This page features our Record, CD and DVD reviews. Yes that said "Record!" We are still avid vinyl collectors, and you may well find a feature on a second hand or new vinyl record in our review section. Reviews are of course totally our own opinions. We do not have any affiliations with record companies or bands that would influence our ratings. Below is a list of our reviews so far, new ones will be added constantly. Just click on the Record / CD / DVD name to jump to the review you want.
Various Artists - Lost Legends of Surf Guitar 1 "Big Noise
from Waimea"(Sundazed SC11126) CD
Various Artists - Lost Legends of Surf Guitar 2 "Point Panic"(Sundazed
SC11127) CD
Various Artists - Lost Legends of Surf Guitar 3 "Cheater
Stomp"(Sundazed SC11128) CD
Various Artists - Lost Legends of Surf Guitar 4 "Shockwave"(Sundazed
SC11143) CD
The Dictators - Go Girl Crazy (Sony 33348) CD
Various Artists - We Ain't Housewife Material (Dionysus
ID 1233109) LP
Various Artists - Girls In The Garage Vol. 1 (Romulan
UFO X02) LP
Lords Of Gravity - Contact (Off The Hip OTH 7020) CD
Freddie King - The !!!! Beat 1966 (Vestapol 13014) DVD
The Shadows - The Final Tour (Eagle Vision 5050467630222)
DVD
The New York Dolls - All Dolled Up (Outre Oevre D076) DVD
Various
Artists - Lost Legends of Surf Guitar 1 "Big Noise from Waimea"(Sundazed SC11126)
Are there really any unheard surf guitar classics left? The answer, after listening
to the first of 3 volumes of Sundazed's "Lost Legends of Surf Guitar" series,
would be yes.
Opening track "El Gato" by the Chandelles is a great little tune with a neat
little riff and tempo change that inspired some sort of strange "Bird" type
dancing in me while I was listening to it one evening in the kitchen. "Loophole"
by the Royal Coachmen has a kinda latin-y vibe reminiscent
of the Sentinals, cool though. "Big Noise from Waimea" by the Ebb Tides
left me somewhat indifferent, a marriage of the "Mission Impossible" riff and
Sandy Nelson's "Let there be Drums" sorry guys just that bit TOO derivative.
"Gear" by Dave Myers and the Surftones is a classic, I have
only heard about 3 of his songs, all great stuff, must investigate further.
"The Breeze and I" by Steve and the Gladiators is the best
version ever of a song often covered by Surf bands. Their take has a Ska-like
feel to it which seriously wouldn't be out of place on a Bad Manners record.
"Failsafe" by the Original Surfaris is another killer, hard
to believe it was previously unreleased. The addition of piano gives it a similar
sound to the Dave Myers and the Surftones stuff. "Jetster" by the Chandelles
is OK but not startling. "The Rising Surf" by the Tandems,
same title as a Richie Allan song, different tune though. Another good one with
some nice weedy organ in the background. "Contact" and "Pressure" by the
Pyramids, hmmm both tunes are so close to their hit "Penetration" they
could almost sue themselves for plagiarism, I wonder if they have anything better
than this. "Surf's Up" by the Original Surfaris is a dud Chuck
Berry type of romp, odd this one was released where their superior earlier track
"Failsafe" wasn't. "Cemetary Stomp" by the Essex is a very
cool organ- dominated tune with a bit of a horror movie vibe about it. Love
it. "The Jester" by Jim Messina and the Jesters is a fast paced
tune with a great break by their 14 year old drummer. "Repeating"
by the Royal Coachmen is a bit on the ho-hum side at first
but the main melody is strong and you find yourself humming it later on, so
it must be good. "Ian Fleming Theme" by The Menn is a fab piece
of fuzztone with a great melody and a bit of a sly steal from the Bond theme.
