DVD Review: David Byrne "Ride, Rise, Roar"

DVD Review: David Byrne "Ride, Rise, Roar"
Eagle Vision
All Access Review: A-

The iconic "big suit" David Byrne wore to arty, and somewhat comic, effect in the classic Talking Heads concert film "Stop Making Sense" is nowhere to be found on the idiosyncratic artist's newest performance documentary "Ride, Rise, Roar." In that exquisitely tailored, yet enormous, the rail-thin Byrne seemed like he was drowning in colorless fabric. It wouldn't have fit anybody, let alone the stick-like frame of Byrne, and yet, it told us much about contemporary living.

To anybody paying attention, it was hardly a great leap of imagination to make a connection between that suit, so devoid of personality in and of itself and yet so strangely compelling to look at, and how the frenetic, soul-stealing activity of modern life and work can swallow a person whole. And yet, there was nothing obvious or ham-handed about Byrne's unforgettable theatricality. As outsized as that suit was, the statement Byrne made with it was subtle and small, just a little tweak at the self-important business man wanting to become a master of the universe and losing himself in the process. Then again, to Byrne, maybe it was just a funny-looking, clown-ish get-up, a way to get a laugh — not bloody likely, though.

Whatever the case, it's Byrne's ability to dissect the human condition and all its mundane preoccupations, its underlying tensions, as if the world were a biology class's fetal pig — be it through enigmatic lyrics or his own strangely compelling visual artistry, and do so with a sly wit and a scientist's curiosity — that's made Byrne such a consistently interesting figure in pop music and other arenas.

"Ride, Rise, Roar" only adds to the mythology. Though not one inclined to revisit the past often, in 2008, Byrne did re-connect with Brian Eno for the LP Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, his first collaboration with Eno since 1981's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. Informed by a decidedly un-ironic love of gospel music and its effervescent hopefulness, plus a healthy interest in electronica, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today was a triumph of man and machine. Then came the tour, the 2008-09 celebration of the music Eno and Byrne have made together over the years, starting with Eno's production and writing work with the Talking Heads, when they were a new wave, art-punk oddity that somehow forged a connection with the masses through the power of nerdy funk.

Wanting to make the experience more of a dazzling show, Byrne dreamed up an unlikely marriage of pop music and modern dance — reflecting his growing interest in the interpretive power of group movement — that could have been a train wreck. Unbelievably, it worked. The tour received glowing reviews, and "Ride, Rise, Roar" shows why. Decked out all in angelic white, the band and the small cadre of darting, twirling dancers — not the usual posse of break-dancing, hip-hop athletes you see on MTV — have a synergistic bond that adds spiritual weight and uplifting joy to performance segments that are thrilling, thought-provoking and full of boundless energy.

Cringe if you must at the thought of combining "interpretive dance" with the straightforward ethics of a traditional rock concert, but be prepared also for a visceral religious experience that mixes Talking Heads classics with selections from other Byrne-Eno works, including, of course, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. It is beautifully shot by filmmaker David Hillman Curtis, with multiple camera angles and instinctual editing making the action even more intense and profound.

Though there's an awkwardness to the choreography surrounding Byrne in an otherwise electric version of "Once In A Lifetime," the concept comes together in the reflective "Life Is Long," with dancers wheeling fluidly and expressively across the stage on office chairs. Wonderfully abstract and moody, "I Feel My Stuff" shifts from jazzy, jungle-like atmospherics to sinewy, driving rock and then back again, the deceptively tricky choreography growing more and more anarchic. Taking on Talking Heads' favorites "Burning Down The House," "Road to Nowhere" and "Life During Wartime," Byrne and company attack them with an intoxicating, wild-eyed fervor and a snake-handler's belief that every note they're playing and every mapped-out dance step they take is full of meaning.

Sprinkled in between the concert footage are black-and-white, behind-the-scenes segments that reveal much about Byrne's creative process and how the experimental choreography developed. It's a fascinating look at an art form that doesn't get a lot of exposure, and the part where Byrne and Eno share a moment describing what influenced them musically on their latest collaboration offers fresh theories on inspiration and how they've channeled it into their more recent creations.

Boldly innovative, "Ride, Rise, Roar" gives "Stop Making Sense" a run for its money. Once again, Byrne's artistic sensibilities win out, and this grand experiment captures the best of what pop music and dance can accomplish when boundaries are pushed to the limits of imagination.

— Peter Lindblad

CD Review: Rory Gallagher's Irish Tour 74

CD Review: Rory Gallagher's Irish Tour 74
Eagle Records
All Access Review: A-

Though he lived and breathed American blues and was beloved worldwide for his raw talent and fiery passion, blues-rock guitar god Rory Gallagher belonged to Ireland. And that meant Northern Ireland, too. At a time when the place was a battleground, when “The Troubles” were far more disturbing than that euphemism would imply and ethno-political tensions always seemed on the verge of exploding in violence, most artists avoided it like the plague, but not Rory. He went willingly, and for an all-too-brief period when he played, he brought a little peace and unity to a land most people considered a powder keg.

