New version Don’t Look Back DVD released today

The new version of Don’t Look Back on DVD is finally released today in England. It looks like the product of the year.

While the new standard edition single disc hardly excites – Pennebaker’s masterpiece has been available on DVD for several years - the double disc box (details below) is a must-buy.

But you’d be silly to pay full price (£23). I’ve ordered my copy from 101cd.com, at £15.95 delivered, the best deal I could find - amazon.co.uk were selling at £12.99 but you had to make the order up to £15 to get free del and they were quoting 7 weeks wait when I looked last week.


Earlier article on sister site, The Dylan Daily:

Don’t Look Back on DVD - biggest Dylan event of 2007 to date

The DVD re-release of Don’t Look Back, the classic fly-on-the-wall documentary, looks like being the biggest Dylan event of 2007 to date. Pre-orders on amazon.com have already put it inside the online retailer’s top 10,000 DVD titles.

The film tracks Dylan at his iconic, sneering, imperious peak (as well as his court of jesters) on the 1965 English tour. It has long been a must-have for aficionados.

There’ll be two new DVD versions of Don’t Look Back – a single disc release of the original film, remastered, plus a new 2DVD package:

Disc 1:
* Bob Dylan: Don't Look Back
* Commentary by director D.A. Pennebaker and tour road manager Bob Neuwirth
* Five additional uncut audio tracks
* Alternate version of the Subterranean Homesick Blues cue-card sequence
* Original theatrical trailer
* Pennebaker filmography
* Bob Dylan discography
* Cast and crew biographies

Disc 2:
* Bob Dylan 65 Revisited – new documentary compiled by Pennebaker from over 20 hours of unseen footage
* Commentary by Pennebaker and road manager Bob Neuwirth
* book (168pp) including a complete transcript, over 200 photos, and a new foreword by Pennebaker
* Collectible Subterranean Homesick Blues flipbook

Don’t Look Back on DVD is due for release in N America on 27 February, so presumably in the UK on Mon 26 February or Mon 5 March.

It’s a must-buy, even for those like me who’ve had the VHS and original DVD versions for years – a well-conceived new product, with loads of added value in the new two disc package.


Gerry Smith

The Smiths: a light that will never go out

Let’s be honest, I’d seen the listing in the TV/radio guide and decided naaaah – not even worth recording… it’ll be yet another tedious, glum Manc love-in, blighted by the usual show biz bonehead yap-yap production values of BBC Radio 2.

But, three days later, curiosity led me to “Listen Again” via the web to Radio 2’s Salford Lad, the first in a two-part documentary on Morrissey/The Smiths. I am rather partial to The Smiths’ music, after all…

Confounding my prejudices, it was a lovely programme. Most of the motley crew of interviewees, presenter Stuart Maconie included, had something worthwhile to say. Some of them even said it well.

Mixing the voices of key players, especially Morrissey and Marr, with some spectacular music reminded you just how good The Smiths really were.

I won’t be missing the second part, aired on Saturday 28 April at 2000. It covers Morrissey’s solo career, a yawning gap in my musical knowledge.

You can hear the first programme via the web until Saturday, then the second for the following seven days:

www.bbc.co.uk/radio2


Radio 2 billing (with corrections!):

“Saturday 21/28 April 2000-2100
“It is almost twenty years since Morrissey, England’s most thoughtful and enduring lyricist and singer, launched his solo career. Ever since his emergence as front man with the Smiths in the 1980s his songs have been pored over, analysed and quoted.

“In this two part series for BBC Radio 2 Stuart Maconie tells the story of the Manchester lad who became a British icon. We hear from friends, fans, colleagues and fellow musicians including: Richard Boon, Mike Hinc, Jo Slee, Andrew Paresi, Willy Russell, Badly Drawn Boy, Zoe Williams, John Hegley, Preston, Stephen Street, Tony Visconti, Andy Rourke and Suggs.”



Gerry Smith

Elliott Landy exhibition opens next week

Thanks to (rock photographer) Lawrence Kirsch for sending a link to an NME news story of an exhibition of the photography of Elliott Landy, due to open in London next week.

