Feb 13 2023
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CD, record store day, reissue, vinyl

Marshall Crenshaw • Marshall Crenshaw [CD, LP]

I always joke that Marshall Crenshaw is my namesake, but the truth is, he’s only slightly older than me and also: we’re not related and don’t even know each other. I did meet him once, in 1982, when his debut album, Marshall Crenshaw, was released. I was a 19 year old DJ at the college radio station, KCMU (University of Washington; it’s now KEXP), and he was one of the first “famous” people I ever met. Sharing the same first name was a big deal to me then. (Kinda still is…)

Crenshaw’s rootsy, power poppy debut album has now been reissued on CD by YepRoc, who issued a 2LP vinyl set on Record Store Day Black Friday 2022. Marshall Crenshaw is packed with hoppin’ and boppin’ “alternative rock” that harks back to early greats like Buddy Holly, yet updates the sound with more jingle, more jangle, and the tight production of ’60s legend, Richard Gottehrer. I instantly fell for that sound! You couldn’t deny the energy and bounce of “She Can’t Dance,” “There She Goes Again” or “Cynical Girl.” This many years later the subject matter is definitely dated – to someone my age it now seems silly to be singing about yer love for a gurl – but the melodies and the beat are still timeless. I’m a big fan of Marshall’s great cover of “Soldier of Love” (originally recorded in 1962 by Arthur Alexander and covered right around then by The Beatles on one of their BBC sessions [later appearing on multiple bootlegs and finally on The Beatles at the BBC, 1994]), here having more of a “girl group” vibe, as does MC’s own “Mary Anne,” still my top song on this long player.

Marshall Crenshaw (center) visits the UW’s KCMU radio station, 1982. That’s yours truly at right.

Back to the B-sides (as in bonus tracks): The YepRoc CD – like the limited edition RSD vinyl – includes a number of bonus tracks, most of them different from the ones that graced Rhino’s version. I think their 2000 release has better extras, especially “Somebody Like You” and the Buddy Holly cover, “Rave On,” which for some reason aren’t included here. But there are some goodies here, including “Something’s Gonna Happen” and “You’re My Favorite Waste of Time” (both available on both versions). This new issue also includes a couple of alternate versions of songs from the album (“Brand New Lover” and “Mary Anne”) but they’re not exactly revelatory. I imagine Marshall wanted to shine a light on some other things this time around, but I’ll bet the bonus tracks from both versions would fit on one CD along with the album itself. Regardless, if you don’t have Marshall Crenshaw in your collection and you like jangly power pop, you couldn’t do much better than to pickup either the RSD 2LP or the new CD. Yep, Marshall rocks, all right. – Marsh(all) Gooch

4/5 (YepRoc YEP-3027X, 1982/2022)

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Feb 07 2023
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12" single, reissue, vinyl

Captain Sensible • This Is Your Captain Speaking [12″ EP]

Captain Sensible - This Is Your Captain SpeakingI took almost a year off from this website (or is it a “blog”?) for a number of reasons, many of them lost to the mists of time… Okay, yeah, it wasn’t really all that long ago but some of the reasons I have forgotten. Then I read of this lovely reissue, CAPTAIN SENSIBLE’s This Is Your Captain Speaking, and figured maybe it was time to revisit things. Let’s move on from questions of who’s to blame and finger pointing to more, uhhh, sensible things, shall we?

First released as a 7″ back in 1981, This Is Your Captain Speaking is a 3-song solo record that The Damned’s guitarist put together for the good lil’ anarchists at Crass Records. It was super hard to find here in the States (I didn’t actually learn of it until late ’82 or so) and the one I ended up with was pretty worn out already. It didn’t help that the record was cut at 33 rpm. What must have been at least somewhat interesting to the person who owned it before me was how Sensible combined his love of punk rock with his then not-so-documented love of psychedelic rock, pop rock and liberal politics. The A-side, “The Russians Are Coming,” is a diatribe about how big superpowers continually use scare tactics (like blame and finger pointing) to prime the pistons of their war machines. The backing vocalists sing “the Russians are coming” and Captain screams “it’s all I’ve ever heard!” and then again with “the Russians are coming” and Sensible’s retort, “I don’t believe a word.” Whether you believe it or not, folks, you may at least be old enough to remember hearing that refrain as a warning/threat/etc. when you were young. Here it’s set to a catchy melody that makes for a good political pop song.

