Excellent

Another great Tull DVD, keep them coming. You get 42 minutes of concert footage from 1982, coincidentally just over 2 weeks after I saw them live the first time at Wembley. Good to see the still shaggy haired Anderson and Martin Barre at an intermediate stage of his transformation, strutting their stuff. I needed to go to the reference books to work out exactly when and where these were filmed, info I would have liked to have seen in the notes. There is more live footage from 1986 and a tv set in 1993; some of my favourite tracks - Hunting Girl, Too Old to Rock and Roll, Too Young to Die, Black Sunday, before the Beat Club footage at the end including John Evan's superb Pathetique piano solo, and a strange, warts-and-all performance of Nothing Is Easy.

awesome

Revisited this after quite a few years and had forgotten quite how good a live Band Queen were. Over 20 years old now, this show seems as relevant today as it was groundbreaking then. A year after LiveAid, Queen really let rip at Wembley - they raised the bar on what a live show should look like and nothing and no one have come close since.

New Order being, well, New Order!

Summing up New Order can be hard. Are they dance pioneers? Are they indie rock godfathers? Are they a shadow (play?) of their former selves or are they just three lads n' a lass (well four lads now) ambling through in that slightly unearving way?

One thing is for sure is that explaining New Order just got a whole lot easier with this DVD.

Just stick both these discs on and let the debate rage.

Disc 1 with it's Glasgow concert interdespersed (I think Amazon should mention this in the description!) with interviews shows every possible facet of the band and goes a long way to explaining the current split. The sound is great, the crowd and band up for it. The songs are played with passion (if not skill) and Barney dances around like a drunk uncle again (look out for the shot where he has a break and a nice sip of red wine!)

Disc 2 is just as hit and miss as the band. Raiding the vault the tracks here vary in quality but are a great little reminder of the early days and how things have changes. Nice to see Rob Gretton in the (oh so arty) Glastonbury segment.

Disc 1 is how to do a concert DVD, though I would have left the interviews out of the main concert section and had them as extras. The shots are well composed and really capture the lighting and 'feel' of the gig unlike the recent OMD DVD which went to show how poor shot choice and sound can ruin a great gig.

Overall well worth getting just for the Perfect Kiss mixing into Blue Monday and Barney's sarcastic 'You all know what this is?'

Lets hope they settle the current falling out so we can have Glasgow (or anywhere) 2009 DVD.

This is for me the best of the New Order live DVD's (so far?)

not as good as I thought it would be

I'm someone who likes Bruce Springsteen's songs when I hear them on the radio.I'm someone who can play a guitar and likes guitar music.But most of the songs featured in this concert had music and singing that sounded plain loud and so didn't stand out.The best and most welcome version I heard was the unusual take of Born In The Usa where Springsteen plays long and slow on a guitar that sounds like a sitar from the east,as,of course,a direct link to vietnam and the war.I've heard a lot of people rave about this concert saying things like"it's the best concert ever by anyone." Not really. Bruce and the E Street Band gave it their all and gave too much.Lacking in subtlety and overall a little disappointing but
plenty of tracks and interviews on the 2 discs.

the music is great, but.

The music is wonderfull, hypnotic & full of emotion, the downside for me is the that bloke's voice, it REALLY starts to get on your nerves after 3 songs, a sort of high pitch whine, such a shame to let it spoil a wonderfull piece of music.

Great In Places But It's Hard To See The Wood Through The Trees

In many ways 'No Direction Home' is great. There are wonderful and informative interviews (even with Bob himself) and the story is richly detailed though there is little really in the way of real critical debate.
The main problem is there is so much detail about people and events that are peripheral to the main storyline it becomes increasingly difficult to get a grasp on the main outline of the events in the life and times of Bob himself. This is particuarly true in the first half of the film which seems like a jumble as many less than important features (such as a clip of Johnnie Ray) are shown in an effort to show every aspect be it musical influence, or the introduction of an acquaintance in an attempt to fully encompass every aspect relating to Bob. It would have been far better to just concentrate on the basics with the aid of a narrator for a clearer guideline to the essential points.
For all its detail however there's never a mention of Bob's birthplace Duluth.
Near the end of the first part and for the whole of the second part of the film things begin to settle down somewhat and we are left with a wonderful tribute to Bob which is a pleasure to behold. The clips from the 1966 British tour are truly wonderful - it's just a pity those clips aren't in full.
To get a greater/more effective film overall an awful lot of pruning is required.
Sometimes to tell a story simply is a more effective route to take.

