MEDIA
Preview
By ChRIS kIES AND JoRDAN WAGNER
Videos
Iggy and the Stooges – Raw
Power Deluxe Edition
When Raw Power debuted, it didn’t please
the band’s label, Columbia Records, and it
didn’t fare well on the Billboard charts, either.
But its proto-punk fury sparked legions of
young rockers to come. Search and Destroy
features interviews with Johnny Marr (the
Smiths), Henry Rollins (Black Flag), Chrissie
Hynde (the Pretenders), and other Stooges
descendents who talk about the impact
the album and the band had on their lives.
However, the documentary’s real power
shows when the Stooges—Pop, James
Williamson, and Scott Asheton—muse on that
period of their lives. They provide a lot more
context by putting a sight, smell, touch, and
emotion to every song.
The deluxe edition also includes the original
1973 David Bowie-mixed version of Raw
Power, as well as the “Georgia Peaches
Disc”—which features footage of a previously unreleased hour-long performance at
Richards in Atlanta in October of 1973—and a
48-page book with an essay by Henry Rollins
and other testimonials from Tom Morello,
Slash, Lou Reed, and many more. Whether
you survived Raw Power’s original release or
recently got hip to the Stooges because of
their 2010 Hall of Fame induction, this deluxe
edition is well worth the health risk. —CK
List $59.99
legacyrecordings.com
I bet you’re not
too familiar with
Volbeat—neither
was I—but the
Danish rockers
are good enough
to be asked to
open for Metallica
on their 2010
European tour.
Volbeat’s new
double DVD,
Live: Sold Out,
provides a buffet of styles and tones that’s
two parts Metallica, two parts rockin’ Elvis, a
pinch of Hank Williams, and a dash of Chuck
Berry—all held together by Michael Poulson’s
stout, charismatic voice.
The first song on the DVD, “The Human
Instrument,” opens with gigantic riffs and
thunderous drums that transition into a
contemporary hard-rock song chock-full of
chugging riffs and a great solo. At that point,
you might be ready to throw them into one
of the many categories of metal. But then
they roll into “Radio Girl,” which sounds
like Social Distortion with its straight-ahead
power chords and storytelling. And then they
take it back another step with “Sad Man’s
Tongue,” which has the same chord structure and boom-chuka-boom style of Johnny
Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues”—again proving
they aren’t afraid to tip their hat. The rest
of the DVD follows similarly, from the crushing “Rebel Monster” to the near-rockabilly
lullaby “Soulweeper.” The footage is taken
from Volbeat’s 2007 world tour, and the video
edits are smooth and the audio is pristine,
with no apparent overdubs.
The second DVD is a documentary that lets
you get familiar with the band members’
musical pedigrees, get a feel for their offstage personalities, and see how they work
both live and in the studio. These DVDs
are definitely worth your attention because
they offer a full introduction to a heavy but
melodic band that will likely be turning heads
in the States soon. —CK
List $20
mascotrecords.com
Free – Free Forever
Free was vocalist
Paul Rodgers’
band before Bad
Company, and it
featured guitarist
Paul Kossoff—
who had one of
the most impressive vibrato
techniques ever,
period—
bassist Andy Fraser,
and drummer
Simon Kirke. And they composed some of
the best blues-based rock ever put on tape.
This DVD features audio recordings of the
band in its prime.
The first disc treats you to an explosive
performance of “Mr. Big” from 1970’s Fire
and Water. The footage was shot at the
Beat Club in Germany that same year, and
it has all the ’70s visual flair you’d expect,
down to the psychedelic floating lettering and trippy, kaleidoscopic effects. The
entire band is in excellent form, especially
Rodgers, and the three-song set at the
Beat Club also includes “Fire and Water”
and “All Right Now.” In the next set, which
is from Granada TV coverage, the band
seems noticeably tighter and more focused.
Fraser’s bass playing is the highlight of the
show—watch how smooth and controlled
his phrasing is during “I’ll Be Creepin’.”
The second disc contains a rare, previously
unreleased version of “Be My Friend”
from the band’s performance at The Isle of
Wight in 1970, and it’s a real gem. You can
listen to all of the audio from the show—
and the quality is impeccable—but you
have to play the disc in a DVD player and
use the menu screen to access the songs.
Including a download card to access MP3
versions of the songs or making the DVD a
dual-mode format, would have been much
more convenient. That issue aside, Free
Forever is an essential addition to the
video collection of all fans of early ’70s
blues-rock. —JW
List $29.98
eaglerockent.com
