Crosby,
Stills, Nash & Young: Fifty By Four: Half A Century Of CSN&Y
(2014/Chrome Dreams/MVD DVD)/Joni
Mitchell: Woman Of Heart & Mind/Painting With Words & Music
(2003/1998/Eagle SD Blu-ray)/Leslie
Pintchik: In The Nature Of Things
(2013/Pinch Hard CD)/Lou
Reed: Classic Albums: Transformer
(2001)/Live
At Montreux 2000
(Eagle SD Blu-ray)/The
Phantom Of The Paradise
(1974/Fox/Arrow U.K. Region B Import Blu-ray)/Punk
In Africa
(2013/MVD Visual DVD)/The
Who - Sensation: The Story Of Tommy
(2013/Eagle Blu-ray)
Picture:
C+/C+/X/B- & C+/B-/C/B Sound: C+/B- & C+/B/B- &
B/B/C/B Extras: C-/C/C-/C/B/C/C+ Main Program:
B/B/B-/B/C+/C+/B
PLEASE
NOTE:
The
Phantom Of The Paradise
Import Region B Blu-ray can only play on players capable of that
version of the format, is only available from Arrow U.K. and can be
ordered from the link below.
Here's
a nice slate of new music releases...
Crosby,
Stills, Nash & Young: Fifty By Four: Half A Century Of CSN&Y
is the latest, elongated, highly welcome music history release from
Chrome Dreams in the U.K., thoroughly tracing the rise, fall and
reunions of the quartet over many decades, starting with their work
before becoming a hot hit band. Neil Young and Stephen Stills who
were so highly competitive in Buffalo Springfield that it broke the
band, which is all the more surprising they would ever land up in
anything of any kind ever again. The formation of the original four
works, soon coincides with some historic political moments and puts
them on the map forever.
Young
eventually goers solo and that is not as addressed as the solo and
duo projects between and of the rest of the members, but something
had to be rolled back despite how much is squeezed into over two
impressive hours. Rare side projects, behind the scenes conflicts
(Atlantic trying to keep them together, Stills & Young in a
physical altercation while recording Our
House)
and other personal moments that also show us how vibrant the music
business used to be makes this yet another ace installment of this
series' ability to bring massive amounts of highlights and
information into focus. Serious music fans should jot it down as
another must-see from this series.
The
only extra is Joe
Vitale: The American Dream Sessions,
but you can read more about the quartet all over our site, including
remasters of their 1969 debut album and Daylight
Again
album at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3404/Crosby,+Stills+&+Nash
Nash
had been dating Joni Mitchell early on and we even see him in Joni
Mitchell: Woman Of Heart & Mind
(2003)/Painting
With Words & Music
(1998), a double feature that are the first of two upgraded reissues
of previously issued and reviewed DVD music releases from Eagle
Vision, but they are now here in a double feature from their SD
Blu-ray series. Here is our coverage of the separate Woman
Of Heart & Mind
DVD:
http:/www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/94/Joni+Mitchell+-+Woman+of+Heart+&+Mind
We
missed the terrific Painting
With Words & Music
concert where
Nash in in the audience as she sings some of her most famous songs
(Woodstock,
Big
Yellow Taxi)
and is more than formidable in taking on other classics like Marvin
Gaye's Theme
From Trouble
Man
and Why
Do Fools Fall In Love?
among the 18 songs performed and Nash has a nice surprise for her as
well.
Interview
outtakes repeat from the Kind
program, but that is the only extra here.
Leslie
Pintchik: In The Nature Of Things
(2013)
has the underrated composer & pianist back with more Jazz music
she has written herself for the most part (she has written many
seamlessly smooth compositions), we get an all-instrumental album and
the nine tracks (including Lerner & Loewe's I've
Grow Accustomed To Her Face
from My
Fair Lady)
are more pleasant, first rate real music that is musical from an
artist I have enjoyed very much over the years and deserves much more
attention than she gets.
Like
Joe Jackson's album Will
Power,
it's unusually pure, laid back nature is a totally unexpected turn by
someone who is all about the music. This album is as solid, well
recorded, warm and worth your time. Pintchik has an essay in the
booklet included as its only extra.