Far Out, Man

This is groovy, man. Everyone has fab gear bits of the video. Even my kids (25, 22 and 18 love it - timeless, man). On the video, man, I had to spend ages going to my fave bits - what a drag, man. But with DVD I can go directly there, man - far out! So I miss out some of the downer bits, man, with the people talking, man, but keep some of the other bits - I love Max Yasgur, man, and the bloke who says"I'm not a cop - I'm the chief of police!" How cool is he, man? Can you dig it? But coolest of all, man, I can go direct to the performances I most enjoy. Pointless me telling you what they are, man. Just get it and choose your own bits. Far out, man!

Sheer genius!

For those who have never experienced a Runrig concert over the past 35 years, this DVD is as close as you'll get to sampling the adrenaline-pulsing atmosphere of one of Europe's top rock acts. Runrig may have released 13 studio albums, but it's always been their live performances that have captivated audiences around the world. This DVD captures the atmosphere of the Beat the Drum festival on the banks of Loch Ness last August on the wettest day in living memory. What could have been a washout was transformed into a Glastonbury-esque party, thanks to the energy of the performance by the headlining act.

From the opening electro-pipes intro to Year of the Flood to the closing strains of the recent UK Top 10 hit Loch Lomond, this DVD shows Runrig at their very best. Alternating between the blistering metal of tracks like Sona and the poignant classics like Hearts of Olden Glory and the acoustic Every River, Runrig prove once again how much they excel over many of their contemporaries when it comes to live performance. At 1hr 51mins, this DVD is excellent value for money and an excellent purchase both for the long term fan and an introduction for those unfortunate enough never to have seen the band before.

Award winning biography. Doesn't get any better than this !

At last - my prayers have been answered. I have had this on VHS since it came out in '88. Alot of fans have been waiting for the DVD release (not bootleg) to appreciate both the documentary and music qualities. For anyone with the slightest interest in modern music or cinematography, this is a must for your collection. It must have been very hard for Bruce Weber to portray one of his music idols in such an honest way. But it works and allows an underlying story of the effects of heroin addiction to come through ( I won't say any more and let you find out yourself).
They should put a portrait of Chet aged 56 in all schools. If that does put them off hard drugs, nothing will.
Order this now, before the rest of the 5 stars convince you.

BOMBASTIC

This video was made a long time ago. Despite the 20yo sound and production technology this DVD (to me) represents all that was great about metal and rock at this time. I saw Maiden as a 17 year old on this tour and was absolutely blown away by the power of the show. Watching the DVD many years later brought it all back in vivid memory. To me, this WAS Maiden at their best, and it was British Metal at its best also. Dickinson entertains with his antics, Murray/Smith and Harris are masters of their art and Brain is a man posessed.

As for the production quality - it's excellent given that the age of the production, and I would ignore the nancy comments of people who know nothing of the pre-digital perfect age. The entire show is flawed, and brilliant.

At the show I was smashed and about 500ft away, so the DVD's a massive improvement.

Buy it, get drunk, shut the wife in the cupboard, drink a bit more, then put in the DVD, go all the way to 11 and enjoy.

BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!

A must for all westlife fans you will love this, my favourite from the concert has got to be their version of Dont cha very funny. Performance absolutely great where they get their energy from i do not know.

Sheer Ballet Magic!

Absolute magic! I saw this as a child and it inspired me into career of dance. As a child, I adored to watch it and try to imitate the characters. Frederick Ashton's choreoegraphy brings the animals to life with imagination and fun. In the early 70's The Royal Ballet was in it's glory days with dancers like beautiful Leslie Collier, Wayne Sleep and Michael Coleman: who's Pas De Chat-ing Jeremy Fisher I'll never forget, dancers filled with style, creativeness and that tremendous RB technique. This is a joy, something to have on the shelf for any ballet fan or budding ballerina. Enjoy!

The Very Best Of The Highwaymen

This DVD Music-Live. Is Absolute The Best I`ve Ever Seen. What A Great Feeling The Give Us Country Fans. If You`re Thinking Of To Buy Somthing Special. THIS IS IT......

Skin and Bones

This is a superb DVD of two Foo Fighters concerts. You get the amazing Hyde Park 'rock' concert, as well as the more sedate, but just as good Hollywood 'acoustic' concert. The foos play with equal passion and interact with the audience for both types of gig and it's great to see both sides of their music. You get a great selection of tracks, including the ever popular and anthemic 'My Hero' and 'Everlong'. Overall a great music DVD for fans, showing one of the best and most respected bands in music today. Well worth a look.

Great EP, awful DVD.

OK lets get the positive stuff done. 4 Stars for the excellent CD EP, its worth buying for this alone, all the tracks are really strong and well recorded, including the demos and live tracks, a brilliant addition to the back catalogue.....