I like this song a lot, it has a real "spy show" feel to it and in a better
world would have made a great theme tune for a detective show. "Pray for Surf"
by the Essex, more mellow than "Cemetary Stomp" with piano
instead of organ but a good, moody slow tune. "Point Surf" by the Surf
Teens is, well, the main riff is pretty much a WIPEOUT ripoff, won't
waste any more time on that one. "Ishamatsu" by the Centurions,
another of the previously unreleased tunes, I love these guys' sound, especially
the DEEP saxaphone on their other cuts like "Intoxica" but this song itself
hasn't got enough going for it. "Exotic" by the Original Surfaris,
not a bad version of a well worn Surf standard, I like it better than the more
well known Sentinals version. "Beyond the Surf" by the Tandems,
a great evocative melody, funny for a surf guitar album this is really a piano
track but I don't mind 'cause the tune is really good.
Finally I must say Sundazed are to be commended for the excellent sound quality these tunes are
presented in, unlike some who think it's good enough to dub from scratchy, worn out
vinyl Sundazed have managed to gain access to the master tapes and have done a great remastering job.
Overall rating for this CD: 8 out of 10.(Alex)
Various Artists - Lost Legends of Surf Guitar 2 "Point Panic"(Sundazed SC11127)
The second volume in the series of 3 - wonder if the standard of the first volume will be maintained? Read on...
The set kicks off with "The Sheriff of Noddingham" by David Marks and the Marksmen. Bit of a Dick Dale feel to this, a previously unreleased tune by the ex-Beach Boys guitarist, not half bad. "Fugitive" by Jan Davis is the original version of the song most people associate with the Ventures, in fact Ventures drummer Mel Taylor drums on this particular session. The Ventures almost carbon-copied this original so it's kinda ruined by that inasmuch as there's nothing different about it. Gotta pay the man 'cause he wrote it though. "Jack the Ripper" by the Surfaris is an unreleased version of a Link Wray song that was also featured on their debut album, nice to see the surfers didn't forget Link, I think I liked the album version better, this one is a bit on the subdued side. "Bongo Shutdown" by the New Dimensions is pretty average, a bunch of cliched surf riffs with little excitement to offer. "Point Panic" by Jerry Cole and his Spacemen is a cover of the Surfaris original, the Spacemen were apparently some of L.A.'s top session stalwarts in disguise, this features a good sax break and some good lead guitar from Jerry. "Burning Rubber" by Gene Moles, hot rod sounds abound on this track, but the main riff is a bit on the nothing side, and let's face it if you don't have a good main riff you don't have a good surf tune, despite the obvious ability of Gene as a guitarist. "Stick Shift" by the Trashmen is OK, again a cover version, quite listenable but doesn't grab you like some their better stuff (Tube City and Malaguena spring to mind) "Shootin' Beavers" by the Tornadoes apparently caused some outrage due to the "risque" title, pity the song is a standard twelve bar rave-up that sounds like it was written in less time than it took to play. "Travellin'" by David Marks and the Marksmen is a neat, relaxed little tune with double tracked lead guitar that's just..well cool I guess. It's one of those tunes that stick in your head even though there's seemingly not a lot to it. "Boss Machine" by Jan Davis, another cut from the "Fugitive" man, has that "heard it before but where" riff sounding not unlike "Point Panic". OK but not startling. "Moondawg" by the Rhythm Rockers, liner notes reckon this version of the oft covered surf standard is "crankin" I say it's okay but there are better versions than this, for example Davie Allan and the Arrows'. This one does win the award for the most out of tune backing vocals of any versions of this song - hey, they weren't instrumental bands for nothing! "Latin'ia" by Jim Waller and the Deltas, a decent version of the Sentinals hit. "Ram-Charger" by the Del-vetts. Many superlatives heaped on this track in the liner notes, but they forgot to mention this song is really RAMROD by Duane Eddy with a different title. I'm not impressed. "Walk, Don't Run" by the Trashmen. OK. Nothing more. "Midnight Surfer" by Jerry Cole and his Spacemen. I like this, but is this because any original tune sticks out a mile on this album? No, I think I would still like it anyway. "The Gremmie, Part 1" by the Tornadoes. Cliched but cute. "Chicky Run" by the New Dimensions. Ok original tune. "Yep" by the Surfaris. At least they give Duane Eddy credit for using his song. Having said that this is one of his least appealing songs so the cover version does nothing to increase my liking for it. Hey and isn't that riff "Wipeout" but slower? Yep! "Banzai Washout" by the Catalinas. A dead set surf classic, no small wonder loads of surf bands cover this. Written by LA studio sax legend Steve Douglas, nice snarly fuzzy lead, classic tune. Easily the best tune on this comp. "Devil Surfer" by Scott Engel (Scott Walker) shows what you can do with an almost moronically simple riff to make it interesting. It is really the arrangement that carries this one-idea tune. Despite that, I like it. Just long enough at 1:41 though. Overall rating for this CD: 6 out of 10.(Alex)
Various Artists - Lost Legends of Surf Guitar 3 "Cheater Stomp"(Sundazed SC11128)
A chance for redemption after a less than satisfactory Volume 2, will they finish the series on a high? Read on...
