DVD Review: “Ike & Tina On The Road 1971-72″

Ike & Tina Turner

Ike & Tina On the Road 1971-72 (MVD Visual)

 By Brian Arsenault

The story of what was bad with Ike and Tina Turner has been much told and neither this DVD nor I have anything to add to it here. What this DVD is about is what was good, even astonishing, about Ike and Tina that took place on stage.

Like Chuck Berry, Ike Turner could graft his rhythm and blues roots onto the tree of rock.  He would arrange and onstage virtually conduct his hot band while Tina and the Ikettes created a singing, dancing storm of performance that was part ‘60s girl group, part girly show, part James Brown level energy. The show would ultimately create the superstar Tina became.

Tina started life as Anna Mae Bullock. Ike added her to his Kings of Rhythm and called her Tina to rhyme with Sheena (of the Jungle) with the idea that if she ever left the band he could replace her with another “Tina.”

Cue irony.

Ike & Tina Turner

You need to know here that much of this film is crappy quality black and white, shot by now famous rock photographer Bob Gruen and his wife, Nadya.  It was a different era of video technology, but the result is no less precious for that. Just harder to watch in an era when the phone in your pocket shoots serviceable video.

You can’t follow many of the conversations and the audio quality of most performances is poor.  What’s remarkable is that even with the video and audio quality problems, the show sequences are often mesmerizing.

On “I Smell Trouble” Tina and Ike play off each other with her great raspy vocal and his electric guitar work that is truly electric.  You almost believe they are truly in love (more irony) and lust (more believable). Over the course of the video, and I believe edited correctly for this effect, Tina emerges from a persona as featured Ikette to full blown star.

As Tina sings the early part of their cover of “Proud Mary,” you just can’t look away. She’s building the tension that explodes into the raging finish. (Now you really can’t look away.)

The sensuality and sexuality of the performances here are way beyond the contrived “shocks” of Madonna and even her younger “little monster” Gaga cousin. I try to pick words carefully: unbridled, primitive, passionate, even savage, but one has to be culturally and racially sensitive. Still, let’s face it, the question becomes are you horny yet.  I think they were proud of that.

This video also shows how ordinary life is, even for those we see on stage.  Tina cooks for her kids in the opening sequence.  The band goofs on airplanes and in airports.  The dressing rooms are often dreary locker rooms or cramped windowless affairs where wigs are combed out and songs and dance moves are rehearsed.

You realize why a crown prince of rock like Ronnie Wood can say that all the rest is just filler between the couple hours on stage.  You understand why drink and drugs often become part of the filler.  In Ike’s case, it was cocaine that ultimately blew a hole in his septum and his career.

Ike saw what Tina was and pushed her increasingly to the front.  Was that perhaps a source of the ultimate tension between them?  It may have been officially the Ike and Tina Turner Review but more and more it was Tina Turner with her back up singers and band.

Tina soared beyond those days to the pantheon of rock goddess status that continues into her seventies. One of the great moments of the video is when she says to an interviewer that when she gets into her 50s, she still won’t be an old woman.  Is she yet? Nah.

Ike and Tina were one of those rare black acts that appeared both before adoring black audiences — listen to the crowd on the Otis Redding written “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” (more irony?) — and white university students. The University of North Dakota.  Really.  (There’s some great footage of the band interacting with a North Dakota hotel staff.)

And there’s a lot of appreciation here of Ike as a composer/arranger/musician.  He was truly an innovator in rock music’s age of innovation. Not every great artist was a great human being in all respects. Nor is every great football player, corporate head or high government official.  But accomplishment at a high level is a rarer thing than nice guys.

To read more reviews, posts and columns by Brian Arsenault click  HERE.

DVD Review: “Patti Smith Live at Montreaux 2005″

Patti Smith

Live at Montreaux 2005 (Eagle Rock)

By Brian Arsenault

“She is a benediction.”

I was gonna do a combo review, you know, with one or two other DVDs. But Patti Smith deserves rather more than that, don’t you think? I mean, the first half dozen plus songs from this live concert DVD, ‘cept for maybe one, are just pure rock classics. More intelligent than many but connected to all.

One of Patti’s guitarists floats some liner note shit that she and the band “are jazz” but I think that’s just cuz they were impressed with themselves for playing Montreaux, where Miles and Ornette and all the others graced the stage.

Pati Smith

But “25^th Floor” is a hard rocker where Patti takes her jacket off and just blasts it.

“Beneath the Southern Cross” has Townshend-like lyrics of “callow mist” and “to cry not any cry.” Patti picks up her acoustic guitar and strums frantically with Lenny Kaye while Tom Verlaine picks out the lead in a guitar storm while she twirls onstage.  This is performance rock for sure with an extended guitar break worthy of Pete.