In 1974, Rory Gallagher made stops throughout Ireland, and the tour was filmed by Tony Palmer. Originally, it was a project developed for the small screen, but Palmer instinctually knew that the TV was too small to contain such an epic musical journey. Eventually, Palmer’s shootings were transformed into a movie that was played all around the U.K. and parts of Europe. It would then go with Gallagher on a tour of America, and now, Eagle Rock Entertainment has reissued the film on DVD and Blu-ray. Audio evidence, collected from concerts at Belfast’s Ulster Hall, Dublin’s Carlton Cinema and Cork’s City Hall, of Gallagher’s powerful magic was also captured and released on what many consider to be one of the greatest live albums ever, Irish Tour.

This reissue doesn’t do anything to alter anybody’s opinion of Irish Tour. It has the same track listing from top to bottom, with nothing new in the way of bonus recordings added, except new, laudable liner notes and chunks of historical insight to each song by Shu Tomioka and Charles Stanford. The music is spectacular, with Gallagher cutting through the swirling keyboard smog of the wall-of-sound opener, “Cradle Rock,” with piercing, penetrating solos and lifting Muddy Waters’ “I Wonder Who” to smoky new heights with arrows of bluesy notes of truth shot with conviction and sharpness that other guitarists can only dream of flinging. Shifting into high gear, “Tattoo’d Lady” drives along at an urgent pace, with Gerry McAvoy’s bass galloping hard, Lou Martin electric keyboard firing like pistons and Rod de’Ath’s drums providing the rhythmic horsepower and Gallagher soaring at the end. Gallagher and company give the J.B. Hutto composition “Too Much Alcohol” a mean blues workout, before Gallagher straps on a Dobro 1932 National guitar for the Tony Joe White number “As The Crow Flies” and holds an acoustic séance with ghosts of the Mississippi Delta that dances and moans with religious fervor.

And Gallagher and his mates are far from done. From his own Tattoo album comes “A Million Miles Away,” where Rory and his band exhibit patience in letting the song build and burn away at the same time. His touch and creativity are sublime, as are the fireworks he displays on a feverish “Walk on Hot Coals,” where the band simply lets it all hang out. As the audience grows more and more hungry, Gallagher feeds them a multi-dimensional meal of different guitar textures, stylistic virtuosity, fearless exploration and playful experimentation with the templates of hallowed songs. To immerse yourself in the full experience of Irish Tour, get the DVD of the film and save the CD, if you don’t already have a copy, for lonely reflections on a back porch or a study with a glass of fine whisky or a wild, belated Irish wake for one of the most reveredand brilliant musicians from a tortured country’s painful past.

-         Peter Lindblad

CD Review: Duff McKagan's Loaded - Sick

CD Review: Duff McKagan's Loaded - Sick
Armoury Records
All Access Review: A

There’s nothing unhealthy about this reissue of Sick, the 2009 predecessor to Loaded’s grungier cousin, the 2011 release The Taking. Two years removed, it hardly seems like enough time has passed for a second bite at the apple with Sick, still in its toddler stage as far as music history is concerned. But, The Taking has apparently taken off, gaining favor even with many who’ve forgotten, or no longer even care, that McKagen used to be in Guns ‘N Roses. So, in keeping with the “strike while the iron is hot” line of thinking, the timing couldn’t be better to revisit Sick and Armoury Records gives us good reason to do so.

On balance, where The Taking is unexpectedly heavy and tilting more towards Soundgarden-like grunge – and therefore, a bit more lethargic in spots – Sick takes its cues from punk and maintains stronger, more aggressive tempos, while still managing to traffic in the thick, punishing rhythms and riffs of metal. Really, when it comes right down to it, it’s a matter of taste in comparing The Taking with Sick. Either you’re a fan of the more metallic dynamics and crushing heaviness of The Taking or it’s the sharper songcraft, faster pace and stylistic variety of Sick that heats your blood. Place your bets on Sick if you want an album that’ll stay with you for a long, long time.

From the nasty grooves and stinging guitars of the title track – and its great line, “You’re like Typhoid Mary mixed with the Asian flu” – that opens the 13-song set, plus two bonus tracks, and shoots right on through the wailing kiss-off “Flatline” and its meat-and-potatoes plate of ‘70s hard-rock and straight into the frantic energy of “The Slide,” to the marriage of surprisingly sweet harmonies and strong melody that is “Translucent,” Sick is relentless in its approach. That is until the touching “Mother’s Day” comes along. Beautifully written, this is Loaded’s Paul Westerberg moment. A wistful lament and treatise on loss and aging that’s neither cloying nor saccharine in its treatment of those themes, it’s the best thing Loaded has ever done. And then comes the runaway freight-train of “I See Through You” and, later, the hyper pogo-stick bounce of closer “No More” to remind everyone that Loaded doesn’t dwell on sentiment for very long.

As for the bonus tracks, one is an acoustic version of Sick’s “Wasted Heart,” the original a slow-building beauty that gets only prettier when stripped down to its essential structure. The other is “Roll Away,” a winning mix of contemplative lyrics and guitars that burn like dying embers in a fire. Throw in a 90-minute DVD featuring the scintillating “Live at the Garage” concert filmed in Glasgow in 2008, a promo video for “No More” and various webisodes, and you’ve got a rich, full package of everything you could want in reissue. Loaded? Yes, this version of Sick truly is just that.

- Peter Lindblad

Official Artist Site: http://duff-loaded.com/thetaking/

The Rock 'n Pop Summer 2011 Auction

Backstage Auctions Offers Up Investment Opportunity with Photos, Image Rights

By Patrick Prince

One of the main attractions at Backstage Auctions’ Rock ‘n’ Pop Summer Auction on June 4-12, 2011, will be more than 350 auction lots of negatives and slides — classic rock artists ranging from Eric Clapton to The Doors — with a full transfer of rights.

