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DVD Shows
Updated 1.01.08
Artists: A-L | M-Z
SARStock (1DVD). 7/30/03, Toronto, Canada. Here's a superb video of their complete set at Sarstock. From what I understand, the Rolling Stones own the rights to the entire show, so someone from their camp may have leaked it. This is extremely high quality, folks. It's either a direct copy from the master or 1st gen at the most. The band put on an energetic, yet shorter show than usual but there's alot here. Songs include "Back In Black", "Thunderstruck", "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", "The Jack", "Whole Lotta Rosie", "If You Want Blood You Got It", "Let There Be Rock", "Highway To Hell" and more. As a bonus on this DVD you also get the entire 35 minute set from Rush. The full set from the Rolling Stones is available separately. Video Preview
Quality Rating: A+
Quality Rating: A/A+- Recommended Official Release: AC/DC - Family Jewels
Quality Rating: A+- Belgium '88 (1DVD). Belgium, 7/28/88. Bryan Adams became more popular in Europe and Asia thanks to his touring behind the album "Into The Fire". This appearance in Belgium was one of the last dates on that tour and recorded for an upcoming live album ("Live Live Live"). The video was never released officially, but it was broadcast and that is what you see here. Songs include "Somebody", "Run To You", "Heaven", "Summer Of 69" and more. Approx 40mins. Video Preview
Quality Rating: A
Quality Rating: Video: A ; Audio: A+- Unplugged and Uncut (1DVD). 8/11/90. Ed Sullivan Theatre, NYC. This is the raw feed (with timecode) of the band's entire unplugged performance. You see what goes on during the commercial breaks as well as many songs that did not make the broadcast version of the show. Songs include "Monkey On My Back", "Big Ten Inch Record", "Walkin' The Dog", "Last Child" and more. Artwork | Video Preview
Quality Rating: A
Quality Rating: A
Quality Rating: A-/A+- Brixton 1983 (1DVD). This was taken from an early 80's BBC broadcast and the quality shows. While it's definitely watchable and the sound just okay, I would only recommend this for major fans of the band. For a much better DVD, I would recommend the Germany '83 show. Songs here include "Space Age Love Song", "Wishing" and more. Video Preview
Quality Rating: B+
Quality Rating: A
Quality Rating: A+
Quality Rating: A
- London '89 (1 PAL DVD). London. 5/25/89. Here's a show that was recorded off British ITV on the band's first tour. It's so rare to see this band at all because they came and went without any fanfare. The band features ex-Police drummer, Stewart Copeland, and legendary jazz bassist Stanley Clarke taking a stab at pop music. On their two studio albums the results were refreshing and enjoyable, especially thanks to the gifted vocalist Deborah Holland, who's voice is so strong and clear. On the album they used various guest artists, including Steve Howe (Yes), Peter Haycock (Climax Blues Band), Jackson Browne and Glen Phillips (Toad The Wet Sprocket). In the live situation, those guests are sorely missed. The guitarist shown here is more flashy than technical and all the guitar parts lose their appeal, unfortunately. Deborah Holland, a newcomer to the music business, doesn't have much stage presence and, vocally, she's much stronger in the studio. The veterans shine here - Copeland is maniacal behind the drums and Clarke is expert on the bass. There's a couple of instrumental jams here that are worth noting. Still, if you're a big fan of this band, you'll want to check this out due to it's rarity. Songs include "There's A Spy", "Someday We'll Understand", "Firing Up The Sunset Gun", "Someone To Come Home To". Video Preview
Quality Rating: A-- Various TV (1DVD). Here is a collection of TV appearances and promotional clips for this unfortunately short lived Stewart Copeland project. This band also features jazzman Stanley Clarke on bass and amazing vocalist Deborah Holland (who was a piano teacher before this gig). I always loved their two albums, which went largely unnoticed in the early 90's. There's not a lot of footage here, but it's probably all anyone would need. It starts out with the band performing "There's A Spy In The House Of Love" on David Letterman in 1989. There's another local access type show which features Deborah on their live request segment. She answers questions about the band then call Stewart Copland, who's in London at the time. Another strange segment features Stewart and Deborah being interviewed by Max Weinberg at this restaurant. Then there's footage from a VH1 show called "New Visions Rock" where they perform with Nile Rodgers on guitar ("As Soon As The Sun Goes Down"). Also included are videos for "Spy In The House Of Love" (featuring Steve Howe on guitar /not shown in video) and "Rose Colored Glasses", which appeared on their second album. Video Preview