On “Dancing Barefoot” you may lose your sense of place while Patti loses her “sense of refugee.” On “Redondo Beach” she shows she can spit as well as she can sing. That’s certainly rock, eh?

One (or two) of the satisfying things about this DVD is that it is simply shot on a simply lit stage. No distracting lighting or pyrotechnics or weird camera angles — must be that classy jazz influence, you say — and that’s terrific because to watch Patti work is one of those looks into true artistry. Like on her one universally known song, “Because the Night,” where her hands are as expressive as her voice.

She snarls out the opening lines of Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” before sharing the vocals with a band mate.  She might send a chill up your spine on this one.

Of course we also have to endure “activist” Patti.

A wonderful start to a Grateful Dead like rendition of Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away” gets muddied while fading into “Momenti Mori.”  There’s something cloying about rich musicians, actors, etc. attacking the rich who got there by actually doing something like building a business.  Remember that video of the Dead climbing into their Corvettes and Porsches after the tour where barefoot kids sold tie-dyed t-shirts to get enough to share a bowl of rice, blow a joint and see the show.

And a peace ballad, really Patti?  Is this 1967? Hasn’t our generation finally learned that war and conflict are the natural condition of human kind. How’s that Arab Spring going?  In Egypt, “meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”

Plus, you know what they say about the Irish, they only want two things: peace and revenge.

As for the claim that “People Have the Power,” would that be the people who want to impose sharia law or the guys serving in the army or the shop owners or the Occupiers or the NRA? Which people? Please tell me, Patti. Or is it just “all that jazz”?

But still, Patti, when you’re being something better than an activist — that is, an artist — well then,

“Oh God, I fell for you.  Oh God, I feel the fever.”

To read more posts, reviews and columns by Brian Arsenault click HERE.

DVD Review: The Rolling Stones “Charlie is my Darling – Ireland 1965”

By Mike Finkelstein

As the Rolling Stones cruise into their 50^th Anniversary annum, one can’t help but marvel at their longevity.   Rock ‘n roll has always been a business that chewed its members up just to spit them out.  From the very beginning, people have routinely died young in this line of work.   The Rolling Stones personified and glorified the rock star lifestyle on their path to becoming The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World.  Who knew they’d last this long?   Now, just in time for their golden anniversary, ABKCO has presented us with a masterfully reedited/remixed version of the vaunted behind the scenes film about the very young Stones, Charlie Is My Darling.   A better document of what it was like to be a pop star in the more nascent times of pop-stardom one may never find.

In 1965, spurred by Beatle-mania, the pop scene in England was swelling by the week and the Rolling Stones were rising stars in their own right (“Satisfaction” was #1 in the UK).  At the time, short jaunts through the Continent to places like Sweden, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and even Ireland were part of the circuit for British bands.   Charlie is My Darling is a beautifully conceived attempt by Stones’ manager Andrew Loog Oldham to relay what it looks, feels, and sounds like to be a touring pop star circa 1965.   It is a light glimpse, from the inside out, at the lads’ daily affairs during a short tour of Ireland for two gigs.   Filmed intimately with hand held cameras in timeless black and white, C.I.M.D. puts the audience right there in the room, on the stage, and running across the train tracks with the group.

The Rolling Stones

Charlie Is My Darling was originally directed by Peter Whitehead and has been released in several different forms over the years, having gained a legendary reputation as the real life/no fluff depiction of what “A Hard Day’s Night” was actually about.  Throughout this new ABKCO version of the film (directed by Mick Gochanour) we can feel the pace the group is on and it certainly does ebb and flow.    The filming and editing dovetail beautifully as the cameras pan the interiors of shaking train cars, grainy hotel rooms, cramped taxicabs, airport terminals, crushed concert audiences, and plain lunchrooms to juxtapose the group with the people whose lives they are passing through.  With nearly fifty years of rock and roll between then and now, one can’t help but notice what a comparatively streamlined, innocent, and stripped down world it was then. Wooden movers’ dollies were a necessary tool and concert sound and security were dicey at best.   The brick walls leading to the stage of the theatres were dark and dank.  But the music was classic, and the magical sound and feel of these gigs is what every band worth it’s salt has always tried to catch in a bottle.

Often the camera angles get us on ear and eye-level with the people in the room, to great effect.  Sometimes it is quaint.  As when Jagger exchanges kisses with some older ladies through a glass plate in the hotel luncheonette.   At other times it is frenzied.   The onstage footage of a concert-stopping near riot is classic.   We see the expressions on the faces of the Stones and of the knuckle-heads who get up onstage, dance awkwardly, nearly rip Brian Jones’ guitar away from him, and ultimately end the show early.   Microphones crash, guitars are fumbled with and we hear and see it all. The cameras even zoom in on audience members who will be interviewed later.

