Audio-Visuals

JOHNNY CASH: LIVE FROM AUSTIN TX
JOHN HIATT: LIVE FROM AUSTIN TX
ERIC JOHNSON: LIVE FROM AUSTIN TX
TEXAS TORNADOS: LIVE FROM AUSTIN TX
DWIGHT YOAKAM: LIVE FROM AUSTIN TX
Directed by Gary Menotti
(New West)
Since 1976, Austin City Limits has been taping intimate performances by musicians, some of whom are up-and-comers, some of whom are legendary. Set against a faux cityscape (yes, it's shot indoors, which surprises even some of the performers as they arrive), musicians play on a simple wooden stage in a room that holds roughly 500 people. No frills, no gimmicks.

And let me tell you, Christmas just came early, as the ACL folks have opened their vaults and released more performances from their vast library on DVD and CD. Remixed and remastered, these recordings also include previously unreleased performances.

Taped in 1987, the late Johnny Cash is in good form, even if he was in career limbo. He'd been unceremoniously dropped by Columbia, his label since the late 50s. He'd just signed with Mercury Nashville, and was years away from the partnership with producer Rick Rubin that would lead to some of the most compelling music in his stellar career.

It's a smooth presence and show Cash brings during this 50-minute set. Taking the stage to "Ring of Fire," he's self-assured and in good voice. He rolls out a number of the hits, including "Folsom Prison Blues," "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down," "I Walk the Line" and "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky." Cash probably never did a bad song, but the songs he does between the hits are still surprisingly good. "The Wall" was also performed on the At Folsom Prison album, and it probably didn't make the prison staff happy with its lyrics about escape. It's just about as powerful as the title track, though. Nodding to his label situation, Cash does Tom T. Hall's "I'll Go Somewhere and Sing My Songs Again" without evidence of bitterness. And June Carter Cash joins him, of course, for "Where Did We Go Right?"

ACL producer Terry Lickona writes in the liner notes that Cash told him doing the show was important "because it's all about the music." It's a perfect setting to see the Man in Black. [buy it]

John Hiatt was backed by a tight three-piece band he called the Guilty Dogs that night in December of 1993, featuring guitarist Michael Ward from School of Fish (remember that huge sound from "Three Strange Days"?) and bassist Davey Faragher and drummer Michael Urbano from Cracker. They roll through 14 great songs by a great songwriter. This is a great way to rediscover John Hiatt if you've been out of the loop, as the man can write a sparkling line. See if you can keep a straight face when he sings, "Help the starving children to get well/But let my brother's hamster burn in hell" from "Your Dad Did." It's an embarrassment of riches as the audience is treated to "Tennessee Plates," "Slow Turning," "Have a Little Faith in Me" and a funkily re-vamped "Memphis in the Meantime."

Full disclosure: I was an audio tech for ACL for a few seasons, and I worked on the Hiatt show. After his set ended and the crew were striking the gear, something happened I've not seen before nor since: they turned on the studio monitors and played back the show we'd just taped for us to watch and enjoy. It was that good. [buy it]

Live from Austin TX may just be Eric Johnson's finest recording. Taped in 1988, this performance finds him a couple years removed from his seminal Tones album. The band, which also consists of bassist Kyle Brock and drummer Tommy Taylor, plays some Tones songs, some Jimi Hendrix covers and some songs from Ah Via Musicom, which wouldn't come out for another two years.

It's a different brand of flash that Johnson displays on ACL, filling space with textures and, yes, great tones more than hot licks. His cover of Hendrix's "Love or Confusion," like several of these songs, contains some "how the heck?" moments. It's good to see "Camel's Night Out" and the rarely-performed "Western Flyer" here, as they were very popular with some of us once-rabid fans who were keenly aware just how long the next album was taking. "East Wes" is gorgeous, and a song somewhat in transition, as some of the main melody was modified for Musicom. In fact, if you listen closely to "Trail of Tears," you can hear a melodic refrain quite similar to one that eventually found its way onto "40 Mile Town."