Quality Rating: A
Arcadia (also see Duran Duran)
- Video Album (1DVD). During a short hiatus in late 1984 and early 1985, three Duran Duran members — lead singer Simon LeBon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, and drummer Roger Taylor — formed Arcadia, a short-lived splinter group which offered an artier version of Duran Duran's new wave synth pop. Arcadia released their only album, "So Red the Rose", in 1985, just after Duran Duran's popularity reached a peak. The album became a hit based on name recognition alone, as did the single "Election Day". After their brief moment of success, the members of Arcadia re-formed Duran Duran without guitarist Andy Taylor. This is a Japanese laserdisc rip of their out of print video album. Interviews also included. As a special bonus, there's about an hours worth of TV performances and interviews. Fans will love it! Video Preview
Quality Rating: A+
Quality Rating: A+
Asia (see also ABWH, ELP, Steve Howe and Yes)
Asia In Asia (1DVD). This is an excellent transfer from the out-of-print laserdisc. Greg Lake is on vocals. Songs include "The Heat Goes On", "Sole Survivor", "Heat Of The Moment", "Wildest Dreams", "Eye To Eye", solo spots from Downes, Palmer and Howe and more. Video Preview
Quality Rating: A+
VH1 Big Backyard BBQ (1DVD). 9/7/98, Staten Island, NY, bcast, A
Quality Rating: A
- Manassas '95 (1DVD). 6/24/95, Manassas, VA. Here's a proshot from the band just as the wheels were coming off yet again ("Company Of Strangers" tour). After Brian Howe (who replaced Paul Rodgers) left the band they hired vocalist Robert Hart and really dived into bland land. This guy has all the talent of a pet rock and even mistakenly says "Goodnight!" after the first song. The band plods through mostly classic tunes such as "Rock And Roll Fantasy", "Ready For Love", "Down And Dirty", "Shooting Star", "Good Lovin' Gone Bad", "Feel Like Making Love" and more. Foreigner's Rick Wills is on bass. This really is the band at their lowest point before Paul Rodgers would rejoin them and resuscitate their careers. For diehards only.
Quality Rating: A- Walnut Creek '91 (1DVD). Raleigh, NC, 1991.
Quality Rating:
Quality Rating: A+- Rockpalast '98 (1DVD). 6/20/98. Loreley, Germany. This is a very different show than the one from 2004 above. Here the band is actually performing with instruments. While their not known for being consummate musicians, they do get around their instruments well enough to make it interesting. There's about 30 songs performed here from "Sure Shot" and "Pass The Mic" to "Intergalatic" and "Sabotage" it's all here. They also play a few tunes from their instrumental album.
Quality Rating: A- Recommended Official Releases: Awesome, I Shot That
, Beastie Boys DVD Video Anthology - Criterion Collection
The Beatles (see also Paul McCartney)
Quality Rating: A
Quality Rating:- Live Collection Vol. 2 (1DVD) Artwork
Quality Rating:- Brixton '01 (1DVD). Brixton, England. 6/26/01. Video Preview
Quality Rating:- Budokan '00 (1DVD). Budokan, Japan, 5/30/00.
Quality Rating:- Recommended Official Release: BECK: GUERO
- One For All Tour - Vol 2 (1DVD). Australia 1990. Video Preview
Quality Rating: A- Recommended Official Release: Bee Gees - One Night Only (DTS Edition)
Quality Rating: A+
Quality Rating: Video A/A- ; Audio A- Recommended Official Releases: Live in New Haven 1983
, Pat Benatar - Choice Cuts - The Complete Video Collection
- Wam Bam - Live In Japan (1DVD). Japan, 1987. This is transferred from a long out of print laserdisc of Berlin, just before they called it quits. Only three of the original lineup remain. Soon they would wake up and realize the departed members had a good idea by leaving the band. Songs include "The Metro", "No More Words", "Will I Ever Understand You" and more.