Though Charlie Is My Darling is a film that impresses with nonmusical details, the music is the real story.   The concert sound has been painstakingly improved by Robin Klein from the actual soundboard tapes and synched with live footage.   In the concert scenes the band cooks through original tunes like “Time is on My Side,” “Sastisfaction,” and “The Last Time.” As well as the covers that got them noticed in the first place such as “Round and Round,” and “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love.” The soundtrack is extensive and features interesting outtakes of songs like “Play With Fire,” among others.

Watching them move onstage, we get the sense of seeing the Rolling Stones develop into a larger entity.  Jagger’s moves are more understated and less exaggerated than we’ve come to know.  Keith Richards bops happily along powering the band on rhythm guitar.   Charlie Watts is his usual debonair self, keeping time and dressed impeccably.   Brian Jones stands out with his blonde hair and Gibson Firebird guitar but seems to be a peripheral presence for much of the time.

The Stones are so young here that they almost look disguised in their mod togs.  And the older this film becomes, the more arresting it will be to watch the lads so early on in their career. There are interviews with the band members and we are struck by how matter of fact they all are, with little to actually say.   Brian Jones seems conspicuously self-impressed as he listens to himself tell the camera, prophetically, that the life of a Rolling Stone is an uncertain one.   Mick is a bit numb but endearing when he opens his mouth.  Keith really doesn’t speak much in the film and Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman are happy to be holding down the job of rising pop stars (but Bill doesn’t really think of himself as a musician yet.)

The real jewels of this C.I.M.D. production were captured in an anonymous Irish hotel room.   In this footage of the creative process we get to see Mick and Keith goofing on the Beatles (“I’ve Just Seen A Face,” and “Please {Please Me}”).  But much more importantly we get to see them fleshing out the changes to “Sitting on a Fence,” played with a capo on Keith’s guitar and sounding similar but sublimely different from the eventual recorded version.  The session continues as they work on the chorus of “Tell Me.” Curiously, and perhaps revealingly, Charlie and Brian are present as spectators for all of this.  Many Stones fans have surely wondered what the germs of songs like these two gems may have sounded like and here is the payoff.

Similarly endearing are scenes of Mick, Keith, and Andrew Oldham passing some late night hours getting drunk around a hotel piano and aping Elvis songs.   Life on the road, even for a short while, makes musicians restless from the down time and so drinks are spilled, laughs are shared, and tensions are released.

Charlie Is My Darling is a magnificent time capsule to explore for anyone with even the mildest curiosity about the early days of the Rolling Stones.  It’s also a delightful bit of time travel through 1965.   Even the soda cans draw a double take.  The trip will be well worth it.

ABKCO Films presents The Rolling Stones – Charlie is my Darling - Ireland 1965 at a special midnight screening at Grauman’s Chinese Theater at midnight, Wednesday, October 24th.  Tickets are available to the general public for $10 and can ordered in advance through http://bit.ly/URpHmy

To read more reviews, posts and columns from Mike Finkelstein click HERE.

To read a recent iRoM review of two Rolling Stones LP reissues, click HERE.

CD/DVD Review: The Blues Broads; Dorothy Morrison, Tracy Nelson, Angela Strehli, and Annie Sampson

The Blues Broads (Delta Groove)

 By Devon Wendell

In a world where the blues is dominated by male, six stringing show offs, four reigning queens of blues (Dorothy Morrison, Tracy Nelson, Angela Stehli, and Annie Sampson) have joined forces to celebrate the soulful joy and rich harmonies of not only the blues but also gospel, rock n’ roll, and R&B.

The Blues Broads

Backed by a no-frills, no-nonsense blues band (Steve Ehrmann: bass, Paul Revelli: drums, Gary Vogensen: guitar, and Mike Emerson on keyboards. with special guest Deanna Bogart on vocals and keyboards.), these four legendary ladies perform a live set of originals and covers recorded live at The Throckmorton Theater in Mill Valley California, on November 4^th, 2011. The CD also comes with a DVD of the show which includes a few extra highlights.

Tracy Nelson

Former Mother Earth front-woman Tracy Nelson leads the band through the Texas shuffle of “Livin’ The Blues.”  Although Nelson is a more than competent vocalist, her voice is often flat throughout this number; but the backing vocals of Strehli, Morrison, and Sampson make up for this distraction.  Nelson’s vibrato is rich, even, and totally original.

Annie Sampson

Forming member of Stoneground and longtime session giant Annie Sampson performs her original composition “Bring Me Your Love.”  Sampson’s confidence and vocal control make her one of the standout members of the “Broads” from her very first phrase. Sampson brings her unique blend of rock and gospel to this fiery number.