Landy is best known for his Woodstock-period Dylan shoots. His work also adorns the cover of Van Morrison’s Tupelo Honey album, and he photographed many other 1960s/70s rock musicians.


http://www.nme.com/news/27617



I’ll be going!



Gerry Smith

The Doors – stunning new photo exhibition

Thanks to Guy White, Gallery Director, for details of a stunning new exhibition of Joel Brodsky’s iconic photos of The Doors.

Snap Galleries aim to get you to say “WOW!” when you enter their Birmingham exhibition space. I found myself “WOW!”-ing, involuntarily, even as I opened the link below.

The recently deceased Brodsky’s collection is one of the most striking portfolios of photography in music history: Snap’s wonderful exhibition is a fitting showcase.

Details from Guy White, Snap Gallery:
“… your subscribers might be interested in the exhibition of ultra large Jim Morrison / Doors photographs that we are launching at our gallery from this Saturday, 21 April 2007.

“Here's the link to all the info:

http://www.snapgalleries.com/scalinglizardking.html

Snap Galleries Limited
Unit 7 - Ground Floor
Fort Dunlop
Fort Parkway
Birmingham
B24 9FD
Tel 0121 748 3408
info@snapgalleries.com

Well worth a visit if you’re anywhere near.



Gerry Smith

The Best Of Van Morrison, Volume 3 - due in June

The Best Of Van Morrison, Volume 3 will be released in the USA on 19 June. The 2CD album has 31 tracks, dating from the early 1990s to mid-Noughties, including previously unreleased collaborations, as well as duets with greats like John Lee Hooker, B.B. King and Ray Charles.

Disc 1
1. Cry For Home (with Tom Jones) (previously unreleased)
2. Too Long In Exile
3. Gloria (with John Lee Hooker)
4. Help Me with Junior Wells (live)
5. Lonely Avenue / 4 O' Clock In The Morning (with Jimmy Witherspoon, Candy Dulfer & Jim Hunter) (live)
6. Days Like This
7. Ancient Highway
8. Raincheck
9. Moondance
10. Centerpiece (with Georgie Fame & Annie Ross)
11. That's Life (live)
12. Benediction (remix) (with Georgie Fame & Ben Sidran)
13. The Healing Game (re-mix)
14. I Don't Want To Go On Without You (with Jim Hunter)


Disc 2
1. Shenandoah (with The Chieftains)
2. Precious Time
3. Back On Top (remix)
4. When The Leaves Come Falling Down
5. Lost John (with Lonnie Donegan) (live)
6. Tupelo Honey (with Bobby Bland) (previously unreleased)
7. Meet Me In The Indian Summer (orchestral version) (remix)
8. Georgia On My Mind
9. Hey Mr. DJ
10. Steal My Heart Away
11. Crazy Love (with Ray Charles)
12. Once In A Blue Moon
13. Little Village
14. Blue and Green
15. Sitting On Top Of The World (with Carl Perkins)
16. Early In The Morning (with B.B. King)
17. Stranded


Yippee! UK date, and discussion of the release, to follow.




Gerry Smith

Neil Young, Live At Massey Hall - a must-buy

Neil Young - Live At Massey Hall

Neil Young’s new release, Live At Massey Hall, the famed 1971 acoustic gig in Toronto, doesn’t ring my bell quite as much as the earlier Live At The Fillmore East, backed by a powerful, mighty Crazy Horse.

Young’s Massey Hall performances – vocals, acoustic picking and piano - of his prime early ‘70s balladry are exceptional. They remind you forcefully why Young was such massive box office in those far-off days. And the close-miked sound quality is staggeringly good.

The DVD in the Special Edition’s a beaut, too. And the packaging design, like all the recent Shakey product, is delightful.

Live At Massey Hall: a must-buy.

The sheer quality of the music means that three minor whines pale into insignificance. But let’s have them, anyway:

· Young’s sub-hippy shy boy between-song mumblings. Yeeuuugh!
· The pathetically salivating Canuck crowd, far too high in the mix, roaring over-enthusiastically at the merest mention of “Canada”, “Ontario” and the rest. Provincials!
· Dysfunctional packaging. Both CD and DVD easily fall out of the gatefold sleeve – I had to add a couple of paper disc sleeves to prevent the precious artefacts getting wrecked.