Quality Rating: A
Quality Rating: A+
Big Audio Dynamite (B.A.D.) (see also The Clash)
- Stop Sellafield (1DVD). The "Stop Sellafield" concert was held in the Summer of 1992 by Greenpeace in order to publicize the environmental havoc being wreaked by the Sellafield Nuclear plant in England. Greenpeace's ultimate goal was to have the plant closed. All proceeds from the benefit went directly to Greenpeace. Performers included U2, Public Enemy, Big Audio Dynamite II and Kraftwerk. This DVD features performance highlights mixed in with commentary about the cause at hand. The performance footage here is great, I just wish there was more. For instance, seeing B.A.D. II here is great, but you only get a few minutes. By the way, if anyone out there is trading high quality B.A.D. video shows please let me know as I'm on the hunt for them. Artwork
Quality Rating: A
- Rockpalast (1DVD). 4/15/86, Germany. The video quality on this show is pretty clean while the audio has more hiss than I'm used to hearing on these Rockpalast shows. It's a shame because the band is playing very well here and it would be nice to have better sound. Songs include "Fields Of Fire", "Wonderland", "Look Away", "In A Big Country" and more. Video Preview
Quality Rating: Video A- ; Audio B/B+
Black Crowes & Jimmy Page (see also Led Zeppelin, The Firm, Page/Plant)
Quality Rating: Video A ; Audio A+- Live At The Greek 2nd (1DVD). 10/19/99. The Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA. Here's a 1 cam audience shot synched with board audio to make one enjoyable show. The Crowes do a fine job playing all these great Zeppelin tunes, particularly Chris Robinson who handle's Plant's vocals with ease and then some. Steve Gorman is fun to watch too as he vigorously pounds the drums throughout. Jimmy Page is having a good time and his playing is seemingly his most inspired since his days in Zeppelin. Songs include "Custard Pie", "What Is And Should Never Be", "In My Time Of Dying", "Remedy", a fantastic "Out On The Tiles", "Lemon Song" and more.
Quality Rating: Video A+ ; Audio A- Live At The Greek 1st (1DVD). 10/18/99. The Crowes and Page played two nights at the Greek Theatre and the boots that commemorate each event are equal in their approach, video and sound quality. The video footage is taken from a steady audience cam while the audio is a mix of both an audience source and a soundboard recording. Overall, a very enjoyable show, much like the second night. Pop either show into your DVD player and you probably won't know which show is which. Songs include "Wiser Time", "Hey Hey What Can I Do", "Shapes Of Things", "Sick Again", "The Lemon Song". There are slight changes in the setlist between shows.
Quality Rating: Video A+ ; Audio A
Black Sabbath (see also Ozzy Osbourne)
Quality Rating: A+- Star Lake '99 (1DVD). 6/12/99, Pittsburgh, PA, Star Lake Amphitheatre. Ozzy running across the stage while rambling out of tune pretty much sums up this one. The band doesn't play badly, but Ozzy seems out of place in the band he once launched to legendary status. The sound is from a very good board synched with an in-house video feed. Songs include "War Pigs", "NIB", "Electric Funeral", "Snowblind", "Iron Man", "Paranoid", "Fairies Wear Boots" and more. Video Preview
Quality Rating: Video A- ; Audio A- Black And Blue (1DVD). New York City, 1980. Not sure where to begin with this one. Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult teamed up to play a sold out show in NYC and this tour film highlights performances from each band (at varying times in their career). To add another twist, this film was produced by George Harrison! He must have been out of ganja to make a decision like this. Blue Oyster Cult were riding a wave of popularity brought on by "Don't Fear The Reaper" and more recently, "Godzilla". "Burning For You" was yet to come. BOC plays fairly well here, although the song selection leaves little to be desired with pointless covers of "Born To Be Wild" and "Roadhouse Blues" thrown in there. Still, Buck Dharma plays a mean guitar. On the Sabbath side, you've got a band in trouble. The band had just lost Ozzy Osbourne and replaced him with Ronnie "Lames" Dio. If you're a fan of the Dio era, you'll eat this up, otherwise you may want to insert those fingers down your throat now and just get it over with. This title is now out of print. Artwork | Video Preview
Quality Rating: A- Don Kirshner's Rock Concert - Definitive Edition (1DVD). 9/4/75, Santa Monica Civic Center, CA. Here's an excellent performance from Sabbath. Video quality is amazingly clear for it's time and sound is very good. Songs include "Snowblind", "Paranoid", "War Pigs" and more. Video Preview
