Audio-Visuals

MARC BOLAN T. REX: BORN TO BOOGIE
Directed by Ringo Starr
(Sanctuary)
Originally released in 1972, at the height of T. Rexstasy in England, Born To Boogie was not a huge success. That seems surprising now, considering how popular T. Rex and its leader Marc Bolan were in the U.K. at the time. As such, Born To Boogie (directed, oddly enough, by ex-Beatles drummer and T. Rex fan Ringo Starr) has languished out of print for a couple of decades, merely a curio in Great Britain and a figment of the imagination in the States. But the resurgence of interest in the early 70s glam rock scene, the insinuating influence of T. Rex on underground rock & roll and the ubiquitous presence of T. Rex's "20th Century Boy" in commercials and films means the time is right for a revival of this eccentric superstar portrait, and lo and behold, under the auspices of Starr, T. Rex producer Tony Visconti and Bolan's son Rolan, Born To Boogie is, well, reborn.

The heart of this film is concert footage filmed at a pair of shows at the Empire Pool, Wembley. Boasting a rawer sound than is usually associated with Bolan, the band merrily bops through its best-known hits, including "Jeepster," "Telegram Sam," "Hot Love" and, of course, "Get It On," in a ten-minute percussion jam incarnation. (No "Ride a White Swan," strangely.) Bolan also performs acoustically, sitting cross-legged on the unfancy trade hall stage. Despite an out-of-tune guitar, "Spaceball Ricochet" and "Cosmic Dancer" are two of the most affecting numbers. There aren't any pyrotechnics or flashy lightshows; Bolan simply hits the stage and plays, trusting in his own enthusiasm and charisma to carry it off. And, by god (the one Bolan though he was, that is), he does.

Starr breaks the show up with some odd set pieces: a bizarre acoustic 'n' strings medley of "Jeepster," "Hot Love," "Get It On" and "The Slider" set to a re-enactment of the Mad Hatter's Tea Party from Alice in Wonderland, some tomfoolery between Ringo and Bolan and a pair of Bolan's poems that serve mainly as a reminder of why the man is known for his songs. Rock fans will be especially buzzed about the versions of "Tutti Frutti" and "Children of the Revolution" captured here in a studio (the latter before its release as a single), as both feature Ringo on drums and Bolan contemporary Elton John on piano. The performances are mimed, but the music was actually recorded with Starr and John's contributions. Being the ham that he is/was, Bolan seems to be enjoying himself during the playacting, but fans will dig the concert scenes the most. As well they should.

This two DVD set comes with a very generous helping of extras. Most importantly, it includes both Empire Pool sets in their entireties. The evening show, from which comes the footage in the film, includes songs like "Summertime Blues" and "Cadilac" that didn't make the cut. The matinee show has the same basic setlist, but is a looser performance, with more guitar solos, some technical bugaboos that don't impede the proceedings and an acoustic set with a (slightly) more in tune guitar. (It also makes clear that the evening had some post-production overdubbing of some guitar and background vocal tracks.) It's of interest to fanatics, of course, even if just to ogle Bolan's glittering blue satin suit, which manages to somehow be both elegant and ridiculous.

Disk two also includes a documentary presented by Rolan Bolan that interviews T. Rex producer Tony Visconti, production head Tim Van Rellim and actor Geoffrey Bayldon, who plays a waiter in the Tea Party sequence but was best known in England for his starring role in the children's program Catweazle. Another doc that concentrates on the efforts to restore the film. There's also an interview with drummer Bill Legend, the only surviving member of T. Rex and now a born-again Christian, some interesting outtakes and other ephemera. It's an amazing package, especially for the fans, but newcomers who've never heard T. Rex will find much to love here as well. Combined with the double CD set (which includes both a complete soundtrack to the film and the audio from one of the shows), Born To Boogie successfully makes the case for the iconic status of Marc Bolan and T. Rex. Bang a gong, y'all. Michael Toland [buy it]

ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE IMPOSTERS: CLUB DATE - LIVE IN MEMPHIS
Directed by Michael B. Borofsky
(Eagle Vision)
Near the beginning of his tour supporting the odd roots rock concept album The Delivery Man, Elvis Costello and his band the Imposters hit the Memphis club Hi-Tone for a pair of intimate shows the likes of which the iconic songwriter probably hadn't done in 20 years. Club Date - Live in Memphis, needless to say, is the record of that show. As anyone who saw Costello on this tour knows, the setlists were a strange mixture of material from the new record (one of his most uneven, it must be said) and songs from his first three albums, largely ignoring the impressive body of work he built up in the 80s and 90s. That wasn't a problem in later shows from the tour—his sets for South By Southwest 2005 and Austin City Limits are already becoming legendary, and the performance I saw at the Austin City Limits Music Festival (just a few days after the one taped for this DVD) was downright explosive. But here the musicians seem tentative, edging up to transcendence but rarely crossing over.

