LED ZEPPELIN: The Song Remains The Same
Distributed by Alliance Entertainment Sdn Bhd / Speedy Video Distribution

A CLASSIC film of a seminal rock band holding a legendary concert at a celebrated venue. Does it get any better than this? As a friend put it, this concert was to music what the Brazil-Italy 1970 World Cup final was to football, the Apollo 11 mission was to space exploration or the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier bouts were to boxing.
Did it live up to the hype? Hell, yeah!
Even taken on its own, the concert is amazing. The three-day gig at Madison Square Garden was the culmination of their triumphant 1973 United States tour (during which they smashed The Beatles' attendance record!).
From their incredible performance it is evident that the band, at that point in time, was at the peak of its powers and arguably the hugest act in the world.
They were incredibly talented, massively charismatic and had the audience eating out of their hands during the concert, which contained the performance of rock standards like Black Dog, Rock and Roll, Moby Dick, Dazed and Confused and, naturally, the unforgettable Stairway to Heaven.
What elevates this film beyond a mere concert video is the inclusion of several fantasy sequences, as well as the interspersing of several live scenes of incidences occurring before, after and during the performance. This includes the theft of US$180,000 of the groups' money from the hotel they were staying in and the subsequent investigations.
The fantasy sequences, in particular, are a joy to watch. Each band member, as well as manager Peter Grant and tour manager Richard Cole, had their own sequence created according to their personal whims.
John Bonham's, though not as profound or mystical as the rest, was oddly touching because it has images of him spending time with his family, as well as playing snooker, drag racing and riding a Harley-Davidson. It's ironic that somebody with such an obvious love of life would later die such an untimely death. When all these elements congeal with the concert video, the result is an oddly intoxicating hodge-podge of sound and images that are at the same time harmonious and discordant. Cityscapes and graveyards, pipe organs and electric guitars, doves and bats, peaceful countryside and violent drive-by shootings, all come together with a devilishly delightful resonance.
Rating: HHHHH


TAKE THAT
Beautiful World Live
Distributed by Universal Music Video Sdn Bhd

It's hard to objectively review this DVD because I watched it right after catching The Song Remains The Same. Compared to that staggering performance, this paled in comparison.
In all fairness though, this concert was slick, well-produced and, judging by the fans' howls, yelps and screeches, very well received indeed.
The concert, springing from the phenomenal success of the Beautiful World album, is exactly the kind of stuff that you'd expect from a boyband (or is this one now a manband?).
After all, who goes to a Take That, Boyzone or Backstreet Boys concert expecting edginess, shock value or dramatic flourishes?
What Barlow, Donald, Orange and Owen (Robbie Williams being conspicuously missing, of course) do give you is a decent two hours of sweet sounding cotton candy, great sets and costumes that would make any opera diva proud.
New songs like Beautiful World, Patience and Shine ably combine with Take That "classics" like Pray, Could It Be Magic and Back For Good.
Though Barlow is still very much the head honcho, the supporting cast of Donald, Owen and Orange have proved that they have stepped out of his shadow by doing credible jobs as solos.
The 160-minute DVD extras, which include a road film and band commentary, are unremarkable, filler material.
I wouldn't buy this DVD even if I had the money, but that's just my anti-boyband bias speaking. I'm sure Take That fans would love it.
Rating: HHH

ELTON JOHN
Elton John 60: Live at Madison Square Garden
Distributed by Universal Music Video Sdn Bhd

Nobody can deny that this man has been one of the most enduring and effervescent live performers for the last four decades.
Wait, let me rephrase that. Nobody can deny that this man has been one of the most enduring and effervescent musicians (and live performer) for the last four decades.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee is known around the world for his dazzling body of work which includes amazing songs like Madman Across The Water, Your Song, Bernie and the Jets and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road as well as his dazzling array of funky glasses.
The number 60 was central to this concert for two reasons. First, and most important, is that it was in conjunction with his 60th birthday and his elevation to the status of Grand Old Man of the music industry. Secondly, it was the 60th sell-out performance at the famed venue.
The birthday bash proves that time has clearly taken its toll on the hard-living entertainer and he doesn’t sound as great as he used to despite putting on a great spectacle of a show. Yet, it also shows just why his music is just as immortal and evergreen.
After all, John and his longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin produced some of the most unforgettable melodies and lyrics in pop history, a lot of which were played in the concert.
Listening to tunes like Tiny Dancer, Candle in the Wind, Something About The Way You Look Tonight, Rocket Man and, fittingly, Sixty Years On was a treat.
In this instance, the classic Elton John numbers are even better, being augmented by cellist Martin Tillman and a New York City youth choir.
The bonus material on this DVD is some of the best I’ve seen so far. It includes some fantastic and very rare performances of his work and even though most of it overlaps with what is played on the concert video, it’s still worth watching.
Rating: HHHH


FALL OUT BOY
Live in Phoenix
Distributed by Universal Music Video Sdn Bhd

Fall Out Boy, though having come a great distance in a relatively short time, still can’t seem to shake off that college band vibe they seem to have in their music and their videos.
That same vibe also translates to their concert performances, as this show indicates. It's an intangible quality that they seem to lack, but it feels as if they'd be more at home playing in a dingy pub at a university town somewhere rather than on the grand and high tech stage they strutted on in Phoenix, Arizona.
Perhaps it is the titles of their songs, which range from adolescent to downright silly. I mean, can you imagine Franz Ferdinand or My Chemical Romance christening their work with titles like Our Lawyer Made Us Change The Name Of This Song So We Wouldn’t Get Sued or I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me?
The concert was good, if not great, but the real triumph here was the crisp and crystal clear quality of the video.
The sound, on the other hand, was mediocre at best, which was a shame.
Rating: **