Quality Rating: Video A ; Audio A-- Paris 1970 (1DVD). Olympia Theater, Paris, December 20th 1970. Here is the definitive version of this show with the new master having been supplied by a fellow trader. He found the beta tapes of the original Yorkshire TV broadcast literally at the back of a cupboard while looking for photos for his best man's speech. They had been sitting there for at least 15 years and probably explains while the tapes were in such good condition. The Sabbath fan community went apeshit upon seeing the newly found footage as previous versions have been pretty good at best. Interestingly, the betamax machine used to transfer this died right after the transfer was completed. The quality here is much improved with a clearer picture and fuller sound. Video Preview
Quality Rating: Video A ; Audio A-
- Black And Blue (1DVD). New York City, 1980. Not sure where to begin with this one. Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult teamed up to play a sold out show in NYC and this tour film highlights performances from each band (at varying times in their career). To add another twist, this film was produced by George Harrison! He must have been out of ganja to make a decision like this. Blue Oyster Cult were riding a wave of popularity brought on by "Don't Fear The Reaper" and more recently, "Godzilla". "Burning For You" was yet to come. BOC plays fairly well here, although the song selection leaves little to be desired with pointless covers of "Born To Be Wild" and "Roadhouse Blues" thrown in there. Still, Buck Dharma plays a mean guitar. On the Sabbath side, you've got a band in trouble. The band had just lost Ozzy Osbourne and replaced him with Ronnie "Lames" Dio. If you're a fan of the Dio era, you'll eat this up, otherwise you may want to insert those fingers down your throat now and just get it over with. This title is now out of print. Artwork
Quality Rating: A- Recommended Official Release: Blue Oyster Cult - A Long Day's Night
- Crossroads (1DVD). Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, August 2005. Here the band perform with country music newcomers, Sugarland, on "Crossroads", a program designed to pair up rock/country bands for a one night only performance. Actually, Sugarland are the newest band to appear on the show to date. Okay, I got this one for my wife as it's not something I would normally go for, especially with country music being about half the show. Bon Jovi do a good job, even with their new material, which seems on par with most anything they've done before. Jennifer Nettles, lead singer for Sugarland, actually did some vocals on Bon Jovi's latest album, "Have A Nice Day", which is probably the reason they paired up for this show. I could do without any of the Sugarland material, but Jovi's stuff turned out well. Songs include "Have A Nice Day", "Livin' On A Prayer", "Wanted Dead Or Alive", "You Give Love A Bad Name", "Who Says You Can't Go Home" and more. Artwork
Quality Rating: A
- Reality Freeview (1DVD). This is taken from a satellite broadcast in November 2003 on Bowie's "Reality" tour. Most songs here are from "Reality" or more recent albums so don't get this looking for a hits collection. Songs include "New Killer Star", "Pablo Picasso", "Never Get Old", "The Loneliest Guy" and more.
Quality Rating: A+
Quality Rating: A+- Rockpalast (1DVD). 5/22/96, Loreley, Germany, bcast, nice upgrade, 1DVD, A, Video Preview
- Sound And Vision (1DVD). 5/15/90, Tokyodome, Japan. This tour was intended as a goodbye to the classics as Bowie wanted to free himself of the back catalog for future projects and tours. With Adrian Belew on guitar, the band blow through hit after hit, with some surprising arrangements for some. Songs include "Modern Love", "Changes", "Ziggy Stardust", "Be My Wife", "Heroes", "Blue Jean", "Let's Dance", "Suffragette City" and much more. The audio mix, while full and clear, could be sharper. This appears to be from a Japanese broadcast. Artwork | Video Preview
Quality Rating: Video A- ; Audio A- Recommended Official Release: David Bowie - Best of Bowie
Quality Rating: Video B+ ; Audio B
- Rockpalast (1DVD). 3/15/86. Germany. Here's an excellent broadcast from Browne's "Lives In The Balance" tour. Browne was never known for putting on knockout shows. His band consists mainly of studio musicians who do their job, and not much more. The setlist includes the great opener "Boulevard", "Tender Is The Night", "In The Shape Of A Heart", "Lawyers In Love", "Running On Empty", "For America", "The Pretender", "Doctor My Eyes" and few album cut clunkers.
