Get ready for some serious tears!

Whether you like it or not, you will be in tears with this film. Fantastic story, wonderful music, magic scenery, great Opera Singers/Actors! You cannot go wrong with this film whether you like Opera or not.

Revolution Rock

This film is worthwhile viewing for any fans of the legendary rock band The Clash who were fronted by the charismatic Joe Strummer. Against a backdrop of amateur film footage, interviews and concert clips , the narrative tells the story of Strummer's life from his early days spent in boarding school and travelling the globe with his diplomat father to his latter days spent around campfires and touring with his new band. Most of the film of course deals with the heyday of Strummer and The Clash between 1977 and 1982 as the band's gritty punk music of their first few albums evolved into the more commercial reggae based music of their excellent"London Calling" and"Sandinista" albums.By the time"Combat Rock" was released in 1982 The Clash were mainstream rock artists making it big in America. Then Strummer dissolved the band. This film portrays Strummer as an idiosyncratic, passionate ,free spirited anti authority figure who was held in high esteem by his peers. I would have liked to have heard more of The Clash's music during the film and captions introducing the numerous interviewees would have helped as well.Overall this was an interesting insight into the late musician's life.

A comprehensive and worthwhile documentary

Whether or not you are convinced by Tony Palmer's thesis in this documentary film that, far from being the ruminative English pastoralist that audiences of the time felt him to be, Vaughan Williams was in fact a man with a troubled personal life and a philosophical outlook which became increasingly bleak the older he became, all of us are in Palmer's debt for capturing conversations with many people (most of whom are now very old) who knew the composer well. Indeed, some, including Ursula, the composer's widow, have died since the film was made last year.

Moreover, Tony Palmer has created a thorough and comprehensive portrait of the composer, largely through his music, with a helpful spoken commentary, chiefly given by two admirable writers, Michael Kennedy and Stephen Johnson, that will provide valuable insights to new listeners as well as those more familiar with the work.

The documentary has been issued at an interesting moment, namely the fiftieth anniversary of Vaughan Williams' death in 1958. What is especially fascinating is the extent to which this composer's work has grown in public estimation during that time. We need to thank Tony Palmer for the film, and thank Michael Kennedy most warmly for his consistent championship of the music.

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.

Dancing on Ice

I love these DVDs and have bought the previous two seasons and the live tour last year.
However, I do wish that ITV would out a bit more on the DVDs not just a breakdown of the season. Maybe a few more of Torvill and Deans numbers. I dont know if anyone else minds that...
However, in terms of the DVD that you do get it does have great extras on it, you get to see behind the scenes about how this show works and the relationships between the celebrities and their skaters with Chris and Jayne thrown in. All in all for the hardcore dancing on ice fans, this DVD is a must.

A nice addition to the collection

Although its not the film that we were promised, its still a great addition to any Who collection. Okay, we've seen a lot of it before, but its worth it for the new bits and as a whole it goes to show what a fantastic band the Who are.

Almost brilliant

This was obviously a great night, with Bruce and the E Street Band on top form. The only thing that marred it for me is that having so many musicians on stage means that it is sometimes a case of"too many cooks."
There are times when Bruce's voice and guitar get a little submerged in the mix, with Max Weinberg's drumming being particularly overpowering. Highlights for me are Bruce on the piano doing solo renditions of 'Spirit In The Night' and 'Incident on 57th. St.' Also, 'Ramrod' outstays it's welcome. Apart from that, it is well worth buying.

Still Got it

Being a Roy Orbison fan since Pretty Woman was on the TV when I was young in the 60's, I was ready to deffend this DVD, but I do not need to, the DVD is great, with a great line up of James Burden and Ron Tutt Roy still had it.
With only a few changes to some of the songs Pretty Woman still sent a shiver down my spine. This is a must for any roy Orbison fan.

A brilliant way of portraying"The Wall" CD

The movie version of Pink Floyd's brilliant album"The Wall" is an unhappy yet superb one. It follows the life of Pink, a hapless guy who has been building an imaginary wall from the very early days of life. Every bad event in his life is another brick in the wall, hence the famous title.

The film indicates how Pink feels throughout the entire movie and goes into a lot of depth with the songs and their meanings. From"The Happiest Days Of Our Lives" to"Waiting For The Worms", all the songs in the movie and the movie itself can send us a serious message about society and how people have social barriers (walls). Pink's case is one example.

Enough said, really. Although the film is quite hard to understand (unless you know the album"The Wall"), this is really enjoyable to watch. Recommended.

The Macca Show

Dispite what other reviews have claimed, i can say that this is well worth the buy and despite a few missing somgs, there is no concern really for even the die hard Macca fan as this is really a truely great collection.
The Widescreen issue that was mentioned is not a problem either, it looks better and it is geniune widescreen and not cropped, dont be fooled, this is well worth the money

Buy with extreme caution

6 May 1980. I had tried (in vain) for years to get tickets for a Genesis gig. As I recall, this one was a much-demanded extra show added at the end of their sell-out tour of small-capacity UK theatres. And, at last, I had won the lottery (so to speak): I was at this very gig. All these years later, I thought it would be fun to be 'there' again.