On the EP’s B-side were two songs, not as strong but still quite good, starting with “(What D’Ya Give) The Man Who’s Gotten Everything?” a tune Sensible would re-record for his first A&M album, Women and Captains First, a year later. That tune could’ve just as well been recorded by The Damned, with its punkily humorous refrain. Then there’s “Oursouls to You” – an anti-religious hymn sung by an all-Captain choir – which starts and ends with found-sound dialog clearly nabbed from some radio or television program aimed at whatever kind of Christians were likely to be tuned in.

In one fell swoop – errrr, uhhh, 3-song volley – Captain Sensible took swipes at a trio of his biggest bugaboos: war, greed and religion. Or is that just one collective bugaboo? Whatever, the indie single was hard to find for years until last summer when Crass Records reissued it as a 12″ single via the much larger One Little Independent label. Being the kind of guy who’s usually tuned in to these kinds of releases, you’d think I would have been right on top of ordering this baby. Well… hey! Even I miss one now and again. Nevertheless, this 12″ was entirely worth the wait, as these tracks have not only never come out on CD but have never sounded this good. Cut at 45 rpm and wisely pressed on a big 12-inch, This Is Your Captain Speaking is available for purchase. Pass on it at your own peril. – Marsh Gooch

4.5/5 (Crass/One Little Independent 321984/SR, 2023)

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Mar 03 2022
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CD, vinyl

The Jazz Butcher • The Highest in the Land [CD, LP]

The Highest in the Land – knowing Pat Fish, probably some kind of an in-joke – is the latest album from the late musician/singer/ songwriter who dubbed himself THE JAZZ BUTCHER. Recorded last year as Fish was in his last few months on dry land (it seems he knew he was, errr, shipping out soon), it’s a fitting endpiece to a discography of some of the greatest recordings to ever be called “alternative,” “new wave,” “college rock” (here in the States) or whatever else the rock scribes of the day came up with. “Dazzling,” “clever,” “catchy” and many other adjectives can be applied to most everything he ever put out, and this one’s definitely all of that.

The Jazz Butcher (as in, “I want to see the man in charge!”) had been recording his hooky, peculiar tunes since his debut LP, Bath of Bacon, and 45, “Southern Mark Smith” were released in 1983. I caught on to him the next year with his absolute classic, A Scandal in Bohemia, an album I still listen to on a regular (as in, “at least once a month”) basis. Over the years and albums Fish/The Butcher’s writing smoothed out; the man matured from writing songs describing birthday presents “made entirely from the skins of dead Jim Morrisons” (“Caroline Wheeler’s Birthday Present”) to (on this release) things like “Melanie Hargreaves’ Father’s Jaguar.” The sense of humor is much more refined today. And, actually, so is the sound. In fact, it’s been awhile since The Jazz Butcher used distorted guitar and tons of reverb to tell his tales, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The Highest in the Land, like pretty much everything after the mid ’90s, is less in your face and more about space. There’s more breathing room. More space for your brain to fill in.

In reviewing The Jazz Butcher’s previous work, all of which were reissues at the time I was writing about them, I had the time – as in years or decades – to let them steep in my imagination and overall being. With this one, I’ve been listening to an album of all new material on short trips to town, in short spurts here and there at home, and when I have featured it on the radio show I do.* I featured The Highest in the Land’s lead single, “Time,” frequently during the last few months of the year (it had been released as a download just after Fish passed away) as it was not only a superb track but a very, errrr, timely tune with allusions to its author’s impending demise. That he himself wrote “My hair’s all wrong, my time ain’t long / Fishy go to heaven, get along, get along” to start off the track lets us know he was writing with some specific intent – to get a few things off of his chest, maybe, or a few thoughts out of his mind, before he left this mortal coil. The tune’s light hip hop lilt and droll, rappy delivery are perfect for some of Fish’s final (public) thoughts. Other tracks contain more of what our man was thinking in his final months, including “Never Give Up” and “Running on Fumes,” and the sweet, beautiful closer, “Goodnight Sweetheart.”