Quality Rating: Video A- ; Audio A- Soundstage 1976 (1DVD). 11/6/76, Chicago 1976. Here is a pretty good broadcast of this PBS special from the mid-70's. Jackson is promoting his "Pretender" album and performs such songs as "The Fuse", "The Pretender" and more. Video Preview
Quality Rating: A-
David Byrne (also see Talking Heads)
Quality Rating: A+
Quality Rating: A+
- CJ 2 (1DVD). 3/18/78 Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario, California. California Jam was a rock music festival concert held in California. It attracted over 500,000 fans and was one of the last of the original wave of rock festivals, as well as one of the most well-executed and financially successful, and presaged the era of media consolidation and the corporatization of the rock music industry. Unlike other rock festivals such as Woodstock, the concert was not planned for release as a film or sound recording, however several portions of it were broadcast live on the ABC television network, which was also a sponsor of the show. The audio portion of the show was also broadcast in stereo on FM radio stations, an early example of simulcasting. Several performances from the show were eventually released on CD and Video, both in bootleg and authorized form. Songs include "Ebony Eyes" (Bob Welch w/Stevie Nicks), "Big Ten Inch" (Aerosmith), "Baracudda" (Heart), "Feels Like The First Time" (Foreigner), Santana and more. This is sourced from a broadcast and very close to the master, as quality is excellent for it's age. 55min. Video Preview
Quality Rating: A
The Cars (see also Ben Orr)
Quality Rating: A+- Solo Video Collection (1DVD). Here's a collection of videos from the various side projects and solo albums of Cars members. There's plenty of Ric Ocasek stuff including "Jimmy Jimmy", "The Way You Look Tonight", "Rockaway", "Emotion In Motion" and more. There's also "Stay The Night" and "Too Hot To Stop" (Ben Orr), "Wearing Down (Like A Wheel)" (Elliot Easton), "Smoke Robots Take Over" and "X-Ray" (Greg Hawkes) and even "She Did It" from Glamour Camp, a forgettable band fronted by Ric's son Christopher. As with the collection of Cars videos, the quality here is top notch. Video Preview
Quality Rating: A+- SNL '87 (1VCD). This is a video cd of the 2 song set from The Cars on a Halloween edition of Saturday Night Live. The quality is perfect coming from a rebroadcast of the segments on Comedy Central and is probably taken right from a satellite source. The only drawback is the song selection...two sub par tunes from the band's last album "Door To Door" including "Double Trouble" and "Strap Me In". For diehards only.
Quality Rating: A+- Door To Door Live (1DVD). 11/17/87, The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA. Here is an in-house feed from their final tour. The quality here is pretty good, although the audio is a bit flat, which is a shame. However, if you keep this at a lower volume it's quite enjoyable. Songs include "Tonight She Comes", "Touch And Go", "Double Trouble", "Fine Line", "Since You're Gone", "Let's Go", "Candy-O", "Good Times Roll", "Magic", "Drive", "Just What I Needed" and more. Artwork
Quality Rating: Video A- ; Audio B+
Quality Rating: A- Heartbeat City Videos (1DVD). Here's a transfer from VHS to DVD of The Cars' Heartbeat City Videos collection. This features mainly videos from the "Heartbeat City" album as well as "Panorama" and "Shake It Up". Included here is the rarely seen and uncensored version of "Hello Again", which was directed by Andy Warhol. Also included here is a "making of" segment about the video. Also included, "Drive", "You Might Think", "Why Can't I Have You", "Magic" and more. Video Preview
Quality Rating: A
Quality Rating: B+- Recommended Official Releases: The Cars Live - Musikladen 1979
, The Cars Unlocked - The Live Performances (with CD)
- The Best Of The Johnny Cash Show Vol 1 & 2 (2DVD) Video Preview
Quality Rating:- Manhattan Center (1DVD). New York City, 1994. Video Preview
Quality Rating:
Quality Rating: A+- Rockpalast '83 (1DVD). Germany, 10/15/83. Here is a rare live period from the band when founding bassist Rick Petersson was replaced with Jon Brant. The band didn't suffer too much as they came up with some great tunes such as "If You Want My Love" and "I Can't Take It" (both here). Jon could surely hold his own on the bass and this performance is proof as it's an excellent show. Songs include "She's Tight", "On Top Of The World", "Stop This Game", "Surrender", "Dream Police" and more. There is also a bonus clip of them on American Bandstand. Artwork | Video Preview