Ted Nugent 

One hundred auction lots will be from the archives of rock ‘n’ roll photographer and author Philip Kamin. Backstage Auctions claims that Kamin only sold his photographs to the bands he toured with, the bands’ managers, their public relations firms, record companies, or bands’ merchandisers. The Kamin images up for auction have never been sold to newspapers, magazines or photo agencies. As a result, these photographs and their original rights have remained in Kamin’s possession for decades.

“I have had a lot of time to enjoy these images,” Kamin says, “and I want to make sure they end up in the hands of individuals who will cherish them as much as I have. Bringing them to avid collectors seems to make the most sense.”

The real golden nugget of this auction is that all of these images will be offered with a full transfer of image rights. According to Backstage Auctions, purchasing photographs, negatives and slides with the transfer of rights is becoming increasingly popular, as it represents a fantastic investment opportunity for any music collector.

Bob Dylan

“We have customers that have purchased similar lots from us in the past to produce limited prints for resale, larger-scale book projects in concert with the artists and hosting of the images with various agencies, such as Getty and Corbis,” says Jacques van Gool, founder of Backstage Auctions.

What should not be overlooked is the inclusion of negatives and slides (with full transfer of rights, of course) of lesser-known photographers, such as the late Jim Townsend and the late Larry E. Lent. And many of these images have never been used.

“Jim Townsend and Larry E. Lent were both Houston-based, independent, concert photographers, who were mostly active during the 1970s and 1980s,” van Gool explains, “and are locally best known for their contributions to Music News, Houston’s longest running local music magazine.”

Some of the Houston venues where Townsend and Lent took photos were Hofheinz Pavilion, Sam Houston Coliseum, Music Hall, The Summit, Astrodome and Rockefeller’s. 

Faces

“In the ’70s, concert photos were typically used by the existing music press,” van Gool says, “and all of those magazines — whether it was Creem or Hit Parader or Rolling Stone — either had offices on the East Coast or West Coast, and as a result, live photos that were used were typically from East or West Coast venues. Photos from venues in the middle (of America) were hardly used or seen, for that matter. These two photographers in Houston were really the only two who archived almost every band that came through town — and every major band made a stop in Houston just as much as they stopped in any other major city. The irony and the sad part of it was that there was no outlet for it. The Houston media was hardly interested in it. I would say that a good 99 percent of these images had never been seen.”

The auction also will include a number of vintage concert posters and signed memorabilia, including signed artwork by The Rolling Stones’ Ron Wood.

Other types of music memorabilia featured in the auction include:

Artist Signed Items

Concert Photos, Negatives and Slides

1960s & 1970s Concert Posters

Recording Reels & Dat Recordings

Record Awards & Plaques

Vintage Amps, 1960s Gibson-EB Bass Guitar

Unique Woodstock 1969 Memorabilia

Acetates, Test Pressings, Vintage Vinyl

Amazing collection of Ron Wood signed Rolling Stones Artwork

The line up of artist memorabilia reads like the who's who of rock and roll royalty, including but not limited to Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones, The Who, Janis Joplin, The Doors, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Queen, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Aerosmith, Yardbirds, Kiss, Ted Nugent, Journey, Boston, Kansas, Styx, Molly Hatchet, Rory Gallagher, Van Halen, Fleetwood Mac, Johnny & Edgar Winter, Jethro Tull and 100s more legendary 1960s, 1970s and 1980s artists and bands. Even the 1990s is represented by A-list pop artists such as Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and Jennifer Lopez.

For more information about the auction or to obtain your VIP All Access pass, visit our auction page on our site. http://www.backstageauctions.com/catalog/auction.php

(This article originally featured on the Goldmine Magazine website. To view the original follow the link: http://www.goldminemag.com/?s=backstage+auctions&x=0&y=0 )
 

Philip Kamin – Not Your Average Rock Photographer

Philip Kamin, one of the world’s leading rock photographers, entered the music scene like so many of his peers, because of his passion for the music. It is with this passion that he amassed the largest single fully copyrighted collection of its kind. 

Unlike most of his peers, Kamin kept most of his collection from the public and copyrighted the images. Some of these he provided to the stars he toured with, others went into 35 music titles his publishing company produced. But thousands of amazing rock and roll images stayed archived in his personal collection. 

Kamin picked up his first camera decades ago and his natural talent was readily evident, and in short landed him the coveted gig as tour photographer for the band Genesis. His artistry met instant success, and Kamin became one of the most in-demand music photographers on the United Kingdom’s rock ‘n’ roll circuit. 

Jim Morrison

Over the years, Kamin also has worked with Paul McCartney and Wings, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Bob Dylan, Phil Collins, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Yes, Mick Jagger, The Clash, AC/DC, Rush, Queen, King Crimson, Van Halen, Motorhead, Roxy Music, Bill Bruford, Black Sabbath, The Cars, Madonna and John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd’s Blues Brothers, but who's name dropping here? 

There are over 100 auction lots featuring original classic rock negatives and slides, including 1964 Yardbirds with Eric Clapton, 1965 Yardbirds with Jeff Beck and a stunning 1965 Rolling Stones in Paris. Equally impressive are never before seen images of The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Genesis, Grateful Dead, Boston and Dire Straits, just to name a few. "Kamin's photographs are collectively rare and unique glimpses of days past. It is truly an honor to represent such an amazing collection of photographs, negatives and slides which capture a front row view of rock and roll history," says Jacques van Gool, founder and president of Backstage Auctions.

