New Releases Celebrate Returns From Musical Legends

First ever Blu-ray release featuring Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, the ninth solo outing from John Fogerty and a new film looking at the history of The Rolling Stones highlight a roundup of new releases and reissues.


Artist: John Fogerty
Title: Wrote a Song for Everyone (Vanguard Records)
You might like if you enjoy: John Mellencamp, Bob Seger, Dawes, Creedence Clearwater Revival
Tell me more: John Fogerty, the acclaimed leader of legendary late '60s-early '70s rockers Creedence Clearwater Revival, has just released his ninth solo album, the aptly-titled "Wrote a Song for Everyone." In addition to taking center stage on two new rousing cuts ("Mystic Highway," "Train of Fools"), the Southern California-based singer-songwriter-guitarist has joined forces with other musical greats –  young and old –  to tackle new reworkings of some of his best-known material. Not every cut is a gem, but most are. My favorites include "Who'll Stop the Rain" performed with Bob Seger, "Hot Rod Heart" with Brad Paisley and "Bad Moon Rising" with the Zac Brown Band. Cuts with Dawes ("Someday Never Comes") and My Morning Jacket ("Long As I can see the Light") are also outstanding. Information: http://www.johnfogerty.com/.

listen to samples and get Wrote a Song For Everyone here




Artist: Orchestral Maneuvers In The Dark (OMD)
Title: Live - Architecture & Morality & More (Eagle Rock Entertainment)
You might like if you enjoy: Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, Thomas Dolby
Tell me more: Over the last few years, electronica has enjoyed a tremendous resurgence with artists such as Daft Punk and Phoenix gaining critical and commercial acclaim. In the early 1980s, a handful of seminal pioneers such as Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys and Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD) paved the way for that 21st century movement with their blend of British New Wave and synthpop. OMD's 1981 masterwork "Architecture & Morality" yielded three Top 5 UK singles and propelled the group to the forefront of the movement. In 2007, the classic line-up of Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys, Malcolm Holmes and Martin Cooper toured, with the group's London stop at Hammersmith Apollo filmed. Now that release is available on a sterling Blu-ray title featuring the full "Architecture & Morality" track listing, as well as OMD's biggest hits. Anyone who saw OMD tear it up at Coachella 2013 with rousing performances of "Enola Gay," "Electricity" and "If You Leave" will want to get this title for sure. Information: www.eaglerockent.com.


Get Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: Live Architecture and Morality and More here




Artist: The Rolling Stones
Title: Crossfire Hurricane (Eagle Rock Entertainment)
You might like if you enjoy: The Rolling Stones
Tell me more: While The Rolling Stones' "50 and Counting Tour" has been grabbing the attention of plenty of rock fans in recent weeks, the group's full story is also coming to light thanks to the new documentary "Crossfire Hurricane." Directed by Brett Morgen, "Crossfire Hurricane" takes viewers from the outfit's beginnings as teens in love with American blues greats such as Muddy Waters to their status as a stadium act. Made with the full cooperation of The Rolling Stones, the film fuses archive footage, new interviews and news coverage to offer a complete look at the band's history. Bonus features include early performances captured in 1964 and 1965. Information: www.eaglerockent.com.

Get The Rolling Stones: Crossfire Hurricane [Blu-Ray] here

Get it on DVD here




Artist: The Aquabats
Title: The Aquabats! Super Show! Season One! (Shout! Factory)
You might like if you enjoy: Reel Big Fish, Save Ferris, "Weird Al" Yankovic
Tell me more: Fans of the Southern California synth pop-meets-ska band The Aquabats are well acquainted with the quintet's fun-filled and upbeat musical approach. But now thanks to the successful musical television series aired on The Hub, a new generation of fans has discovered the troupe's sonic and superhero-charged charms. The first season of "The Aquabats! Super Show!" is featured on a 2-disc deluxe DVD that also includes bonus features. The show is intelligent, appeals to "kids" of all ages and even picked up a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Children's Series. Information: www.ShoutFactory.com.

Get The Aquabats! Super Show! Season One here

Robert's December Music DVD Gift Guide: The Rolling Stones,

Looking for that perfect gift for the favorite music fan in your life? Read on friends!

