UB40 – Food for Thought [DVD]
Eagle Rock Entertainment (11/10/09)
Unrated
81 minutes

UB40 are the undisputed kings of British reggae, and Food for Thought is another installment from the German television series Rockpalast. Filmed in July 1981, the concert takes place at the Sartory-Sale in Cologne, shortly after the release of the band’s second album, Present Arms. The set is predominately taken from this album and their debut, Signing Off.

Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders is credited with giving the band its first break after witnessing them at a local pub in Birmingham, and signing them up to support for her band on tour. Formed in 1978 by a bunch of friends attending different colleges, the band started promoting their group before any of them could play instruments. After lead singer Ali Campbell received settlement money from a bar fight on his seventeenth birthday, the band was finally able to purchase the much coveted noise makers needed to make sound.

...read full article...

Thin Lizzy – Are You Ready? [DVD]
Eagle Rock Entertainment (11/10/09)
Unrated
112 minutes

Another historic concert from the German-based Rockpalast television series, Thin Lizzy’s Are you Ready? is a rousing look back at one of the most significant and exciting hard-rock bands to appear out of the mid-’70s. Being one of the first acts to employ a sonic, dual-lead guitar attack, Ireland’s favorite sons have been credited as a major influence on a great number of popular heavy-metal acts as well.

Recorded in 1981, this footage shows quite an energetic display of showmanship, especially since lead singer/bassist Phil Lynott and guitarist Scott Gorham were known heroin users at this time. Hey, at least they waited until the after party to get their junk on and gave the audience a very memorable show. The group’s “guitar player revolving door” was temporarily closed with Snowy White as the second lead player, matching harmonies and trading solos with Gorham. Brian Downey on drums and Darren Wharton on keyboards round out the line-up.

...read full article...

Arcangels – Living in a Dream [CD/DVD]
Self-released (10/27/09)
Blues-rock

Austin’s notable and outstanding supergroup, Arcangels, reunited recently and opened a U.K. tour for Eric Clapton beginning last May. Since the guys are on the road, it looks like the heavily anticipated, second studio album will be in the oven just a little longer. Luckily, the band recorded a couple live shows a few years back and were eager to finally get the music to their fans. And Living in a Dream is definitely a great CD/DVD package when it comes to capturing the live essence of the group, almost giving you the feeling of being there at the show.

Originally scheduled to be filmed at Stubbs in Austin, in February of 2005, the two shows were rained out and later recorded in March. But even with the new dates, the pesky rain would show up again as a light drizzle right, right before the band would hit the stage. It was no problem for the enthusiastic crowd to endure, but pieces of the lighting and other electrical equipment were not on the cooperating end. Because of this, the live show on the DVD has a jump-cut look and feel to it, due to the fact the video is spliced from a combination of shows (Stubbs, Antone’s, Galveston’s Mardi Gras and House of Blues in Dallas). Even with this kind of feel, you really don’t notice that vibe of different venues because the audio recorded from Stubbs is so good.

...read full article...

Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell: The Original Tour [DVD]
Eagle Records / Fontana (11/10/09)
Unrated
105 minutes

Be it the man or the food—you either like Meat Loaf or you don’t. I happen to like both, so stomaching the newly released Bat Out of Hell live DVD was as painless as Sunday dinner at Mom’s house. In fact, it was a highly enjoyable experience—finally being able to see a Meat Loaf concert filmed during his most legendary tour. Shot in Germany for the famed show Rockpalast in June of 1978, this live performance is considered one of the greatest of all time.

Released at a time when punk was the new “it” mechanism of rock ‘n’ roll, Bat Out of Hell laid in limbo for quite a while before the recording industry took a chance on what ended up becoming the third best-selling album of all time, with over 43 million copies sold. “People either hate it or worship it!”, said Meat Loaf, referring to the concept album about teen lust. Luckily, Todd Rundgren understood what Meat and main songwriter/pianist Jim Steinman were trying to convey, by eventually securing them a record deal.

...read full article...