Never mind that the film and sound quality is no better than you'd expect from 28-year old, pre-digital technology. Of course I can accept that. What really spoils this DVD for me is the production company's ridiculous name emblazoned white-out, top left on a predominantly black (sic) screen. A constant distraction. Totally unnecessary, off-putting, impossible to turn off. Utterly thoughtless.

A spell-binding spectacle of pure magic

This collection of the main body of Flatley's work is just terrific. Don't buy this looking for many extras; aside from a behind-the-scenes on Celtic Tiger, all you get are the shows themselves, but what shows! From the amazing compositions by Ronald Hardiman to the breathtaking agility and skill of the dancers, the atmosphere of these performances is tangible. What you see in each show is the climax of years of painstaking work, and it's abundantly clear that much blood, sweat and tears went into these shows.

The result is nothing short of memorising. Flatley comes in for a bit of stick for what's often perceived as his arrogance, but I defy you to watch these and tell me it's not proportionate to his talent. He is truly a contender for the best dancer alive. I love this set, and would recommend it to anyone who fancies watching a master-class in dance.

Pure gold from music heroes at the peak of their form

This is a landmark release of 66 classic performances from Johnny Cash's 1969-71 network TV show which has, until now, been available only through grainy tapes from Ebay.
The guest list reads like a who's who of popular music: Bob Dylan, who was in town recording Nashville Skyline, played on the debut show; Roy Orbison, Stevie Wonder, Neil Diamond, Creedence Clearwater and Jonie Mitchell all appear at the peak of their form and,as far as 1970's country music goes, it would easier to list who does not appear.
To anyone only familiar with Cash through the biopic"Walk the Line", this will be a revelation. Joaquin Phoenix's moody,obsessive loner is hard to reconcile with the grinning,gregarious, self-assured singer just a year down the line from his redemptive marriage to June Carter.
Cash is a great host.His duet with Louis Armstrong includes just the right note of respectful defererence and he welcomes a nervous Eric Clapton with the nice touch of listing all the members of Derek and the Dominoes. Clapton trading licks with Carl Perkins is one of the standout moments,as the (then) new kid on the block gets to play with one of his mentors.Another highlight is an outrageous performance from Jerry Lee Lewis who reminds us just how good Sun's last survivor was back then.
Of course, this is a 37 year-old network variety show so some of the banter is pretty cheesy and the comedy pretty toe-curling.
The commentary, which sets the scene for several performances, makes the valid point that the show played a groundbreaking role at the time in crossing the divide between conservative mainstream America and the counter culture of the youth movement.This was a time when US society was torn apart by Vietnam and the appearance of long-haired artists like James Taylor and Neil Young, together with black-listed Pete Seeger was a radical statement by the inclusive-thinking Cash.
The commentary is not always helpful though, especially when the contributions are cut into the music. Cash's powerful attack on the treacherous treatment of Native Americans,"As Long as the Grass Shall Grow", is ruined by being inter-spliced with talking heads; and although Kris Kristofferson and Hank William Jr make some perceptive contributions there is frankly too much from Johnny Cash's son who,being only a babe in arms when the show aired,can scarcely bring much perspective to the cause. But we can thank the lady hair-stylist for a gem about Linda Ronstadt trying to appear in a mini skirt, minus knickers.There is a unexpected frisson to watching Ronstadt's performance after you've heard that!
Anyway- buy the double DVD. Watch it. Enjoy it. Celebrate the way popular music was, in one of its heydays, when performers plugged their guitars into amps,played live,were authentic and creative and different.And celebrate the hot-wired and happy genius that was Johnny Cash.

60 Karaoke Party Classics On One DVD

60 Karaoke Classics without having to change the disc!

30 Songs For The Girls:

1. 9 TO 5 (Dolly Parton)
2. BABY LOVE (The Supremes)
3. BABY ONE MORE TIME (Britney Spears)
4. BELIEVE (Cher)
5. CALL ME (Blondie)
6. CHAIN REACTION (Diana Ross)
7. DANCING QUEEN (Abba)
8. DON'T CHA (Pussycat Dolls)
9. FAME (Irene Cara)
10. FLASHDANCE... WHAT A FEELING (Irene Cara)
11. GIRLFRIEND (Avril Lavigne)
12. GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN (Cyndi Lauper)
13. HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON EARTH (Belinda Carlisle)
14. HOT STUFF (Donna Summer)
15. I LOVE TO LOVE (BUT MY BABY LOVES TO DANCE) (Tina Charles)
16. I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW (Tiffany)
17. I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY (WHO LOVES ME) (Whitney Houston)
18. I WILL SURVIVE (Gloria Gaynor)
19. LIKE A VIRGIN (Madonna)
20. LIPSTICK ON YOUR COLLAR (Connie Francis)
21. MAMMA MIA (Abba)
22. MANIC MONDAY (The Bangles)
23. MATERIAL GIRL (Madonna)
24. PUPPET ON A STRING (Sandie Shaw)
25. ROSE GARDEN (Lynn Anderson)
26. SHOUT (Lulu)
27. SMILE (Lily Allen)
28. WATERLOO (Abba)
29. YES SIR I CAN BOOGIE (Baccara)
30. YOUNG HEARTS RUN FREE (Candi Staton)