Jimi Hendrix

But there’s more to the “wow” factor of these iconic images that sets them apart. They’ve never been sold to newspapers, magazines or photo agencies, and both the photos and their original rights have remained in Kamin’s possession for decades. Kamin only sold his photographs to the bands he toured with, the band’s manager, their public relations firms, record companies, or the band’s merchandisers. As a result, these photographs and their original rights have remained in Kamin’s possession for decades. “I have had a lot of time to enjoy these images and I want to make sure they end up in the hands of individuals who will cherish them as much as I have,” said Kamin. “Bringing them to avid collectors seems to make the most sense.”

Kamin's collection, which will be featured in the Rock 'n Pop Summer Auction at Backstage Auctions, is being offered with both images and copyrights. The real value of the images is priceless. Whether purchased as art or an investment – the potential is enormous.

Yardbirds - Jeff Beck

The Rock 'n Pop Summer 2011 auction goes live on June 4^th and will run for one week, coming to a close on June 12^th. To receive your VIP All Access Pass for the auction please register at www.backstageauctions.com.

Philip Kamin:  is one of the world's leading rock photographers .Philip has also published over 90 books, including 40 in music, plus novels, non fiction, trade paperbacks and coffee table books in a variety of subjects.

CD Review: Duff McKagan's Loaded - The Taking

CD Review: Duff McKagan's Loaded - The Taking
Armoury Records
All Access Review: B

A financial whiz now, with a money column on playboy.com and many irons in all different kinds of fires, Duff McKagan has finally emerged from the long, black shadow cast by Slash, Axl and the whiskey-drowned mythology of Guns 'N Roses to say, "Here I am world. Remember me?" Until recently, McKagan seemed content to stay out of the spotlight while Axl's long, tortured Chinese Democracy saga played out and he played second fiddle to Slash and Scott Weiland in the supergroup Velvet Revolver.

But, the man with the strongest punk pedigree — The Living and The Fastbacks are listed on his resume — of all the Guns has, once again, turned the ignition on Loaded, the project McKagan formed in 1999, after years spent picking up such rock and roll hitchhikers as Jane's Addiction, the Presidents of the United States of America, 10 Minute Warning, former Screaming Tree Mark Lanegan and a host of others. Along for The Taking's agonizingly slow, metallic, death ride are Loaded veterans Jeff Rouse on bass and guitarist Mike Squires, with relative newcomer Isaac Carpenter in the back seat on drums and McKagan driving, taking lead vocals and rhythm guitar.

Smartly, no attempt is made to exhume Appetite For Destruction here. The raw, screaming energy and sleazy, outlaw spirit of that hallowed record is still lying in a crack house somewhere nursing a knife wound and killing the pain by downing a bottle of vodka. No, The Taking is more Black Sabbath or Alice In Chains than the shotgun wedding of the Rolling Stones, the Sex Pistols, Johnny Thunders and L.A. metal that was Guns 'N Roses, and it is dark and crushingly heavy in parts. Ponderous and woozy, "Lords of Abbadon," with its beehive of buzzing guitars, and "Executioner's Song" feel hung over as they stomp and crash into everything in their path, including anything resembling a melody.

Then, Loaded's head clears ... somewhat. The shutters fly open to reveal the glorious, if a little weak, morning-after sunlight of "We Win," a thick, life-affirming anthem that moves with purpose and full-on power, and "Easier,"  . Everything comes into focus on "Indian Summer." perhaps the best song the foursome has ever written. Its bittersweet hooks dig through the tough fabric of The Taking and catch the ear with a flood of sugary acid. The momentum continues with "Wrecking Ball," another winning track that sees Loaded finding the right mix of hard rock and tough melodies that should be more prevalent in The Taking.

Every so often, McKagan, who successfully fought off alcoholism and a dangerous episode of pancreatitis a while back, and company do revisit their demons. The seedy "Cocaine" explores the sick underbelly of addiction, and the guitars sound as if they about to crash and head off to rehab. Political corruption and corruption of the soul are two subjects Loaded studies with great depth on The Taking. It's not exactly an uplifting record, although "We Win" seems to capture McKagan's sincere lust for life and all the good that is waiting out there in a future without drugs, booze and hopelessness. Loaded is getting closer to fully realizing its potential, and there are moments on The Taking that rise above the muck and garbage at its silty bottom. One day, perhaps, McKagan will replace the engine on this machine and increase Loaded's horsepower.

— Peter Lindblad 

Artist Official Website: http://duff-loaded.com/thetaking/

March Madness - Rock 'n Roll Style!

March 27th - April 3rd, 2011

"This is one auction you can't afford to miss!"

We are serving up our first-ever March Madness Auction featuring over 1,000 previously featured auction lots with insanely low opening bid prices. 

If you like vinyl, we've got tons of vinyl. If you like concert posters, we've got those, too. If you're more in the market for signed items, we've got plenty of signed items. 

Fantastic Deals on Rare Vinyl

If you're more of a band-specific collector, we've got loads of Beatles collectibles and amazing memorabilia featuring The Rolling Stones, Yes, Grateful Dead, Journey, Frank Zappa and Genesis...just pick a band from A- Z . We've got it all. 

