Music DVD

You get a CD and a DVD of Van Dyk’s best tracks, in Red Book CD, Dolby Digital 5.1, DD 2.0, and in a DTS 5.1 studio track with mindblowing low end. The movie is awsome. Gotta love those Japanese ravers…the most unconditionally excited and positive group you’ll ever see. Then they even throw in the separate videos for those tracks that have them and an interview with PVD himself. Every other artist on the planet should follow this guy’s example and give their fans releases like this, not the endless flood of EP’s, remix samplers, and DVD singles that are obviously marketing ploys to lure collectors and obsessive fans (read that: potential stalkers). Global sets a standard.

Comprehensive release from one of the most popular DJ/Composer/Performers in the world. Paul Van Dyk is a major reason why Trance has emerged as perhaps the world’s most popular form of electronic music.

This release includes a DVD highlighting 13 Paul Van Dyk Compositions along with an audio CD of the same tracks. The video is primarily a travelogue showing footage from throughout the world which serves to showcase the worldwide appeal of Paul’s music. There is also footage of Paul performing on stage although this is somewhat limited which is perhaps just as well since there is not as much of a visual aspect to a DJ performing live compared to a live band. The crowd shots do however show the excitement generated by Paul’s music. The DVD also includes 5 complete, uncut Paul Van Dyk Videos along with a short 5 minute interview with Paul as well as a short documentary showing comments from his fans. The are also some clips advertising various movies that Paul has composed music for.

I would encourage any Paul Van Dyk fans to consider purchasing this as well as anyone interested in finding out more about his music or as introduction to Trance or Electronic music in general. Basically, for about the price of a CD you get the CD plus the DVD.

Here are the Track Listings:

1. We Are Alive
2. Seven Ways
3. Forbidden Fruit
4. Beautiful Place
5. Another Way
6. Tell Me Why
7. Step Right On
8. Words
9. Together We Will Conquer
10. A Magical Moment
11. For An Angel
12. Animacion
13. My World

Here are the Videos:

1. Another Way
2. For An Angel
3. Forbidden Fruit

4. Tell Me Why
5. We Are Alive

I’ve played this CD to folks who have never heard trance much less ever heard of PVD and they’ve loved it. One example was my old school boss who heard it when I gave him a lift one day. He found it upbeat, cheerful and relaxing all at the same time. He asked me the cd info and got his own copy. He later shared that he had played it for his wife who was equally pleased. Even if you’re familiar with PVD and this type of music I think you’ll find that you won’t get tired of hearing this cd and watching the enclosed DVD over and over. Its a solid example of trance music and PVD’s work.

This is actually a great DVD. The video and audio quality of each track are excellent and the disk has a fun selection of songs. I purchased it just for Love Shack but I had forgotten how much fun the other tracks were. I especially like the song by The Georgia Satellites “Keep Your Hands To Yourself.” I had forgotten what a fun rock song that is. The only thing preventing me giving it 5 stars is the fact that the DVD has a 23 minute runtime. Surely they could have put a few more songs on the disk - the Eighties was loaded with great music videos.

The Devo Whip It video is hands down the must-have video of the early 80’s .  The B52s doing Love Shack is a fabulous plus. The a-ha video is artsy and all and the animation is enjoyable, but come on, the story line is a bit silly, n’est-ce pas? And what’s with the Princess Di look? outre I’d say. Georgia Satellites was enjoyable in all its Deep-South-mullet’n'guitar-amateur-video glory. The Cars video was a letdown. Inxs was fine but forgettable.
After this video collection, my appetite for 80’s videos is whetted - where are they all???

80s music is the best…. probably the pioneer of all music if you ask me… i wish they did put more videos on the dvd but other than that they do have a great selection….

‘take on me’ is one of my favourite videos of all time…. i love this song…. the beat is crazy, the concept of the video is brilliant, and the song is just overall estounding…

devo is on here too…

if you love the 80s and these bands you will not be disappointed…

Is this recording really 23 years old? Can it be? Has time slipped away that quickly. Some would certainly argue the opposite. In fact, all of us waiting to finally get a picture clean-up and an audio enhancement would probably say that it seems as though the wait has been forever or long overdue at best.

But here it finally is…Live After Death on two DVD disks. Disk one is the classic performance wrap-up of Iron Maiden’s 1984/1985 World Slavery show in Long Beach, CA. This just has got to go into any Maiden fan’s collection. The cleaned-up, full screen picture is better than the VHS, but it still makes you appreciate how much better the technology is today. The audio has been converted to 5:1 and sounds terrific. The Live After Death set list goes:

“Intro: Churchill’s Speech”
“Aces High”
“2 Minutes to Midnight”
“The Trooper”
“Revelations”
“Flight of Icarus”
“Rime of the Ancient Mariner”
“Powerslave”
“The Number of the Beast”
“Hallowed Be Thy Name”
“Iron Maiden”
“Run to the Hills”
“Running Free”
“Sanctuary”

The show runs for about 90 minutes and captures a great performance and all of the energy that a Maiden show was back in the early days.

