As digital video technology gets increasingly easier and less expensive, more and more elements of the music industry are employing the DVD format as both promotion and product. It's not just the major labels these days — everyone from unsigned bands to package-tour promoters to longtime fans with tons of archival footage on their hands is investing in releases that marry the music to images and an almost unlimited potential for "special features" (read: superfluous crap).
What follows is an overview of some of the DVDs that have hit our mailbox over the last few months. Hopefully this will serve not only as a collection of capsule reviews, but also as some indicator of the vast breadth of material becoming available. You know that super-obscure band you loved that only put out one album in the early '90s? Yeah, well, their last concert at their hometown club is probably available online — with "special features," natch.
Boat in the Smoke
LEATHERFACE
Punkervision
The Gist: A full 16-song 2004 set from the cult-legendary British punk band, shot with a couple of cameras and, from the sound of it, recorded off the soundboard. This is about as low budget as it comes; the stage-sound-intensive mix mutes the live feel (crowd noise is almost nonexistent), but it's obvious an attempt was made to deliver a quality product with the resources available.
The Extras: Seven additional, barely audible tunes from a 2001 gig in Leatherface singer-songwriter Frankie Stubbs' hometown of Sunderland; and a lengthy, entertaining interview with Stubbs in which he picks his nose, plugs South Florida band The Enablers and does an impression of Hot Water Music's Chris Wollard.
The Verdict: Better than a bootleg, but not very much. For diehard fans. (www.punkervision.com) 2.5 stars
The End
MURDER CITY DEVILS
Music Video Distributors
The Gist: The beloved Seattle noir-rock sextet celebrates its own demise with a suitably timed and chaotic hometown show on Halloween 2001. Recorded, shot and edited with above-average skill, this lengthy, loose, mayhem-heavy show comes across much more viscerally here than it does in the form of the '03 posthumous live album R.I.P.; the quick editing matches the onstage madness, and makes you wish you'd been there.
The Extras: Four sound-quality-impaired performances culled from bootlegs; a photo gallery; a trailer for the MCD documentary Rock and Roll Won't Wait; and a funny and informative commentary track from singer Spencer Moody and band associate Merchbot 2000.
The Verdict: It proves that things don't have to be shoddily done to be rock 'n' roll. Pick it up. (www.musicvideodistributors.com) 3.5 stars
The Fearless Freaks
THE FLAMING LIPS
Shout Factory
The Gist: An exhaustive career-length documentary on the Oklahoma City psych-poppers culled from countless hours of film shot by friend and neighbor Bradley Beesley. Detailed and at times intensely personal, Fearless Freaks looks as closely at the private lives of the band's principals as it does the Lips' unlikely success story.
The Extras: Outtakes; deleted scenes; commentary by the band; old live performances from home tapes; and a slide show.
The Verdict: An excellent, entertaining and emotional package. (www.shoutfactory.com) 4 stars
20 Years of Dysfunction
STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH
Megaforce
The Gist: Anthrax hardcore side project S.O.D. celebrates its 20th anniversary in decidedly mediocre fashion. The main event here matches badly recorded audio to a montage of at least three badly recorded shows, none of which appear more than six years old; the result resembles an out-of-sync (except when the shot is actually from the show in question) bootleg. The paltry intercut backstage and travel footage is largely pointless.
The Extras: Five short sets from around the world, around '99; an interview with S.O.D./M.O.D. frontman Billy Milano; a CD of the popular live booteg Pussywhipped; and a video for the song "Fuck the Middle East" that's basically Gulf War footage lifted from CNN.
The Verdict: It's obviously scraped together from whatever was lying around. Seriously, how many times does anyone need to see the band launch into "March of the S.O.D." in grainy black-and-white with bad lighting? (www.megaforcerecords.com) 2 stars
Live in Los Angeles
X
Shout Factory
The Gist: Iconic L.A. punk phenomenon X celebrates its 25th anniversary in perfect fashion. There's not much here — it's just a show, shot at Hollywood's House of Blues last November, with a very few bytes of interview footage stylishly interspersed. But the band's on fire, and everything from the audio to the editing is spotless. No frills, just music. How apt.
The Extras: John Doe and Exene do a couple of acoustic tunes; Billy Zoom breaks out some of the photos he's taken from the stage over the years for a slide show.
The Verdict: One of the best compliments that can be given to a DVD release is to say you think you'll watch it over and over. This is one of those releases. Hell, if you don't get the companion album of the same name, just crank this through your audio with the TV off. (www.shoutfactory.com) 4 stars
Maestro
Sanctuary Visual Entertainment
The Gist: A tightly focused oral history of contemporary dance music's origins, spotlighting the New York City clubs and DJs (particularly the Paradise Garage and Larry Levan) that emerged in the '70s as an underground, gay-culture-driven alternative to disco. Maestro lets everyone have their says: the club owners, promoters and DJs who made it happen (and who are still alive — several key figures, including Levan, aren't); the patrons who remember the time; and the contemporary music makers influenced by those who came before.
The Extras: Two making-of featurettes; three additional pieces spotlighting influential DJs; and a whole lot of good and bad electronic music.
The Verdict: It's an extremely specialized doc, and many of the vintage crowd shots feel like they were edited in to bring it to feature length, but obsessive music historians and culture buffs alike will find it extremely interesting. (www.maestro.com) 3 stars
Kick Out The Jams
MC5
Music Video Distributors
The Gist: Eleven songs (or portions of songs, or long stretches of freakout masquerading as songs) performed by the Detroit proto-punk legends and set to cheesy psychedelic videos, live footage and images from the dark side of the '60s.
The Extras: An interview with MC5 manager/'60s provocateur/White Panther Party leader John Sinclair; music featuring spoken word by Sinclair is mixed into the audio, making the whole thing so irritating it's barely watchable.
The Verdict: Another thrown-together cash-in — what's the point of using live performances by one of the most volatile bands in rock history, and not giving us the show itself? (www.musicvideodistributors.com) 2 stars
An-Thor-Ology
Thor
Smog Veil
The Gist: Bodybuilder and former Mister USA/Mister Canada Jon Mikl Thor has cheerfully, determinedly made an ass of himself chasing his dreams of "muscle rock" stardom over the last 30 years. An-Thor-Ology collects all the wonderfully, unconsciously Spinal Tap moments of his first decade as a shirtless, blonde-tressed hard-rock wannabe, highlighted by a watered-down appearance on Merv Griffin's decidedly un-metal show, local news stories on him from the '70s, and enough wretched low-budget sword-and-sorcery videos to keep you laughing until your sides ache.
The Extras: More videos, including old ones deemed too amateurish for the main feature (!) and a couple of recent clips featuring an older, shorn and still clueless Thor in action.
The Verdict: This is the most unintentionally hilarious thing I have ever seen. Buy it immediately. (www.smogveil.com) 5 stars
This article appears in Sep 21-27, 2005.