It’s rare that an artist gets to jot down and record songs about his own final days – what would we do if we knew we were dying? – let alone actually does so. And so, with The Highest in the Land, we are privy to The Jazz Butcher’s last testament. (As far as I know, I am not in his will.) Acting as the final chapter in an acclaimed yet (un)fairly unsung career, this album announces that, if you haven’t yet welcomed The Jazz Butcher into your soul, it’s about time that you did. – Marsh Gooch

4/5 (Tapete TR492, 2022)

* (You can catch my show on Mondays from 3-5pm at KPTZ.org.)

 

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Feb 02 2022
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book, punk

Disturbing the Peace: 415 Records and the Rise of New Wave • Bill Kopp [Book]

Disturbing the Peace: 415 Records and the Rise of New Wave is BILL KOPP’s new book on just that: How the San Francisco indie record label was at the forefront of the late ’70s/ early ’80s new wave and punk movement. This lengthy (but just the right amount!) book is an exciting, truthful, rarely over-enthusiastic telling of the label that spawned bands such as Romeo Void, Translator, Red Rockers and many more. My days as a college radio DJ at Seattle’s KCMU and writer for that town’s The Rocket were more than touched by 415.

It started out almost by accident. Chris Knab, who owned a local San Francisco record store, was doing a radio show at San Fran’s KSAN, invited friend/customer Howie Klein to join him on the show, playing recordings (vinyl and cassettes) by local, undiscovered musicians. The two were eventually asked to put out a record by The Nuns (they “were basically talked into it”), despite having no previous experience with such an undertaking, and 415 Records was born. From there, Knab, Klein & Co. put out records by The Offs (not to be confused with Off!), Pearl Harbor & The Explosions (the first single version of “Drivin’”), SVT and even Roky Erickson (The Evil One LP), as well as personal favorites by The Pop-O-Pies (reviewed here), Red Rockers, New Math and Romeo Void. Eventually 415 Records was bought by Columbia/ CBS, who kept Knab & Klein on (ostensibly for A&R), and the label released bigger records by Romeo Void, Red Rockers, Translator and Wire Train. The major label folks really had no idea of how to work with the kinds of bands 415 cultivated nor how to work within the culture of indie music and college radio; Knab left in 1985, dismayed over the mistreatment of 415’s bands. Eventually the train lost its steam and stalled out, Klein leaving the label to go to a new position at Warner Bros., CBS then selling the label to someone who effectively let it die a quiet death. In summary, kind of a typical story, but in its details a highly interesting and arresting one.

Bill Kopp does an excellent job of telling the story – or stories, really – behind 415 Records without ending up in superfan territory, over-enthusing about minor anecdotes or under-reporting big stories just because they don’t appeal to him as a fan or fit a preconceived narrative. That being said, it is clear that he must actually be a fan, if only because he did – after all – write this book. But Disturbing the Peace, published by Hozac Books, doesn’t seem to miss anything of even medium consequence, touching on everything from bands zealously reaching for the brass ring (Red Rockers’ obvious 180° turn from punk to commercial new wave, for instance) to the shady business practices of CBS/Columbia and other major labels of the time. My only complaint is that, being broken up primarily into chapters that discuss a particular band and its releases (or in the case of bigger bands, each of their releases), the author will refer to someone already referred to in a previous chapter as if we are just now being introduced to them. Rock critic Joel Selvin, for instance (who wrote the foreword), gets intro’d as a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle numerous times. Even 415 co-founders Klein and Knab are seemingly reintroduced here and there. But – great googly moogly! – Kopp has written a book that treats its subject as important but not overly important, exciting without having to work real hard to prove it, etc. I wish every book written about independent record labels, bands, scenes or movements was written with this much of an even-tempered hand.

