Elvis Presley: Viva ELVIS - CD Review

Written by General Jabbo

In honor of what would have been Elvis Presley’s 75th birthday, Cirque du Soleil set about honoring the King with a show in the city that became synonymous with Presley in his later touring years – Las Vegas. Taking a page from The Beatles’ Love, Viva ELVIS is a visual tribute to Presley with his music serving as the soundtrack. Much like with Love, Presley’s music has been radically remixed but unlike Love - which was entirely the Beatles’ music - Viva ELVIS finds Presley’s classic tracks augmented by contemporary musicians in an attempt to make his sound current. Purists may scoff at the notion as many of these tracks are considered perfect as is, but the more open-minded may be pleasantly surprised by some of this CD.

The opening of the CD serves as an overture, with a crowd swell; interview clips; sound bytes from Ed Sullivan; bits of “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” better known as the theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey and the new drum beat leading into the opening song, “Blue Suede Shoes.” The track does a good job of building anticipation for the show to come. “Blue Suede Shoes” blends distorted guitars with handclaps and harmonica giving the song a garage-rock feel while “That’s All Right” bears an eerie resemblance to Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life” or Jet’s “Are you Gonna Be My Girl?” while still utilizing Scotty Moore’s original lead breaks. The tracks work surprisingly well, but it’s clear from the get-go that this is not your parents' Presley.

“Heartbreak Hotel” manages to combine three different versions of the song to create an entirely different listening experience. We start with Presley warming up his voice, followed by an acoustic blues guitar right out of the Mississippi Delta and Presley’s voice sounding like he was singing through a harmonica mic, but before the listener can get used to that, it jumps between the ’68 Comeback Special arrangement and the original 1956 version. This may be the best-realized remix on the album as the song lends itself well to this sort of treatment. “Bossa Nova Baby” plays up the Latin elements of the song, adding a trumpet solo, while staying fairly close to the original. Keen listeners will notice the guitar solo from “Hard Headed Woman” has been added here to great effect.

“Love Me Tender” has been given a modern acoustic feel and has been turned into a duet with Dea Norgerg. While Presley sounds great as usual, her voice just doesn’t work with the song and the parts where she harmonizes with Presley sound forced. “King Creole” has been given an unnecessary hip-hop treatment while “Burning Love” now sounds as if it could have been recorded by the Hives – not bad, but not really necessary either. Things improve with an instrumental piano version of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and the closing track (and lead single) “Suspicious Minds,” which sounds like Presley channeling U2 with its jangly guitars.

Viva ELVIS is an interesting, often good (if unnecessary) reinterpretation of Presley’s remarkable catalog. Open-minded old listeners may find these new versions a fun twist and it may introduce Presley to an entirely new generation of fans. Those who want their Presley “as nature intended” would do best to stay far away from this CD though and listen to the original albums as this is nothing like the Presley they have come to love.

Article first published as Music Review: Elvis Presley “Viva ELVIS" on Blogcritics.

Ladies and Gentlemen - The Rolling Stones DVD Review

Written by General Jabbo

The year 1972 was a pivotal one for The Rolling Stones. They spent the summer as tax exiles in France, emerging from their drug-fueled haze to release arguably their greatest album, Exile on Main Street, and the resulting tour is considered one of their best. While on tour in America that year, the band filmed four nights in Texas for the theatrical release Ladies & Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones. Largely unseen since the mid 1970s, the film finally makes its official DVD debut in 2010 and is essential viewing not only for fans of the band, but fans of the genre in general.

From the opening “Brown Sugar” to the closing “Street Fighting Man,” this is a relentless, no-frills show. There’s no big production and the stage is dimly lit, adding an air of mystery to the proceedings. While the Stones may be about the big show these days, in 1972 it was all about the music, from the laid-back country of “Dead Flowers” and “Sweet Virginia” to classic rock staples such as “Gimme Shelter” and a rollicking “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” The band pays tribute to Chuck Berry with an authentic “Bye Bye Johnny” and Keith Richards takes the lead on his signature tune, “Happy,” sharing a microphone with Mick Jagger on the choruses. These days, when the band performs the song, Jagger isn’t even on stage.

