Pixies: Pixies Sell Out: 2004 Reunion Tour (Rhino) So you watch the main feature of this highly anticipated DVD, and you say to yourself, "You know, I would've thought that the biggest alt-rock news of the last year deserved better than a standard live-performance video of an only slightly better-than-mediocre set." Because that's what it is — a less than mind-blowing 28-song gig from last year's Eurockeennes Festival in France.
Fortunately, the bonus materials bolster this release in a big way: 15 more performances (many of them repeats, and many of higher sound and performance quality than the French footage) from various dates and festivals around the world, interspersed with interesting anecdotes by close friends, associates and crew members.
One can understand why an entire uncut set might automatically serve as the centerpiece, but in this case it's the collected clips, quotes and tunes that really raise this release above the mundane, to the realm of the must-have. (www.rhinorecords.com) —SH
Jimi Hendrix: Live at Woodstock (Experience Hendrix) This indispensable DVD gathers for the first time all existing film footage of Hendrix's historic Woodstock concert in sequence. The greatest performer in the history of rock was in a transitional mode at the time. This show unveiled his new Gypsy Sun and Rainbows band, which included Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell, new bassist Billy Cox, a rhythm guitarist and two percussionists.
Expanded band notwithstanding, this is very much a Hendrix showcase. Dressed in a fringe top, jean bellbottoms and moccasins (subdued attire for the flamboyant rocker), he comes off as clear-eyed and very connected to the proceedings. The program includes early staples like "Fire," "Red House," "Foxey Lady," "Purple Haze" and others, mixed in with new tunes ("Message to Love," which opens the show, and "Izabella"), along with some ad hoc jams and, of course, his transcendent performance of the "Star Spangled Banner."
Hendrix is an artist you can't take your eyes off of, and Live at Woodstock will give you a major eyeful. A second disc includes a previously unreleased black-and-white video of the entire show (synched with the soundtrack) as well as interviews. In terms of earfuls, the music is mixed in 5.1 surround sound. (www.jimi-hendrix.com) —ES
Cream: Royal Albert Hall (Rhino) This 2-DVD set captures Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker during their first reunion show, which took place in London in May. I wrote at length about the music when I reviewed the double-CD not long ago. To summarize: I thought Cream's performances were cautious and polite, a far cry from the unbridled improvisation of their younger days.
These DVDs haven't changed my mind on that count, but they are more enjoyable than the CDs. Intimate camera angles give you a sense of the relaxed camaraderie on stage (not to mention gray hair and potbellies), which is diametrically opposed to the clashing egos and stoned-out vitriol of Cream's late-'60s run. Separate on-camera interviews with all three members offer valuable insights. Clapton tellingly says that the 2005 Cream did not want to be a revival of the original Cream. To that end, they were successful. —ES
Testament: Live in London (Eagle Rock Entertainment) This would be just another mid-budget multi-camera live show from some metal band were it not for the fact that San Francisco area thrash outfit Testament's late-'80s salad-days lineup (reunited here for an early 2005 tour) comprised one of the most formidable bands ever to live in Metallica's shadow.
Most of the material here is from the group's two best albums, The New Order and Practice What You Preach, and the performance is both energetic and by and large jaw-droppingly tight, recalling a pre-rap-rock age when chops were just as important as attitude. The only extra is a touching montage of interview footage, but the meat is in the concert: no frills, all shred. (www.eaglerockent.com) —SH
Bob Marley and the Wailers: Live! At the Rainbow (Tuff Gong/Island) This two-DVD set brings the renowned home-video concert (shot in '77 at London's Rainbow Theatre, released in '86) up to date with a sharp picture and 5.1 surround. The show presents 12 tunes, from "Crazy Baldhead" to "Exodus," and captures the electrifying stage show of one of pop's most mesmerizing performers. Disc 2 serves up the engaging, rough-around-the-edges 1988 documentary Caribbean Nights: The Bob Marley Story, with 20 extra minutes of interviews and footage. (www.islandrecords.com) —ES
Various Artists: AMP Video Archive for the Ages/Volume 2 (Music Video Distributors) For several years now, the glossy punk rag American Music Press has done a consistently laudable job of covering as many facets of the increasingly fragmented underground guitar-music scene as possible. Its compilation CD and video series are no exception — this second DVD anthology features visuals from 21 bands, and runs the gamut from death metal to psychobilly.