Angeli Strehli

Angela Strehli’s name has been synonymous with Texas blues for decades. She sings about discovering the blues of Muddy Waters, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy Reed, and Eddie Taylor on the radio and how it transformed her life in her autobiographical song, “Two Bit Texas Town.” The band’s groove here is similar to Koko Taylor’s arrangement of Willie Dixon’s “Wang Dang Doodle,” and Strehli’s vocals share some similarities to that of Taylor’s, especially when she growls.

Most of the set consists of covers which are easily the highlights of the album.  Nelson’s greatest vocal performance is on the Anne Peebles’ classic slow blues “Walk Away” which is stunning in its intensity, with a tasty Chicago blues lead guitar solo by Gary Vogensen. What’s more powerful even than the lead vocals are the collective gospel background harmonies created by the ladies.  It’s true of this song and most of the material such as “Blue Highway” (lead by Dorothy Morrison) and J. Leslie McFarland’s gospel anthem “It Won’t Be Long.” The latter features special guest Deanna Bogart playing some jaw-dropping syncopated boogie-woogie piano and swapping vocals with Nelson.

The finest cover is a slow Memphis, churchified ballad rendition of Bob Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now /Baby Blue” by Annie Sampson alone with the rhythm section. Sampson’s phrasing is perfect and she creates and even darker mood than on the original. This performance is only on the DVD but is easily one of the standout moments of the show.

Dorothy Morrison

The wonderful Dorothy Morrison (the legendary lead vocalist for The Edwin Hawkins Singers) sounds younger and stronger than ever on the Spinners’ “Mighty Love.”  Though the rhythm arrangement is the same as the original recording, Morrison owns this soul classic with her tough tenor voice and sassy, boundless confidence.

It just wouldn’t be right to feature Dorothy Morrison and not have her perform the song that she made a hit all over the world with the Edwin Hawkins Singers, “Oh Happy Day.”

On this night, it feels as if her electrifying power is challenging the other band members and each of them rise to that challenge, belting out their best gospel chops. This joyful performance is the perfect way to end the set.

The ladies also did an acapella performance of the gospel standard “Jesus, I’ll Never Forget.” Each member gives every drawn out-phrase everything they’ve got as they all share the spotlight.

“The Blues Broads” act isn’t overproduced and doesn’t feature celebrity guests to win over a pop-oriented audience. These are four ladies who don’t need any of that. Throughout this recording, it sounds like these women have been singing together all of their lives, especially in the backing harmonies. Hopefully this is only one of many projects by the “Broads.”

To read an iRoM review of the Blues Broads’ performance at the Monterey Jazz Festival click HERE.

To read more reviews and posts by Devon Wendell click HERE. 

DVD Review: Jimi Hendrix “Blue Wild Angel,” screened at the Grammy Museum

Jimi Hendrix

Blue Wild Angel  (Sony Legacy)

By Mike Finkelstein

Last Thursday the Grammy Museum and the Jimi Hendrix Estate screened a preview of the new DVD, Blue Wild Angel.   BWA is an expanded edition release of Jimi Hendrix’ last ever gig at the legendary Isle of Wight Festival, just a few short weeks before his untimely passing in the fall of 1970.    Director Murray Lerner, who – along with bassist Billy Cox — was on hand for the screening, filmed the entire event in August of 1970 and there was a comprehensive release of the festival’s events.  But Lerner had a lot of prime footage remaining in the can and, for anyone curious about Hendrix, or the many fans who have always wondered if there was more footage, this package is well worth checking out.

In 1970 the Isle of Wight was a resort area for Brits, and only accessible by boat.   Large rock festivals were a relatively new phenomenon at the time, with Monterrey Pop having happened just three years prior to this.   In those nascent years of big outdoor rock concerts, festivals tended to be tremendous events headlined by the biggest rock bands in the world.   Conditions were rough and stages were somewhat ramshackle.  Often they were little more than a platform on which to perch the gear and the musicians. The stage set up for Isle of Wight looked a bit like a living room rehearsal, albeit with huge amps.  The vibe was definitely casual.  During a tune, Jimi would talk to his road manager.   The drums were not even set on a riser, just flat on the stage like they might have been set up at a house party.  Fresh drumsticks came from a cardboard box, and there was a borrowed monitor on stage, perhaps from the Who (judging from the stencil text on its side).    Mics were taped together with duct tape.  Sound and lighting equipment was a far cry from what it has become today.

The performers could rise to or above the level of the enormity of these events …or be swallowed up by it.   At times in this show, Hendrix’ reformed Experience (Billy Cox replaced Noel Redding on bass and Mitch Mitchell remained on drums) transcend the conditions, their playing level rising into the rarefied air.  At other times, they really have to work to keep it together.  That we can recognize this in the film is simply magical and mesmerizing.  It’s one reason why we want a film like this to come out at all.