Fans used to the Richards/Ron Wood version of the band will find an entirely different animal in the Mick Taylor lineup. While Wood is no slouch himself, he and Richards “practice the art of weaving” as they are fond to say, where the listener doesn’t know who is playing what. This is in stark contrast to 1972, with Richards laying a rock-solid rhythm for virtuoso Taylor’s melodic leads. Taylor shows he is equally adept at slide guitar as his bluesy licks on Robert Johnson’s “Love in Vain” and blistering leads on “All Down the Line” demonstrate. “Midnight Rambler” is the real highlight of the disc though. From the lock-tight rhythm of Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts to the breakneck tempos to the guitar interplay between Richards and Taylor, it shows why the Stones earned their title as greatest rock and roll band in the world.

Ladies & Gentlemen has been available on the black market for years, but never in this quality. The new DVD features restored video as well as Dolby Digital DTS 5.1 sound for both a great viewing and listening experience. The DVD also includes rehearsal footage for the tour, including “Shake Your Hips,” which is not played in the concert and interviews with Jagger from both 1972 and 2010.

For fans wondering what all the hype was about, Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones is essential viewing.

Article first published as Music DVD Review: Ladies & Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones on Blogcritics.

John Lennon - Gimme Some Truth (Sampler) CD Review

Written by General Jabbo

When the John Lennon catalog was first issued on CD, the original mixes were used — but so were liberal amounts of noise reduction. Then in 2000, the CDs were remastered — but also remixed, save for Double Fantasy and its sister album Milk and Honey which were just remastered — leaving fans of the original versions forced to seek out used CD versions or the original vinyl. Confused yet?

In honor of what would have been Lennon's 70th birthday, Capitol is attempting to set things right by reissuing the entire catalog again, this time with the original mixes and no noise reduction with the same production team used on the Beatles remasters from 2009 save for the 1980 material. The results as evidenced on the Gimme Some Truth CD sampler are by and large a revelation, particularly for the '70s material.

The biggest sonic improvement is by far on the Plastic Ono Band tracks. Fans used to the remix will notice the guitar intro to "Hold On" is truncated as on the original release, but there is a warmth here not present on the 2000 version. Lennon's voice is immediate and it sounds as if he is in the room with you. The original mixes on the Imagine and Sometime in New York City tracks recall the "wall of sound" effect Lennon and producer Phil Spector were going for with these albums, something not as evident on the 2000 versions.

The two Walls and Bridges tracks included — "Nobody Loves You (When You're Down and Out)" and "Bless You" are particular highlights and if the entire remastered CD sounds like this, fans are in for a treat. Where things get a bit dodgy is, ironically enough, on the most recent material featured here, The Double Fantasy/Milk and Honey tracks were loud and compressed in 2000 and sadly, they are here too. This misstep is the only thing keeping this from being a perfect reissue campaign.

The sampler also features two demos from the John Lennon Signature Box — "God" and "India, India" in surprisingly good fidelity and two tracks from the new release, Double Fantasy Stripped Down, an album not unlike the Beatles' Let it Be Naked, where the tracks are reduced to bare-bones versions to emphasize Lennon's vocals.

In an age of horrible-sounding CDs, these reissues are mostly a home run. Certainly the 1970s material is worth upgrading and Double Fantasy Stripped Down is an interesting listen. Fans of the 1980 material would be better served with original CDs or vinyl, however. Overall though, these CDs merit almost a 9/10.

Article first published as Music Review: John Lennon - Gimme Some Truth Sampler (Sampler) on Blogcritics.