The idea for the auction came about after we found ourself in a position to which most collectors can relate: Too many goodies, not enough room. Over the holidays, we took stock of physically how much we've got and started to look at our auction calendar for this year and next year (which by the way good things are on the horizon), and we started to realize that if we continue to put stuff on our shelves, we'd need a bigger place. Well that wasn't going to happen. 

So here are a few highlights: 

Grateful Dead Photos by Herb Greene

Vinyl records, primarily from the 1960s and 1970s, will comprise roughly half of the featured lots. The majority of the vinyl came from disc jockeys or record company executives and is in immaculate condition. Vinyl collectors who want to upgrade their collections but need to stick to set budgets will be pleasantly surprised.

It's a perfect opportunity to pick up a lot of attractive mementos and collectibles and keep what they want, or trade the rest or resell it. To put it simply, you can buy the large vinyl lots, break up the lots, and if you want to, sell or trade them and perhaps make a bit of pocket money for yourself, and possibly then some. The opening bid prices that are set for each of the lots featured in the auction are really going to excite everyone and we mean really excite you. 

Vintage Posters

The auction will also feature a variety of signed pieces, a collection of cool concert posters from the mid-1970s, gorgeous backstage passes, obscure recording reels from the original Agora in Cleveland and a handful of oversized photos of the Grateful Dead, taken in the 1960s by renowned San Francisco photographer Herb Greene. 

If you collect Beatles memorabilia then get ready to be amazed. The auction will feature nearly 100 Beatles lots, including rare vinyl, posters, toys & collectibles, magazines and books. 

It'll be awfully hard for collectors and fans to overlook lots featured in the March Madness Auction, especially when the opening bid prices are in most cases up to 75 percent off the original store price or previous auction price.

There are literally 1000s of amazing collectibles at a fantastic price, and if you have been eyeing a particular item for awhile and you haven't really been able to bite the bullet on it, now is your chance to buy that piece, and most likely, get it for a really great price.

100's of Beatles Lots

But that window of opportunity won't stay open forever. The one promise that we will make is that once the auction is over, we are not going to put any of the unsold items back in the store. This is it, last and final encore for these items. Once the auction ends, the items will no longer be available. 

We still have hundreds of awesome items in our online store featuring quite a selection of hard rock and heavy metal memorabilia from the private collections of Al Jourgensen of Ministry and heavy metal manager Walter O'Brien. 

The March Madness Auction event is scheduled to go live on Sunday, March 27th at 2:00 pm EST and run for a week, coming to a close on Sunday, April 3rd. See our website for more details and the Auction Rules. 

There will be NO PREVIEW so when the auction goes live it will be open for immediate bidding. 

With prices slashed up to 75% percent off the original price you simply can't afford to miss this opportunity. This auction is going to be a lot of fun and we are just as excited as you. If there are questions you need answered or if we can be of personal assistance, please let us know. 

We are looking forward to seeing you at the auction block!

If you are not registered for your FREE VIP Access - Click here: Full VIP Access! 

DVD Review: Phil Collins "Going Back: Live at Roseland Ballroom, NYC"

DVD Review: Phil Collins "Going Back: Live at Roseland Ballroom, NYC"
Eagle Vision
All Access Review:  C+

In the news recently for his on-again, off-again “retirement from music” saga and an acknowledgement that he’s felt the barrage of slings and arrows flung his way from Genesis worshippers who wanted him to be Peter Gabriel, rather than the mega pop star he became, Phil Collins must have taken a great deal of comfort in shutting the recording studio doors and remaking the Motown and soul classics he’s always adored from afar for his 2010 album Going Back. Never one to hide his affection for the songs of his youth, Collins turned The Supremes’ “You Can’t Hurry Love” into a blue-eyed soul winner in 1983, scoring a #1 hit for the drummer turned pop crooner. So, it’s hardly surprising that he would follow Rod Stewart down this well-worn path and do a credible job of it … at least on record.

For the 26-track, 126-minute concert DVD “Going Back: Live at Roseland Ballroom,” Collins enlists the aid of Motown’s revered house band, the Funk Brothers, four strong male and female background singers and a powerful horn section to bring the spirit, and many of the songs, of Going Back alive onstage. The results are mixed. Lush and vibrant, the music is stellar, with bright, solar-powered horns, rich backing vocals and Chester Thompson’ drums providing thick support and full-bodied drive to the sublime rush of Daryl Stuermer and Funk Brothers Eddie Willis and Ray Monette on guitars that make “You’ve Been Cheatin’” flow like a river and “(Love is Like a) Heatwave” emit warm rays of sunshine. And Collins delivers gracefully nuanced vocals on the aforementioned “You Can’t Hurry Love” and bittersweet readings of Stevie Wonder’s “Blame it on The Sun” and the set closer “My Girl.”

Unfortunately, it is Collins who, on occasion, doesn’t rise to meet the soulful musical surge going on behind him. From his stiff, slow movement around the stage, it is clear Collins is not physically up to the task. Once a charismatic live performer, it almost seems to pain Collins, who reportedly has suffered from health problems in recent years, to walk, much less dance. Bled of the emotion Collins brings to “The Tears of a Clown” and “Papa was a Rollin’ Stone,” his weak vocals turn “Going to a Go-Go,” “Too Many Fish in the Sea” and “Nowhere to Run” into anemic, pale caricatures of once great soul and R&B charges up the hill for Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, The Marvelettes and Martha and the Vandellas. Watching the interview with Collins that accompanies the DVD, plus the rehearsal footage, there’s no doubt Collins loves and cherishes this material. His work on the arrangements is meticulous and smart, and as he says on the DVD, if he looks over at the Funk Brothers and sees them smile, then he’s done his job. And one wonders what he would do with it were Collins 10 or 15 years younger. 

