The Black Crowes – Who Killed That Bird Out On Your
Window Sill? (DVD-Video) + Lost Crowes – Tall Sessions/Band Sessions
(CD Set)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+/B- Extras: D Music: B-
The Black
Crowes have survived their Pop culture peak by not playing games and not
letting themselves be part of popularity contests. Though they constantly are trying to
represent themselves as a Rock band in the late 1960s tradition, they also are
trying to be of a culture now that never went away (with drugs more prominent
than just yelling about “The Chronic” and the like) and two compilation
releases have arrived to remind us of the conceit.
Who Killed That Bird Out On Your
Window Sill? (1992)
claims it is a movie, but it is really a greatest hits video set that does not
isolate their Music Videos and is edited in a way to be a constant flow view of
their careers as it stood up to the time of the programs making. It is also a record of their peak, but is
valuable for fans and those interested in the band’s success. For the rest of us, it is loaded with
snippets of valuable content, but is not a “movie” as the art claims and is not
even coherent enough to be considered a documentary. That does not make it a new or innovative
work either. Instead, it is a montage of
highlights that sometimes stops for a few minutes and runs on for 83
minutes. There are no extras.
The Lost Crowes – Tall Session & Band
Sessions CD Set (2006) is of music from the mid-1990s that was never
released. Though not bad, it is more of
the same for a band that may have run out of things to say. Though nothing here is awful, it is not
awfully memorable either and is going to be an affair for fans only. Most annoying is that you have to look for
the thin booklets for each CD inside the DigiPak foldout, then the titles are
never written normal for one to be able to read any of it. Eventually, you’ll figure it out.
The
picture on the DVD is 1.33 X 1, older and has both detail and color
issues. The mixing of formats is also a
factor. The Dolby Digital in either 2.0
or 5.1 mixes on the DVD is sonically limited, as well as harsh and shrill more
than it should be. The PCM 2.0
16bit/44.1kHz Stereo on the CDs is also shrill and surprisingly limited
considering the age of the material.
Guess the tapes in the vault were not in the best of shape and/or there
was trouble with the mastering. Next up,
a more recent concert shot in HD we expect to cover in the Blu-ray format.
- Nicholas Sheffo
