DVD Review: Chickenfoot, “Get Your Buzz On Live”
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
Chickenfoot. When word of the band name of Sammy Hagar's new "supergroup" leaked out, half the internet responded by saying "that's the dumbest band name I've ever heard.....and just when I thought Sammy couldn't get any cornier!" The other half of the internet said "you know what? That band name is pretty funny." The official word from band camp was that "Chickenfoot" was merely a working title for the project, and the real band name would be revealed later.
But the buzz about the "name" was large enough, that Hagar and crew quickly realized that they had the attention of their audience, and when you've got that, you pick it up and you run with it. So "Chickenfoot," the temporary working title, became Chickenfoot, the band.
(And for those that remember Sammy's HSAS project from the '80s, take note that the members of Chickenfoot happen to spell out H.S.A.S. as well. Cool!)
And what a band it is! After an aborted attempt at a similar project a few years back underneath the name of Planet US, Hagar made sure that the associated players for this new project would actually have the time to commit to a proper album and the subsequent touring. Which is important, when your colleagues in said new project are virtuoso guitarist Joe Satriani, former Van Halen bass player Michael Anthony and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith.
View CommentsCD Review: Triumph, “Greatest Hits Remixed”
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
Back in the '80s, I don't think I could have given you the name of five songs by Triumph, and perhaps, not even one song by the Canadian rock trio that didn't have the name "Rush" on their albums. In spite of my ignorance, Triumph apparently did just fine, and had themselves quite a career, beginning in the mid '70s with their self-titled debut release in 1976 and wrapping up eight albums later with Surveillance in 1988. (The band would later regroup in 1993 with a revised lineup, releasing Edge of Excess, their lone studio release in the '90s.)
With a number of gold and platinum releases to their credit (a total of 8 certifications in Canada alone), Triumph sold over 10 million albums during their career. Singles like "Hold On," "Magic Power," "Fight The Good Fight," and especially "Lay It On The Line" drove Triumph to arena rock success (and later, a high profile appearance at the legendary US Festival), driven by the shared lead vocals of drummer Gil Moore and guitarist Rik Emmett. The Rush comparison is a natural one to make, since both bands are trios, but aside from the occasional Peart-like drum fill from Moore (and yes, he had a really big drum kit too), and brief Geddy-esque vocal moments from Emmett, Triumph fit more comfortably with bits and pieces of the sounds of any one of the so-called "corporate rock" bands (Journey, Boston, etc.) that were making albums in the '80s. And hearing a song like "Hold On," I think it's safe to say that future Giant mastermind and producer Dann Huff might have listened to a few Triumph albums before eventually forming his own band in the late '80s.
While Triumph might not be the most original sounding band of their time, they are quite possibly one of the smartest bands in their genre. Butting heads frequently with their label (RCA Records), Triumph pushed hard and overspent with no regret on each album that they made, and put additional money out on the table to make sure that fans were getting their money's worth with the coolest light and stage show (and one that was revolutionary for the time period) they could possibly bring on tour (with a road show that at one point, cost $100,000 per week). Investing further in their future, Triumph built Metalworks Studios, a state of the art facility established in 1978 for exclusive use by the band. The studio went on to become one of Canada's most successful recording studios, eventually hosting clients from Barenaked Ladies to Rush to Guns 'n Roses, and Moore continues to operate the studio to this day. In 1998, after Emmett rejected a proposal for a 20th anniversary reunion tour, Moore and bassist Mike Levine made their smartest move to date, purchasing the entire Triumph catalog from MCA Records, and they subsequently established TRC Entertainment (later renamed to TML Entertainment) to release a series of Triumph archival recordings, culminating in the 2004 release of remastered editions of all of the band's studio albums.
Which brings us to the release of Greatest Hits Remixed, a title which made me wince when I first read about the pending release, but after hearing it, I can assure you that this release is a good thing, especially if you're a Triumph fan. You won't find the eight minute dance remix of "Magic Power" on this CD, so there is no need for any panic. Additionally, these are definitely the Triumph songs that you remember - they haven't been futzed with in a unnecessary history-altering sort of way. Instead, the best way that I can describe these remixes is to say that everything has more presence, with a sound that is more full than the previous versions. It certainly helps that the originals were well-recorded, giving producer Rich Chycki a good palette of colors to work with in constructing the new mixes. After hearing "Lay It On The Line" on the radio a bazillion times, I was blown away at how good the new mix sounds, compared to the version I've been familiar with all of these years. You'll experience a similar feeling, listening to the rest of the tracks on the album, all of which boast unbelievable sonic clarity that is hard to believe, considering the time period that all of this stuff was recorded in.