Quality Rating: Video A- ; Audio A
Quality Rating: Video A+ ; Audio A
Quality Rating: Video A ; Audio A-- Recommended Official Release: Cheap Trick - Silver
Quality Rating: A
Quality Rating: Video A ; Audio B+
Quality Rating: Video B+ ; Audio A
The Clash (see also Big Audio Dynamite)
Quality Rating: A-
- Souled Out In Seoul (1DVD). 3/13/03. Collier Field House, Yongsan Army Garrison. Seoul, Korea. This is the first of 5 free shows the band gave to the US Military stationed in South Korea. This is a 1 cam audience show with excellent picture quality. The audio could use more definition in the middle ranges but there is a nice amount of bass and highs to make it a good listen at lower to mid volume levels. Songs include "Where The River Flows", "Why Pt. 2", a surprisingly great cover of "Personal Jesus", "December", "Precious Declaration", "Gel", "Heavy", "The World I Know" and also "Counting The Days" which would later emerge in 2004 on their album "Youth". This show also marks one of their first performances with new guitarist Joel Kosche. Video Preview
Quality Rating: Video A+ ; Audio B+- Woodstock '99 (1DVD). Upstate NY. Unfortunately, this is not their complete set. I remember when I was watching this live on PPV back in the day, they cut way from their set and switched to someone else. So, I'm not sure if their full set exists on video but I'll keep an eye out. Songs include "Where The River Flows", "Precious Declaration", a great "December", an unexpected cover of "Crazy Train" which sounds like it could be one of their own. Overall their set runs about 25 minutes here. Even though it's not complete, it's still worth it for the big fan of this band. This disc also includes the full Jamiroquai set. Video Preview
Quality Rating: A- Recommended Official Releases: Collective Soul: Home
, Music in High Places - Collective Soul (Live from Morocco)
Phil Collins (also see Genesis)
Quality Rating: A+
Quality Rating: A+
Concerts for the People of Kampuchea
- Concerts for the People of Kampuchea (1DVD) December 1979. Hammersmith Odeon, England. The people of what? Okay, this was a series of concerts featuring Queen, The Clash, The Pretenders, The Who, Elvis Costello, Wings, and many more artists which took place at the Hammersmith Odeon in '79 to raise money for the victims of Pol Pot's reign of terror in Cambodia. The event was organized by Paul McCartney and Kurt Waldheim, and it involved older artists such as McCartney and The Who as well as younger new wave acts like The Clash and the Pretenders. The last of the concerts was the last concert of Wings. An album and EP were released in 1981, and the best of the concerts were released as a film, Concert for Kampuchea. Songs include "Now I'm Here" (Queen), "Armageddon Time" (The Clash), "Coming Up" (Wings), "The Imposter" (Elvis Costello & The Attractions), "Little Sister" (Rockpile w/Robert Plant), "Behind Blue Eyes" (The Who) and much more. Video Preview
Quality Rating: Video B+ ; Audio A-
- MSG '05 (1DVD). 10/24/05, New York, NY, MSG. Here is a nice 3 audience cam mix from Cream on their reunion tour. It's the first of three nights at New York City's Madison Square Garden. I swear, I've seen younger faces on cash! Okay, let's do the math - Ginger Baker had just turned 66 in August and Jack Bruce was 62. Even though they both easily look a good 10 years older than they are, they can still play. Clapton, who has never been absent from the music scene, is superb. If Cream hadn't released an official live DVD from this tour, I'd say this is a must have. However, I'd only recommend this to diehards. The official DVD is top notch and boasts a nice 5.1 DTS audio track. Songs include "Spoonful", "Tales Of Brave Ulysses", "Badge", "Politician", "Deserted Cities Of The Heart" and more. Video Preview
Quality Rating: A- Recommended Official Release: Cream - Royal Albert Hall - London May 2-3-5-6 2005
- Soundstage '83 + Live At The Ritz '85 (1DVD). New York, 1985. Here's a pair of performances from Crenshaw, the "Buddy Holly" of the 80's. One is an MTV concert from 1985 and the other is a broadcast from 1983. Both sport excellent, clear pictures and very good to excellent sound. Songs include "Blues Is King", "Whenever You're On My Mind", "Someday Someway", "Cynical Girl" and more. If you're a fan of Marshall this one has your name on it.
