Take 5 Reviews: John Denver, ZZ Top and Brad Paisley

By: Rick Landers

Take 5: Session V offers up a mix of CD, DVD and music related book reviews to whet your appetites. We’ve got a couple of books we think you’ll enjoy if you’re getting into video production or dig jazz. John Denver, ZZ Top and Brad Paisley are all featured in this session, and they’re all worth picking up.

I’ll note though, that the Denver DVD is pretty pricey, running over $50, but cool to own if you’re a John Denver collector. As much as I dug all of these, I’ll have to say that when I get a bit of spare time, the first thing I’m going to do is find a nice comfy chair and settle in with the jazz interviews book, then take my time uploading it to my brain.

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The Musican’s Video Handbook: For those of you who are game to produce your own professional-style videos, that offer up viewers high quality scenes coupled with top notch audio sound tracks, The Musician’s Video Handbook looks like a good place to start.

MVH lays the groundwork for newcomers to the world of music video, as well as for some of us who’ve been trying to record videos on our own without guidance. Author, Bobby Owsinski, feeds us great advice based on his own hard-won experience producing interview videos with Billy Bob Thornton, Zakk Wylde and Quincy Jones. Rather than getting into the technical arena up front, the handbook opens with the basics like “Types of Videos,” such as performance videos, music videos, User-generated content and EPKs (Electronic Press Kits).

Digging into the rudiments of camcorders and their components follows, before the author gets down and dirty with how we should operate the cameras. Setting up cameras, white balance, frame rate, zoom, using a tripod are all discussed in a manner that is readily understandable.

The Musician’s Video Handbook gives all of us a “no fear” step-up on figuring this stuff out ourselves and after I’m finished up here today, I’m grabbing it and reading it again, with my camcorder in hand.

Click to Buy The Musician’s Video Handbook From Amazon

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The Great Jazz Interviews: A 75th Anniversary Anthology: Digging into the world of professional artists is something we gravitate towards nearly everyday, so it didn’t take much to persuade me to pick up The Great Jazz Interviews, that have appeared in Downbeat magazine over the course of several decades.

These are classic interviews by the best jazz performers of all time, including Nina Simone, Jimi Hendrix, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, James Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, Ben Webster, Herbie Hancock, George Benson, Keith Jarrett and a slug of other majors in the world of music.

Downbeat’s editors culled their archives to come up with the musicians who redefined jazz with their natural inclinations, innovation, and staggering creativity. The Anthology is a great read and one that should be enjoyed like a fine wine…preferably in an old jazz café’.

Click to Buy The Great Jazz Interviews From Amazon

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John Denver: Around the World Live DVD Five Disk Set: You’d be hard-pressed to find a guy with a more down home All-American image than the late songwriter, John Denver. With his mop of blonde hair, infectious good humor, oversized “Granny” glasses and beautiful melodies, he captured our imaginations and gave us hundreds of guitar friendly campfire ready songs.

On this set, he offers performances that can dig us out of a deep funk and make us smile, even laugh. This five DVD set brings John back home to us and it reminds us not only of how self-effacing and goofy he could be, but how major of a talent was lost when his very cool Experimental Rutan Long-EZ aircraft plummeted to the ground. After not hearing Denver for many years, I’d forgotten how formidable of a talent he was, rolling out such classics as “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” “Take Me Home Country Roads,” “Annie’s Song,” “Fly Away,” “I’m Sorry,” “Thank God I’m a Country Boy,” “Sunshine on My Shoulders,” “Calypso” and “Rocky Mountain High.”

Around the World Live is a terrific collection of some of Denver’s best songs, sung in live performances around the world. John’s spirit soars again on this DVD compilation, reminding us of how accessible good music can be to sing and play. Watching John in performance had me smiling throughout this fine collection, making me appreciate how joyful, uplifting and transformative music can, and should be.

Click to Buy Around the World Live From Amazon

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Eliminator (Collector’s Edition): Straight up rock ‘n’ Roll at its best, ZZ Top is rock that’s drivin’ hard, tuff, swaggering and funky cool. You really can’t hear this group without imagining them spinning their guitars and moving in-synch to they’re steady pedal to the metal sound. The track picks on this will satiate any ZZ-Top fanatic.

The guys roll out “You Got Me Under Pressure,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” “TV Dinners,” “Legs,” and more. Hang on and get into their musical slipstream and follow them as they rack up tracks like the very smooth and hip “I Need You Tonight” to the raucous “Bad Girl”.

The Texas trios videos are always kick-ass, and here you have those that you’ve already seen, including “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sharp Dressed Man”, “Legs” and “TV Dinners.” As an added attraction you can catch Billy, Dusty and Frank “going for pink slips,” performing four more songs on stage. ZZ Tops hits don’t get old, they just get better with age.

Click to Buy Eliminator From Amazon

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Brad Paisley: Mud on the Lens DVD: Yeah, Brad’s a country star, but the guy rocks. Hand him a guitar and watch him break loose with some of the best swinging riffs this side of Memphis. The guy’s a monster on the country scene racking up 25 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Song charts, with 15 of those reaching #1.

There’s no showboating on this DVD of Paisley’s. Brad’s a simple slap leather guitar slinger with just the right amount of melodic twisting and turning twang. On Mud on the Lens, Brad works the stage on such tunes as “Mud on the Tires,” “Celebrity,” and “Spaghetti Western Swing,” running around with a few of his Telecasters.

The DVD has some feature material too, including a humorous account of his feelings about the concert, a cool look at his collection of guitars, a vid of “Mud on the Tires,” and a clever animated “South Park” style video produced by the man himself. Paisley’s already a household name having earned 13 Country Music Association Awards, three Grammy Awards, 13 Academy of Country Music Awards, among other music honors.

As a guitarist, I was digging watching Paisley riffing around, but what most of us like about the guy, besides his music, is his “regular guy” persona….normal cool.

Click to Buy Mud on the Lens from Amazon

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