Gerry Smith

Springsteen - Seeger Sessions v The Rising

When Bruce Springsteen’s Seeger Sessions aired on TV last year, I could hardly believe my ears. Having taped, watched once and hastily filed, I thought I’d better give it a second chance. Just in case I’d been unfair.

But no change, I’m afraid: music I find tedious, with performances to match – a wholly alienating experience.

So I had to reassure myself about Springsteen generally and chose to re-listen to The Rising. Thank the Lord: it sounds just as powerfully revelatory as it did when it drove me to write the review below for Music for Grown-Ups.

Whither Bruce? Let’s hope he’s over his Seeger/heritage phase.



The Rising: A Modern Masterpiece

OK. This article is a full eighteen months late. There's a reason. When The Rising was released, in 2002, I collected the (mostly positive) reviews, filed them away, and added the album to my "must-buy" list. But I also decided to delay buying it until all the fuss had died down.

At his best, notably on Darkness on the Edge of Town and Nebraska, Springsteen is one of rock's handful of great creative artists - he's a doggedly original writer who draws convincing, spare vignettes of the urban struggles of oddballs and ordinary people. He's also a fine musician and an exceptional performer (even if his bombastic arena shows are too near to mainstream show biz for my tastes).

But there's another side to Springsteen, which has always tempered my admiration. It's the sing-along-a-Brooce anthemic sloganeering designed for very large crowds - Music for Middle American Males (eagerly adopted by their peers in the rest of the world). Much of this stuff sounds like (and is widely taken as) parochial bluster, regardless of its creator's avowed intentions. Mid-'80s Springsteen is absolutely NOT music for grown-ups.

It was partly a fear that The Rising would be a suffocating Good-ole-USA love-in that decided me to delay buying The Rising. Don't get me wrong, I'm not yet another knee-jerk anti-American. My respect for the US is boundless. It's just that indulgent patriotism - by the nationals of any country - makes me cringe, whether it's the God Bless America variety, or Flower of Scotland, Waltzing Matilda and, especially, the deeply objectionable God Save Our Gracious Queen.

So I was reluctant to pay to torture myself with what I feared might be indulgent parochialism, draped in maudlin Fourth of July/Independence Day/Thanksgiving/High School graduation references - cultural references as alien to me as the totems of Islam, the bhurka or the call to prayer.

And there was a strong suspicion that the enormous tragedy of 9/11 (as I have learned to call it) was far too sensitive an issue for mere entertainers to handle: schmaltzy crocodile tears, bogus sentimentality, inarticulate hearts worn on flashy sleeves are inherently unattractive. As is facile political analysis by people whose views are simply not worth hearing. Neil Young had done a fine job on 9/11 in Are You Passionate? But I wasn't sure Bruce was up to the task.

I shouldn't have worried. The Rising, which I finally listened to - very carefully - over the holidays, is nothing less than a modern masterpiece, a fitting evocation of the wrought emotions of 9/11 and its aftermath. A permanent memorial to the outrage. But it's also so much more.

Springsteen's achievement - 73 minutes of intense emotion, scarcely drawing breath, without even approaching a false note - is appropriately massive. The Rising is a near-perfect suite of 15 linked songs of a quality infrequently encountered; and, a rarity among rock albums - it doesn't have a single weak track.

The standout song, musically and lyrically, is You're Missing. Keening strings and organ showcase poignant lyrics which recite a litany of evidence that the partner won't be returning. Ever. The pathos in the voice is almost palpable.

Popular music has seen few, if any, evocations of pained loss which are even remotely as convincing as this: its direct line to that part of the brain which controls the tear ducts places the song alongside the greatest operatic arias, the ones occurring in the final scenes of the finest operas, when the heroine finally expires.

Into the Fire, with its gospel incantation: "... may your... give us..., may your..." is not far behind. The Rising is equally powerful. Nothing Man sees the tragedy from the point of view of the Ordinary Joe, and is appropriately written and performed. Mary's Place, the only concession to Springsteen's key constituency - 40 year old/middle American/male/trainers-and-blue-jean-wearers - while disguised as an obvious singalongaBrooooce air-punching anthem, complete with mandatory (unnecessary) rock sax, turns out to be a beautifully-crafted study in turn-the-other cheek stoicism.