Costello and the group, particularly drummer Pete Thomas, put their all into the performance, and some songs—"High Fidelity," "Monkey to Man," "Blame It On Cain," a loose cover of Willie Dixon's "Hidden Charms"—are reminders of why the words "Costello" and "greatness" so often end up in the same sentence. But too many performances have off-key vocals and strained energy, and the weakness of most of the Delivery Man material ("Country Darkness" and "Monkey to Man" excepted) shows up glaringly when placed next to "Mystery Dance" and "Radio Radio." The duets with Emmylou Harris, which include covers of Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone" and the Flying Burrito Brothers' "Wheels", are particularly lifeless, despite the talent involved. It's a reasonably solid set, I suppose, and the Imposters, which also include stalwart keyboardist Steve Nieve and bassist/harmony singer Davey Faragher, are probably the best band Costello's ever had. Anyone who missed the tour probably wouldn't think anything was amiss here. For me, though, Club Date simply never rises to the level of the show I saw or the ones I heard described so lovingly by other fans. It's a shame this is the official document of what became a stellar showcase for Costello's live talents.

Even stranger is the omission of the bonus songs from the main program, though recorded at the same shows. A garage-rocking "There's a Story in Your Voice" and a bizarre, atmospheric jam on "Button My Lip," both from The Delivery Man, are more compelling than most of the main show, and the Costello/Harris duets on Felice and Boudleaux Bryant's "Sleepless Nights" and the Louvin Brothers' "My Baby's Gone" are far more gorgeous and affecting than the songs that made the cut. Since Club Date isn't a theatrical feature, why not put the stronger tunes back in the set where they belong? I'm utterly puzzled by this.

The other bonus features are a brief look at the line for tickets to the shows in the 300-capacity Hi-Tone and "A Road Trip With Elvis and Pete," an hour of Costello and Thomas touring the music sites (Memphis; Helena, Arkansas; Clarksdale and Oxford, Mississippi) of the Delta. Listening to Costello describe what the music made there in the 50s and 60s meant to young Britons and how it influenced them as he visits the sites where much of it was made provides a fascinating insight into his artistic arc. The main program of Club Date - Live in Memphis may not be essential, but Costello fans will definitely want to spend time with the bonus section. Michael Toland [buy it]

RICHARD THOMPSON: LIVE FROM AUSTIN TX
SON VOLT: LIVE FROM AUSTIN TX
LUCINDA WILLIAMS: LIVE FROM AUSTIN TX
Directed by Gary Menotti
(New West)
Austin City Limits has stood as the gold standard of music broadcasting for nearly thirty years. The first time I witnessed the greatness of ACL was a performance by Roy Orbison, when I was introduced to how perfect live music could be. That is just one of the rad things about ACL. Another is that it gives us a chance to see live performances of acts that may not otherwise make it on the radar. That is, unless you have the good fortune of living in a musically diverse area such as Austin, where left-of-center musicians tend to congregate. Thanks to New West Records, select performances from the recent past are being made available on DVD, an idea that could not have come soon enough.

The latest batch of DVDs includes Richard Thompson, Son Volt and Lucinda Williams. These performances include the entire taping, everything that was edited out of the thirty-minute broadcasts. They have also been re-mastered for 5.1 sound and the video quality glistens. The magic of ACL has been bottled and readied for consumption in a format worthy of the material.

London troubadour Richard Thompson took the ACL stage in 2001 and unloaded his inventive folk rock guitaring on Austin. Thompson's performance is captured beautifully here, with the attention being appropriately focused on his mouth-dropping guitar playing. Thompson eases from blues to rock and folk, working his fingers up and down his guitar effortlessly, all in stunning digital clarity. Plus, the man has personality to spare, which is another cool thing about live performances. The sound is great also, with Thompson delivering subtle picking that is never buried. The money shot is the song "1952 Vincent Black Lightning," a love song about a motorcycle in which Thompson plays an acoustic guitar like it's as natural as breathing. [buy it]

Maybe the single most important band to happen to the alt.country scene was Son Volt. In 1996 the quartet was riding the popularity of the genre they helped define when it recorded a show for ACL. Jay Farrar's band is comfortable on stage, dressed like a group of sleepy college students who wandered on stage. Their casual style seems to be a break from most acts at this venue. The band crowds a ton of music into the set, which runs for well over an hour. Mixing steel guitars and Farrar's twangy vocals, this is a pretty good representation of the former group's live act, albeit a little toned down. The music is clear and crisp, which is really at the heart of why ACL is so cool. The band presents its tunes as they should sound, without having to compete with drunk frat guys. The only criticism is that Farrar's personality is front and center, and there ain't much there. Otherwise, this is a great way to remember one of the great bands of the late 90s. [buy it]

My expectations for the Lucinda Williams disc could not have been higher. I had never seen Williams perform on ACL and I could not get to my DVD player fast enough. And sure enough, I was not disappointed. Williams has one of the most recognizable voices on the radio today and she puts those pipes on full display during this show in 1998. By the time she recorded this show, Williams was an ACL veteran and she and her band seem to be on a mission to blaze through as many tunes as possible during their time. This was right around the time she released Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, so about half of these tracks are from that record. But it's cool, because that record kicks ass. [buy it]

All in all, New West is doing all of us a huge service and we should all write them a love note telling them of our approval. Lance Looper