The liner notes present an extensive history of the group that is thorough, although as an audio geek, I would have liked to have read some notes behind the process that went into remixing this material, and in fact a short video documentary regarding the remixes on the accompanying DVD would have put this package over the top. But the DVD on its own is equally worthy - a collection of 11 of the band's videos, plus bonus footage featuring two videos from the later version of Triumph with singer Phil X, some "bootleg fan video" from 1980 that is surprisingly crisp, and the DVD is rounded out with footage of the band's 2007 Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame and 2008 Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductions.
The music videos look about as good as you'd expect them to look for the time period, but all of the audio has been cleaned up with the new mixes presented in 5.1 Surround Sound. A special mention regarding the DVD authoring for this package, which really deserves some sort of Canadian Juno Award, if they give out awards for that sort of thing. Authored in house at Metalworks, the menu visuals are incredible and they are some of the best that I've seen on any music DVD release. The entire Triumph/Metalworks team really put a lot of effort into making this the coolest anthology release a fan could possibly want, whether you're a hardcore Triumph lifer, or just someone like myself that liked a few of the hits over the years. The DVD is worth the purchase of this package on its own merit - a full length piece that very easily could have been released on its own as a separate release. Considering that this was a release that was one of my least anticipated releases of this year, Greatest Hits Remixed ultimately will probably rank as one of the best archival releases of the year - it's that good.
I hear rumblings that a reunion tour is possibly (and finally!) on the books for 2011 (after a couple of one-off shows a couple of years ago, including a performance at Rocklahoma), and if that's the case, Greatest Hits Remixed is the perfect release to tune up for those shows.
View CommentsZZ Top – Double Down Live: 1980/2008
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
When I think about the early concerts that played an important part in my development as a music fan, there's one that comes up in conversation quite a bit. My friend David had tickets to see ZZ Top at Richfield Coliseum in February of 1991, a concert that is also notable for featuring the Black Crowes opening, a slot that marked their first major arena tour. Truthfully, the Crowes weren't very good (which was a shame, since I really liked their debut album at the time) but their inclusion on the bill was historic, because they would get booted from the tour a short time later for their continual criticism of Miller Lite, the official sponsor for the tour. I wasn't a huge ZZ Top fan at the time - I knew the hits, but didn't really own any of the albums, except for Afterburner, which I had obtained while growing up as a kid. I had seen the videos, and I definitely knew the drill, but hadn't taken it any further than that.
With an offer of a ticket to the Richfield show, I decided it was finally time to complete my ZZ Top education, and I couldn't have made a better decision. Pre-game activities included watching a very large man eat an entire large pizza all by himself, followed by an incident a few moments later in which he vomited all over the person sitting in front of him. This was my 4th or 5th major concert, and I was glad to not be sitting in front of this gentleman, and at the same time, I really enjoyed the incident which seemed like something you could only experience at a rock and roll show. It made me want to attend more concerts, which I've certainly done plenty of, since then.
View CommentsFlight 666 now departing….
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
I wore out Piece of Mind, I mean I WORE THAT OUT! I listened to it all day, and then when it got to be night time, I put the headphones on...
Tom Morello
Rage Against The Machine
"Flight 666 is now taking off," "F*ckin' Maiden," and "Up The Irons" were just a few of the many status updates I saw this past weekend on Facebook and Twitter. The metal community has been buzzing for some time about Flight 666, the new documentary from Iron Maiden that documents last year's epic Somewhere Back In Time tour that crisscrossed across multiple countries and continents including Australia for the first time in 15 years.
And you knew Flight 666 was going to be awesome. Iron Maiden is one of those bands that you can still believe the hype. More than 30 years after their initial formation, the band is still just as relevant to metal fans as they were in the 80's. Their legendary stage show and visuals are just as over the top as they were back in the day, and while that lingering arena rock spirit might feel cliched to some, it's completely METAL to the rest of us.