The two songs which see 9/11 from a different perspective - Worlds Apart, which addresses the problems of star-crossed lovers in Afghanistan, and Paradise, spoken by a suicide bomber just before the final act - save the album from being too USA-centric, adding enormously to its worldview, and its complex evocation of humanist values.

The album's superior lyrics are enriched by the eclectic range of musical styles it employs, which will surprise listeners who associate Bruce only with arena anthems. To hear such powerful lyrics set in such a range of genres is an unexpected bonus. Gospel, blues (often in the same song), anthemic rock, tender balladry, Mid-Eastern devotional inserts, telling pop hooks, and even the effective use of strings, will ensure that this album will still sound fresh and inviting in fifty years.

What elevates The Rising way above contemporary reportage of the unspeakable, diabolic attack on the Twin Towers is the universality of its concerns. Like most great art, it can be read as a general, as well as a particular, statement. The sentiments so authentically explored in The Rising are applicable to any human crisis which evokes suffering, grief, loss, stoicism, anger, bewilderment, courage, resignation, heroism, comfort, and sadness.

Darkness on the Edge of Town revealed Springsteen as a uniquely gifted chronicler of the struggles of proletarian youth in urban America. Thirty years on, The Rising tracks him painting, equally successfully, a much larger canvas - the struggles of Everyman, everywhere.

Because of the scale of its ambition, and the seeming ease with which it realises it, The Rising is great art. It's a triumphant (but absolutely not, note, triumphal) response to a national tragedy, with universal resonance. Not only is it among the artist's finest work, it's one of the highlights of all rock music.

The Rising confirms Springsteen's stature as one of the giants of popular music - as if it was ever in doubt.



Gerry Smith

Dylan’s Top Ten Dylan albums

Bob Dylan’s Top Ten Dylan albums, judging by the set lists of the first ten shows of the Europe 2007 tour, are:

1. Modern Times (2006)
2. The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (1963)
3. Highway 61 Revisited (1965)
4. "Love and Theft" (2001)
5. Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964)
6. Blonde on Blonde (1966)
7. John Wesley Harding (1968)
8. Nashville Skyline (1969)
9. Blood on the Tracks (1974)
10. Basement Tapes (1975)


Few surprises there, but ranking the playing of the back catalogue in more detail presents a few:

* Album rank – by different songs played

1. Modern Times (2006) 6
2. The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (1963) 4
3. Highway 61 Revisited (1965) 4
4. "Love and Theft" (2001) 4
5. Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964) 3
6. Blonde on Blonde (1966) 3
7. John Wesley Harding (1968) 2
8. Nashville Skyline (1969) 2
9. Blood on the Tracks (1974) 2
10. Basement Tapes (1975) 2
11. Under the Red Sky (1990) 2
12. Time out of Mind (1997) 2
13. The Times They Are A’Changin’ (1964) 1
14. Bringing it all Back Home (1965) 1
15. Oh Mercy (1989) 1
16. Greatest Hits v2 (1971) 1
17. Best Of v2 (2000) 1


* Album rank – by number of performances

1. Modern Times (2006) 47
2. Highway 61 Revisited (1965) 22
3. "Love and Theft" (2001) 16
4. John Wesley Harding (1968) 12
5. The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (1963) 11
6. Bringing it all Back Home (1965) 10
7. Blonde on Blonde (1966) 8
8. Under the Red Sky (1990) 8
9. Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964) 6
10. Blood on the Tracks (1974) 5
11. Nashville Skyline (1969) 3
12. Basement Tapes (1975) 2
13. Time out of Mind (1997) 2
14. The Times They Are A’Changin’ (1964) 1
15. Oh Mercy (1989) 1
16. Greatest Hits v2 (1971) 1
17. Best Of v2 (2000) 1


* Albums contributing no selections in first 10 shows

Bob Dylan (1962)
Self Portrait (1970)
New Morning (1970)
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
Dylan (1973)
Planet Waves (1974)
Desire (1975)
Street-Legal (1978)
Slow Train Coming (1979)
Saved (1980)
Shot of Love (1981)
Infidels (1983)
Empire Burlesque (1985)
Knocked out Loaded (1986)
Down in the Groove (1988)
Good as I Been to You (1992)
World gone Wrong (1993)



Gerry Smith

Dylan in Europe – Copenhagen last night

Thanks to: Mary, Tomas, Christian, Suzanne, Jon, Gustav, Per, Brian, Karl, Sven.