Perhaps it’s best that Collins takes some time off. A few years away from business might re-energize the singer and allow him to polish these musical diamonds to a lustrous glow. As a celebration of the universal appeal and of Motown’s most incredible songs, this concert is infused with joy and, for the most part, a fun, loving ode to one of music’s finest ages. It’s just a shame that Collins doesn’t always seem in the mood for a party.

-           Peter Lindblad

Official Site: Phil Collins

If you are a fan or collector of Phil Collins or Genesis memorabilia be sure you visit the Backstage Auctions Online Store, you never know what treasures you will find. 

DVD Review: Bee Gees “In our Own Time”

DVD Review:  Bee Gees “In our Own Time”

Eagle Vision

All Access Review: B-

Little mention is made of “disco demolition night” in the new Bee Gees’ biographical documentary DVD “In Our Own Time.” Not a proud moment in music history for anyone involved, the July 1979 event, exceedingly fascist in its design even if its blockheaded organizers never imagined the devilish destruction and chaos it would incite, was the culmination of a severe backlash against what many perceived to be an utterly synthetic sound and polyester, cocaine-fueled lifestyle.

And maybe disco was all that, but the tide of hatred that swept over Comiskey Park that crazed night in Chicago during a twi-night doubleheader between the White Sox and the Detroit Tigers was pretty frightening and hard to fathom. Then again, when you combine the torches-and-pitchfork sentimentality of mob violence and free-flowing rivers of beer, perhaps it isn’t all that surprising that a half-baked plan – dreamed up by shock jocks, of course – to blow up a crate full of disco records on a baseball field in front of a stirred-up crowd would end in disaster.

Much of that mindless anger was directed at one group: the Bee Gees, disco’s royal family. The “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack, one of the biggest albums of all-time, ignited disco fever worldwide in the mid-1970s and it made the brothers Gibb international superstars. And in one fell swoop, all the good work the Bee Gees had done in the late ‘60s, the gorgeous melancholy pop and Beatlesque psychedelia of early hits like “I Started a Joke,” “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?” and “New York Mining Disaster,” among others, was forgotten. Only in recent years, with Rhino Records reissues of beautifully crafted LPs like Bee Gees’ 1st, Idea, Horizontal and Odessa, their crowning achievement, has the world begun to recognize their songwriting and studio genius.

“In Our Own Time” follows the lives of all the Bee Gees, from their childhood on the Isle of Man to the family’s momentous move to Australia, where they gained some fame as teen idols, and then onto their return to Britain, where they just missed out on the Merseybeat hullabaloo but built themselves into pop hitmakers, and their first forays into R&B and blue-eyed soul that would transform them, in fits and starts, into a glitzy, hairy-chested, gold-chain sporting disco juggernaut. Wide in its breadth, “In Our Own Time” flashes a vast assortment of vintage live clips, behind-the-scenes studio footage, revealing interviews – including extended time with the now-deceased Maurice Gibb – with all three members and many others involved in their meteoric rise and their sad tragedies, the most damaging of which was the death of younger brother Andy, a huge recording star in his own right whose lost battle with substance abuse has been well-documented.

Had the DVD not been so ambitious in scope, had it sailed on through the group’s halcyon disco days and called it a day, “In Our Own Time” could have been an essential historical document of the Bee Gees’ most prolific and exciting period. But, the filmmakers wanted to tell the whole Bee Gees story from beginning to the present, and while a noble effort, the story gets bogged down in minutia from the least interesting and blandest musical era in the band’s otherwise glorious history – see Barry’s embarrassingly saccharine, overly emotional duets with Barbra Streisand, an atrocity well worth forgetting.

What’s more, there’s a missed opportunity to dig into other, less savory aspects of the Bee Gees’ career. For example, no mention is made of their involvement in one of the worst movies ever made, 1987’s “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” with Peter Frampton. “In Our Own Time” is simply a celebration of the Bee Gees’ artistry, especially those incredible vocal harmonies that rival those of the Beach Boys and their beguiling melodies, and for the most part, it’s an interesting study. All of the brothers are good interviews, pulling no punches about their sibling arguments and Maurice’s alcoholism, and there are plenty of visual treats from their 40 years in the industry. But the film drags at a time when it should wrap things up, spending too much time on the “lifetime achievement awards” they’ve received in recent years. It completely avoids some touchy subjects and gives too much attention to others that don’t warrant it. The lack of any extras and the scant liner notes don’t enhance the overall package.

Still, “In Our Own Time” does what it can to enhance the luster of the Bee Gees’ career, ferreting out the songwriting and recording details that few other such undertakings have ever set out to do and explaining how doggedly the group persevered in its attempts to morph into a stylized soul and R&B outfit that would gain the respect of their Motown heroes and models like The Stylistics. Those features alone, however, cannot quite atone for the DVD’s sins of omission.