Lou
Reed: Classic Albums: Transformer
(2001)/Live
At Montreux 2000
is the other reissue of separately released DVDs, upgraded by Eagle
Vision from their SD Blu-ray series. This time, we reviewed both
before. Here are the links:
Lou
Reed: Classic Albums: Transformer
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1829/Classic+Albums+-+Lou+Reed:+Transformer
Lou
Reed: Live At Montreux 2000
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3885/Lou+Reed+-+Live+At+Montreux+2000
Extras
are the same where applicable and this is just arriving after his sad
passing. Both programs are underseen and this is a great way to
catch up. We also recommend the Pure Audio audio-only Blu-ray of The
Velvet Underground & Nico
as the album has never sounded so good, is noted in the Transformer
program, outdoes the out-of-print Mobile Fidelity Gold CD for
playback performance (especially on its PCM 2.0 Stereo tracks) and is
half the cost of the 2-channel-only Japanese import Super Audio CD.
Brian
De Palma's The
Phantom Of The Paradise
(1974) had the famous director still in experimental mode before his
series of thrillers (starting with the underrated Sisters
(1973) began that long, often effective run) when he decided to take
on the Glam Rock culture, Musicals and the influence of The Who's
original Rock Opera Tommy
(see below) joining a cycle of films criticizing the gaudiness, greed
and dark side of Rock stardom and the record industry in this mixed
cult classic that does get more interesting with age.
A
tribute to the classic horror tale Phantom
Of The Opera
(several of the films are addressed here) has references to other
horror tales (Hunchback Of Notre Dame, Dorian Gray, Faust, Hitchcock)
with William Finley as the title character, who wants the woman he
loves (Jessica Harper as Phoenix) to sing his music, even if it mans
cutting a dark deal with Swan (music Legend Paul Williams), the head
of the aptly named Death Records. Swan will put Winslow (Finley)
through hell just to have his better life and not care, never
dreaming he might survive and come back for revenge.
Ahead
of Ken Russell's takes on the subject, as well as The
Rocky Horror Picture Show
and (ending the cycle) the ill-fated Bee Gees/Peter Frampton
re-imagining of The Beatles' Sgt.
Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,
the film does not always work, but has its share of good moments and
you can see why it has managed to hold onto a serious core following.
Fox made the film and has yet to issue it in the U.S. in any way,
but Arrow U.K. has issued a Region B Import Blu-ray with expanded
extras like never before and especially with Williams amazing return
in the business and personal story of survival (see the documentary
Paul
Williams: Still Alive
reviewed elsewhere on this site) is bound to continue to spark new
curiosity interest. It is also an atypical De Palma film, a
filmmaker still best known for thrillers and the occasional gangster
film.
Extras
on this extensive Blu-ray include an optional Steelbook edition you
can order while supplies last as they are a limited edition, the
regular case offers a reversible cover and all versions otherwise
include another
nicely illustrated booklet on the film including informative text,
stills and an essay by Ari Kahan (go to http://swanarchives.org/
for more information), an additional rare stills archive of images by
Randy Black, Radio Spots, Original Theatrical Trailers, The
Swan Song Fiasco
featurette about how post-production played havoc with the film,
Making Of featurette Paradise
Regained
(50 minutes), archival interview with Costume Designer Rosanna
Norton, Finley on the Phantom Doll, Paradise
Lost & Found
cutting room floor bloopers & alternative takes, Guillermo del
Toro's interview with Paul Williams (72 minutes!) and
an Isolated Music & Effects Track.
For
more on the similar film by Ken Russell that followed, try these
links...
Ken
Russell's Tommy
U.S. Blu-ray
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10424/Tommy+(1975/Sony+Blu-ray
Australian
Blu-ray
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10866/TRON:+Legacy+(2010/Disney+Blu-ray+3D+w/Blu-
Ken
Russell's Lisztomania
DVD
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/11759/Ken+Russell
Keith
Jones and Deon Maas co-directed Punk
In Africa
(2013), whose title is not as simple as it seems. Despite Apartheid
and other issues the country had, Punk Rock managed to rise out of
Johannesburg in the late 1970s like anywhere else, but the band's may
not have been heard as much outside of their home country. Still,
bands like Wild Youth, Suck, KOOS, Safari Suits, Fuzigish, Evicted,
340ml, The Genuines, LYT, Freak, Jagwa Music, Panzer, Power Age and
so many others formed a much larger and vital scene than has been
discussed, but this documentary does a decent job introducing novices
to it.