And, man!, I have read a lot of these kinds of books. (For example, here are just the ones I’ve written about on this site.) Kudos to Bill Kopp for Disturbing the Peace! It would be criminal if he didn’t have the time, energy and will to work up further books on such subjects. – Marsh Gooch

5/5 (Hozac Books HZB-014, 2022) (Order the book directly here.)

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Jan 05 2022
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CD, Skratchdisc, vinyl

Pretenders • Pretenders II [CD]

[Review originally published 1/18/2011 on Skratchdisc]

The holidays and a little bit of travel kept me busy for the last month, and though there are some new releases I’d like to get to, I listened to this gem on the plane and I can’t help but want to give Pretenders II its due.

Now I know most of you, if you’re a PRETENDERS fan, like the first album better. And what’s not to like about that album? Every song’s a winner; it’s hard to beat “Mystery Achievement,” “The Wait” or their cover of “Stop Your Sobbing,” let alone the truly sublime “Brass in Pocket.” But Pretenders II is just as brilliant, just as rockin’, and in my book, a better collection of songs. From the opening beats of “The Adultress,” all the way through “Louie Louie” (not the Kingsmen’s hit), II is a rock ’n’ roll coup.

Can you beat “Message of Love” for a song that is so sensually poetic, and yet still kicks you in the nuts? Chrissie Hynde’s lyrics are so good, even when she lifts others’ lines like “Now look at the people, in the streets, in the bars / We are all of us in the gutter, (but) some of us are looking at the stars,” she’s an original. “Talk of the Town”? Brill. “I Go to Sleep?” Hynde & Co. pick another sleeper of a Ray Davies tune and make it their own. “Bad Boys Get Spanked?” Oh my, how I wished I was getting a spankin’ from Chrissie back then. Yes ma’m, no ma’m… whatever you say, Ms. Hynde!

And what about “Birds of Paradise”: “I wrote a letter to you my friend, so many letters that I never send / I think about you at day’s end, the time that we had / I laughed in my bed, the stupid things you said / We were two birds of paradise.” What a gorgeous song. The band at that time, Chrissie, James Honeyman Scott, Pete Farndon and Martin Chambers, were probably the best unit going at the time. Their intertwining guitar and bass lines on this song, with Chambers’ tasteful percussion, are a showcase for how they could tone it down and still pack a wallop. So, with II, we now had a pair of absolutely stunning albums and then, boom, two of the four [original band members] are gone. It’s sad to say that Pretenders II was the last page in that unmatched opening chapter, but it was, it is, and life goes on.

Chrissie, of course, continued on with Learning to Crawl, also a nice piece of work, but the band from that point on became a bit of a revolving door with its members. Whatever… She still does great work. But if you haven’t given II a spin in awhile, please do. It really is amazing. – Marsh Gooch
5/5 (Sire/Real SRK 3572, 1981)

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Dec 21 2021
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box set, compilation, Skratchdisc

Big Star • Keep an Eye on the Sky [Box Set]

[Review originally published 12/10/2009 on Skratchdisc]

It’s about time they dedicated a box set to BIG STAR. Keep an Eye on the Sky is a 4 disc set featuring most of their two classicos supremos, #1 Record and Radio City, plus a good helping of Sister Lovers and a ton of demos, live tracks, and more. In fact, disc 4 is solely dedicated to a show recorded in Memphis in January of ’73, and it’s both captivating and sad. There’s hardly anyone there, from what you can detect, though the band is in great form. Luckily some cat with a tape recorder got it down for us to enjoy thirty something years later!

