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The Who First off, let's ignore the introductions. If you are a fan of The Who, you must own this DVD set or your collection is incomplete. After being off the road for a year, The Who threw together a last minute show in December 1977 in order to gain movie quality footage for their in production The Kids Are Alright biopic. When the band got there, they were rusty, they were agitated but they were completely themselves and it was all filmed gloriously with 6 movie cameras (which was unheard of at the time) and amazing sound quality. At this point in time, Keith Moon was terribly out of shape and heading for the end. During this show, he has a hard time keeping up in quite a few places. The instigator known as Pete Townshend doesn't have any sympathy and lashes out verbally and in his actions. Pete is in a mood at this show, always ahead of the beat, seeming pissed off and ready to steamroll anyone in his vicinity. The intensity of his performance alone is something to behold. The energy is violent and non-stop. Between the reckless insanity of Pete Townshend and the sluggish attempts to keep up by Moon, Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle just to try to find a happy medium. For the most part, it works brilliantly. John Entwistle's “My Wife” takes on a particularly powerful upgrade from the Who's Next edition of the song while “Baba O'Riley” and “Won't Get Fooled Again” (despite a false start from Moon) are everything you'd want in arena rock legends. From there, things get sketchy. “Dreaming From The Waist” and “Pinball Wizard” both suffer from rusty gaffes so bad that Pete Townshend declares this performance “not worth filming” and encourages the cameramen to go home. At one point, he even becomes threatening with the audience, daring hecklers to try and take his guitar off of him. To be truthful, seeing a band of this stature go through embarrassment and on stage disappointment is part of what makes this show so important to see for the true fans. I was entranced to see Townshend get more and more agitated with the band's performance. After “Pinball Wizard” nearly breaks down, Towshend tries to abandon the Tommy portion of the show. This leads to Moon threatening (playfully) to walk unless they do the one song that he sings, “Tommy's Holiday Camp”. The band can't find the key to the tune and wind up doing it impossibly high for Moon to sing. Daltrey can't help laughing, and you'll find it hard not to join in when you see the panicked look on Moon's face as he tries to hit the notes. For the rest of the show, Pete Townshend is particularly hard on Moon, pushing him further and further into challenging territory. The final push from Townshend is during an extended jam in an otherwise ferocious “My Generation” where Pete takes the band into a sloppy attempt at (the unreleased-at-the-time) “Who Are You”. Keith is visibly uncomfortable but trying to keep up. He barely hangs on before Townshend abandons it, soon winding up the gig with “Won't Get Fooled Again”. The rumor is that after this show, Pete swore he wouldn't tour with The Who again. He surely didn't realize how prophetic his words would be. This gig, after all, turned out to be the final full concert of Keith Moon's short life. For music geeks, The Who At Kilburn 1977 is a fascinating document of a band trying to recapture, reclaim and reinvent themselves all at once. It is a fitting tribute to the completely on-the-edge mentality of perhaps the greatest live rock and roll band of all time and it is the bittersweet final act for the original, legendary lineup of The Who. If the At Kilburn disc is not enough, a “bonus disc” has also been included in this set. From a musical standpoint, it outshines At Kilburn . Filmed (with minimal lighting and cameras) at London Coliseum in 1969, this disc includes the first recorded performance of Tommy in its entirety. For some inexplicable and frustrating reason, the Tommy portion of the Tommy concert has been, for the most part, relegated to a bonus feature on the bonus disc (with a heavily edited version of the show as the main feature). Still, seeing the band rip through “Young Man Blues”, “Heaven And Hell”, “A Quick One (While He's Away)” and of course, the 19-song Tommy set leaves that a minor quibble on a major DVD set for every fan of rock and roll. Chris McKay / concertshots.com |