Isle of Wight was the largest crowd Jimi or anyone else had ever played to at 600,000 strong in 1970. Blue Wild Angel gives us a lot of cutting insight into the goings on before the show.  Behind the scenes shots reveal trouble setting up the stage, panic setting in over whether there will be a stage for Hendrix to perform on. There are ugly rickety metal fences being erected, to make sure people pay to get in.   We see disagreement over the alphabetical orders of the performances.   The bands were to be paid in cash and there were literally bags of money in the middle of the floor with strong-arming to get at the cash.    It seemed, too, that the locals really didn’t know what was coming to their cozy little world.   The aftermath shown towards the end of this film is impressive – a whole lotta debris.

Whether or not we even consider that the sound and images in BWA are over 40 years old, they are remarkably revealing.    At the screening, director Lerner mentioned that there were no lights on the audience.  There were however, nine camera crews, five focusing on Jimi.  Also, the DVD’s special features section allows viewers to choose different camera angles for some of the performances.

The photography is clearly a labor of love, trying and usually succeeding in capturing the vibe of the moment through the lens.  The crews caught many of the facial nuances, which were an attractive part of Jimi’s stage presence.   They pan down his leg and let us get a look at his psychedelic hippy threads. At the beginning of the show, we can see the band struggling a bit to settle into a groove. We even hear Jimi wonder aloud, “How does ‘God Save The Queen’ go?” just before going onstage and still opening with a very hip version of it.  There is priceless footage of Billy and Mitch in particular, communicating with their eyes and body language to fan the fire and keep the groove alive.   Thankfully, we consistently get to look into Jimi’s eyes as he leads and nurtures that same groove. Props go to Lerner and his crew for capturing these revealing glimpses of a true legend.  As this is the last filming of Hendrix, — he was dead less than a month later — it is all the more galvanizing.  We will always remember him in his prime as he was here.

The sound has been mixed impressively by Hendrix’ trusted collaborator, Eddie Kramer.   There is a welcome clarity in the mix which clears an insight into Hendrix’ sound that evening.  The show’s dynamics shine in the mix. The sound is mostly loud with some crackles in places (“Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”), and even some radio interference during “Machine Gun.”   At other times the sound is so sparse it feels as though you are in the living room with the band.  Most of the time, however, the music spans from thunderously loud to simply quiet and we catch all the nuances.

At the time that the show was filmed, Hendrix had grown tired of being a pop star and the silly idolatry that comes with that status.  It probably wasn’t the greatest gig of his career or the best day of his life.  Jimi seemed alternately weary and then dialed into the moment and the filming brings these shifting dynamics into focus.  You can see it on his face and hear it in his sarcasm with the audience.  The older JHE numbers look and sound like he’s tired of playing them, wanting to move on.    On “Foxy Lady” he does several of his flash moves from the chitlin circuit in about 20 seconds.   Show them to the fools who want to see the shtick, get through it and move on.  The new material from Cry of Love , on the other hand, was inspired.  The lines of dialogue between Billy and Jimi on “Freedom,” “ Dolly Dagger” and “ In From the Storm” are especially vibrant and were the signature of his compelling new sound.

As the show unfolds it becomes quite obvious that Billy Cox is just the right bassist to support Jimi.   The two players clearly know each other’s styles well enough to trust the chemistry as they peel off counter lines that mesh seamlessly.  Commenting after the screening, Billy Cox said that this was one of the first few times they had tried the new material onstage.   He also made it clear that his job was to follow Jimi wherever it led musically, “like white on rice,” “like a rat on cheese,” and definitely into unplanned key changes.

During the extended jam numbers we can see the band working hard to drive their groove.   “Red House,” sounded great in a straight blues vein.   “Machine Gun” a fusion of blues, rock and free form approach, still sounds far ahead of its time, especially when set against the backdrop of the raging Vietnam War.   In this song Jimi mesmerizingly wrings so much emotion, clean and distorted, out of his axe that it is stirring to watch.   Perhaps due to the analog nature of his sound and certainly due to his artistic touch, he simply comes across as much more immediate than most who have followed him.  This is some expressive guitar playing for the ages.

For anyone even mildly curious about what is behind Hendrix’ enduring legend, this package is well worth checking out.   It actually is documentation of a milestone in the man’s life and an affirmation of just how mercurial a stage presence he was, both musically and charismatically.  And this version of the Jimi Hendrix Experience was perhaps his best backing band.  Blue Wild Angel finally gives his longtime fans the chance to see and hear some of their true high points.