Quality Rating: Video A+ ; Audio A-/A
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (see also Neil Young)
Quality Rating: A-
Crowded House (see also Split Enz)
- MTV Spring Break (1DVD). Daytona Beach, FL. 3/28/87. Here's the band in support of their first album and on the verge of their second. They do play "Better Be Home Soon" from their sophomore album but mostly the material is from their debut including "Something So Strong", "Mean To Me", "Don't Dream It's Over" and they even do a Split Enz tune ("One Step Ahead").
Quality Rating: A- Recommended Official Release: Farewell to the World Live
- UK TV 1984-1987 (1DVD). Here's a nice collection of TV appearances the band made from 1984-1987. None of this material has been released officially. Songs include "Resurrection Joe" (Old Grey Whistle Test), "Revolution" and "The Phoenix" (The Tube 1985), "She Sells Sanctuary", "Love Removal Machine" (BBC In Concert '87) and more. Quality varies but is generally very good. Before the band became known for "Fire Woman" they were a very edgy, alternative powerhouse. Hard to believe singer Ian Astbury wound up playing with those fartknockers from The Doors after seeing this. Astbury just left the Doors, as a matter of fact, and is back with The Cult for another reunion. Fans of early Cult will love this! Artwork 1 | Artwork 2 | Video Preview
Quality Rating: B+/A-
- Various Artists (1DVD). 1980. This film was originally intended to be a movie about the Ska band, Madness. However, the directors' son open his father's eyes to other Ska/2-Tone bands, such as The Specials, The Selecter, The Bodysnatchers, The Beat and Bad Manners. Soon, the movie's focus shifted to the 2-Tone movement and less about any one band. The film was shot in 1980, but by the time it came out in 1981 the 2-Tone movement had died down, making the movie a bit "old news". Without any backstage or interview footage of these bands the movie comes across as a series of clips, which wears on the nerves after about, oh, 2 minutes. Songs include "Ranking Full Stop" (The English Beat), "One Step Beyond" (Madness) and much more. Video Preview
Quality Rating: A-
Ray Davies (see also The Kinks)
- Austin City Limits (1DVD) Monday, 24th July, 2006, ALC Studios, Austin, Texas. Here's Ray in support of his excellent solo album "Other People's Lives". Songs include the great Kinks tune "I'm Not Like Everybody Else", "After the Fall", "Next Door Neighbor", "The Tourist", "Celluloid Heroes", "Creatures Of Little Faith", "Low Budget" and more. The setlist is very heavy on new tunes so if you like the new album, be sure to pick up this one. This is sourced from a high quality satellite broadcast.