Artist: The Rolling Stones
Title: Some Girls Live in Texas '78
Worth buying: Yes
You might be interested in this DVD if you like: The Rolling Stones, Gram Parsons, Mick Taylor
Tell Me More: Although The Rolling Stones burst on the scene in the early 1960s and achieved legendary status during the 1980s, I have always believed the band's greatest work spanned the 10-year-period from 1969 to 1978. The newly-issued Some Girls Live in Texas '78 captured the band just weeks after the release of their final tour de force, Some Girls.
In a loose and freewheeling performance of 17 songs, singer Mick Jagger and company delivered a blistering set featuring most of the highlights from "Some Girls" (a rowdy "Respectable," disco-tinged "Miss You" and R&B-flavored "Beast of Burden"), as well as gems such as Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little 16" and rocking versions of the Stones' own "Brown Sugar" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash."
What about the packaging: A colorful and informative 8-page booklet accompanies the concert DVD.

Get Some Girls on DVD here

Artist: Deep Purple

Title: Deep Purple with Orchestra: Live At Montreux 2011

Worth buying: Yes

You might be interested in this DVD if you like: Deep Purple, Rainbow, Steve Morse, Black Country Communion

Tell Me More: There have been a few examples where bands performing with a full orchestra are effective, with performances by the Moody Blues and Metallica being obvious examples. But often times the approach is nothing more than a silly gimmick that does little to lift the material.

Deep Purple with Orchestra: Live At Montreux 2011 is definitely no gimmick. Released as a two-disc CD, as well as on DVD and Blue-ray by Eagle Rock Entertainment (Nov. 8, 2011), this 115-minute concert ranks alongside Bad Company's Live at Wembley and Sigur Rós' Inni as one of my favorite live collections released on DVD this year. This performance celebrated the legendary hard rocking quintet's expansive catalog with reworked versions of "Highway Star," "Knocking At Your Back Door," "Perfect Strangers," "Hush" and "Smoke On The Water." Indeed, the DVD/CD features a setlist of hits and highlights reflecting the band's full history. The highlights come fast and furious, from a Middle Eastern-flavored "Rapture of the Deep" showcasing the fusion between band and orchestra to the British blues of "When A Blind Man Cries" with vocalist Ian Gillian mining Paul Rodgers territory and oft-heard "Smoke On The Water" using the symphonic scope of the orchestra to infuse the classic with something new.

The sound and camera work on this release is incredible; hard rock fans will be thrilled.

What about the packaging: The DVD comes with a colorful 4-page booklet that includes in-depth notes about the band's ties with the Montreux Festival.

Get Deep Purple & Orch: Live at Montreux

Artist: Sigur Rós

Title: Inni

Worth buying: Yes

You might be interested in this DVD if you like: Sigur Rós, Jónsi's Go, Radiohead

Tell Me More: Few modern-rock acts to emerge since the early 1990s have been able to craft music that is as original as it is beautiful. But like England's Radiohead, Iceland's Sigur Rós has found its own little niche in the sonic universe, a place where lush symphonic textures, intense live performances that feature singer Jónsi attacking his electric guitar with a violin bow and additional otherworldly sounds please audiences looking for something to call their own.

Inni, a three-disc collection featuring a concert DVD (also available on Blu-ray) on one disc and two audio CDs, was recorded and filmed over two nights at London's Alexandra Palace in late 2008.

What about the packaging: This release is available in several configurations. I have reviewed the version that features a 75-minute concert on DVD and double CD collection.

Get Inni Here

Artist:  Rory Gallagher

Title: Irish Tour '74

Worth buying: Yes

You might be interested in this DVD if you like: Ten Years After, Humble Pie, Joe Bonamassa

Tell Me More: One of the most significant musical currents of 2011 was the renewed interest in Rory Gallagher, who was only 47 when he died due to complications from a liver transplant in June 1995. RollingStone.com recently ranked the Irish blues-rock great 57th on its widely-discussed list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time, with the relatively-unknown Gallagher positioned in front of more famous axe wielders such as Robby Krieger (#76), Slash (#65), Johnny Winter (#63) and Robbie Robertson (#59).

Eagle Rock Entertainment has been at the forefront of the celebration, having issued restored and re-mastered versions of his celebrated catalog.

Irish Tour '74 is a two-hour DVD (also available on Blu-ray) that truly captures what made Gallagher so special. On stage he was a fiery presence as he sang and played high-powered electric guitar or acoustic blues with equal fervor, able to get young audiences to their feet with Springsteen-like command. Off-stage he was articulate and focused on his passion for the music and the relationship an artist forges with their fans that is as much about life as it is the power of music.

What about the packaging: The DVD version comes with an informative booklet that folds out as a poster.

Get Irish Tour 74

Robert Kinsler  December 2011