"Cheater Stomp" by the Fabulous Playboys. OK track, nothing to write home about. Wouldn't have been my choice for an opening track. "Squad Car" by P.J. and Artie. A true classic of the genre, would have made a far better opening track to this CD. Check out the Man or Astroman version of this sometime if you get a chance. "Satan's Theme" by the Challengers. Sounds like it wants to be in one of those 60s biker exploitation movies. Pretty much stuck on the one riff all the way through, never really gets out of gear. "Hot Cinders" by the Progressives. Average. "Scorpion" by the Vibrants. Like this one. Knew it already cause it also appears on the Rare Surf - The South Bay bands CD. "Mr.Moto" by Thom Starr and the Galaxies. Do we need another version of this song? I mean I like it but jeez every surf band does it and they all do it the same."(They Call the Wind) Maria" by P.J. and Artie. Thought this was going to suck, but surprisingly likeable. Dig the tempo change at the end. "Surfbeat" by the Surfriders. Polite cover of the Dick Dale standard. Not too bad but find me anyone who does Dick better than Dick. I think if you're gonna do this song do something else with it. "Rampage" by the Challengers. Ok. Middle eight reminds me of Mr Moto. "Istambul" by the Gladiators. Old standard done surf style. Little corny but likeable. Groovy organ solos really enliven this track. "Fink" by P.J. and Artie. Sounds like something Booker T and the MGs might have chucked onto a b-side, bit boring. "Rum Runner" by the Surfriders. Some rum might have helped. "Heatwave" by Thom Starr and the Galaxies. Previously unreleased. Suffers from some slightly out of tune guitar. "Wildfire" by the Vibrants. Opening riff is remarkably similar to Scorpion by the same band. This tune is not as good though. "Strange Fever" by Thom Starr and the Galaxies. Dullsville. "Man of Mystery" by the Progressives. US Versions of Shadows songs are hard to find, apart from the Ventures (Apache, The Savage) Davie Allan (Apache) and the Sandals (Driftin', Jet Black) the Shads don't seem to have penetrated the US conciousness. This version benefits from the lead melody being doubled on organ. "Volcanic Action" by the Challengers. Starts off as a variation on the Church Key/Bird Bath riff. Liked the lead guitar in this one. "Moon Shot" by Kenny and the Fiends. Catchy with good electric piano/organ. Bit like the Chantays. Got a little bit more energy than most of the stuff on this set. "Shortnin' Bread" by the Fabulous Playboys. Broadway songs done surf style OK. Old standards done surf style OK. Nursery Rhymes done surf style? Nooooooooo. Especially not with horrible rinky-dink piano. "Spanish Moon" by the Travellers. Nice, languid, ballady. Bit like Sleepwalk, in fact wouldn't be out of place on a Santo and Johnny record. One of the few tunes with a decent melody. Overall rating for this CD: 5 out of 10.(Alex)
Realise some of this may have been included because of being sought after/previously unreleased and really most of this stuff is quite listenable, but not by any means killer material. The only one I would unreservedly recommend would be Volume 1. I still can't help think these 3 albums/60 odd songs would have made a great double CD with about 30-40 songs. As we go to press I have just found out Volume 4 has been released - will definitely be reviewed here in future.