Billy Idol – In Super Overdrive Live [DVD]
Eagle Records / Fontana (11/17/09)
Unrated
70 minutes

“I’m on a bus on a psychedelic trip, reading murder books trying to stay hip…”

No, that’s not my current itinerary; just my favorite line from Billy Idol’s “Eyes Without a Face”, which appears on his new concert DVD, In Super Overdrive Live. Recorded in Chicago at the Congress Theater for the U.S. television series Soundstage, the concert was originally broadcast on PBS in July 2009.

...read full article...

John Denver – Around the World Live [5-DVD]
Eagle Rock Entertainment (10/13/09)
Unrated
592 minutes

John Denver, a country-folk legend and one of America’s favorite sons, was an amazing songwriter, great performer and a very, very generous man—donating much money and time to humanitarian and environmental issues. His music garnered two Grammys, two Country Music Awards, three American Music Awards, an Emmy, an induction into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame and the sales of over 40 million albums. Eagle Rock Entertainment and Fontana Records have teamed up to release this new five-disc collection, Around the World Live, which features some of Denver’s finest performances.

...read full article...

ZZ Top – Double Down Live: 1980-2008 [2-DVD]
Eagle Rock Entertainment (10/20/09)
Unrated
154 minutes

Finally, a ZZ Top concert DVD that includes both vintage and recent performances! The recently released Double Down Live: 1980-2008 showcases two complete sets of vintage, and modern, howling blues-rock.

The first disc, from 1980, dubbed “THEN”, includes 22 tracks from their Tres Hombres, Fandango! and Deguello albums, recorded at the Grugahalle in Essen, Germany, for the Rockplast television series. Raw and powerful, this first performance captures ZZ Top before the synthesizers and sequencers. The second disc, known as “ALMOST NOW”, features 11 songs, backstage footage and interview clips, making it sort of a documentary/concert film.

...read full article...

Rory Gallagher – Crest of a Wave: The Best of Rory Gallagher
Eagle Records (8/25/09)
Rock

Rory Gallagher is, was and always will be one of the most underrated guitar players and songwriters of his time. Sure, he received an average dose of worldwide attention, including flattering admiration from his peers, but he never got to play arenas or have his songs played on the radio like others in his class. Hailing from Cork City, Ireland, he supposedly owned that country’s first Fender Stratocaster, buying it second-hand at Crowley’s Music Store (eat it, Guitar Center).

Before embarking on his solo career, he played with a band in the late ’60s called Taste, one of the first power trios, arriving right before Eric Clapton and Cream. Crest of a Wave: The Best of Rory Gallagher, lays to rest any doubt of Rory’s talent crafting songs around some serious ’70s blues-rock guitar. This killer best-of collection features two discs with twelve songs apiece, with enough riffage to jump-start a car. And for those of you not familiar with Rory Gallagher’s work, think tight, blues-rock-based rhythm section with a vamped-up, Pat Travers-ish guitar style rockin’ over it. (It’s almost certain that Travers got his style from Rory…)

...read full article...

The Mars Volta – Octahedron
Warner Bros. (6/23/09)
Progressive/Experimental rock

“I consider it to be our acoustic album”, reveals Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, guitarist for The Mars Volta and producer of their fifth studio album. Vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala adds, “We know how people can be so linear in their way of thinking, so when they hear the new album, they’re going to say, ‘This is not an acoustic album! There’s electricity throughout it!’ But it’s our version. That’s what our band does—celebrate mutations. It’s our version of what we consider an acoustic album.”

Octahedron is less intense than previous efforts, and the band claims that this is not a concept album. However, it still packs that Volta “punch”, with explosive guitar riffs, bombastic drumming and eerie sounds that fans have become accustomed to hearing.

...read full article...

Dinosaur Jr. – Farm
Jagjaguwar (6/23/09)
Alternative / Indie rock

Over the course of the past two decades, Dinosaur Jr. have broken up twice, and they still manage to put the rock into their reunion albums. Recorded at singer/guitarist J. Mascis’ studio in Amherst, Mass., Farm has the band sounding as energized and youthful as ever. Bassist Lou Barlow and drummer Murph hold up the backbone like they never were gone; this being the fifth album with original lineup, and ninth overall. The scratchy vocals, scorching guitar lines and indie-rock hooks are all back, leaving fans happier than a pig on the farm.

...read full article...