Chuck - The Complete Third Season DVD Review

Written by General Jabbo

Season three of Chuck finds Chuck (Zachary Levi) at a crossroads in his life. He now has the Intersect 2.0 downloaded in his brain, enabling him not only to be able to "flash" on subjects to gain information on them, but also to gain abilities. He may look at a sword and if he flashes, he becomes a master swordsman. The problem is he is unable to control these abilities when his emotions get the best of him, especially when he is around his partner Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) who he is madly in love with.

His inability to flash first manifests itself in the opening episode when, during a simulation, Chuck is unable to flash and would have been killed had it been a real mission. This gets Chuck suspended from the team by General Beckman (Bonita Friedericy). We also learn that six months earlier, Sarah met Chuck in Prague, wanting to leave with him and ditch the spy life and he turned her down — a decision that haunts Chuck throughout the season.

After Chuck's eventual reinstatement, NSA Agent Carina (Mini Anden) shows up, posing as the fiancé of an arms dealer the CIA is trying to get to. Carina is on to Sarah's feelings about Chuck and she discusses this with her while Chuck has the same conversation with his best friend Morgan (Joshua Gomez) about Sarah. This episode does a good job of showing the parallel of Chuck and Sarah's feelings toward each other. Morgan tries in vain to get Carina to show up at his party to impress his fellow Buy More coworkers and when she arrives with her "fiancé and his entourage Morgan, not realizing she was on a spy mission, kicks her out of the house. Morgan's tactics work though when Carina returns, turned on by the fact that a guy actually said no to her. She also shows her heart by giving Sarah a security camera video of Chuck professing his love for Sarah.

After Chuck's brother-in-law Devon (Ryan McPartlin) saves the life of premier Allejandro Goya (Armand Assante), a man the CIA is trying to protect after years of trying to kill him, he and his wife Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) get invited to a gala he is hosting at the consulate. The CIA learns Goya is the target of a hit and sends Chuck and his team to protect not only Goya, but Chuck's family as well. Chuck's teammate John Casey doesn't want to go as he had had tried to kill the premier on numerous occasions and had earned the nickname Angel de la Muerte, or Angel of Death. Chuck and Sarah pose as a couple at the gala, furthering the tension between the two and, in an amusing twist, Casey ends up donating blood to save Goya's life, with his reward a box of fine cigars.

Brandon Routh appears as Daniel Shaw in the episode "Chuck Versus Operation Awesome." Shaw is a CIA agent who has been trying to take down The Ring for five years and is something of a super spy. He feels deep regret for the shooting of his wife and has hardened himself to not show emotions to protect others. He falls for Sarah though, who initially resists his advances, but realizes she likes being close to someone. Both characters are similar in their "no feelings" stance as they are true spies unlike Chuck who is ruled by emotions. Sarah still has feelings for Chuck though, but thinks that's over after what happened in Prague. Chuck is, of course, devastated that Sarah would take an interest in Shaw whom he feels he has no chance against.

Chuck gets a love interest of his own in the form of Hannah (Kristin Kreuk), who he meets while on his first solo mission on a flight to Paris, a city he has always wanted to visit. Hannah is a down-on-her-luck computer programmer who had just lost her job and was flying to Paris to clean out her office there. The two hit it off and Chuck encourages her to come to the Buy More if she's ever in the area. Much to his surprise she not only does, but also joins the staff as a fellow Nerd Herder (a parody not only of Best Buy's Geek Squad, but of the Star Wars' insult Nerf Herder). Sarah is jealous of Hannah while Chuck, still having feelings for Sarah and not wanting to have to lie to Hannah about his double life, breaks up with her rather ruthlessly at a dinner with her family. The episode shows how Chuck has changed and that he is human and doesn't always do and say the right thing.

When they fear their store is about to be bought out and all but Chuck and Morgan will be fired, the Buy More employees stage a revolt, led by the creepy duo of Lester (Vic Sahay) and Jeff (Scott Barnes). Casey, whose cover is at the Buy More and who hates suits even more than he hates neo-liberal fascists, joins in the fray. The employees build a wall by the entrance and Lester leads them in the singing of "Fortunate Son" to great comedic effect.