Various
Artists - Lost Legends of Surf Guitar 4 "Shockwave"(Sundazed SC11143)
Redemption!
Well, after a less than satisfactory volumes 2 and 3 of this series I was left wondering what number 4 would be like. I am pleased to report that this instalment of the series is once again a hugely enjoyable selection. Not quite up there with volume 1 but close.
The set kicks off with "Shockwave" by Zorba and the Greeks.
You couldn't hope for a better opening track. This song is all a surf instrumental
should be - great tune (main melody done on 12 string - nice touch) beserk organ
solo, explosive bursts of reverb. I knew the tune already from Romulan's "Surf
Creature Vol. 2" comp but it's presented here in sparkling audio quality as
opposed to dodgy dub from vinyl. Be prepared to live with this tune in your
head for quite some time after you've heard it.
The Avengers VI have 3 tracks from their insanely obscure LP
(released only as a promotional giveaway by the Good Humor ice cream company)
on this comp. Happily, for us at least, the obscurity of that LP was thoroughly
undeserved on the strength of these 3 tunes."Heartbeat" is a solid slow grinder,
"Time Bomb" an organ led track whose only drawback is that it's way too short,
and "The Avengers Stomp" with it's fleetfingered riffing and cute organ break.
The Stage-men's "Fall Out" is one of only a few tracks here that disappoint, bit boring, sub-Sandy
Nelson workout with no real spark to it.
The Truants are represented
by 2 tracks, "The Truant" is a good little track with a nice raspy twang to
it but "Sunset Surf" is their real trump card - slow, menacing,low growling
guitar with loads of vibrato. Kinda like Duane Eddy in a bad mood. One of my
favourites on this CD.
The Pastels do one of the few cover versions on the CD, it's
a nifty version of Link Wray's Rawhide, little drum solo in it, just neat.
The Belairs have 2 songs, "Volcanic Action" a Church Key/Bird
Bath type of thing that rocks along OK, but their other tune, "Bedlam" is tops,
good melody with a sort of horror rock feel, I had this weird picture of the
Addams Family or the Munsters playing this at a party.
Jan Davis does "Verti-Go-Go" and "Surfbuster", the
former is an appealing track with some nice double tracked guitar touches and
a memorable tune, the latter a bit so-so, some nice lead guitar work in it though.
The Citations' "Moon Race" has some distinctive sound effects
but I found the track as a whole not terrifically satisfactory due to the absence
of a strong hook.
"Chiflado" by Thom Starr and the Galaxies is
a cute little tune with a bit of a Belairs feel to it, not surprisingly since
Paul Johnson wrote the tune. Naggingly catchy too.
It would be easy to think of "The Hearse" by Al Casey as a
slower version of the tune made famous by the Astronauts, however it's not a
version really as this is the original, written by Lee Hazlewood who also wrote
"Baja", one of the most covered surf tunes ever. When you have lived with the
Astronauts version for so long it takes a while to get to like Al's original,
I do now, but it took a few spins.
The Cornells' "Beachbound" is another nice little
tune, not terribly distinctive but not bad either.
The Teemates actually managed to breath some new life into
"Walk don't Run '64", I think it's because they play it with more directness
and don't have that horrible whiney organ that mars the Ventures take.
The Tornadoes "Scalping Party", is, as the cover notes point out, a reworking of the Wailers' "Shanghied",
doesn't do much for me either way.
Johnny and the Shy Guys have added the words Yeah, Yeah, Yeah to the vocals in "Moon Dawg", still doesn't
sell me on their version.
The Teensmen's "Spin Out" has an appealing primitivity to it that kinda reminds me of the (Australian) Marksmen's
"Lost Guitar", sounds like a bunch of teenagers in the garage having fun and
isn't that what it's all about.