If you’re not already indoctrinated you may want to buy the single CD/double LP reissue of the aforementioned albums, but to those of us who already know of the power pop perfection that Alex Chilton & Co. delivered to almost no one at the time, this box—which comes in a deceiving 7″ form factor—must be opened and enjoyed. Sound quality is ace and there’s enough delectable rarities to make it well worth getting your wife pissed that you “blew 60 bucks on a fricking box set!” – Marsh Gooch

4/5 (Ardent/Rhino R2 519760)

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Nov 04 2021
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box set, compilation

The Jazz Butcher • Dr Cholmondley Repents: A-Sides, B-Sides and Seasides [4CD Boxset]

R.I.P. Pat Fish (1957-2021)

No, I didn’t actually know THE JAZZ BUTCHER – neither the man nor the band that shared his nom de rock – but I kinda felt like I did. There’s definitely an empty spot in my music-lovin’ soul now that he is gone. Dr Cholmondley Repents, a hefty box set compilation of his band’s singles and rarities, was just about to be released when Fish passed away in early October. It is the third in a series of tasty 4-disc compilations (the other two comprising four albums each of his Glass Records and Creation Records releases), and now that “Butchy” has left our midst, takes on a much larger responsibility than it was originally charged with. In many ways Dr Cholmondley does a better job of summing up what The Jazz Butcher was about than any single album or other box set could.

Much has been written – at least by me – on The Jazz Butcher (see my various posts here) and its/his humor and cleverness, let alone the sheer variety of styles the band/man took on in their/his day. And nowhere is that more in evidence than on this multi-disc set. Subtitled
“A-Sides, B-Sides and Seasides,” Dr Cholmondley neatly covers everything (but the original albums) that made The Jazz Butcher so important to those who appreciated the breadth of their work. Disc A, the A-sides, is just that: A collection of singles, many of which did not originally appear on non-compilation albums. (As the group’s output has been compiled many times in the last near 40 years, much of what is here has appeared on CD before now.) You’ve got the cutesy, silly early things like “Marnie (Miaow Mix),” “Southern Mark Smith” (the original, faster version), and their rollicking cover of The Modern Lovers’ “Roadrunner,” as well as the later, more mature sides like “Angels” and “Girl Go.” Funny, sad, poignant – no angle is left uncovered. Move on to Disc B, the B-sides, and you’ll discover much of what first caught my ear. By way of a 1986 North American and Australian compilation called Bloody Nonsense, songs like “Death Dentist,” “The Devil Is My Friend,” “Grooving in the Bus Lane” and the liquid doubleheader “D.R.I.N.K.” and “Rain” became earworms in Jazz Butcher fans’ collective ears some time ago, but since that particular comp never made it to CD, their appearance here is much appreciated.Disc C – what you could call “C-Sides” (actually a second disc of B-Sides) – continues down my own memory lane but also takes in many even more obscure tracks only found on various artists compilations or European 12″ singles that rarely made it across the water back then. “Lost in France,” “The Hairbrush and the Tank” and the homage to “Peter Lorre” are here, though the super-duper-difficult-to-find “Christmas With the Pygmies” is unaccounted for.* And yet, the covers “May I?” (Kevin Ayers), “Speedy Gonzalez” (from the American cartoon), and “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” are – thankfully! Move along to the fourth disc (“Seasides”) and you get a super cool live concert (though recorded in the studio) broadcast over KCRW radio in Santa Monica, California (which is, ahem, seaside). The dozen songs here were recorded there in 1989 and sound like they were dubbed from a cassette of the presentation. It’s not the greatest sounding concert, but it IS a dynamite collection of the wide variety of styles The Jazz Butcher nimbly made their own. Despite its sound quality, this disc may be the one that you end up playing the most.

Very rarely in the world of rock ’n’ roll does someone come along with such a unique, three dimensional way of putting his songs – his vision – across. It’s no wonder that Patrick Huntrods (aka Pat Fish aka The Jazz Butcher) remained relatively unknown his entire life; not many music fans want their “pop star” so un-pigeonhole-able. For those of us who do – like me, maybe like you – The Jazz Butcher was at the center of a conspiracy designed so we could keep one fantastic little treasure to ourselves. Now that he’s gone, I think we can let others in on the secret. – Marshall Gooch

* In a Facebook post a few months ago I asked Pat if that song would be on the upcoming box set, and he informed me – and whoever else read the post – that that mega rare 7″ was meant to be a special something for the earliest Jazz Butcher fans and was, therefore, not being included here. I was bummed. Luckily, another of Pat’s social media friends provided me with an MP3 of “Christmas With the Pygmies” so I could, at least, hear it. Thanks, Kevin C.!