Disk two includes a lot more time than the DVD jacket suggests. The DVD jacket says that Disk Two runs for 150 minutes, but rest assured that, if you include the photo gallery tour, you get 231 minutes of Maiden stuff that includes:

1) “The History of Iron Maiden Part Two” - This is getting billed as the follow up to the 2004 release of The History Of Iron Maiden - Pt. 1: The Early Days, but don’t expect the same kind of multi-year documentary here with Part 2. To be sure, Part Two is a 60 minute documentary of only the Powerslave, or should I say World Slavery, tour. So if you’re expecting (as I was) that this is another multi-year documentary of Maiden that perhaps takes us into the Janick Gers/Blaze Bayley years, you’d be mistaken.

2) “Behind the Iron Curtain” - Apx an hour in total length, this chapter features some behind the scenes stuff as Maiden made their way through Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Hungary (in 1984 I think). You also get complete live performances of:

“Aces High”
“The Trooper”
“22 Acacia Avenue”
“The Number of the Beast”
“Hallowed Be Thy Name”
“2 Minutes to Midnight”
“Run to the Hills”

3) As if the above weren’t enough, you get another 50 minutes of live footage from Maiden’s 1985 appearance at the Rock in Rio festival. “Scream for me, Brazil!” The picture quality was beyond repair (by today’s standards) for this, but the sound is pretty good.

“Aces High”
“2 Minutes to Midnight”
“The Trooper”
“Revelations”
“Powerslave”
“Iron Maiden”
“Run to the Hills”
“Running Free”

The good news is that if you wan’t a high quality A/V Rock in Rio performance by Maiden, you’ve got it with 2002’s outstanding Rock In Rio DVD.

4) Finally, you get another 49 minutes of stuff with:

- “‘Ello Texas!” - Same songs (3 altogether), different time period. From 1983’s World Piece Tour…’22 Acacia Ave’, ‘Flight of Icaris’ and ‘Iron Maiden’.
- Videos for “Aces High” and “2 Minutes to Midnight”.
- A 20 minute photo gallery tour.

How could any Iron Maiden fan pass on this. Simple…a true Iron Maiden fan CANNOT pass on this. I predict that in conjunction with the 2008 Iron Maiden “Somewhere Back in Time” World tour, the boys will record a show and release it on DVD next year with History Part Three. Let’s hope on the next DVD that they switch out some of those classics that we’re so used to hearing for some great tunes like Murders in the Rue Morgue, Where Eagles Dare, Killers, Die With Your Boots On, and so on and so on.

The other disc is worth the price alone because it contains the fascinating documentary about the making of Powerslave and this absolutely exhaustive world tour. Rod Smallwood, the band’s longtime manager and part inspiration for “This is Spinal Tap’s” beleaguered but savvy manager Ian Faith, is a bigger character than almost anyone else affiliated with the band, and his stories are fascinating. His commitment to his band is uncompromising, and Maiden is more like a big heavy metal family then just a band. Other extras include their awesome 45-minute set from Rock in Rio, another documentary about their tour “Behind the Iron Curtain,”a 15-minute short which includes concert footage with low quality audio called “Hello Texas,” and videos for “2 Minutes to Midnight” and “Aces High.”

This is a must for not just every Iron Maiden fan, but every rock and roll fan!

Miles Davis’ work of the 1980s never gets the kind of respect that his work of the ‘40s, ‘50s, ‘60s and even the ‘70s regularly receives. As several live albums over the years have displayed (especially the gargantuan 20-disc box set The Complete Miles Davis at Montreux 1973-1991), this wasn’t for lack of skill, talented sidemen, or even vision.

If anything, it all boils down to Miles’ tendency to put his own spin on what he liked about popular music at any given time. And what was popular in the 1980s still sounds cartoonish and cheesy today.

In his early years, he reaped great rewards with his interpretations of timeless standards from Broadway musicals, bop staples and pop songs. By the 1960s, he was finding ways to take what he liked about Motown, Sly Stone, Jimi Hendrix, and even Crosby, Stills & Nash, and make it all his own. But in the 1980s, synths ruled, and though it’s tough to debate the merits of Michael Jackson’s and Cyndi Lauper’s biggest hits, the wave of revisionist hipsterism that made Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond cool again has yet to sweep over the stigmas that prevent Miles’ aura from triumphing over the decade that gave us hip hop, hair metal and Smurfs.