I think this Volume has a lot going for it, as even the comparitively average tracks top most of the stuff on Volume 3. Most importantly, after being so disappointed with Volume 3, at the time I couldn't have cared less if it had stopped there, but now Sundazed have got me hoping that the Lost Legends Of Surf Guitar series will continue for more volumes yet. Overall rating for this CD: 7.5 out of 10 (Alex)
The Dictators - Go Girl Crazy (Sony 33348)
You know, I bought this album in about 1980, I think at Rocking Horse records
in Brisbane. And it was purely on the strength of the cover. Somehow I knew
this was going to be a FUN Rock and Roll album. And I was right. For starters,
my buddies had a lot of fun laughing at me and what they thought was my questionable
purchase. However, after hearing it, they came around. This album was one of
the few releases in the pre-punk years (it was released in 1975) that was able
to simultaneously parody the whole Rock and Roll myth and be great Rock and
Roll at the same time. Plus it grew on repeated listens - the more you listened
to it, the more fun it got. Some have remarked on the "un - PC" lyrics, I hardly
think you could take a song like "Master Race Rock" seriously, particularly
since acceptance in the Dictators particular master race seemed to rest on whether
or not you had smelly feet or picked your nose!. "Two Tub Man" contains one
of my favourite lines ever, and I used to to quite enjoy playing it when unsuspecting
Velvet Underground worshippers were around: "I'm just a clown walkin' down the
street / I think - LOU REED IS A CREEP!". Juvenile fun. The only song I skip
on this album is the version of "I got you babe", but that's more because I
don't like that song too much anyway. Highlights of the album would definitely
be "Master Race Rock", "California Sun" "Two Tub Man" and " "(I live for) Cars
and Girls" with it's classic line " Cars, girls, surf and beer, nothing else
matters here" a perfect Beach Boys pastiche and a very catchy song to boot.
The Dictators made several more albums, I bought the follow up "Manifest Destiny"
but it doesn't even come close to this classic debut. This is just one of those
albums you can't improve on. Trivia note: Guitarist Ross "the Boss" Funicello
later formed "medieval" Heavy Metal outfit Manowar. Overall rating for
this CD: 9 out of 10.(Alex)
Various Artists - We Ain't Housewife Material (Dionysus ID 1233109)
Who could resist an album with this title. Not me, that's for sure. So I shelled out the readies
and wasn't disappointed.
We Ain't Housewife Material (WAHM) was released in 2004 through Dionysus Records
- a label specialising in the underground and the esoteric - and comprises a
showcase of women musicians specialising in the "heavier" end of the musical
spectrum. Listening to the album turned into a research odyssey as much as an
aural pleasure, so this review documents what I have been able to find out about
the bands (not much in some instances, due to language barriers) as the music
itself. Highlight tracks are the following:
Betty Blowtorch: Rock and Roll 69. This track (which opens the album) is
a straight-ahead hard rock stormer devoted to the joys of "sex, drugs, rock"
and never being too old for any of these three. A Google search on the band
uncovered that "Betty" AKA Bianca Halstead was killed in a car crash in 2001.
However, the bands music lives on in an Anthony Scarpa movie "Betty Blowtorch
and her Amazing True Life Adventures" (1999), which documents the band's live
performances and on the road antics.
Mensen: Sandy Starlight. WAHM have documented this band as
coming from the Netherlands. However Mensen are actually from Norway and are
based in Oslo. According to their website, they still tour extensively. Mensens's
offering "Sandy Starlight" is best described as an amalgam of 60s and 70s punk
with infectious guitar and driving bass and drums.
The Gee Strings: Arrest Me. The Gee Strings hail from Germany
and are comprised of a mixture of musicians from older punk bands and younger
players. They play "77" style punk, influenced by the Pistols, Stooges and Ramones
and according to their web site, also tour extensively. The "77 style" influences
are evident in "Arrest Me" which leans heavily towards the Damned's "Love Song".
Not that this is a bad thing!
Elvis McMan: Slow Children. This song which opens with a killer
bass intro, also nods towards the Ramones. Ridiculously catchy - try not to
hum the chorus upon hearing it.