Quality Rating: A+- Storytellers (1DVD). New York, 6/2/96. This was the first ever episode of the popular series "Storytellers" and served as the prototype for what was to come. Davies even jokes the show will probably wind up being a bit hit and he'll see nothing from it. This show is Storytellers at it's best - an artist with actually something to say and relate about his life and music. Davies reads excerpts from his "unauthorized autobiography" titled "X-Ray". He tells childhood stories about how he and his brother, Dave, would perform for the rest of his family in the "front room" and how "Come Dancing" was about his sister and her boyfriend. Even though the show only runs about 45 minutes, it's full of interesting, sometimes funny stories and intimate music. This is the way Storytellers was intended and only a few artists actually delivered along these lines. Artwork | Video Preview
Quality Rating: A-
The D*cline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years
- Various Artists (1DVD). 1988. This is an out of print documentary, transferred from VHS, which takes a raw look at the heavy metal scene in the late 80's. Here you'll see many generations of metal heads from the godfathers (Gene Simmons, Alice Cooper, Lemmy, Joe Perry & Steven Tyler, Ozzy) to the new crop (Poison, Faster Pussycat, Vixen) to the ones who sadly haven't got a clue (Jaded Lady, Odin). Many balloon heads are paraded in front of your eyes one after another with stories and experiences about living the "heavy metal lifestyle". If nothing else, this movie shows why the metal scene wound up imploding just a few yeas later. It had become all "style" and no substance. I have to laugh at all these "tough guys" proclaiming to be real rockers, yet they dressed like fairies with their tight leather outfits and scarves, not to mention they think nothing of bragging about how much makeup and hairspray they apply for the ladies. When you do see performance footage here from any of these bands you'll want to throw yourself from a moving vehicle, it's that bad. Watch this movie and you'll see alot of flash, but no real talent...which pretty much summed up metal in the latter 80's. This movie is so outrageous it's definitely worth checking out, if only once. Check out the dick knob from WASP in this first crazy Video Preview 1 | Video Preview 2
Quality Rating: A
Quality Rating: A+- Recommended Official Release: Depeche Mode - Devotional
Quality Rating: A+- Paris 1992 (2DVD). 9/29/92. Here is a pay per view from their Paris show on the final tour. Actually, this show later emerged in edited form both for the official live album "On The Night" and video of the same name. This is not a copy of the official video concert. This is the full show as broadcast. Surprisingly, one song which is exclusive to this recording is "Sultans Of Swing". Also included are "Heavy Fuel", "Money For Nothing", "Romeo And Juliet", "Private Investigations", "Walk Of Life" and more. The show opens with an amazing "Calling Elvis" as well. Artwork | Video Preview
Quality Rating: Video A ; Audio: A-
Quality Rating: Video A ; Audio A+- Bye Bye Australia (1DVD) Australia, 4/26/86. Button Records version. Here's a nice version of the final show on the Brothers In Arms tour. Artwork
Quality Rating: Video A- ; Audio A- Sydney '86 (1DVD). 4/26/86. Sydney, Australia. Here is a broadcast of the final show on the "Brothers In Arms" tour. The picture quality here is excellent, while the sound is a bit flat. The performance here is really good and includes "Industrial Disease" which they didn't even perform on this tour. There's even an interesting calypso version of "So Far Away". Also included is a pre-show interview with Ed Bicknell and Mark Knopfler. Songs include "Sultans Of Swing", "Ride Across The River", "Romeo And Juliet", "Why Worry", "Money For Nothing", "Solid Rock", "Private Investigations" and more. Video Preview
Quality Rating: A- Live In Dortmund 1980 (1DVD). 12/19/80. Dortmund, Germany. RCJS version. Here's a nice show from the "Making Movies" tour. This is proshot and audo/video are very good. Songs include "Tunnel Of Love", "Sultans Of Swing", "Once Upon A Time In The West", "Lions", "News", "Solid Rock" and more. Bonus tracks include "Skateaway" and "Romeo And Juliet" from Fridays 1980. There's also "Sultans" from Belfast '81. Video Preview
Quality Rating: A-
Quality Rating: A+
Quality Rating: A
Quality Rating: A/A+
- Farewell Concert (1DVD). Berkley, CA. Greek Theatre, 9/11/82. When Michael McDonald announced he was leaving the band in '82 they didn't plan to continue without him. There's no doubt, this show was the end of the Doobies as the band made it clear to the audience. This is the final Doobie Brothers show until they would reform without McDonald (and with Tom Johnston) in the late 80's. The band pulls out all the stops in this broadcast and puts on a rocking show. You know McDonald already has one foot out the door when the band plays his solo tune "I Keep Forgetting". The band even does a forthcoming Patrick Simmons solo tune, "Out On The Streets", but you quickly realize he should have kept his day job. Overall, a memorable performance. The quality on my upgraded version is the best I have seen and sourced from a first generation source. There's some bonus footage of Michael McDonald on
