DVD Review: Magnum Live In Concert

Magnum

'Live In Concert'

(Wienerworld)

When Magnum released their melodic prog-rock debut album ‘Kingdom Of Madness’ in 1978 punk rock was still the dominant force musically, and socially, throughout the UK. It was a time of contrasting differences, of that there is no doubt. Magnum’s eclectic fusion of keyboards string arrangements, flutes, guitars and drums was in layered contradiction to the ferocious underclass anthems that roared from the streets around them, actively distracting the entire nation, spawning a  generation of DIY creationists who busied themselves breaking down barriers with their new found liberating freedom of expression. Magnum, with their own, equally consequential music though were more than capable of holding their own among the catchy, frenetic 3 minute punk songs as a career lasting an incredible 40 years should prove.

In the years that followed Magnum contributed in sending rock music a step forward in its evolution with a number of inventive and critically significant albums like seminal masterpiece Chase The Dragon and the immaculately creative Vigilante earning them a deserved recognition throughout the UK and parts of Europe. As their popularity grew so did their touring schedule - and extensive European jaunts followed with many dates frequently gaining sold out status around the continent - most notably in Germany, UK and Sweden. In 1992 the band played a flawless, atmosphere charged gig at Birmingham Town Hall, their home turf, in front of the loyal and the clearly devoted. That evening has been captured perfectly with all its glories untouched and unspoiled on this live DVD recording. Highlights are, undoubtedly, the sterling performance of their most popular songs like Days Of No Trust, All England’s Eyes, Midnight, When The World Comes Down and On A Storytellers Night.

MAGNUM HOMEPAGE

WIENERWORLD DISTRIBUTION

Live DVD Review: Level 42

Level 42

'LIVE'

(Wienerworld)

The 1980's was a decade of one-hit wonders, blatant commercialism and preposterous egotists. It spent half it's years with only one eye on the ball, floundering in weary indifference and being culturally overwhelmed by a flood of instantly forgettable synth-pop tunes and narcissistic big hair anthems. It was, without question, the decade that good taste ignored. Of course there were notable exceptions. Level 42 oozed originality and perception, the soulful jazz/funk sound of their self titled debut album towered above anything else at that time,  with its skilled balance of perfectly weighted styles and remarkable musicianship it was a flourishing symphonic conclusion by anyones standards. In 1985 the commercial success of the single 'Something About You' kick started the ascension to super stardom and an entire nation, it seemed, were Level 42 fans. Recorded live at the Town and Country Club in London in March 1992 the recently released DVD captures a dynamic and inspired Level 42 performance. From the roving, funk paced opener 'Hot Water' they rarely miss a beat and are consistently flawless song to song, the shimmering cohesion of the horn section, the solid punctuation of Gary Husband's accomplished drumming, Mark King's unconventional guitar virtuosity and those unexpected flourishes that such clever musicianship conjures up. They unfurl their back catalogue with remarkable style – heartbreak ballad 'Leaving Me Now',  refined pop tune 'Running In The Family', the infectious bounce of 'Children Say' and groovy funk classic 'Lessons In Love' are among them. A wildly jubilant crowd is the true measure of any live performance and the greatest review you'll ever see – as the celebratory ones who filled this venue to full capacity proved. 

http://www.level42.com/

http://www.wienerworld.com/

DVD Review: Beatles Stories

BEATLES STORIES

(SETH SWIRSKY)

PUBLISHED AND DISTRIBUTED IN THE UK BY WIENERWORLD

Every second of The Beatles history has been printed, recorded, filmed, photographed, painted and mass produced in so many different mediums and formats it’s impossible to ever imagine there might be a method not yet utilised - unless you want to attempt superimposing every song lyric on a rain-cloud which is then manacled to the Liverpool skyline and programmed by a purpose built hi tech control tower to rain a different song upon the city every day at 4pm which is contained within an orchestra of raindrops that release lyrics, vocals and music upon hitting the ground. Possibly not yet an option so we make do with duplicates of duplicates engulfing other yawn products with no more else to offer than a rephrased helping of the same trivia we gorged on years ago. You’re not so much bored with it just occupied by it Re-issued, re-packaged, reviled. Until, from the starkest of concepts, came a captivatingly radical production of sheer genius. Songwriter/musician Seth Swirsky, himself a lifetime Beatles fan, came up with the simplest of ideas, to track down people who had met either an individual band member or the entire band and get them to relate their experience to him as he filmed it. The more people he spoke to and the more stories he got generated a tapestry of momentous information and personal history that quite possibly had never been documented anywhere until now. Listening to each personal story unfold is a fascinating insight into The Beatles and how down to earth, everyday human beings they were despite the whole world constantly watching their every move. This prosaic, informal side to them is rarely touched upon in any other Beatles documentary, but here it becomes the only side of them on view. The 85 minute production features 53 stories from celebrities and insiders including Art Garfunkel, Brian Wilson, Sir George Martin, Ben Kingsley, Ray Manzarek and Davy Jones ranging from the poignant to the utterly hilarious. It’s a candid and informal atmosphere that reveals such historic moments with such simple diversity. A labour of love for director Seth Swirsky. Made by a fan for the fans.