DVD Review: Ray Charles “Live in France 1961″

By Devon Wendell

1961 was a pivotal year for Ray Charles. “Brother Ray” had switched from Atlantic records to ABC, was about to venture into the realms of country music, and was making some band changes.  Live in France 1961 consists of film footage from that prime period, newly discovered by director David Peck.  Included on the DVD are two out of the four performances by Charles at the 1961 Antibes Jazz Festival — the first on July 18^th, and the second on July 22^{nd —} as well as bonus footage from the July 19^th and July 21st shows.   The original 16 millimeter film has been brilliantly restored by Peck and the producers and archivists for Reelin’ In The Years Productions (the world’s largest library of music footage) — Tom Gullotta, Phil Galloway, and Steve Scoville.

The DVD presents an hour and forty five minutes of “lost” footage. Charles crosses jazz with blues, gospel, and country, and his eight piece orchestra features the brilliant saxophone work of Hank Crawford (alto) and David “Fathead” Newman (tenor).

Charles and the band kick off the July 18^th show with a few powerful up-tempo jazz numbers: “The Story,” “Doodlin’,” and the only known live rendition of “One Mint Julip.” It’s a rare treat to see Charles show off his jazz chops on piano with definite nods to Count Basie and Art Tatum. It’s on these numbers that the band seems the most relaxed and confident.  Crawford and Newman’s solos are heavily steeped in bebop and post bop stylings, which were huge influences on Charles.

The opening instrumental from the July 22^nd show, “Hornful Soul,” has Charles playing some Thelonious Monk-inspired piano phrases, giving the French jazz purists what they initially came for at Antibes.  There are wonderful slow shots of Charles’s fingers gliding effortlessly across the piano.

On the Louis Jordan classic “Let The Good Times Roll,” Ray’s vocals come in with a sense of the ease, confidence, and humor, which earned him the title “The Father Of Soul.”

The versions of “Georgia” from both shows have David “Fathead” Newman playing flute. Newman carefully laces Charles pained and melancholic vocals with soft and melodically tasteful flute flourishes.

The Raelettes are brought out prior to “Sticks And Stones.”  Unfortunately, their vocals are too loud and flat at times, which distracts from the concentrated dynamics of Charles and his band. Their punctuation of the choruses also goes on too long on “Hallelujah I Love Her So,” “What’d I Say” (from the first show). and “I Believe To My Soul,” and “Tell The Truth” from the second show, all of which are practically ruined by their overpowering volume. The Bonus footage from the July 19^th  show featuring versions of “The Story,” “Sticks And Stones,” “Yes Indeed,” “I Believe To My Soul, and “What’d I Say” may leave viewers wanting a more intimate Charles minus the Raelettes.

But it is fascinating to see Charles at an upright piano, performing songs he had originally recorded while he was playing an electric Wurlitzer piano, most notably “What’d I Say.”  (Another  highlight of the DVD is footage of the French audience, dancing in rhythm, drinking wine, smoking cigarettes, and obviously enjoying the music and showing the respect it deserves, which wasn’t always the case back home in the States.)

Also, on “With You On My Mind,” from the July 22^nd performance, it’s very clear the influence country music had on Charles, a year before he recorded the classic 1962 Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music and it’s sequel Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music Volume 2 (both on ABC-Paramount Records).

Though the set lists of the July 18th and the July 22nd shows are similar, the performances on the later date are far more powerful.   Charles’ version of  “Ruby” is one of the greatest vocal performances captured on film in American music history. He puts every ounce of joy, sorrow, and energy into every phrase. And that same energy is evident on “I Wonder,” which is relentlessly soulful.

At times, the band looks tired or forlorn. It might be possible that they’re homesick or experiencing culture shock during what was their first time in France.  Both sets close with “What’d I Say,” and the DVD includes bonus footage from the July 21^st show with another fantastic performance of “I Wonder,” which is even more exhilarating than that of the version from the following night.

Ray Charles Live In France 1961 is one of the most important musical films ever  released. Musicologists and teachers will be playing this DVD for decades, so that their students can see one of the fathers of American music at his best.

To read more reviews and posts by Devon Wendell click HERE.

DVD REVIEWS: “The Best of the Temptations on the Ed Sullivan Show,” “The Best of the Supremes on the Ed Sullivan Show,” “Motown Gold From the Ed Sullivan Show”

by Devon Wendell

During a time in which pop musicians on the Billboard charts, radio, and television seem to know very little about harmony, class, or originality, it’s certainly refreshing that Motown has released three classic collections of some of their greatest artists appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show.

On the DVD The Best Of The Temptations On The Ed Sullivan Show, the intro to “Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)” with then feuding Eddie Kendricks and Dave Ruffin swapping the vocal leads, is worth the price of the DVD alone.  The disc captures all of the Temptations performances on The Sullivan show between 1967 and 1971 which was a huge transitional era for the group. Dennis Edwards replaced Ruffin by 1969 and Eddie Kendricks left not too long after.