When the tour touched down at Blossom Music Center last summer, I had no idea that I was in for one of the best shows I'd see in 2008. I should have known because, how can you miss with a setlist from Maiden that is nearly 100 percent focused on their classic 80's material featuring the Powerslave-era stage? Within moments of Maiden taking the stage, I figured out very quickly from my choice 5th row seats that it was going to be the best night with Maiden since the initial reunion gig with lead singer Bruce Dickinson at Nautica Stage in 1999.
Flight 666 premiered this past weekend on VH-1 Classic and the high def channel Palladia. Maiden and longtime manager Rod Smallwood pulled off a great promotional ploy scheduling the documentary and concert to air on the channels on the eve of the retail release of Flight 666, which was released yesterday. I haven't even watched the concert portion of Flight 666 yet, but I can tell you that I will be heading out to the stores shortly to pick up a DVD copy of Flight 666 based on the documentary alone.
I recommend this documentary to all metal, music, and Iron Maiden fans as one of the best music documentaries I've seen in a while. Dickinson, also a commercial airline pilot, pilots the band crew, and stage equipment in a customized Boeing 757, "Ed Force One" for a journey that logged 50,000 miles with 23 concerts in 45 days. Shot in hi-def by Banger Productions (Metal: A Headbanger's Journey) with 5.1 audio mixed by longtime Maiden associate Kevin Shirley (Aerosmith, Journey, The Black Crowes, etc,) Flight 666 earns a platinum set of wings and two metal thumbs way up.
And how about those Maiden guys? How do they sound? Just like 1983, although you might have a little bit less hair and a few less brain cells. If you're a Maiden fan, chances are good that you've already got a few of the previous live DVD releases, and if you don't - Flight 666 is a great starting point for your collection. Drummer Nicko McBrain is worth the purchase price of Flight 666 for the constant string of one-liners that he provides throughout the film. Absolutely classic.
Up The Irons!
Flight 666 is available on DVD,Blu-Ray, CD, and picture disc VINYL!
Wilco – Ashes of American Flags DVD
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
I can't imagine that there are any Wilco fans that haven't nabbed the new concert film Ashes of American Flags that is out on DVD right now as part of an exclusive one week release at indie retailers to celebrate Record Store Day, prior to a regular scheduled release on April 28th at all major retailers.
But if you haven't gotten it, you'll really want to grab it this week. Anyone that purchases the DVD will receive access to downloads of all 20 live tracks contained on Ashes of American Flags. There is no time limit on this special bonus.
Here's the exclusive kicker: This week only (until 4/27) your DVD purchase will also grant you access to downloads of the full show from 2/27/08 at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. That's 48 total live tracks PLUS an amazing documentary/concert film, which was well worth the $16.99 that I paid for my copy of Ashes of American Flags.
For me personally, the D.C. show has personal favorites "Handshake Drugs," "California Stars," AND "Via Chicago." Score!
Accessing the Washington D.C. download can be a little bit tricky to figure out - I would suggest that you should check out the how-to rundown thanks to the fine folks over at Via Chicago.
Ashes of American Flags was directed by Brendan Canty and Christoph Green. The pair are the brains behind the Burn To Shine performance series (which captured Wilco performing "Muzzle of Bees") and have one previous Wilco-related project under their belt with the Jeff Tweedy Sunken Treasure DVD release.
The footage is really stunning - Ashes is the kind of project that should put Canty and Green in the same sentence with Jonathan Demme and others that have captured and created similar concert documentaries. Shot at five different venues, Tweedy and Wilco are captured onstage in a variety of settings, both in front of audiences, and also a couple of soundcheck performances, all blended together with vividly picturesque scenery of life on the road, and lots of interview footage with the band. It was a thrill to see Wilco crammed on the stage at the legendary Tipitina's in New Orleans, with the Total Pros horn section stuffed in the balcony above the stage, inches away from the fans sitting nearby.
Any chance that one has to see Nels Cline play guitar is a chance that should be pounced on. During my time trading DAT tapes in the early 90s, I got my first exposure to Nels via a fellow named Gary on the DAT-heads mailing list. When Gary wasn't pushing stereo equipment on the masses, he was offering up Nels shows to anyone and everyone that would listen. There certainly wasn't a mad clamor for Nels material on this particular list, but he kept offering every Nels show that he could get his hands on.
It looks like Gary got the last laugh - it turns out that that Nels fellow really did have something special going on, and Wilco recognized that and nabbed him to play lead guitar, a position that he has been in since early 2004. Cline has plenty of accolades that have been heaped in his direction, including being named one of Rolling Stone's Top 20 New Guitar Gods...an honor that is better late than never!