Last night in Copenhagen Dylan broke the run of samey setlists, introducing five new songs to the tour, and raising the number of different songs on the tour to 31, after only five shows - as you’d expect from the man with the most prodigious high quality songbook in the history of music. Highlight: Visions Of Johanna. Lo-light: Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum.


* Setlist - latest show – Copenhagen, Monday 2 April:

Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum
Man In The Long Black Coat
Watching The River Flow
It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
When The Deal Goes Down
Highway 61 Revisited
Visions Of Johanna
Rollin' And Tumblin'
Desolation Row
Spirit On The Water
Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
Nettie Moore
Summer Days
Like A Rolling Stone
Thunder On The Mountain
All Along The Watchtower


* Tour debuts in latest show:

Desolation Row
Man In The Long Black Coat
Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum
Visions Of Johanna


* All songs played on the tour so far:

All Along The Watchtower (5)
It's Alright, Ma (5)
Like A Rolling Stone (5)
Rollin' And Tumblin' (5)
Summer Days (5)
Thunder On The Mountain (5)

Highway 61 Revisited (4)
Nettie Moore (4)
Tangled Up In Blue (4)
Watching The River Flow (4)
When The Deal Goes Down (4)

A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (3)
Cat's In The Well (3)
Spirit On The Water (3)

Country Pie (2)
Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (2)
Girl Of The North Country (2)
Honest With Me (2)

Desolation Row
I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
It Ain't Me, Babe
Lay Lady Lay
Man In The Long Black Coat
Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)
Not Dark Yet
Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
Tears Of Rage
To Ramona
Things Have Changed
Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum
Visions Of Johanna


* Different songs (5 shows): 31


* Itinerary:

April:
4 Hamburg
5 Münster
6 Brussels
8 Amsterdam
9 Amsterdam
11 Glasgow
12 Newcastle
14 Sheffield
15 London
16 London
17 Birmingham
19 Düsseldorf
20 Stuttgart
21 Frankfurt
23 Paris
25 Geneva
26 Turin
27 Milan
29 Zürich
30 Mannheim

May:
2 Leipzig
3 Berlin
5 Herning


* Gigs already played
March
27 Stockholm;
28 Stockholm;
30 Oslo
April:
1 Gothenburg
2 Copenhagen




Gerry Smith

The Doors – rock release of 2007

A very strong contender for rock release of 2007 has to be the 40th Anniversary compilation, The Very Best Of The Doors.

There are three versions: a single CD, in the supermarkets now; a better buy is the 2CD version; easily the best buy is the Limited Edition 2CD/DVD/book.

Both of the 2CD versions have virtually everything you need by the Doors:

Disc: 1
1. Break On Through
2. Strange Days
3. Alabama Song
4. Love Me Two Times
5. Light My Fire
6. Spanish Caravan
7. Crystal Ship
8. The Unknown Soldier
9. The End (full version)
10. People Are Strange
11. Back Door Man
12. Moonlight Drive
13. End Of The Night
14. Five To One
15. When The Music's Over


Disc: 2
1. Bird Of Prey
2. Love Her Madly
3. Riders On The Storm
4. Orange County Suite
5. Runnin' Blue
6. Hello I Love You
7. The W.A.S.P. (Texas Radio & The Big Beat)
8. Stoned Immaculate
9. Soul Kitchen
10. Peace Frog
11. L.A. Woman
12. Waiting For The Sun
13. Touch Me
14. The Changeling
15. Wishful, Sinful
16. Love Street
17. The Ghost Song
18. Whiskey, Mystics And Men
19. Roadhouse Blues

The packaging of The Very Best Of The Doors, with a naked torso shot of Mr Mojo Rising pointing at the camera, is stunning. If, like me, you already own all the audio tracks, the Limited Edition is worth buying for the booklet, DVD and the packaging alone. It’s available online for about £16, delivered. Bargain!



Gerry Smith