There is some schmaltz, however, like the Temps rendition of Blood, Sweat & Tears’ “You Make Me So Very Happy,” with cheesy choreography that feels forced and lacks the rawness of “Psychedelic Shack” and “Get Ready.”  The Medley with The Supremes on “Get Ready”, “Stop! In The Name Of Love”, “My Guy”, “Baby Love”, and “(I know) I’m Losing You,” though historically prominent, doesn’t quite jell and lacks the power of each of these artists performing on their own.  With that being said, it’s still fun to witness.

A true surprise and highlight is a gospel flavored take on George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord,” proving that The Beatles, individually and collectivel, had influenced The Temps just as much as the Temps had influenced the “Fab Four.”

The drastic change from the ballad crooning Temps of 1967’s “All I Need” to the Psychedelic soul of “Runaway Child Running Wild” is apparent in the change in dance moves, orchestration, and dress, but what never changes is the sheer joy and sincerity of each performance.

The Supremes performed 16 times on the Ed Sullivan show, more than any other artist on the history of the entire program. The DVD The Best Of The Supremes On The Ed Sullivan Show has highlights from these appearances between 1964 and 1970.

Though Diana Ross was crowned as the diva of the group, on “You Can’t Hurry Love” a reading of “My Favorite Things” and “Always,” the skillful harmonic contributions brilliantly performed by Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard shine through and the visual experience make it all the more exhilarating.

The Supremes prove you don’t need Lady Gaga-like gimmicks to present wonderfully crafted pop songs. The energy on “The Happening” and a brilliant “You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You” are awe inspiring and hearken back to a more sophisticated and elegant time for music.  The DVD may contain the longest medley in soul history with The Supremes jumping from “Baby Love” to “Stop! In The Name Of Love” to “Come See About Me” to “I Hear A Symphony” — and just about every track the group had previously performed on The Sullivan Show. There is a sentimental quality to this medley that makes it magical even if we only get about two or three bars of each tune.

The two DVD set Motown Gold From The Ed Sullivan Show presents highlights of all of Motown’s top artists who took the Sullivan stage between 1964 and 1970, from the electrifying Jackson 5 doing Sly And The Family Stone’s “Stand!” to Gladys Knight & The Pips belting out “I Heard It Through The Grapevine.”

Marvin Gaye’s “Take This Heart Of Mine” is a one of the greatest performances in the history of the Ed Sullivan Show. Gaye’s charisma and vocal abilities are second to none.  A then “Little” Stevie Wonder performing “Fingertips Pt. 2” from 1964, gives the world an introduction to this young genius on chromatic harmonica.

It’s also great to hear The Four Tops Levi Stubbs distort the microphone on “Reach Out.”  And Smokey Robinson And The Miracles start a party on the Sullivan stage with “Going To A Go-Go.”

For young people, it might be hard to imagine such non-pretentious electricity on TV as witnessed on “Dancing In The Street” by Martha And The Vandellas, and the playfulness of The Jackson 5’s “ABC” helps make this collection special.

I asked Smokey Robinson over 15 years ago in Atlantic City, “How do you make a hit record that lasts forever?” He simply replied, “You need everyone playing and singing hooks.  Hooks everywhere and don’t take yourself too seriously.  Enjoy yourself.”

That sums up the magic of these recent Motown DVD releases, which will be appreciated by many generations to come.

To read more reviews by Devon Wendell click HERE.

DVD Review: Neil Young’s Music Box: Here We Are In the Years

Neil Young

Neil Young’s Music Box: Here We Are In the Years  (Sexy Intellectual Production)

By Brian Arsenault

The problem I have with this long titled DVD is that while it’s all Neil Young all the time, you hardly have any Neil Young music and performance.  It’s all music critics (and you know how untrustworthy they are) talking about Neil’s musical influences along with an old-time band mate or two but not anyone you ever heard of.  There are snippets of Neil performing but not one whole song. It gets frustrating.

I mean if you are going to say that the Rolling Stones or the Beatles or even DEVO had a great influence on Neil, at least play one song through that you think shows that influence.  It’s like the old line “Don’t talk about the fat lady singing.  Bring her on and let her sing.” And there’s hardly a moment of Neil talking about the influences himself except for maybe Ian & Sylvia, heaven help us. Sometimes it’s better not to know what influenced a musician you like.  What’s behind Door Number 3?  Long scream when you see.

The DVD is also kind of a history of rock from Neil’s childhood through the Grunge years. That’s not all bad but if you wanted to make a history of rock ‘n roll, make that.  Neil may have been a self described “sponge” when it came to soaking up many musical influences, he didn’t just squeeze out the same stuff that went in.  Otherwise he’d be the world’s oldest cover band, of himself, I guess. There’s a scary possibility that’s what happens given enough time, but I want to give him more credit than that.

