DVD Reviews

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble: Pride and Joy

You may remember Stevie Ray Vaughan as arguably the greatest electric blues guitarist, but do you know him as a video giant?  No, probably not, because SRV was no Michael Jackson. And the Texas boy would be more likely playing dance punk chords (as he did for Bowie’s “Lets Dance”) before looking pretty in a video. Stevie was more about sound than image; although you have to hand it to him for always looking cool with his flat brimmed hat, poncho and SRV initialed Statocaster.

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Paul McCartney: The McCartney Years

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

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Control: Directed by Anton Corbijn

Director Anton Corbijn recreates Curtis’ struggles in Control, basing the script on the autobiography, “Touching From a Distance,” by Curtis’ widow. The urban decay and paranoia of late 1970’s Manchester, England is conjured vividly from the film makers black and white imagery, which later gave birth to the “Madchester” scene a decade later.

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Echo & The Bunnymen: Dancing Horses

Echo & the Bunnymen rose to prominence at the end of the punk era and had a lasting impact on the New Wave movement that followed. But they always seemed a step ahead of other bands from that time because Echo and the Bunnymen were never really punk enough and always had more soul than other New Wave bands as they liberally dipped a toe into the pool of classic British blues bands.

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Bob Dylan: The Other Side of the Mirror: Live at Newport Folk Festival 1963-1965

Considering how much has been written, spoken and contemplated about Bob Dylan’s appearances at the Newport Folk Festival, especially his (literally and figuratively) electric set in 1965, it boggles the mind it’s taken forty years for the film of those shows to find broad circulation. But the wait to see Murray Lerner’s The Other Side of the Mirror is worth it, because the director lets the performances speak for themselves, and they constitute a profound statement indeed.

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U2: Popmart:Live from Mexico City

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

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Ramones: It’s Alive 1974-1996

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

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Woodstock Film Festival: Woodstock, NY 10/10-10/14/07

Set in the heart of autumn in beautiful upstate New York, this year’s eight annual Woodstock Film Festival impressed with a blend of small town charm, prestigious films, and great music. There was a little bit of something for everyone, even those who aren’t your average film fest attendees.

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R.E.M. Live

R.E.M. Live isn’t going to turn their naysayers to the R.E.M. sound, but it proves a better late that never live package, or at least a well needed hold-me over until their next studio release due in early 2008.

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