Shaw believes that a Ring operative killed his wife, but later learns it was one of his own that did it, which has consequences for his team. Meanwhile, Chuck finally gets his chance to profess his love for Sarah, but does she accept this time? These are among the many questions posed during the show.

The DVD includes deleted scenes, the featurettes "Chuck Fu…and Dim Sum: Becoming a Spy Guy" and "The Jeffster Revolution: The Definitive Mocumentary" as well as a gag reel. Originally slated for 13 episodes, NBC decided to order six more. While episode 13 feels like a finale, the remaining six episodes are well written and lead into the forthcoming season four well. With its mix of good writing, a good ensemble cast and an excellent mix of drama and comedy, season three of Chuck is a winner.

Article first published as DVD Review: Chuck - The Complete Third Season on Blogcritics.

Electric Light Orchestra Live: The Early Years - DVD Review

Written by General Jabbo

In the latter days of The Move, the band's alpha males — founder Roy Wood and newcomer Jeff Lynne — expressed a desire to go beyond the typical three-minute pop song. Wishing to continue where the Beatles left off with "I Am the Walrus," the duo launched a new venture with Move drummer Bev Bevan that incorporated orchestral instruments into a rock context. The Move was dead, but from its ashes rose the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). After some disagreements over the band's direction, Wood left during the recording of its second album, leaving Lynne as the leader of ELO. It is these early years under Lynne's guidance that are chronicled in the DVD Electric Light Orchestra – Live: The Early Years.

The DVD begins with footage from Brunel University 1973. This footage, along with all the other footage on the disc, is in surprisingly good condition and appears to be from broadcast masters. Here we find the band mixing classics such as Lynne's "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" with the classical as the band takes on Edvard Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King," the latter of which is done in a surprisingly faithful arrangement. Jerry Lee Lewis most likely did not envision cellos and violins when he recorded "Great Balls of Fire," but the band makes the seemingly absurd combination work, rocking out on the early rock and roll gem. Fans of 1970s fashion should be on the lookout for violinist Mik Kaminski's cape, which seemingly does not seem out of place amidst the other clothing choices for this concert.

Up next is the band's appearance on the German television show Rockpalast from 1974. An interview from this show is included on the DVD is a bonus feature. The set list is similar to the Brunel show, but the band appears more confident and loose in this performance. The band delivers a raw version of the instrumental "Daybreaker" with some excellent keyboard work by Richard Tandy. Both the '73 and '74 shows include cellist Mike Edwards, who recently died when he was stuck by a runaway bail of hay. An unconventional death for sure, but this was an unconventional band.

The final performance included is the Fusion concert from 1976 recorded at the New Victoria Theatre in London, England. This show documents the early part of ELO as a hit-making machine with songs such as "Can't Get it Out of My Head," "Evil Woman," and "Strange Magic" gracing the set list. On the latter, drummer Bev Bevan comes to the front of the stage to contribute his distinct bass harmonies. The show features a medley of songs that originated from Lynne's time in The Move — "10538 Overture" from the first ELO album and "Do Ya," which was originally a Move single, but reworked for the then-new A New World Record. Most notable to this show is the addition of the band's new bassist, the late Kelly Groucutt, who shared vocals with Lynne on many of the songs and really added the missing link to the band's live vocal sound.

The DVD includes Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS Surround Sound options and really the only negative for fans here is the non-inclusion of a few songs. For what seem to be copyright reasons, versions of "Roll Over Beethoven" from 1974 and 1976 and "Day Tripper" from 1974 have not been included here. Curiously, they are included on the UK edition of this DVD. That is the only thing keeping this from being an A+ for ELO fans however and anyone interested in seeing the band before the spaceships took over the live stage would enjoy Electric Light Orchestra - Live: The Early Years.