One of Neil’s endearing qualities is his wide range of tastes — to see the meaning in Punk and New Wave while others of his generation heaped scorn upon it.  To tour with Booker T and the MGs. To make albums which get labeled this that and the other thing while still being very essential Neil Young. One of the critics makes the great point that Neil’s followers have stayed with him over the years even when a particular album wasn’t to their tastes. Count me among them.  Is anything better than “Cinnamon Girl”? Really, is there? Then again, is there a prettier song than “Harvest Moon”?

Of course, a wide range of tastes can also mean too easy acceptance. I mean Kraftwerk (Crapwork, I say).  Oh God, Neil stop singing with a computer enhanced (distorted) voice. Can you say Steven Hawking? There is a rock ‘n roll heaven and one of the problems with this video is that it gives equal credence to the Beatles and surf instrumental bands like the Fireballs and Dick Dale. Come on, there is greater and lesser rock. This DVD sees it all as of equal value.

There’s some nice stuff early on about the value of Elvis and Little Richard and others who created the first rock generation in the ‘50s when Neil was a kid.  There’s a lovely insight about Neil’s dark side lyrically being touched by the great Roy Orbison. There’s a charming note about Neil’s favorite Beatle being George (Guitar Nerds Unite). And near the end, Neil takes on a kind of elder statesman role as an admirer of Grunge, the doomed Kurt Cobain, and especially Pearl Jam which possesses maybe rock’s greatest vocalist in Eddie Vedder.

Still the documentary, if that’s what it is, comes up short on some key Youngworld moments.  It makes great note of Neil’s role in CSNY but spends no time on the internal musical and personality challenges of that “supergroup.”  There are very good reasons why it’s CSN with no Y now.  Seen CSN lately?  Ain’t been a new influence there since that magical night at Woodstock.

The DVD gets across, if somewhat repetitiously, the important point that Neil has listened all through the years, really listened and been willing to do different things while others just repeated. Again. And again.  And again.

Lastly, there’s a chilling but telling comment near the end that rock, like jazz thirty years ago, may have explored all its boundaries. If there’s more to hear, it’s not clear where it will come from. Great musicianship, sure. But something really new.  Maybe not.

 Here We Are in the Years is not without insight and intelligence about how Neil and rock ‘n roll has come down the years.  But boy I can’t help but be aggravated when they won’t let Neil play “When You Dance” all the way through.  That’s the most important point, isn’t it?

To read more reviews by Brian Arsenault click HERE.

DVD Review: “Stan Kenton: Artistry in Rhythm: Portrait of a Jazz Legend”

By Tony Gieske

Graham Carter’s Stan Kenton documentary, out this month, pits the emptiness of the Kenton sound against the emptiness of the recorded interviews, and lasts two hours.

It’s a DVD called Stan Kenton: Artistry in Rhythm, Portrait of a Jazz Legend. Carter’s JazzedMedia label records such deserving artists as Irene Kral, Marvin Stamm and Bill Mays, and he’s the president of the Los Angeles Jazz Institute.

Those speaking include Kenton alumni such as Peter Erskine, Carl Saunders and Bill Holman. I say interviews, but narrator Ken Poston just seats his subjects on a yellow couch and lets them ramble. They’re musicians and they talk nice about their old boss.

Competing with these voices —Herb Wong and Howard Rumsey toss a few bouquets as well — are the eerily familiar sounds of various Kenton big band recordings and films. In their bullying, overweight mass, the monstrous brass cataracts prefigure heavy metal.

But when someone is talking, the band and its many outstanding soloists mist off into the distance.

I spotted Conte Candoli in one trumpet section, and I think I saw Lee Konitz come down; Maynard Ferguson had a few seconds. Bud Shank, Bob Cooper, June Christy and Bill Russo appeared. What they played was hidden behind the merry remembrances of Jack Costanza, Kenton’s answer to Chano Pozo, and the stories of other Kenton alumni.

Kenton wives Audree and JoAnn flash by, but – in this “documentary” — there is a blackout on Kenton’s daughter Leslie Kenton.

Her book Love Affair, published last year, spotlights a three year period beginning in her tenth year, when Leslie’s father, greatly intoxicated, submitted her to sexual interludes nightly. This was only when the bandleader wasn’t out on the road innovating.

She refers to that period in her book as their “forbidden honeymoon.” She and her father were passionately in love, she recalls with seemingly undiminished — and certainly unashamed –ardor.

“Breaking the taboo of incest had breached the boundaries of acceptable reality,” she writes in Love Affair, “forcing us to journey into unknown territory. We turned our backs on the rules and regulations of the world. Sometimes we faced each other with the kind of raw ­presence soldiers in trenches must experience as, together, they face the enemy’s assault.”

You gotta read a lot of Daddy’s liner notes to write like that.