Fifi and the Mach 3: Have You Seen the Landscapes Today? This
band who hail from Japan kick up the Ramonesesque sound another notch. This
is a mid-tempo fuzz-laden gem (watch out Shonen Knife!), with yearning vocals
and guitar solos.
Flowermulu: Upside Down. Also from Japan, Flowermulu provide
a psyched out classic - literally. Upside Down was originally written and performed
by Japanese band the Spiders. Flowermulu's version features cheesy, choppy keyboards
and chanting vocals which make way for a full blown sonic overload.
In summary,
WAHM is worth rotating on anyone's turntable. Dionysus: More please! Overall
rating for this LP: 8 out of 10.(Natalie)
Various Artists - Girls In The Garage Vol. 1 (Romulan UFO X02)
There is a rock and roll myth that 60s punk was primarily ignited in the United
States courtesy of the Rolling Stones tour, and was exemplified by male bands
such as the Sonics, the 13th Floor Elevators and the Seeds. However, 60s girls
with a musical bent and a lot of attitude captured this vibe as much as the
above bands who are now legend.
The unnamed compiler of Girls in the Garage (GITG), Volume 1 released on Romulan Records describes the vibe of the time as follows: "It bugs me when people talk about girl groups like it was something new, or started with the Runaways in 1975 or something. What a crock! Even now an all girl band is considered a novelty, though there seems to be a lot of 'em. But in the '60s! Man, they were everywhere. Every town had its girl band in 1966, and some had more than one. In my high school we had The Girls From Uncle and they looked cooler than shit matching turtlenecks, mini-skirts and bouffant hairdos, with white lipstick and go-go boots. They played a lot of Byrds and Kinks tunes, and even had an original about some guy who was always messin' around. The people who put together '60s garage comps have overlooked these girl bands for too long"
Girls in the Garage (GITG) Volume 1, showcases the best of 60s snotty girl punk. And upon hearing the tracks on offer, my overriding impression is that these bands deserve more coverage and recognition. Here follows a summary of what for me are the killer tracks!
Denise
and Co: Take Me as I Am. This ultra-rare track has circulated for years
among collectors, surviving only on a cassette version. The mystique deepens
in that this song has an alternate name "Boy, What'll You Do Then?". Either
way the track plays as an early feminist anthem, complete with tough vocals,
accompanying mouth organ and R' n ' B flavoured guitar.
The Interpreters: I Get the Message. This track mixes trad. Chuck
Berry style licks mixed with the snottiest vocals ever. A classic!
Luv'd Ones: Up Down Sue. Fuzz tone and power chords meets Grace
Slickesque vocals.
Kim and Grim: You Don't Love Me. One of the slinkiest bass lines ever!
The Continental Coets: Medley Of Junk. A surf classic. Sampling before
sampling became de rigeur. Classic strains unite with a stomping surf beat. In addition,
the Coets, from Minnesota earned their stripes by touring extensively and releasing an
album - which on the strength of "Medley of Junk" I would very much like to obtain.
Other standout
tracks include: The Puppets: Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart,
The Models: Bend Me, Shape Me (The original version!) and Cathy
Rich: Wild Thing, the latter contains the immortal line "Wild Thing,
my name is Cathy and I'm wild"!. An aural feast of the "other side" of the sixties
peace and love mantra.
Overall rating for this LP: 9 out of 10.(Natalie)
Lords Of Gravity - Contact (Off The Hip OTH 7020) CD
A modern day Garage Rock Classic!
This one came to us courtesy of the good folk at Off The Hip Records, Australia's premier Garage Punk label. It's one of those CDs that immediately grabs you and begs for repeat listens. The band consists of luminaries from various Melbourne Garage Punk bands, such as the Philisteins, Hands of Time, Saucermen etc. There really isn't a weak track on the entire CD but here's a listing of some of my favourites:
Lose My Mind: Opening track pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the album. Unabashed Garage Rock,
even includes an old fashioned Yardbirds style rave-up in the middle.