- Peter Lindblad

Collectors Corner: Rockin' The Smiles

Rockin' The Smiles
VIP Spotlight: Dr. Brad Jennings

Dr. Brad Jennings

What do you get when you combine a passion for music memorabilia and the skills to create beautiful smiles? Well you get a "rockin' orthodontist"! Dr. Jennings is not only a Backstage Auctions customer but also resides in Houston. So we thought we would stop by his office and check out for ourselves what this "rockin' doc" is all about and find out a little about how he got into collecting music memorabilia.

How did you get into music collecting?

Always been a rock fan.  Been playing guitar for 20+ yrs, after buying orthodontic practice I wanted to liven it up with my style and thought a rock theme would be perfect for the kids and parents.  I had some Nugent stuff given to me from Ted in high school when my parents owned a large hunting store called Dunn’s in TN, and he wanted some bow equipment for his live shows.  My dad didn’t even know who he was when he talked to him.  Like a typical teenager I was so embarrassed when he told me that.

What is the focus of your collection (genre, band, era, type of item)?

I aim for bands that I liked growing up:  GNR, Van Halen, Zeppelin.  The parents all know them and kids know them from playing Rock Band of course! 

What is your method of collecting? How do you determine the authenticity and provenance of a piece of memorabilia?

Perry Farrell's Jacket

I got burned at first, and I’m sure I’ll get burned again!  I try to compare autographed things to other pics on the internet.  A lot of bands are selling their stuff personally like Nine Inch Nails and Smashing Pumpkins which makes buying a lot safer.  I’m staying away from buying autographs now.  I’m looking for unique things like personally owned things.  I have a jacket worn by Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction and a Nine Inch Nails flight case with travel stickers on it. 

What do you like most about collecting?

Sun Records
Sam Phillips Telegram

I like collecting stuff that has a story behind it.  I loved the Gene Simmons meeting and getting his stage played Axe bass.  I have a telegraph from Sam Phillips talking about Jerry Lee Lewis that I got from Backstage Auctions.  It means a lot since I grew up in Memphis with Sun Records.

What would you consider to be your "first" piece of memorabilia?

My first memorabilia would actually be some items from Drivin’ ‘N Cryin’, a band out of Atlanta, that I loved in high school.  Unfortunately, my mom tossed all my cool stuff out about two months before I started decorating the office!

What is your most-prized item (both in dollar value and sentimental value)?

Gene Simmons' Axe Bass
Check out the personal note...cool! 

Gene Simmons’ Axe bass complete with blood!  Getting to meet Gene was great and getting an actual stage played item that I have pictures and videos of him playing is awesome.

What is your favorite musical act or artist of all time?

I’d say Jane’s Addiction.  I’ve been listening to them from the mid-80’s and never seem to get sick of hearing them.

What was your most memorable concert you have ever attended?

I saw Smashing Pumpkins when they were just coming out in a small place in Memphis.  Billy Corgan said, “Here are 3 things about us:  We’re from Chicago, we don’t take requests, and we promise to kick your ass”  It was awesome. 

What advice would you give to someone that is new to the world of collecting music memorabilia?

I’d go after things that are personal to you.  I know Beatles stuff and Elvis items are worth a lot, but I don’t have a personal tie to growing up with them.  I love my Nine Inch Nails, Kiss, and Jane’s Addiction stuff b/c I grew up with them.

What does the future hold? 

Once a rocker...always a rocker! 

I plan to get a larger office in the future thanks to us growing as a practice, but I want to plan the rock theme into the building of it.  I’d like to have a room dedicated to items like the Hall of Fame or Hard Rock does.


Well Dr. Jennings certainly has a passion for collecting and his office was really cool. We really enjoyed visiting with him, his staff and yes we were tempted to sign up for braces. How cool is to to walk into your orthodontist's office and have this view? 

Dr. Jennings "pit"

Keep "rockin' those smiles" Dr. Jennings!

If you live in the Houston, Texas area and are interested in a consult with Dr. Jennings please visit his website for the office contact information:   http://www.rockingyoursmile.com/

DVD Review: Velvet Revolver "Live in Houston"

DVD Review:  Velvet Revolver “Live in Houston”

Eagle Vision

All Access Review: B+

On paper, it was a match made in heaven, or at least somewhere on the Sunset Strip. Four ex-members of Guns N' Roses – Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum and Dave Kushner – backing a slithering, swaggering, fashion-plate of a singer with a highly publicized drug problem in former Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland seemed like a super group that might just rekindle the crash-and-burn, gutter-rock firestorm of Appetite for Destruction. To a large extent, the promise of this shotgun wedding went unfulfilled – that is if you were expecting Appetite … II, the Sequel.

With Contraband, Velvet Revolver came out swinging with a fairly strong debut, even if it didn’t quite provide the grit and utterly debilitating punch to the gut that Appetite did. A lack of new ideas, some rehashed guitar riffs and Weiland’s subdued sleaze all caused Contraband to fall just a bit short of expectations, which is not to say that Contraband missed the mark entirely. Gripping grooves, tough, irresistible rhythms and the occasional flashes of brilliance in Slash’s solos rescued Contraband from utter failure and gave hope that better days lay ahead for VR.

At the very least, none of the Velvet Revolver team has anything to be ashamed of in Contraband. It just wasn’t Appetite, and maybe, just maybe, it was asking too much to believe that it would be. After all, this wasn’t Guns N' Roses, and comparing the two projects is a little unfair. But, let’s be honest. From day one when this project was announced, everyone was waiting to see if VR measured up to both Guns N' Roses and the Pilots.

