Category: Concert DVDs (Page 4 of 5)

The Blind Boys of Alabama: “Live in New Orleans”

March 4, 2009 / Jeff Giles

They’ve never had a hit or sold a ton of records, but the Blind Boys of Alabama have been making beautiful music for 70 years and running, so in lieu of the sold-out week at Madison Square Garden they deserve, this DVD – filmed during an appearance at the legendary New Orleans institution Tipitina’s last spring – serves as a suitable tip of the hat to one of modern music’s most distinguished careers. Fittingly, the Blind Boys were on the road promoting a CD, Down in New Orleans, that paid tribute to the city, and the show’s location also enabled them to enlist a passel of the Crescent City’s musical finest, including Susan Tedeschi, Dr. John, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The production values aren’t the best you’ve ever seen, the sound mix occasionally wavers into muddy territory – and if you’ve ever been to Tipitina’s, you know that fitting all those performers on the club’s tiny stage requires some delicate balancing – but what Live in New Orleans lacks in polish, it more than makes up for with the performers’ obvious, bone-deep commitment to the music. There’s little showmanship here, just the performers’ decades of experience, but that’s more than enough for a damn fine show. Live showcases the Blind Boys doing what they do best, and functions as a nicely priced introduction for new converts, who will also enjoy the brief BET-branded documentary bonus feature. (Saguaro Road 2009)

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Blues, Cajun, Concert DVDs, Soul

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Paul Simon: Live from Philadelphia

December 1, 2008 / Jeff Giles

If you’ve already purchased the Paul Simon “Live at the Tower Theatre” DVD that was released in 2003, then there’s no need to bother with “Live from Philadelphia,” because it’s exactly the same concert, transferred from grainy video footage to present the same truncated 10/7/80 show – something Eagle really should have done a better job of making clear on this “new” title’s packaging. If, however, you don’t own “Tower Theatre,” and don’t mind suffering through the vagaries of the poorly aged footage, then “Live from Philadelphia” isn’t a bad way to spend $10. For one thing, Simon was touring with a terrific band: Steve Gadd on drums, Tony Levin on bass, Richard Tee on keyboards, and Eric Gale on guitar, offering the same New York-spun mellow urban vibe that typified Simon’s recordings of the era. For another thing, Simon – usually not the most scintillating live performer – was in high spirits during this show, stopping to interact with the audience a time or two (at one point, he even tells someone whose view he suspects may be obstructed to just come down and stand in front of the stage, joking that he isn’t sure whether it’s against the rules, but “it’s okay with me”). The set list might dwell a little too heavily on One Trick Pony for some, and it certainly doesn’t include any must-hear versions of the 11 songs presented here, but it does provide a glimpse of Simon during a time when he was beginning what was to become a decades-long struggle to redefine himself, the performances are uniformly tight, and the price is right. Just make sure you don’t already own it.

Click to buy “Paul Simon: Live from Philadelphia”

Concert DVDs, DVD Quicktakes, External Music, Pop

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Talk Talk: Live at Montreux 1986

October 13, 2008 / David Medsker

Is it just us, or is Talk Talk one of the most underrated bands of all time? Seriously, is there another band on the planet that had the growth trajectory over its first five albums that Talk Talk exhibited? (Your results may vary over the course of Talk Talk’s last two albums, but you cannot deny that they refused to do the same thing twice, come hell or high water.) This video catches the band both at their commercial peak (their third album, 1986’s The Colour of Spring) and on their last tour, playing Switzerland’s Montreux Jazz Festival and bringing a small but packed house to its knees. Singer Mark Hollis was not one for small talk with the audience, or even doing much more than walking between the mic and the drum riser (or taking off his sunglasses, indoors), but when he starts singing, he shakes like a man possessed by the Holy Ghost, and with perfect pitch to boot. Even the band’s earlier, more synthesized fare is fleshed out by the eight-piece band, giving some unlikely songs a little welcome breathing room (“Call in the Night Boy” in particular). The set list is near-bulletproof – all the big hits, from “Talk Talk” to “Living in Another World” and “Life’s What You Make It” are here, along with their It’s My Life album in its entirety, save one song – though we wished that they had made room for “Happiness Is Easy” in the 14-song set. Then again, the band did what every great band does: they left us wanting more. This is a must-have for any fan of a criminally unappreciated band. (Eagle Vision)

Click to buy Talk Talk: Live at Montreux 1986

Concert DVDs, DVD Quicktakes, External Music, Music DVDs

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America: Live in Chicago

September 5, 2008 / David Medsker

While we’re more than happy to see the resurrection of PBS’ Soundstage series, their DVD department could use a swift kick in the keister. America’s performance for Soundstage originally aired in August 2005, and the band’s most recent release, the dandy, Adam Schlesinger-assisted Here and Now, is now a year and a half old, meaning that this DVD missed its ideal release window by roughly 17 months. Tardy release date aside, this is one splendid show, recorded in Hi-Def and given the 5.1 Surround Sound treatment. The band that Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell assembled is air-tight, and they contribute spotless vocals to create those trademark America multi-layered harmonies. The set list includes all of their Top 40 singles (except “Today’s the Day”), along with performances of “California Dreamin’” and the Jimmy Webb song “The Last Unicorn.” To raise the Mellow Gold quotient even higher, Christopher Cross appears on “Lonely People.” The set list is nearly identical to the bonus live disc that came with Here and Now, and while that set was good, this set is longer (“You Can Do Magic,” woo hoo!), and much, much better. Dig in.

Click to buy America: Live in Chicago

Concert DVDs, Concerts, External Music, Pop

Let “The Midnight Special” shine its light on me…

April 2, 2006 / Will Harris

…but only via subscription.

According to TVShowsOnDVD.com, Guthy-Renker – the fine folks who brought you all the infomercials for their Dean Martin releases, will be putting out several volumes of the ’70s and early ’80s music TV show, “The Midnight Special,” on DVD in a few months.

If you want to check out an episode guide to see who appeared on the show over the years, there’s one here, but there’s no official word on how they’re going to be issuing these shows, i.e. whether it’ll be in best-of sets or as whole episodes. You’d like to think it’d be the latter, since, just as an example, in 1975, there was an episode featuring performances by both Barry Manilow AND Kiss…or an episode in ’79 which featured Blondie, Robert Fripp from King Crimson, Robert Palmer, Bram freakin’ Tchaikovsky, and Rick James.

But, then again, there was an episode hosted by Seals and Crofts, too:

Concert DVDs, Pop, Rock, Videos