Funnel Web: Love the massively fuzzed up riff in this one.
Claudette Jones: A muscular version of the old Peter and the Silhouettes tune, this version has a great
live feel to it.
Cheating Kind: A strong melodic mid paced jangler, I like the way the 2 lead vocalists
are used on this one, has a catchy chorus too.
Come On: Good version of the Atlantics tune, taken at a slightly slower pace than the original.
Poor Boy: Another cover, this time of the Masters Apprentices, like what they have done to this, and whoever
sings on this one approximates Jim Keays' screeching lead vocal admirably!.
Honey: The best is saved for last. This is probably the best song Mudhoney never wrote, I could almost
imagine Mark Arm singing it. Which is intended as a compliment by the way! A thumping, fuzzed out uber-garage riff played with
raw abandon.
Overall Rating for this CD: 9 out of 10 (Alex)
Freddie King - The !!!! Beat 1966 (Vestapol 13014) DVD
The !!!! Beat was a legendary show that ran for just 26 episodes in 1966. Hosted by local DJ Hoss Allen the show
was shot in colour and featured a house band fronted by Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. It featured a marvellous array
of well known and not so well known R&B artists.
This particular DVD features all of Freddie King's solo appearances on the show, as well as some other footage from a Swedish TV appearance in 1973.
The Swedish gig is smooth and self-assured, with a professional sounding backup band, Freddie in fine voice and faultless guitaring, but the 1966 footage is the real reason i love this DVD.
Being a record of every performance of Freddie's on the show, there is some duplication of songs, "Funny Bone" "San-Ho-Zay", "Hide Away" all appear twice, but you know what? I don't even care! I reckon i could have this DVD on 24-hour rotation and not get sick of it!
Freddie is in blistering form, the house band are as tight as a gnat's arse and the studio sets and go-go dancers all add to the groovy atmosphere. Highlights? Hard to pick but i'll mention a great instrumental version of "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" (you wouldn't think that could work,but it does), and of course "Hideaway" and "San-Ho-Zay" too. If you are at all interested in Blues/R&B or even just great guitar playing, this DVD is a must-have. I should probably add that all these performances were recorded live in the studio, and the sound is surprisingly good for that, there is only the odd occasion where Freddie's guitar could have cut through the mix more, but that is a minor grumble on what is otherwise a superb set. Overall Rating for this DVD: 10 out of 10 (Alex)
The Shadows - The Final Tour (Eagle Vision 5050467630222) DVD
Being a big fan of the Shadows early instrumental sides, I picked up this DVD
primarily hoping to see some great live versions of stuff they probably haven't
played on stage since the early days. Looking at the track listing and seeing
a lot of their later more MOR stuff plus their vocal outings mixed in, initially
kept me from snapping this up at full price, but at a bargain price of $12.99
I figured I could take a gamble. And I have to say that when the Shads got down
to the nitty gritty (for me, anyway) of their classic early output this was
definitely a worthwhile purchase.
I did find myself wishing I could take them aside and say "Listen, just ignore the crap and play all your really great stuff!" However this wouldn't work, even given that opportunity, for 2 reasons:
1.) This being their farewell tour, they obviously wanted to showcase every aspect of their
career.
2.) The Shads are not "hardcore" about their early stuff vs their later
stuff. They love all that schmaltzy stuff they did later on just as much! They
attack "Going Home","Don't Cry For Me Argentina", Cliff Richard songs and Eurovision
entries with as much glee as they do the cool stuff like "The Savage" "Man Of
Mystery" et al. For them, there is no such thing as "crap"!
I won't talk about every song but here's some impressions:
Good: "Little B" with Brian Bennett's Herculean drum solo.
"The Savage", "Man of Mystery", "36-24-36", "Sleepwalk","Shazam","The Stranger","Gonzales",
"Rise And Fall Of Flingel Bunt" (although the keyboards looked like they were
going to spoil that one at first), "Atlantis", "Shindig","Wonderful Land","FBI",
"Apache", "Gonzales","Foot Tapper", "The Frightened City", "Theme For Young
Lovers","Peace Pipe".
