Executive Producers Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts’ new DVD, Stones in Exile, is a behind the scense look at the making of the Rolling Stones’ ’72 double-album, Exile on Main Street.
Dubbed the “anti-Oliver Stone” documentary, in reference to the controversial movie staring Val Kilmer as troubled lead singer Jim Morrison, Tom Dicillo’s documentary When You’re Strange aims to tell the “real” story behind the meteoric rise and tragic end to the ’60s rock band The Doors. The story that photographers, cameramen and interviewers captured in real time as the band redefined the rock genre and encapsulated what it meant to be a true Rock Star in the 1960s.
On June 10, 2010, I attended a one-night-only theater showing of the new film/dvd documentary Rush – Beyond The Lighted Stage.
Solidbodies: The 50 Year Guitar War is an entertaining and enlightening new DVD by Lightning Lab Productions that offers a captivating look into the history of the two most significant solidbody guitars in history: the Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson Les Paul. For over fifty years, Fender and Gibson guitars have dominated the electric guitar market. Despite the hundreds of other guitar builders trying to better the mousetrap, the Stratocaster and Les Paul have continued to dominate the global marketplace.
Johnny A. was the exemplary sideman in the late ’90s when he decided to become a solo artist.
Recorded live in Tokyo back in May of 2009, the DVD “Mick Taylor Band – The Tokyo Concert” features Taylor on guitar and vocals, Max Middleton on keyboards, Kuma Harada on bass, Jeff Allen on drums, and Denny Newman on guitar and vocals.
For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the music of Bill Frisell, or maybe more to the point, that you might find it difficult to pinpoint exactly what it is that he does and what genre of music he plays, you’re probably not alone. He is, after all, constantly changing directions in his musical endeavors. From jazz, to American folk and blues, to some combination of the two, his music always manages to bear the stamp of his unique musical voice. On the 2009 release of Films of Buster Keaton by Bill Frisell, the guitarist once again explores new musical territory in his homage to the silent-era films of Buster Keaton.
In the concert DVD Quiet Stream Breaks the Rocks, the Branco Stoysin Trio exhibits Stoysin’s artistry as a composer and arranger. Throughout the set, the entire trio demonstrates their ability to achieve a very particular contemplative mood and feel with a fluid blend of jazz and Eastern European folk music. It’s the first DVD release from Stoysin, and it utilizes much of his music from previous record releases Inexhaustible (2009), Quiet Stream Breaks the Rocks (2007) and Heart is the Bridge (2003), along with some new material thrown in for good measure.
Bill Frisell’s unique guitar work and musical excursions in his installment of Solos: The Jazz Sessions are nothing short of awe-inspiring and unconventional. As with much of Frisell’s output, he has demonstrated again and again how he has become a master of his own guitar idiom.
This latest DVD release from Longtail Distribution promises to take the viewer “behind the scenes to get a backstage look at what it takes to present the legendary band Rush during their 2008 Snakes & Arrows Concert Tour.