Article first published as Music DVD Review: Electric Light Orchestra - Live: The Early Years on Blogcritics.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Pictures At An Exhibition: Special Edition DVD Review

Written by General Jabbo

Prog rock has always been ambitious in its focus, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer are no different. Viewed by some as pretentious while others see them as genius, Emerson, Lake & Palmer have straddled that very line for the better part of 40 years. In 1970, they took it upon themselves to adapt Modest Mussorgsky's classical piece Pictures at an Exhibition into a rock format. The shows were recorded and filmed and are now presented in remastered form in Pictures at an Exhibition: Special Edition.

Well known for their music chops, the band appears to be having fun on stage as evidenced by drummer Carl Palmer's knowing smiles at keyboardist Keith Emerson as he tries to keep up with the challenging tempos of "The Gnome." Bassist Greg Lake shows off his classical guitar skills and haunting vocals on "The Sage," a song that foreshadowed the band's hit "From the Beginning." "Blues Variation" features some blistering keyboard work from Emerson that shows through all the over-the-top antics (Emerson appears to hump his keyboard at one point and does stab it with knives at another), these guys could really play.

Early '70s psychedelic visual effects take over during "The Old Castle" and feature prominently throughout the rest of the DVD. While they are dated, they are historically correct. Fans looking for a version sans these effects won't find that here. Still, the picture and sound quality are generally excellent for a nearly 40-year-old concert recording.

The DVD includes the original trailer for the movie as well as a Belgian TV appearance on Pop Shop from 1971. This footage is touted as appearing for the first time, but it had previously been available on the DVD Masters From the Vaults.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer have had a long and storied musical career. They are among the founding fathers of prog rock and fans wanting to catch of a glimpse of this legendary band near the beginning of its career won't be disappointed with Pictures at an Exhibition: Special Edition.

Article first published as Music DVD Review: Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Pictures At An Exhibition (Special Edition) on Blogcritics.

Roy Orbison: The Last Concert - CD Review

Written by General Jabbo

Throughout Roy Orbison's life, his stunning, operatic, angelic voice was admired not only by millions of fans, but by his peers as well, with artists such as The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, and Bono singing his praises. Recorded December 4, 1988, in Highland Heights, Ohio just two days before his death at age 52, The Last Concert shows Orbison's incredible voice stayed with him right until the end of his life.

In 1988, Orbison was in the midst of a major comeback. His song, "In Dreams," was featured in the film Blue Velvet; he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; he had a successful album with the super group The Traveling Wilburys; his concerts were doing well and he had just completed the soon-to-be hit album, Mystery Girl, with fellow Wilbury Jeff Lynne at the production helm. Tour dates were booked into 1989 and things were looking up when tragedy struck.

Originally released in limited form via iTunes, The Last Concert makes its CD debut here. The show is undoctored and appears to be from the soundboard so occasionally, backup singers might be louder or song volumes may fluctuate. Obviously no one knew at the time this would be his last show and the sound quality is still excellent, with Orbison fans still having a fine document of his last performance.

And what a performance it is. From the opening "Only the Lonely," Orbison delivers one hit after another, his vocals nothing short of jaw-dropping on classics such as "Leah" and "Crying." Fans are treated to the first song Orbison ever recorded in "Ooby Dooby" as well as the first song he ever wrote with "Go, Go, Go (Down the Line)," the latter featuring some excellent jamming by Orbison and his band. Being the last concert adds a touch of poignancy to "It's Over" while "Oh, Pretty Woman" brings the set to a dramatic close.

Roy Orbison was back on top of the music world and still on top of his game at the time of his death. Mystery Girl would go on to become a big hit and it seems unfair Orbison was cheated out of seeing this success. For Orbison fans or for fans wondering why he was loved by so many, The Last Concert is a must-own CD.

Article first published as Music Review: Roy Orbison - The Last Concert on Blogcritics.