http://beatlesstories.com/

http://www.wienerworld.com/

DVD Review. Circle Jerks - My Career As A Jerk

The Circle Jerks debut album ‘Group Sex’ is considered a reference point of substantial significance in the progression of the punk movement in LA. Ploughing through the 14 tracks of their debut in just over fifteen minutes of tight trashy guitar, pounding drums and distinct vocal appealed to the rowdy belligerence of America’s youth culture who embraced not only the sound of the Circle Jerks but their volleying quick-fire politically drenched bursts of sarcastic lyrical hyperbole - matched to perfection by the hyper-energetic, whirling dervish and chaotic majesty of their live performances. Celebrating the life and times of the influential band who - although made a big enough name for themselves - always seemed to be deserving of a bit more than what they had, filmmaker David Markey’s latest documentary ‘Circle Jerks: My Life As A Jerk’ due to be released on DVD this month, is a fascinating in-depth examination of the band from their early beginnings and groundbreaking debut album, the tours, fights, addictions, successes and break-ups. Markey’s incredible gift for creating these particular music/film documentaries is well known - he was the man behind ‘1991: The Year Punk Broke’, the collected music video and short films showcase ‘Cut Short’ from 2006 and ‘The Slog Movie’ from 1982 as well as his work with bands that include Sonic Youth, Nirvana, The Ramones and Black Flag. It is that same sharp edged, comprehensive style found on his past projects that breath life into this illuminative statement. And though the dramatic unfolding of scandal might be fun to hear it’s usually not all there is to a band and thankfully David Markey is experienced and aware enough to know that facts that fans already know wont be enough to make this interesting so he gets the core band members to recount their version of being a Circle Jerk from start to finish. It’s a flawless historical perspective of the influential seminal punks and possibly one of the most insightful bouts of audio/visual scrutinising I’ve ever seen.

Thanks to Claire at Weinerworld DVD Distributors

The Damned: Tiki Nightmare: DVD Review

If time is transcendent then The Damned are equally as infinite

Despite being completely overshadowed by the efficient delivery of sneering nihilism and egotistical insolence which ensured maximum publicity via outpourings of public revulsion, hatred, objection and outrage for Malcolm McLaren’s cynical marketing tool – The Sex Pistols – who, quite brilliantly and effectively, ushered punk to the notorious levels reached and secured it‘s good health for ever – it was The Damned who are credited with a number of significant firsts from this early period. Their 1976 debut single ’New Rose’ was the first ever single released by a British punk band. Their debut album ’Damned Damned Damned’ was the first British punk album (beating Never Mind The Bollocks to the line by almost 8 months) and they were the first UK punk band to tour America. That said, they also became the first to split up after disastrous second album ‘Music For Pleasure’ ( mutually hated by the band) caused internal disillusion and failed to capitalise on the success of it’s celebrated predecessor. They’ve re-formed, broke up and re-formed many times since then and have fluctuated with dazzling versatility between 3 minute garage/punk, melodic synth rock, graveyard/film noir and commercially acceptable power pop songs. Whichever genre they happened to be mining from at any particular time The Damned have delivered some of the most memorable, iconic anthems in the history of punk.

Filmed at Shepherds Bush Empire on 12th July 2002 ‘Tiki Nightmare’( first released in 2003) is the full recording of their final gig of a 14 date UK tour. The personnel includes original members Dave Vanian and Capt Sensible alongside one time bassist Patricia Morrison (Sisters Of Mercy) and current members Pinch (drums) and keyboard player Monty Oxymoron. With a set list that borrows heavily from their 2001 album ‘Grave Disorder’ (Democracy, Amen, Would You Be So Hot, She and Song.Com) they possess enough respect for nostalgia to honour it with a number of salutes – opening with ‘Street Of Dreams’ from 1985’s ‘Phantasmagoria’ before finding room for an excellent rendition of ‘Plan 9 Channel 7’ and ‘Wait For The Blackout’. As Vanian croons the line ‘they don’t understand we make our own rules ‘ on next song’ I Just Cant Be Happy Today’ there is a depicted poignancy as you get your first reminder of just how much The Damned have grew up alongside you . With a further nod to their recent material they delve back into the past with a live favourite, ‘Disco Man’ and the atmospheric ‘Under The Floor Again’. Another gem is effortlessly unleashed with the fidgety ‘Neat Neat Neat’ before Capt Sensible publicly indulges himself with his solo Number 1 malarkey ‘Happy Talk’ (and does he REALLY replace the line ‘golly baby I’m a lucky cuss’ with the less commercially acceptable ‘lucky cunt’ as various reports across the years have proclaimed?’ The Capt finishes his ego fiddling and it’s straight into the song that began it all – ‘New Rose’ – blissfully chaotic and without any chastising – this is, again, why The Damned exist. Onwards through Vanian’s Goth take on ‘Eloise’ and the song a generation grew wings under – ‘Smash It Up’ before ending with double greatness on ‘Feel Alright’ and, the one that sent them to TOTP for the first time, a declaration of gritty teen emotion that still echoes down through the years like the galloping horse it still is, ‘Love Song’ – ‘and it makes me glad to say, it’s been a lovely day, and it’s ok…it’s ok…..it’s ok….IT’S OK!!!’ And there they leave it…for the next generation because they, just like us, will find it too.

www.officialdamned.com