5/5 (Fire Records FIRECD565, 2021)

Below is the very latest thing The Jazz Butcher released, within a few days of Pat’s death, and so far only on the internet. Let’s hope a final album (or at least a 12″) is forthcoming.

 

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Oct 28 2021
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CD, vinyl

Elvis Costello & The Attractions • Spanish Model [CD, LP]

This stupid pandemic has brought to market all kinds of stuff we never thought we would need. (I’m not going to go into detail on any of it except this…) ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS’ Spanish Model is a semi-remake of EC’s classic second album – the first he did with The Attractions – This Year’s Model. I don’t really know where to start with this, a remodel of a record that needed no overhaul in the first place. Put on the original today and it still blasts out of your speakers, all splash, brash and flash: insistent and consistent. Click on the link to this new one and it comes out of your little white earbuds or 1/2″ x 3″ wide laptop speakers as perhaps the most incongruent release in Elvis’s discography. What Spanish Model is is This Year’s Model with most of EC’s vocals replaced by vocals recorded by “singing stars from Latin America, Spain & the U.S.A.” That, on paper, doesn’t sound like a bad idea, exactly. On compact disc, though, it’s like time travel gone awry. Take that young English upstart and his cohorts and plop them, 40+ years later, into a world that they never made – or probably envisioned – and you’ve got trouble. What I’m getting at is these modern, smooth vocalists, as good as they can be (though there are some that just aren’t!), just don’t suit the music. I am left wondering just what in the world Costello and his business advisors were thinking when they cooked this one up.

I wish I could say I had high hopes for this one. I did not. In fact, I was going to skip this one entirely until one day, browsing the very meager selection of CDs and vinyl at my local Target, I saw Spanish Model on the shelf with a sticker noting “three bonus songs” and decided to give it a shot. Well, my aim’s never been very true and so I missed the target with this one. I can say, though, that producer Sebastian Krys’ mix – though very close to Nick Lowe’s original – does bring out some interesting bits that weren’t in evidence on that year’s model. Krys, being both a celebrated producer and person of Latin heritage, was clearly instrumental in this project’s birth and may have even been the instigator. And maybe, just maybe, the idea was judged to be a good one once it was obvious that Elvis Costello & The Imposters’ next album would hearken back to the sound of This Year’s Model (if pre-release track “Magnificent Hurt” is a trustworthy indicator). As much as many of us Costello fans have been wishing for a return to the glory days of EC & The Attractions, I don’t think any of us expected it to happen. At least, not this way. – Marshall Gooch

2/5 (UMe B0034233-02, 2021)

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Sep 22 2021
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CD, deluxe edition, vinyl

Supergrass • In It for the Money [3CD]; Super Furry Animals • Rings Around the World [3CD]

Two British bands, both with “super” in their names, and both celebrating the more-or-less 20th or 25th anniversaries of one of their best releases. For SUPERGRASS, In It for the Money is nearly a quarter century old and comes in a remastered version bolstered by B-sides, demos and a live disc featuring most of the album’s tracks. SUPER FURRY ANIMALS’ Rings Around the World is twenty and also comes in remastered form with B-sides and demos, but instead of a live set we get an entire disc of remixes. Both releases are excellent, and at least on the CD versions, overflowing with Britpop goodness.

Supergrass’ sophomore effort was light years ahead of their debut, I Should Coco, which suffered from a clumsy name and a narrow breadth of music (loosely then-considered “punk” but not quite). In It for the Money was a blast when it came out, and I have to admit – though it pains me to do so – I didn’t like it at first. It was my first experience with ’Grass and I thought it sounded either a) derivative [of what, I don’t remember!] or b) everywhere at once. After repeated listenings, though, I came around. I guess I figured out what they were going for and its power/Brit pop vibe was both focused and all over the place… in a good way. Harder rockers like the title track, “Richard III,” “Tonight” and others sat alongside “Late in the Day” and “It’s Not Me” and altogether obliterated the probably derogatory punk designation that Supergrass initially earned. They could have collectively choked with such a hold around their necks, but the band cockily flipped off the critics and delivered a downright classic alternative rock record.