Granted, Volume 2 is a little heavy on the metalcore side (just like the scene these days), with clips from All That Remains, God Forbid, Most Precious Blood, 100 Demons, Remembering Never and others. But you also get melodic hardcore (Strike Anywhere), roots-punk (Avail), gutter riffage (The Casualties, The Unseen), superlative originality (The Soviettes, Engine Down, Planes Mistaken for Stars), and, uh, really bad pop-punk (The Fight), along with the best video I've seen in a decade from an obscure act called Henry Fiats Open Sore. Recommendable. (www.musicvideodistributors.com) —SH
Pink Floyd: London 1966/1967 (Snapper) This quirky DVD's appeal will likely be limited to hardcore Floyd fans and archivists of swinging London in the '60s. The nascent band was enlisted by pop filmmaker Peter Whitehead to provide a soundtrack for the film Tonite Let's all Make Love in London, a collage-like dream movie of images from English youth culture. In the footage included on London 1966/1967, Whitehead captured Pink Floyd in the studio playing a couple of long, spacey drone jams ("Interstellar Overdrive," "Nick's Boogie") intercut with scenes of the band onstage and other ad hoc images — people dancing in clubs and the like. Extras include brief on-camera interviews with Michael Caine, David Hockney, Julie Christie and a fresh-faced Mick Jagger, as well as other trippy visuals. Also includes a CD of the music. (www.snappermusic.com) —ES
Anthrax: Anthrology: No Hit Wonders (1985-1991) The Videos (Island) The veteran Long Island metal band's former label cashes in with a collection of videos and live clips from the period of Anthrax's rise to power (i.e., before the band got a new singer, new tattoos and a considerably more self-conscious attitude). Watching this pre-John Bush compendium, you can actually see the band tiring of the board shorts, the horror and comic-book references, and former singer Joey Belladonna — in short, all the stuff that made them interestingly goofy.
You can also see that, goofy wardrobe and lyrics notwithstanding, holy shit, these guys could play, particularly bassist Frank Bello and drummer Charlie Benante. The extra band-commentary track is worth a look, but like the rest of this DVD, it's pretty much for folks who remember when this was their favorite band. (www.islandrecords.com) —SH
Piebald: Killa Bros and Killa Bees (Sideonedummy) Boston's Piebald presaged both emo and that subgenre's more recent pop-grounded maturity by just being a really good, catchy rock band at a time when there were none. Some 10 years on, the group rewards its diehard fans with a package that, really, only diehard fans will truly appreciate.
The main body of the DVD is an extended montage of candid tour and studio scenes, oral history and live footage; most of the latter is of questionable sound quality and rarely presents a song in its entirety (though you can view those performances separately). It's all very funny and informative, but this is a killer live act that's been around forever, and neither of those strengths is aptly represented.
Bonus materials consist of a few more funny scenes (one in particular deals with Bruce Springsteen's refusal to let Piebald mess with his song "Glory Days" for the DVD's intro), and an interesting bit on how the band's tour van runs on vegetable oil. As for the lengthy companion CD of B-sides and demos, most of the material should've remained in the trunk. (www.sideonedummy.com) —SH
The Black Keys: Live (Fat Possum) The Akron, Ohio, purveyors of garage-blues and scuzz rock are captured on stage in Sydney, Australia. Singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Pat Carney put out a righteous noise on a theater stage, which is appropriately outfitted with stacks of tires. The Black Keys are not a jam band — Auerbach's solos are clipped and tight, the songs are catchy — thus the duo gives it all up in a set that lasts just over an hour. The set brims with unbridled energy, and Auerbach's hellcat moan and on-stage charisma are riveting. The package also includes a brief interview segment, two low-budget videos (one, "10am Automatic," directed by David Cross) and a photo gallery. www.fatpossum.com —ES
This article appears in Nov 30 – Dec 6, 2005.