“That’s What Happened: Live in Germany 1987” probably won’t ever be lauded with the same passion as live performances like his ’55 set in Newport, the ’64 concert that yielded the My Funny Valentine and “Four” and More albums, or the 1970 Cellar Door sets in D.C. that found their way onto the double album Live Evil, and for that you can blame the ridiculous-sounding technology of the 1980s. Granted, Prince is lionized for his work during this same time using the same technology… but then, the ‘80s were all about titillation, and the only way one could be truly titillated by Miles was to listen to him speak (as on the bonus featurette of the DVD about Miles’ art, where he casually remarks, “I fuck on the floor”). Get past that, however, and what you have is an approach to funk that could only come from one man.

Actually, make that one man and seven able assistants. By the time of “That’s What Happened,” Miles’ band consisted of saxophonist Kenny Garrett, “lead bassist” Foley, keyboardists Adam Holzman and Bobby Irving, percussionist Mino Cinelu, bassist Darryl Jones (pre-Rolling Stones), and drummer Ricky Wellman. It’s the drummer who perhaps gave this band its funk as much as Miles’ directions to the band, adding to the mix a touch of D.C.’s go-go rhythms that had caught Miles’ ear. While few even remember what “go-go” was (its biggest moment in the sun was E.U.’s 1988 novelty hit “Da Butt”), Miles’ take on the music has survived.

Best of all, “That’s What Happened” shows Miles not just making the most out of ‘80s funk and R&B with a mix of original tunes (“New Blues”), contemporary covers (“Human Nature,” “Time After Time”), and pieces written by producer Marcus Miller (“Tutu,” “Portia”), but also out-dressing the rest of his band. His flashy, brightly colored clothing displayed his commanding nature just as much as the signals he gave to his band and the synth cues he would hammer out in between phrases on his trumpet. Only the leadership style and musical concepts here are timeless. The presentation is, by all observation, pure ‘80s. It’s not the coolest item in Miles’ oeuvre, but“That’s What Happened” is nothing if not real, as only Miles could be.

Eliminator is very possibly the best album ZZ Top has recorded. In a brilliant move, the little old band from Texas, retooled their down and dirty, blues and boogie image, as part of the marketing strategy for Eliminator, successfully transforming themselves into cool, hip, sophisticated, modern rock icons. The makeover proved to be a turning point in the band’s career. Bolstered by the popularity of their music videos, the band rocketed to new heights of popularity. ZZ Top never looked back, and although the trio has been together for decades, Live From Texas is their first full length concert DVD.

A first class production in every way, guitarist Billy Gibbon, bass player Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard, are captured in a performance that sparkles and shines like a diamond. These slicked up, sharp dressed men are consummate pros, who put on a tight, well choreographed show, churning like a well oiled machine through some of the best of their catalog. Showmanship is a big part of ZZ Top, though minus acrobatics or any wasted motion. With boots firmly on the ground, the slow rocking, rather laid back Hill and Gibbons, are fascinating and fun to watch, as on Waitin’ For the Bus. The lighting scheme is often a cool blue (like the DVD cover), which generally seems to fit well with the mood of the performance. The band’s sound is huge and full, seemingly more than just a three piece. The stage setup is wide open and spacious, with a slick, simple modern look. Symmetry was apparently a design criteria. The back wall appears to be clean and plain, but is deceptively complex.

The seventeen songs preformed, span the band’s history. With four selections from Eliminator, and just Pin Cushion and Rough Boy from the post Eliminator era, the emphasis is definitely on the early years. The band executes the songs so effortlessly, and in such a smooth low key manner, that at times it might appear that they are performing on cruise control. The truth might be that the Texans are just the coolest, and least pretentious of rock stars. ZZ Top tunes are typically short and sweet. The concert seems to flow along quickly, even though the band seems to prefer staying in a set groove, slowing down the tempo of some of the songs. Billy treats us to some really down and dirty side work, on Just Got Paid. Things get bluesy on Rough Boy and Blue Jean Blues, but the performance finishes strongly with Gimme All Your Lovin’, Sharp Dressed Man, Legs, and a super twangy Tube Snake Boogie. The guys really loosen up on an extended version of La Grange, then proceeding straight into Tush to end the show.

The paper bound case is a space saver. The liner notes are informative, but erroneously state that Pin Cushion is from Afterburner, when it is actually from the album Antenna. The bonus features include a killer live performance of Hendrix’s Foxey Lady. `Dallas Show Day’, is a short feature about the band and preparation for a show. The guys reminisce while playing cards, in `Poker Game’. And `Photo Shoot’ spotlights ZZ Top mugging for the camera, on location in a western town. Live From Texas is just what most fans want, a virtuoso live performance, with some cool behind the scenes goodies. If you like the band, you won’t be disappointed by this DVD. Enjoy, and have mercy.