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ELTON JOHN Is it possible to put out a “greatest hits” by Elton John that includes every song a fan would want to hear? Of course not. But this new compilation comes as close as one can get and is the best single disc collection that I've come across. Almost all of the must-haves from the ‘70s heyday are here (“Crocodile Rock”, “Your Song”, “Bennie And The Jets”, “Philadelphia Freedom”, “Daniel”, “Rocket Man”, “Tiny Dancer”, “Candle In The Wind” and on and on) as are a few others from the tail end of his hit single days in the early ‘90s. Every song is one that you can sing along to and relive your younger days. Phenomenal melodies, quirky characters and strong memories fill every track. In my opinion, the only misstep was in placing Elton's cover of “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” in a slot that could've been filled by “Levon”. If you're a fan of the ‘80s Elton, you will be disappointed that there's no “Sad Songs (Say So Much)”, “I'm Still Standing” or “I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues”. Still, when you're humming along with “Don't Go Breaking My Heart” or shouting along with “Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting”, all else must be forgiven. Chris McKay / concertshots.com |
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JOHNNY CASH
This is what it's all about. Columbia Records has made a career out of re-releasing historic albums and this one is a testament to why they should never, ever stop. For the first time since this legendary concert occurred 37 years ago, the entire show is available in pristine, remastered audio. Hearing the vintage, now classic takes of “A Boy Named Sue” (finally in all of its non-bleeped glory) along side the outtakes (as they happened) puts the show in a whole new light. From Johnny's off-the-cuff comments warning a camera man not to bend over to allusions of his own drug usage; this is a raw, intense recording that hasn't been heard outside of San Quentin until this definitive version. Along side Johnny for this trip were The Statler Brothers, The Carter Family and Carl Perkins. Each of them adds another dimension to this stellar evening and Carl Perkins nearly even upstages the Man In Black every time he straps on his guitar. Perkins had soul and it's on fine display here. But Cash is the clearly the star of the show and it's his undeniable charisma that is captured in every second. Even when he's not on stage, his presence seems to loom over everything and everyone else! To make this package even better, Columbia has thrown in a DVD of the British documentary of the concert. Far too raw for American broadcast in 1969, this film doubles as an exploration into the prison, its keepers and its inhabitants. One particularly chilling segment finds a man on death row explaining what got him there and how he expects his death sentence to be carried out. Cash's rendition of “Peace In The Valley” sets the tone as the warden then tells of his experiences with execution. It's clear that the British filmmakers intended this as a subtle commentary on the barbaric nature of capital punishment but there's never any heavy-handed rhetoric or narration other than what was provided by those involved. This is real. Johnny Cash At San Quentin spans the gamut of human emotion from comedy to tragedy. It's astounding that the show has never been released in its entirety and that the documentary has been out of print for so long…until now. This is a must have. Chris McKay / concertshots.com |
KISS I've heard about this long-rumored collection for years. It's been dubbed “The Holy Grail of KISS releases” by those often maligned and misunderstood creatures known as KISS fans and they've waited patiently for this project to gestate. Well, it's finally here and to nearly everyone's surprise (especially to the non-fan), it lives up to and maybe even surpasses expectations. For a mere twenty bucks, you get four full concerts from the band's hungry heyday (five if you include the bonus disc in initial shipments), hilarious TV appearances, promo clips, commentary and amazingly rare “Easter eggs” that will lure even the most closeted KISS fan into the open. The first full show, from the Hotter Than Hell tour is shot in black and white and shows how the band's take no prisoners attitude polarized and galvanized a generation looking for something other than the peace and love vibe that they felt had failed them. The band continues to fire on all cylinders during the Alive Tour which is represented here by a show from Detroit 's Cobo Hall, a venue that's legendary in KISS lore. In early 1976, the band staged a triumphant 3 night return and celebrated to the fullest. It's great that this show was captured on film as it perfectly captures the exuberance (sometimes over exuberance) of a group of four young guys and their legions of followers. The only thing missing from this box set is a show from the breakthrough Destroyer Tour but all is forgiven with the inclusion of the legendary Budokan show from Tokyo . By 1977, KISS was a worldwide phenomenon and they shattered The Beatles' decade old records with their Japanese tour. Even with minimal pyrotechnics, the KISS juggernaut is at its peak and anyone who doubts the band's skill as musicians or entertainers need only see this show as evidence that they were solid and nearly untouchable at this time. The final complete concert is from Houston , Texas during the Love Gun tour. As 1977 came to a close, the band was starting to fray around the edges. They had released