title: Ramones: Raw function popUp(URL,NAME) { amznwin=window.open(URL,NAME,'location=yes,scrollbars=yes,status=yes,toolbar=yes,resizable=yes,width=380,height=450,screenX=10,screenY=10,top=10,left=10'); amznwin.focus();} document.open(); document.write(""); document.close(); <br> studio: Image Entertainment MPAA rating: NR starring: The Ramones theatrical release year: N/A DVD release year: 2004 film rating: Three-and-a-Half Stars sound/picture: Three Stars reviewed by: Dan MacIntosh The makers of this concert and backstage visual document, which skips all around The Ramones’ pioneering punk rock career, were not kidding when they titled it “Ramones Raw.” That’s because it’s a collection of on-the-road footage, performance scenes and miscellaneous clips of almost endless variety that are seemingly thrown together at random, without much help at all from an editor. (You know who editors are. Those are the folks that magically create coherence out of chaos.) While it’s refreshing to watch a visual biography that steers clear of adhering to that smooth and predictable VH-1 “Behind the Music” approach, which is all too prevalent in music features today, it would have been far more enjoyable if this project had at least followed some sort of a chronological order. Instead, it’s a little bit like sitting with ...

This DVD collection of concert performances, originally taken from the cable program Cinemax Sessions, actually dates back to 1989. While every artist represented here is no doubt a certified rock, blues or soul legend, they were all well past their respective artistic primes during the taping of these particular musical sequences. So on an energy level scale, at least, you may want to liken it to a baseball old-timer’s game, although it’s not quite that sedate. So if you’re keeping score, to continue our baseball game analogy, each performer gets two swings at two signature songs (Jerry Lee Lewis is blessed with three plate appearances, though, while Little Richard gets only one at bat), and everybody participates in the grand finale. Taped in Rome, Italy, this DVD adds up to a communal celebration of some of the greatest rock, soul and ...

title: Joni Mitchell - Refuge Of The Roads function popUp(URL,NAME) { amznwin=window.open(URL,NAME,'location=yes,scrollbars=yes,status=yes,toolbar=yes,resizable=yes,width=380,height=450,screenX=10,screenY=10,top=10,left=10'); amznwin.focus();} document.open(); document.write(""); document.close(); studio: Sony Music MPAA rating: NR starring: Joni Mitchell, Russell Ferrante, Michael Landau, Larry Klein, and Vinnie Colaiuta DVD release year: 2004 film rating: Three-and-a-Half Stars sound/picture rating: Three-and-a-Half Stars reviewed by: Jeff Fish Joni Mitchell will probably always be associated with the West Coast acoustic music scene that she helped popularize in the late ‘60s. Along with Crosby, Stills and Nash, Judy Collins and James Taylor, Mitchell was at the forefront of an acoustic awareness that was making waves in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. But Mitchell was also a fan of the late great jazz bassist Charles Mingus. Her albums of the mid-‘ 70s were some of the most evocative of that era, giving rise to such great musicians as Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius and Lyle Mays. Throughout the decade and well into the ‘80s, Mitchell could be counted on to sell out almost any venue and her music continued ...

title: The Who - Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival 1970   studio: Eagle Vision MPAA rating: NR starring: Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, Keith Moon, Pete Townshend theatrical release year: 1971 DVD release year: 2004 film rating: Four-and-a-Half Stars sound/picture rating: Four Stars reviewed by: Jeff Fish There are a handful of bands and performers that helped set rock ‘n’ roll on its course. Among this handful of visionaries, some could write and perform their material in the studio, no problem, but on stage, the material didn’t translate. Others didn’t write the greatest songs or albums, but on stage they were unstoppable. The Who had both the ability to write classic material and perform it compellingly live. Not only were their albums highly anticipated events, but in concert, they were like none that had come before them.

title: The Doors Of The 21st Century: L.A. Woman Live function popUp(URL,NAME) { amznwin=window.open(URL,NAME,'location=yes,scrollbars=yes,status=yes,toolbar=yes,resizable=yes,width=380,height=450,screenX=10,screenY=10,top=10,left=10'); amznwin.focus();} document.open(); document.write(""); document.close(); studio: Image Entertainment MPAA rating: NR starring: Ray Manzarek (keyboard) Robby Krieger (guitar), Ian Astbury (vocals, tambourine), Ty Dennis (drums), Angelo Barbera (bass) release year: 2004 film rating: Four Stars sound/picture rating: Four Stars reviewed by: Bryan Dailey Reunion tours of classic rock bands are seemingly a dime a dozen these days. Van Halen, now old enough to be considered classic rock, have reformed with Sammy Hagar up front again and are touring the country as I write this. Led Zeppelin has come back and performed in many incarnations, including the Live Aid performance with John Bonham’s son, as well as “Page and Plant” and the Jimmy Page/Black Crows collaboration. When the Doors started kicking around the idea of going on tour, the big question was who would sing. Finding someone to fill the tremendously large shoes of arguably one of the best frontmen in all of music is damn near ...