30 Songs For The Guys:

1. AMERICAN PIE (Don McLean)
2. BAGGY TROUSERS (Madness)
3. BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (Queen)
4. BUILD ME UP BUTTERCUP (The Foundations)
5. COME ON EILEEN (Dexy's Midnight Runners)
6. CROCODILE ROCK (Elton John)
7. DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY (The Mavericks)
8. DELILAH (Tom Jones)
9. DON'T STOP ME NOW (Queen)
10. GOLD (Spandau Ballet)
11. HI HO SILVER LINING (Jeff Beck)
12. I DON'T FEEL LIKE DANCIN' (The Scissor Sisters)
13. I'M GONNA BE (500 MILES) (Proclaimers)
14. IS THIS THE WAY TO AMARILLO (Tony Christie)
15. LOVE IS IN THE AIR (John Paul Young)
16. NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP (Rick Astley)
17. OH PRETTY WOMAN (Roy Orbison)
18. ROCK D.J. (Robbie Williams)
19. ROCKIN' ALL OVER THE WORLD (Status Quo)
20. SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES (The Drifters)
21. SHINE (Take That)
22. STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU (Stealers Wheel)
23. SUSPICIOUS MINDS (Elvis Presley)
24. SWEET CAROLINE (Neil Diamond)
25. TICKET TO RIDE (The Beatles)
26. UPTOWN GIRL (Billy Joel)
27. WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GO GO (Wham!)
28. WALK OF LIFE (Dire Straits)
29. WHISTLE FOR THE CHOIR (The Fratellis)
30. Y.M.C.A. (The Village People)

Jolsen Story And Sequel

Much is made of the factual inaccuracies of this story. In fact if you have the good fortune to read the excellent book JOLIE -THE STORY OF AL JOLSEN by Michael Freedland, the truth is not as far away as you may think. First of all the man had to have an ego do what he was doing, cope with the fame and up to a point survive. He had certain character traits that others had, a temper, meanness followed by generosity and so on that were minimised and ignored for the most part by the film. You can only tell so much of a story and maintain the interest of the watcher. Personalities devolve in to composite characters and so on. Like for most mature vocalists, the music has to be several steps lower as the range changes with age. As with Sinatra and others this was a bonus and Jolsen's voice became richer and developed a beauty that many would envy. I saw a comment about Larry Parks as the younger Jolsen having too rich a sound for Jolsen at that age. So what!!! Rather that than a bad impressionist or an adjusted old record for a soundtrack. Jolies voice is thrilling by anyone's standard.

Larry Parks worked very hard to demonstrate the power of Jolsen. He sang at the top of his voice to unbearable loud Jolen tracks so that you could see that he was 'working'; veins bulging; eyes poppin'. Something I have laughed about in other films where they just move their lips and totally fail to convince.

According to Jolsen; apparently he was pleased with what Parks did except for one sequence on the runway Parks could not mimic the Jolsen dance convincely (for Jolie). In fact in long shot the 'dancer' is Jolie! He used to jest that when he died they would bury Larry Parks he was so convincing.

This is still one of the finest biographical musicals ever made. A box officer winner the time and enjoyable in the extreme now.

Incidentally in another place, great play was made of his ex-wife Ruby Keeler being air-brushed out of the film. She would not let it happen and allegedly never watched the film when it was made.

Watch this film, see between the lines; you will appreciate that most of the story is there somewhere.

A lot closer than the producers of the immensely enjoyable Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller stories ever got to the truth!! Those films wereimmensely enjoyable too.

You must not shrink from buying these films if you have any sort of soul.

A Must Have!!!!!

As a certified Zappa Nut, I'm probably a bit biased. That said, this is stunning DVD which (in my humble opinion) should be compulsory viewing for all. Dweezil has assembled a top notch band who (in the true spirit of Frank) are all blessed with amazing technique, totally relaxed and clearly having a great time blasting through some of FZ's best loved music. Guest performers Steve Vai and Terry Bozzio also put their own unique stamp onto the songs they perform ... to hear Terry singing on 'I'm So Cute, Tryin' To Grow a Chin and Punk'y Whips' is just hilarious! I can't recommend this DVD highly enough ... truly worthy of ten stars! lock the doors, switch off your phone, sit back and enjoy possibly the greatest live rock performance you will ever see! Thank You Dweezil.