83
minutes does not seem like enough to cover it all and maybe it is
not, but this is a good place to start and when you add the vintage
footage, this is definitely worth a look. In their stands against
Apartheid and other political injustice, these bands helped the
caused before the anti-Sun City album, other protests and should get
their share of credit for standing up against the bad side of their
country.
Bonus
music performances by the bands covered are the only extras.
Last
and not least is The
Who - Sensation: The Story Of Tommy
(2013), the kind of terrific documentary many expected would be on
this recent Super Deluxe Edition CD/audio Blu-ray box set we reviewed
at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/12470/Ceelo+Green+is+Loberace:+Live+In+Vegas+(2013
Martin
R. Smith directed this fine look at the band itself, its amazing
early successes, the trouble it was having finding a full-fledged
identity and how going all out on the double album that became the
world's first full-length Rock Opera (forerunners are rightly
discussed early on), the band was either going to make this work or
break up. Thanks to Pete Townshend being as brutally honest about
the horrors of his own life, they created a masterpiece and one of
the most important albums ever made.
The
new interviews are great and when you add vintage stills, classic
songs, vintage film clips, vintage video clips and how thorough this
is from the making of the album, to its reception, to the rise of the
band to later feature film and stage musical versions of the album
(they even miss a few versions), this is as much a must-see as
anything on the list.
The
only bonus is a nice one, the band's 1969 appearance playing much of
Tommy
on the classic music TV show Beat
Club.
To read more about the best way to hear the original album, try this
link to my coverage of the 5.1 multi-channel Super Audio CD (aka
SA-CD)/CD Set (compatible with all CD players) at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1923/The+Who+-+Tommy+SACD+++Live+At+The+Isle
Our
Blu-rays are an odd mix this time, with the 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital
High Definition image transfer on Phantom
the one that should be the best performer, but the transfer is a
little odd versus what the film should look like. Director
of Photography Larry Pizer (Isadora,
Alice
Cooper: Welcome to My Nightmare)
created a great look to this film that owes as much to music films of
the time as Glam, Carnaby Street and Science Fiction as pop culture
of the time and this means clarity and a colorful look that is
otherworldly.
This
U.S./British look by way of Kubrick and Bowie works well here, but
the actual transfer of what looks like a fine film print is a shade
or two too dark depending on the scene. Yes, it looks better than
the U.S. DVD, but you can see from that old disc that some of the
darkness is too dark, covers up detail and depth intended and despite
some warm colors and the Video Red is a it off as if the standard was
older HD than film.
The
1080i 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on the
Sensation
Blu-ray is actually better, with more consistent image reproduction
and clips that may even show the age of the materials used, still
looking good. The same on the SD Blu-rays is not quite as good, but
they and the 1080i-upscaled 1.33 X 1 concerts have less artifacts
than previous SD Blu releases from Eagle, which is a nice plus. The
Reed
Classic Albums
upscale is the best of the four.
As
for the DVDs, the anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on Africa
is the roughest presentation here, partly due to the materials used,
but it is also a rough shoot so expect that kind of presentation.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image in CSN&Y
fares much better with its archive footage usually in fine shape.
Sound
is better across these releases including some very nice PCM
2.0 16/44.1 Stereo on the Leslie
CD, though not multi-channel (she has released material like that
before, so see her other releases elsewhere on this
site) this is a fine transfer of a very professional recording,
matching the best presentations on this list including the DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mixes on the Reed
Montreux
show (nice upgrade soundwise!), Sensation
and the DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 4.0 lossless mix on Phantom from its
original 4-track magnetic stereo 35mm prints and soundmaster.
The
Reed
Transformers
PCM 2.0 Stereo-only sound may not be as good, but like the PCM 2.0
Stereo and DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mixes on the
Mitchell
Blu
which are also not as strong, still outdo the audio on their DVD
counterparts.
That leaves lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo on CSN&Y
sounding good for the format and the same on Africa
sounding the roughest and weakest of al the entries on this list.
You
can order The
Phantom Of The Paradise
and other great expanded releases from Arrow U.K. with extras that
will never be issued anywhere else at this link:
http://www.arrowfilms.co.uk/
-
Nicholas Sheffo