eight albums in just over three years and had gone from heavy metal madmen to the decoration for elementary school lunch boxes. This volume of Kissology ends just as the cracks begin to appear. If you look closely, you can see the tension of egos, fame and mega-stardom beginning to take its toll. The literal fire may be licking the sides of the Houston stage but the metaphorical fire is dimming. I'm interested to see how the next volume covers the band's lineup and directional shifts as the excess of the ‘70s gave way to the desperation of the ‘80s. Perhaps the fact that I still want more after this six and a half-hour set is the best testament to the quality of this collection. Kissology Vol. 1 is a necessity for any fan of arena rock or “the big show”. Check it out. Chris McKay / concertshots.com |
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PAUL STANLEY
There are ten songs on the brand new, self-produced Paul Stanley solo album and every one of the tracks is a hit. Unfortunately, they're not hits for Paul Stanley ! The KISS lead vocalist and guitarist has instead released an album of songs that the likes of Evanescence, Kelly Clarkson or even Kenny Chesney could burn up the charts with. But Stanley's over emotive vocal style and super-clean production simply sound out of place on the rock charts of today. “Lift” is possibly the most successful attempt at merging his vocals with a current sound. If Amy Lee and her crew latched onto it, this could be huge. Meanwhile, Chesney could take the power ballad “Second To None” to the top and possibly even cross over to the pop charts. “Every Time I See You Around” and “Loving You Without You Now”, the other two ballads, should go to the next couple of American Idol finalists. The problem here is with Stanley 's delivery. And the sad thing is that there's nothing that can be done to improve this album. It's perfect for what it is. It's concise, sounds great and is full of well-written songs! If it was 1986 – 1990, this would be a classic pop-metal album. As it stands in 2006, it's a case of too little, too late. One thing is clearly evident from listening to this album, if Stanley were to move out of the performer realm and into the role of a pop-rock producer; he could be a real contender. He's damn good at that. Unfortunately, his days as a relevant recording artist are over.
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ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA With the exception of the previous reissue of 1974's El Dorado , the most popular and important era in ELO's career has been sorely under represented on store shelves…until now. Now the crucial 3 rd , 5 th and 6 th ELO albums have been given the grand treatment and all I can say is that it's about time! 1973's On The Third Day was the first one that really bore the band's trademark sound. The first two albums were more experimental in nature. The mixture of classical instruments and rock and roll was still a bit of a novelty and it took a couple of albums to get past the temptations of the format. By '73, ELO's captain Jeff Lynne had gotten back to the concise pop and rock songs that made his pre-ELO band The Move so irresistible. “Bluebird Is Dead” and “Oh No Not Susan” are prime examples of the post-Beatles swing that was Lynne's specialty. In fact, no less of a source than John Lennon dubbed ELO “son of Beatles.” And while those Beatle-flavored songs didn't dent the chart, Lynne's growing love of soulful dance music provided the inspiration for the song that would. “Showdown,” which became ELO's first international smash single, was Lynne's attempt at Motown but it's really more of a predecessor to disco (by a good year or two). “Showdown” was only the beginning of ELO's hit making stature. On The Third Day also features “Ma-Ma-Ma Belle”, a sluggish hard rocker that tore up the charts in early 1974 and boasted T. Rex's Marc Bolan dueling with Lynne on guitar. Bonus tracks for this issue of On The Third Day include a couple of early takes of “Ma-Ma-Ma Belle”, an alternate mix of “In The Hall Of The Mountain King”, classical interludes that were excised and a beautiful lost track called “Everyone's Born To Die” that sounds like a duet between Lynne's future Traveling Wilburys band mates Bob Dylan and George Harrison. It's hard to believe that “Everyone's Born To Die” was cut from the album as this song alone is worth the purchase price to these ears. By 1975, ELO were certainly commercially and critically successful. Still, it took Face The Music to take them to the next level of popularity. At last, ELO had reached the right balance as the artsy album cuts were augmented by perfectly pristine and absolutely shameless pop songs. The gorgeous ballad “Strange Magic” graced AM radio and skating rinks throughout 1976, carrying on the momentum set by their lead-off Face The Music single “Evil Woman”, a danceable, falsetto laden mega-hit that to this day sets off sing-a-longs whenever its played. The album is anchored by