Disappointments: "Shadoogie" was rearranged and watered down
to such an extent I felt it was ruined.
Surprises: The version of Jean Michel Jarre's "Equinoxe V"
was quite good!. "Nivram" done with acoustic guitars in a jazzier arrangement
bettered the original, nice bass playing too.
Skip these: The Marvin, Welch and Farrar songs, the Cliff Richard
songs, the Eurovision song, anytime they sing really. Not that they are by any
means "bad" singers, their voices blend well and they are in tune but I just
find their vocal material insufferably bland.
All in all there were over 20 songs that I liked, which amounts to about half the content of this DVD. So I'll perhaps learn to program my DVD player to skip the duds next time I watch it. Overall rating for this DVD: 7 out of 10 (Alex)
The New York Dolls - All Dolled Up (Outre Oevre D076) DVD
All Dolled Up is a documentary assembled from roughly 40 hours of footage of
the New York Dolls shot by Bob Gruen and Nadya Beck. The DVD also features a
documentary, an interview with Bob by Handsome Dick Manitoba, and a photo gallery
by Bob, with narrative.
The reason i personally bought this DVD, is because one of the bonus features is full performances of 12 songs. All I'd ever seen live of the Dolls prior to this release was their Old Grey Whistle Test appearance, and a clip of Personality Crisis from German show Musik Laden, so I was keen to check out more.
I wasn't disappointed. The live stuff is fantastic. Now when I say that, first a disclaimer:
This footage was shot on a VIDEO CAMERA in 1972. The picture quality is surprisingly good, but you will NOT get 5.1 surround sound, be able to choose between 8 different camera angles or any of that other new fangled stuff. In fact, apart from the newly filmed stuff like the interview and the photo gallery the majority of it would be in MONO. It's fantastic because this is what it would have sounded like if you were there on the night, warts and all.
And what were the Dolls like live then? Well, I think they were great. Some people might pick up on the odd sloppy moment and bum note here and there, but the Dolls had that undefinable quality of a great rock 'n'roll band, "tight but loose" some people call it, it's hard to define but you'll know what I mean when you see this stuff. If you still don't get it then, I'm afraid there's no hope for you!
Among the live stuff, the highlights for me were a great "Human Being" from Kenny's Castaways, with great drumming by Jerry. "Chatterbox" and "Pills" from Club 82 were probably my favourites, the Dolls aided by a sax player on that occasion, Johansen resplendent in a fetching sequined dress and high heels, the band firing on all cylinders.
All the songs on the bonus feature are also featured throughout the documentary, in somewhat truncated form. There are also parts of some additional songs, not featured on the bonus, in the documentary. This is one small gripe I have: we get parts of "Babylon", "Hoochie Coochie Man", most of a great fun version of the Shangri-Las "Give Him A Great Big Kiss" and some others from what looks like a later incarnation of the band (there's a different bass player, and apart from him you only see Johansen and Thunders). Couldn't they have given us the full versions of all these other songs?
The documentary itself is not one, I feel, that I would be watching over and over again. There are some interesting historical tidbits, such as the early TV News report describing them as "a cross between the Stones and Alice Cooper", and I also enjoyed the footage of the Halloween party at the Waldorf, but the Dolls themselves don't exactly make for rivetting interview subjects, and the backstage footage and other sequences showing them staggering out of taxis and at airports etc. gets boring very quickly. I guess what it does do, is give you a fly on the wall kind of look at what it was like to be on tour with them and in that respect it does its job well.
The photo gallery with audio commentary by Bob Gruen was quite good fun, the interview with Handsome Dick Manitoba too, both provided some background into some of the sequences in the documentary, and how Bob got to know the Dolls, but again I don't reckon they are features that you would be re-watching over and over.
All in all though, 3 or so hours well spent, and I am certain I will be returning to that live footage on many more occasions. Overall rating for this DVD: 8 out of 10 (because of the live footage mostly) (Alex)