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dvd reviews
Dancing
to New Orleans
(DocuRama, www.docurama.com)
With the notable exception of Les Blank's films, Louisiana music documentaries
tend to ramble like a day at Jazz Fest, stopping at various stages to hear a song
or two, and moving on. Director Michael Murphy -- whose Michael Murphy Productions
is responsible for the recent wonder Legends of New Orleans: The Music of Fats
Domino -- offers Dancing to New Orleans, a triptych of local music
and musicians, some obscure, some well-known. It's a road trip worth taking --
even if some stops are better than others.
Murphy wisely offers generous slices of music
in his 89-minute film. Concert footage of Lionel Ferbos, Clarence "Gatemouth"
Brown and Irma Thomas (singing a lovely "Ruler of My Heart" with Allen Toussaint
at the piano) is all shot and recorded very well, capturing these performers
at their best. For narrated sequences, Murphy generally relies on expert sound-biters
such as folklorist William Ferris and musician Michael Doucet, although he also
has musical wunderkind Amanda Shaw recount a Knowledge Bowl's worth of material
about Cajun history. Overall, too much of the Louisiana music lore is growing
pretty stale with repeated telling in documentaries, music magazines and travel
books. But Dancing has worse flaws in the DVD's extras -- the text is
riddled with errors, listing accordionist Amede Ardoin as a fiddler, and fiddler
Allen Fontenot and rub-boarder Rockin' Dopsie Jr. as accordionists.
For locals, by far the best reason to check
out Dancing to New Orleans is the opportunity to spend a few more minutes
with the resplendent Raymond Myles, seen here at a Jazz Fest performance. The
late gospel star -- who was so violently cut down in his prime -- commands the
Ray-Ban stage with a raucous display of gospel-soul-pop crossover genius. --
Michael Tisserand
Punk -- The Early Years
(Music Video Distributors, www.musicvideodistributors.com)
Punk -- The Early Years is at best an oddity as well as a fitting chronicle
of the birth of punk rock in Great Britain. Released by Music Video Distributors,
the hour-long documentary lists no director and is haphazardly assembled to say
the least.
How different, then, is it from punk rock
itself? The bastard child of unwed parents such as glam, rockabilly, ska and
the like, punk knows no one author. And the ramshackle production here feels
about as D.I.Y. as you can get; even some of the advertised "live" performances
are either completely out of synch or blatantly set to recorded versions.
As is the case with most music documentaries,
the beauty is in the music itself, and here you can see, up close
and personal, the early charm of bands such as Billy Idol's Generation
X, Siouxsie Sioux, and X-Ray Spex. Most of the footage is shot
before fashion completely emphasis on completely
consumed the genre, for most of the action takes place in 1977
and before Malcolm McLaren smeared his paws over everything. Even
at this point punkers were complaining about the faddishness of
the genre.
The interviews are surprisingly lucid and
candid, particularly with Idol; watching him from the safe distance of 25 years
ago, you see that his snarl really was a snarl, but he understood what punk
was and could become. Ditto T. Rex's Marc Bolan, who gives what is said to be
his last interview and looks with optimism at the future of the genre. -- David
Lee Simmons
Duran Duran -- Greatest: The DVD
(EMI Distribution)
If the Sex Pistols were the descendents of Iggy Pop then certainly Duran Duran
was the shameless descendent of David Bowie. How bizarre is it that Iggy and
Ziggy could inspire such disparate godchildren of glam rock. Duran Duran was
the definitive music group of the MTV generation, so it's no surprise that these
made-up Brits were recently honored -- during this third go-round of the band's
popularity -- with a lifetime achievement award from the image-setting network.
Duran Duran purists -- and you know who you
are -- have been p'shaw-ing this two-disc collection of the band's videos, a
companion to the group's greatest-hits CD released last year. And there's no
question this is Capitol Records' way of getting their share of the retro-craze
loot that bands like Double-Duran generate. There are no rarities or nuggets
here -- just the basics, which remain surprisingly fresh in this repackaging.
I mean, who wouldn't want to watch the band's R-rated version of the (dare I
say it?) steamy "Girls on Film" one more time? For a bunch of guys accused of
being well-dressed flits, Duran Duran sure filled their video work with plenty
of babes in various states of undress.
More than any other band, Duran Duran understood
the power of not only the image, but the power of the pretty
image, and their videos are nothing but pure eye candy. The second
disc, which features interviews, a photo gallery and lyrics, is
just more icing on an already-sweet cake. -- Simmons
Duran Duran performs at TwiRoPa Mills at
9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22.
Other Stories This Week in Features:
Cover Story
Making a Stink
Feature
Gifts for the Home
Blake Pontchartrain™
New Orleans Know-It-All
Shoptalk
The Lilly You Can Wear
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