rockers like “Poker” and “Fire On High” while dreamy songs such as “Waterfall” and “Nightrider” reach for the skies. There's not a bad song on Face The Music . By the tail end of the accompanying tour, ELO were headlining football stadiums in the U.S. and they had earned it with tasty little pop songs, not tabloid theatrics. That feat is nearly unique to ELO to this day! In the first 6 years of the ‘70s, ELO had released 6 albums and each had gone further than the last. The late '76 release of A New World Record was no exception. It's amazing that Jeff Lynne managed to continue releasing albums of such high quality while his time was divided as the songwriter, producer, lead singer and guitarist. On top of that, whenever the band wasn't in the studio, they were on the road. Burnout should've been inevitable. But it didn't happen. The original release of A New World Record contained 9 songs and 4 of them were bona fide masterpieces of the pop form. “Living Thing” carried on in the tradition set by Face The Music's “Evil Woman”, “Rockaria!” deftly mixed rock with not only classical but opera (thanks to a guest vocal appearance by Mary Thomas). There was also a remake of Lynne's “Do Ya”. He had originally done it with The Move but as ELO had kept it in the set list, he decided to do an even bubblier, more deliberate version for A New World Record . As great as all of those hits were, they all paled next to the album's moody masterpiece “Telephone Line”. In the space of 4 and a half minutes, there is melancholy, comfort and emotion with which anyone with a soul could relate. Its futuristic-retro production only added to its intrigue and it stands as one of the best sounding recordings of its time. “Telephone Line” was one of the biggest hits of 1977 and the band was on an amazing roll that wouldn't end until Jeff Lynne eventually turned his powers to focus on production in the late ‘80s. The outtakes here include several alternate mixes and a fun little ditty called “Surrender” that not only sounds like it could've been another hit, but predicted the sound the band would turn to as the ‘70s turned to the ‘80s. It's really a shame that America , the country that so embraced ELO back in their heyday, seems to have more or less forgotten about them. Maybe these reissues will be a step in the right direction. If you're a fan of pop music and haven't fallen under the spell of Jeff Lynne and ELO, you owe it to yourself to delve into this catalog. You won't be disappointed! Chris McKay / concertshots.com
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The WHO If you're a fan of the out of control, manic original band, then The Who's Tommy Live (With Special Guests) may be a bit of a shock to your system. Culled from shows in Los Angeles during the 1989 25 th Anniversary (and first “reunion”) tour, this particular performance features a brass section, backup singers, extra musicians and special guest stars which render this more of a Who Revue than a Who concert. In fact, no less than 17 people are onstage during the course of this show. Steve Winwood, Phil Collins, Billy Idol, Elton John and Patti LaBelle even appear as different “characters”. To keep it all in check, Pete Townshend is more a musical director than a guitar player. He never even straps on an electric! He strums on an acoustic while a mostly unseen background player takes on the power chords. The other surviving members of the band don't shine as they should either. Lead singer Roger Daltrey appears out of sorts as he has to keep moving aside for the special guests while mega-bassist John Entwistle is mixed down so low that he's almost inaudible. Of course, there's no replacement for Keith Moon. His madness is sorely missed while listening to drummer Simon Phillips' rote (but tight) timekeeping. In fact, aside from the powerful delivery of Patti LaBelle as the Acid Queen, this show seems nothing more than a novelty, tepid one-off. It's a shame really. The worst part of all is that the second set, which found the band tearing through its greatest hits with a lot more spontaneity and spark (and no guests), is not included. Rhino, whose reputation for top-notch re-releases is usually impeccable, have dropped the (pin) ball here. The only redeeming feature of this disc is the “visual commentary” with Townshend and Daltrey. Rock history buffs and trivia geeks will find a treasure trove of information on the full story of Tommy , including surprising revelations and commonly misunderstood meanings. This may be the only DVD that I've ever seen where the commentary is worth more than the program content. If you're a fan of The Who, this behind the scenes info is the real reason to buy this DVD. For the completists, this was released in triple-DVD form along with Quadrophenia last year (plus a disc of extras). That would be the best way to go. On its own, Tommy Live With Special Guests just doesn't stand up. Chris McKay / concertshots.com |
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