For Super Furry Animals, their first major label outing benefited from a much larger budget and near unlimited time in a big league studio. Rings Around the World was more expansive than anything they’d done before, a little more electronic and a little more pop simultaneously. The lengthy album came with power-poppy tunes like the title track, nu-pop/soul like “Juxtaposed With U,” and the ballad pop of “It’s Not the End of the World.” It may now seem like a pretty lengthy album (it was released when vinyl was nearly dead) but it’s all very good so it’s really a moot point. The major label budget gave the band a chance to not only record nearly three single LPs’ worth of material, but to actually produce a 5.1 surround mix of the entire album and videos to go with it. (Sadly, you don’t get a disc with that material in this set but they can be had via the internet.) They also had a host of remixes done and most of those are here. I wouldn’t say those remixes are must-haves but they do give a good idea of what kinds of ideas and sounds the Furries’ heads were swimming in at the time.

Both Supergrass and Super Furry Animals’ deluxe CD sets are loaded with great material, and both are also available on vinyl – and in various configurations including colored vinyl variants, versions with bonus discs, etc. I opted for the compact disc versions of these in order to get all the goodies (and I already have one of them on vinyl anyway) and maximize my expenditure, but you may want to go the wax route if you’re in it for the vinyl. Whichever way you go, you’ll be investing in releases that represent absolutely the best stuff both bands ever did.
– Marshall Gooch

4/5 (Supergrass, BMG/Echo BMGCAT506CDX; Super Furry Animals, BMG BMGCAT510DCD; 2021)

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Sep 05 2021
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Bluray, DVD, reissue, Skratchdisc

Rollin Binzer (Director) • Ladies and Gentlemen, The Rolling Stones [Blu-ray]

[Review originally published 11/16/2010 on Skratchdisc. RIP Charlie Watts!]

What makes a great concert film? Terrific music, for one. Great sound? Definitely. Interesting cinematography? Yeah. An historic event? Sure. And what makes a great concert film director? Someone who knows how to present the band, their music, and what it looks like on stage in a way that makes you want to see it more than once.

So who is this guy, ROLLIN BINZER? Well, he’s the guy who directed Ladies & Gentlemen, The Rolling Stones. But I’m not sure he was the right guy for the assignment. This movie, now repackaged, remastered and remixed for 5.1 surround sound, has been out many times since the home video era began, and this time they even put it out on Blu-ray. A concert film about the Stones’ classic Exile on Main St., it’s certainly got great music. The performance of that music? About what you’d expect of Mick & Keefco in that era. The sound? It’s alright – nothing to write home about. (Not that my parents would give a shit.) The cinematography is just okay. Not only would I decline to write home about it, I might even have bypassed the movie entirely if I’d heard that it was just a basic multi-camera shoot with nothing really special about it.

All of these gripes go a long way to answer the question: If it’s such a dull, cookie-cutter concert film, why are they re-releasing it now? Well, duh. They just executed the marketing campaign for the reissue of Exile, so naturally they had to reissue the movie that went along with it. Can’t miss an opportunity to milk the golden cow, now, can we? And what’s more, as you’d expect, there’s an insert inside the case hawking official Rolling Stones t-shirts and the documentary DVD Stones in Exile, which tells the story of how this magnificent, brilliant rock ’n’ roll record was rendered. Well, I’ll stand by the album as being a great one (though I like Sticky Fingers better), but I’m not a fan of this Blu-ray showcase for Rollin Binzer’s vision of what made the Stones great. I’ll bet my stepmom could’ve made a better concert film. – Marshall Gooch

2.5/5 (Eagle Vision; DVD & Blu-ray)

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