Ashes of American Flags offers you the chance to experience for yourself, what I feel to be the definitive lineup of Wilco - Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, Pat Sansone, Nels Cline, Glenn Kotche, and Mikael Jorgenson. In a short time period, Wilco have risen to the number three slot on artists/bands that I've seen the most, right behind Bruce Springsteen and Blue Rodeo. Unquestionably, they are one of my favorite bands touring right now. Having seen Wilco three times last year during the Sky Blue Sky touring cycle, I can tell you that Ashes is definitely very representative of the tour. The film clocks in at a tad past 80 minutes, and all song performances are complete and uncut. Even better, the cuts/transitions from one camera angle to another are extremely well-crafted and won't give you a seizure while you're watching it.
Wilco, Canty, and Green have certainly captured a concert, but have also delivered something that is a "film" in the fine tradition of some of my favorite great rock films like Stop Making Sense by Talking Heads, Heart of Gold by Neil Young, the newly added The Last Waltz by The Band, and U2's Rattle and Hum.
Ashes feels like a classic that I'll be watching for years to come, and is a great gift to Wilco fans, and an even better intro flick for anyone that might be Wilco-curious.
Wilco - Wishful Thinking (live performance from the Ashes DVD)
Related:
Here's a great interview with Ashes director Brendan Canty about the film.
View CommentsGoing back in time with Duran Duran’s “Classic Album” Rio on DVD
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
I got my hands on the recently released Duran Duran - Rio DVD, which gets the documentary treatment from Eagle Vision's excellent Classic Albums video series. You've probably seen Classic Albums on VH-1 Classic featuring Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell, Def Leppard's Hysteria, Queen's A Night At The Opera, etc.
I first discovered the series when I moved into my new house and got my first DVR. I set my DVR to record every single scheduled episode and after watching a couple of episodes, I was HOOKED!
The television broadcasts run an hour in length, so one of the benefits of picking up the DVD editions is that there is always bonus material. Typically there is at least 30 minutes of additional footage, and the Duran Duran DVD packs on an extra hour for a total running time of 124 minutes! And by the way, the bonus material isn't the typical leftover interview outtakes - these are fully produced unused segments.
The Classic Albums DVD succeeds in all of the areas in which former Duran Duran guitar player Andy Taylor's recent DD book failed and finally delivers a truly interesting portrait of Duran Duran in the 80s. If you've seen any of the Classic Albums videos, you know that one of the best parts of the series, is seeing the artist break down isolated tracks (drum tracks, vocal tracks, etc.) in a studio from the original multi-track tapes. Hearing Rhodes' isolated keyboard parts and tales on how they achieved particular sounds and effects on Rio is choice stuff. Andy Taylor is of course absent from the interviews on this DVD, but is well represented in the discussion and amazing archival live footage from the period interspersed throughout the program.
Duran Duran - Classic Albums : RIO Sneak Preview
There is plenty of material on this DVD that surprised even me, the huge Duran Duran fan. Learning that Simon LeBon was inspired lyrically by Springsteen while writing "The Chauffeur," for example. Some of the best material on the DVD can be found once you get to the bonus segments, particularly the lengthy discussion by Duran Duran's former management detailing what it took to finally break the band in the U.S. There's also plenty of discussion/insight about the band's legendary music videos and also interviews with the designers who did the album artwork for Rio. I realized last night that even though I thought I did, I don't have the Duran Duran videos on DVD. I'll need to take care of that ASAP!
I've seen at least one episode of Classic Albums where the featured band looked bored discussing the album, and that certainly isn't the case here. In fact, I was surprised at how engaged Duran Duran members were in the interviews for this DVD. It's no surprise that they remain proud of their achievements with Rio after all of these years. Duran Duran - Rio is essential viewing for DD fans and children of the 80s who will love this DVD. Duran Duran - Rio features new interviews with the entire classic DD lineup minus Andy Taylor, former manager Paul Berrow, Russell Mulcahy who directed the videos, John Sykes from MTV, and others that were a key part of Duran Duran's success in the 80s.
Relevant Links:
Purchase Classic Albums: Duran Duran - Rio from Amazon: DVD
Duran Duran official website
Eagle Vision official website
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