 40 years in the music industry. (July 2010)

MVD

Metal's Dark Side: The Hard And The Furious Volume 1

This series will present metal artists that don’t have many opportunities to be heard on specialized TV channels, artists of death, black, thrash and speed metal. Hosted by the sexy Jasmin St. Claire, this first volume includes interviews with members of Cannibal Corpse, Death Angel, Satyricon, Nevermore and Damageplan. We can also see videos (the uncensored versions) of those bands, plus a tribute to the late Dimebag Darrell (Damageplan, Pantera) and a preview of the volume 2 of the series. With 80 minutes including the bonuses, this is only a brief view of that large music genre, but the coming volumes will certainly complete the picture. For the fans of the genre only. (November 2006)

MVD

Stop the War Coalition (Benefit Concert)

This concert against war was captured on November 27, 2005 at the Astoria in London. The French singer born in Algeria Rachid Taha performs for most of the concert, even if he is joined on stage by Brian Eno and Mick Jones (of The Clash). We can also see Imogen Heap (for one song) and Nitin Sawhney with Brian Eno (for 3 tracks) opening for Taha. There is also an introduction speech by Chris Nineham and Brian Eno. After a good performance on piano by Imogen Heap in a style reminding us of Tori Amos, Nitin Sawhney gives us experimental music, an ambient trip hop sound. After that, the contagious energy of Rachid Taha don’t wastes time and brings the happy crowd to dance. His rock style with a lot of beat with Arab tendencies and other world beats is perfect for that kind of benefit concert, because he creates a perfect link between Arab world and Europe. This is an excellent concert that is offered here and you could easily forget the title of the DVD and simply purchase it like if it was a Rachid Taha DVD. You will have a lot for your money, especially if you’re a Taha fan. (December 2006)

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