At the time of this writing, Weiland had returned to the Pilots, and Velvet Revolver was being coy about whether or not it had settled on a new lead singer. “Live in Houston,” a concert DVD that captures the band live in 2005, shows what the Weiland version of the band was capable of onstage.

A gutsier, sleazier, edgier Velvet Revolver emerged this night. Aside from the lamentably forced exhortations from Slash and Weiland for the crowd to abandon their inhibitions and lose themselves in all the sexual energy that a down-and-dirty rock show can muster, Velvet Revolver acquits themselves nicely, playing with vim and vigor in stomping through originals and a few covers of Guns N' Roses and Pilots tracks. They attack the heavy opener, “Sucker Train Blues,” with a pounding, frothing-at-the-mouth intensity that unrelentingly barrels on through satisfying, riff-heavy numbers like “Do it for the Kids,” the epically huge “Headspace” and an equally explosive “Crackerman.” Weiland plays the role of debauched ringleader perfectly, crawling around the stage like a predator, pouncing on monitors and pouring out sweaty vocals through a megaphone, while the band lets loose furious, bump-and-grind metal grooves. And on the Guns N' Roses classic “It’s So Easy,” Weiland sounds just as dangerous as Axl ever did. 

Captured from a variety of camera angles, Velvet Revolver sizzles live, and the quick cuts and creative image shaping add to the excitement of a live performance that tears the roof off the place, even if VR flat-lines on a weakened “Big Machine” and a boring take on “Used to Love Her” before reviving itself for “Slither,” which comes down from its atmospheric headspace to hit the streets with roaring guitars.  

Overall, “Live in Houston” is not only a cracking concert DVD, but it’s augmented by no-holds-barred, behind-the-scene footage and candid interviews that talk openly about helping Weiland get sober and how the band fought over who the lead singer would be before getting Weiland. Expertly filmed and edited, with a whole lot more to offer than just electrifying live rock and roll, “Live in Houston” finds Velvet Revolver firing round after round of tough, angry rock to a crowd eager to lap it all up. Stay tuned. Evidently, the Velvet Revolver story is far from finished.

- Peter Lindblad

CD Review: Carl Palmer - Working Live - Volume 3

CD Review: Carl Palmer - Working Live - Volume 3
Eagle Records
All Access Review: A-

Virtuoso drummer Carl Palmer pulls out all the stops on the third installment of his Working Live series, taking on some of the most complex pieces his old band, the classical-rock adventurers Emerson, Lake and Palmer, ever attempted.

Never ones to shy away from a challenge, ELP was, perhaps, the most daring threesome of all the brainy, hyper-ambitious 1970s progressive-rock expeditions, King Crimson included. And though they revered the works of such musical geniuses as Prokofiev and Mussorgsky, Palmer and company didn’t see it as their mission to simply regurgitate their works in those halcyon days. With their imaginations working overtime, they wanted to do them their own way and in the process, make them palatable to audiences whose ears were more attuned to The Beatles than Bach. And if the moment called for it, ELP committed sublime violations that would make classical-music purists squirm – as evidenced by keyboardist Keith Emerson famously stabbing knives into his organs to generate blood-curdling howls from his instruments. Still, ELP won their grudging respect.

Such theatrics, shockingly funny and irreverent as they were at the time, aren’t revived in Palmer’s latest project, another trio that finds Palmer now collaborating with lead guitarist Paul Bielatowicz and bass guitarist Stuart Clayton. A concert album of inspired musicianship and envelope-pushing reinvention, Working – Volume 3 is Palmer and crew at their most ambitious, tackling such touchstones as Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet” and Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” as a brazen ELP once did.

Less whimsical than ELP’s original version, but more dynamic and heavy, the centerpiece of the six-track Volume 3 has to be the lengthy “Pictures at an Exhibition.” There’s nothing cautious about how Palmer and company approach this, or any other, composition. It’s sinister and disturbing in parts, with Bielatowicz’s frenzied guitar work going off in unpredictably wild directions but never veering off course and Clayton providing thoughtful and flexible melodic support. Heads will spin at all the directional shifts and changes in mood that occur, and the three handle them all with the utmost skill and feel. It almost sounds like free jazz. And at the heart of it all is the controlled chaos of Palmer’s thrilling stick work, the action reaching a free-for-all around the 16:30 mark.

Naturally, with Emerson’s keyboards replaced by electric guitars, everything sounds more modern and edgy. This time around, Henry Mancini’s “Peter Gunn,” as fun as ever, is propulsive, psychedelic and throbbing with mind-fucking kaleidoscopic color and raw energy, the kind usually found in garage rock. “Romeo and Juliet” has a deep, menacing groove and occasionally, there’s a Hendrix-like schizophrenia that seeps into the track’s carefully plotted action and messes with the chemistry in wonderful ways. And while their take on Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” is riddled with clichés, the stop-on-a-dime tempo changes and crazed fury of the Emerson and Lake original “Bitches Crystal” more than makes up for the momentary lapse of reason, as does Palmer’s inventive and intricate drum work on “In a Moroccan Market.”

Working – Volume 3 shows that Palmer remains restlessly creative and unafraid of challenging himself and his band. In the liner notes, he says, “Playing in a trio is his passion.” And if nothing else, this set of live renderings of old ELP numbers indicates that “3” is, indeed, Palmer’s lucky number.

Peter Lindblad