It's well-known that Johnson wanted to use the version of his signature instrumental "Cliffs of Dover" from this ACL performance for Musicom. Red tape prevented that, but one can certainly see why Johnson liked it: the band is on fire. The show wraps up with the second Hendrix cover, "Are You Experienced?" While Johnson merely sings at the lyrics, he replicates the guitar solo note for note, and folks, that one was originally recorded backwards. Stunning. [buy it]

The Texas Tornados have probably been played more in this household than any other DVD in this collection, and it's easy to see why. Their brand of what the late Doug Sahm herein calls "conjunto rock 'n' roll" is irresistible, period.

Despite reports of tension within the group, Sahm, Freddy Fender, Augie Meyers and Flaco Jimenez zip giddily through "Soy de San Luis," "(Hey Baby) Que Paso," "Adios Mexico" and other TT favorites during this 1990 performance. Sprinkled in are solo hits like Fender's "Wasted Days & Wasted Nights" and "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" and Sahm/Meyers/Sir Douglas Quintet songs like "She's About a Mover" and "Mendocino." The Tornados were a perfect vehicle for these four talents, who had achieved quasi-legendary status in Texas but not often had much impact beyond the borders. They rip through 19 songs, all of which will make you want to dance. [buy it]

Dwight Yoakam's career was still fairly young in 1988 when he made his second ACL appearance, but he already had fistfuls of great country songs. Opening with "Guitars, Cadillacs," Yoakam and his band, which features producer/guitarist Pete Anderson, knock out 14 songs so good that, well, let's just say Santa's going to be slipping this one into at least one stocking I'm aware of this year. Songs like "Little Ways," "Honky Tonk Man," and "I Sang Dixie" should be part of any country music fan's collection, period.

Yoakam's never been afraid to be a little bit different, and in some cases the difference is a dark edge, such as on "This Drinkin' Will Kill Me" or "What I Don't Know" (which is followed by, "…might get you killed."). And Yoakam is joined by Buck Owens and Flaco Jimenez for a romp through the conjunto-soaked "Streets of Bakersfield." This is less than a year before the Texas Tornados got together; one can only wonder whether this song's success had anything to do with the origins of the Tornados. [buy it]

Most of these DVDs are also being released as audio CDs. The sound is terrific, the production and editing virtually flawless, and the scope of artists is impressive. The inclusion of songs that weren't originally aired is worth the sticker price alone. This is a goldmine of great material for any music fan with taste, y'all. Brian Briscoe

DISCIPLINE: LIVE 1995
Directed by William C. Givens
(Strung Out))
Though largely unknown outside of its home turf and prog-oriented message boards, Detroit's Discipline was one of the great American progressive rock bands. Eschewing the feel-good melodies and sentiments of better-known groups like Spock's Beard and Yes, Discipline instead explored darker, more twisted states of mind, with haunted melodies to match, more along the lines of Van Der Graaf Generator. The band was a vehicle for an intensely personal expression of writer/leader Matthew Parmenter's roiling id.

Discipline: Live 1995 captures the band in full flight at Detroit's Magic Bag. Parmenter doesn't just sing here, but performs in full makeup as the Magic Acid Mime, complete with costume changes reflecting the content of the tunes. It's acting out in every sense of the word. It must be said: occasionally it comes off as a bit cheesy. The witch's outfit was enough for the child molester saga "The Nursery Year;" the broom and hat add an unintended (but fortunately surmountable) comic effect. But often the effect is just right; the sight of Parmenter clad in briefs and a straightjacket, laughing madly in his makeup during the coda of "When the Walls Are Down," is truly unsettling. Which is the kind of reaction the band is striving for—disturbance, nervous laughter, the kind of itch that makes an audience unsure of whether to applaud or flee. Measures of relief are doled out by amazing guitarist Jon Preston Bouda—the Jekyll to Parmenter's Hyde—but overall the leader's blackened visions and the band's ability to bring them to life leave quite a stunning impression.

The DVD also contains a great deal of extra footage, shot over the course of the band's lifetime. Not only can you watch Discipline evolve, but you also get evidence that, yes, the band did have a sense of humor. (Check out "Eyeballs Story" for some strange kicks.) Fans will particularly interested in this package, as both the extras and the main performance present songs that never made it onto the band's records. Though Parmenter is on a solo trip at the moment, this DVD makes me hope that he reconvenes the band and takes it on the road. This kind of spectacle is worth appreciating in person. Michael Toland [buy it]