The down side is that the DVD is awful, ok I admit I only managed to watch about 22mins of the full hour. Its really well shot and has some lovely images... so maybe turn the sound off and listen to the EP instead whilst watching it.

Unfortunately its very very pretentious, lots of random shots and sounds, almost like a ponderous ambient track, when there is some speaking its so low in the mix and covered by muzak that its too difficult to hear. And whats being said not very interesting.

Why are there so many 'making of' dvd's like this now.... buy this for the EP and leave the DVD in the sleeve

A rambling mess but worthwhile all the same

I remember seeing this series on televison in late 1977 / early 1978 and to say that it had a major impact on my life is a huge understatement. It was the catalyst that sparked my curiosity and obssession with music that has continued unabated to this day. Therefore it was with great excitement and anticipation that I greeted the news of its appearance on DVD, the first time ever on a home entertainment format. So many of the images of this series had been etched in my mind for a generation now and sculptured the way I feel about music. Now having watched the series again, 30 years on, how does it hold up?

Well, it's a decidedly mixed bag.

The key problem to me is a lack of focus. I just feel that the scope is far too expansive and thus too inclusive when it should have been more discriminatory. Does it really make sense to treat Bing Crosby and Tina Turner as part of the same continuum? There's a palpable difference between Popular or vernacular music and light entertainment. Palmer seems to try and treat them both with the same level of attention and value and this is wrong. There's plenty in"All You Need Is Love" that's simply commercialised junk that exists or existed solely for the pursuit of the dollar . This stuff has no value as a part of any cultural exercise. This is something distinct from real Popular music if we take"Popular" to mean"of the people".

Most of the individual episodes lack coherency as well. In so many of them, Palmer seems to flit from one concept to another, juxtaposing seemingly random images and ideas without trying to explain, however subtly, what their purpose is. For example, in the Rhythm And Blues episode, we see a clip of a Wilson Pickett performance yet we are never told why or what his importance in the development of this genre was. Many episodes seem so disjointed and shambolic that it's unlikely that any newcomer could learn anything constructive. I don't feel that this series could serve as an educational tool for this reason.

And then there's the racial theft angle - a powerful sub-theme that curiously loses steam 2/3rds of the way through. In the early sections, there's passion and anger as this point is rammed home repeatedly yet by the time we get to the modern Pop sections (1950s onwards), it simply disappears. I would have thought it would have been even MORE salient in these times when serious money began to appear. It certainly would have made a more interesting and relevant angle in The Stones episode rather than focusing on their bad boy mythology instead.

And now the good stuff.

When Palmer's over-ambitous attempts to link several narratives together DO work, the results are astonishing. The episode on The Beatles is one of the finest dissections I have ever seen or read on the Fab Four. It simultaneously and effortlessly captures the hysteria of Beatlemania and links the sheer positivity of their stance and music with the early hippie movement and the hopefulness that it originally promised. This episode is worth the price of entry alone as is the Rock 'n' Roll one immediately preceding it which equally captures the excitement and rebellion of Elvis Presley. These are two wonderful pieces that are every bit as powerful as they were 30 years ago.

This is also a series that allows intelligent and eloquent interviewees to articulate their views at a leisurely pace rather than relying on empty soundbites. John Hammond on Jazz, Artie Shaw on Swing, Jerry Wexler on R 'n' B, Jack Good on Rock and Roll and many others again represent some real calibre both as information as well as entertainment. Palmer really got some terrific interviewees and used them to their fullest capacity. And then there are some blinding performances, often shown in full. My personal faves were Bo Diddley recounting his entry into the record biz with his punchy Gretsch guitar sound and Jerry Lee Lewis pounding his piano with unhinged demonic fury. You won't find this stuff elsewhere - these performances and many others were recorded solely by Palmer and his team for the show. That is something truly unique and precious.

On the issue of the quality of the DVD itself, others have mentioned the aspect ratio problem but in addition to that, the actual transfer itself is appalling. Images are blurry and soft - there's no excuse for releasing something so visually ugly in 2008. I can only assume that a very mediocre and untalented company was selected to do the restoration to save a few coins. I'd gladly pay more to get a decent transfer. I wish TV companies and movie studios would understand this. I don't care about saving a few pennies. I want a quality product. However, as I have been waiting for this for 30 years, I'm not exactly going to complain. I'd certainly buy it again if it was done right.

So to sum it up, what you're basically going to get is this: A confusing sprawl that serves little as an educational document but is punctuated by the odd moments of such sheer brilliance that I feel everyone should see this regardless of all the reservations that I've discussed above.