NewBeats

AC/DC
Backtracks
Columbia
By David Chiu

When you get down to it, this 2-CD collection of studio and live rarities is really for the fan who has or nearly has every thing recorded by the veteran rockers. Admittedly the songs here on this set doesn’t drastically depart from anything stylistically we’d expect from Angus Young and company, which is essentially bone-crunching hard rock. More than half of the studio rarities on Disc 1 is devoted to the Bon Scott era with a mix of swaggering rock (“R.I.P.”); a ballad (“Love Song”); and a slow blues number (“Crabsody in Blue”); the rest is blistering hard rock from Scott’s successor with the menacing vocals Brian Johnston (“Down on the Borderline,” “Love Gun”). The live rarities portion consists of staples such as “Back in Black” (recorded live in ’81), “You Shook Me All Night Long,” “Highway To Hell” and “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” from ’77 featuring Scott. The DVD disc consists of (cheeky) promo videos from 1993 to 2008 (“Hard As a Rock,” “Safe in New York City,” “Rock and Roll Train”) as well as some bonus clips such as “Jailbreak” and “You Shook Me…”). All in all, Backtracks puts everything out there for AC/DC completists.

Jethro Tull
Live at Madison Square Garden 1978
Capitol/EMI
By David Chiu

If you were too young to see Jethro Tull in their ‘70s heyday, this latest DVD/CD set highlighting their 1978 Garden performance is the closest thing possible. As shown here in the DVD portion of the set, it isn’t your typical performance as it was originally broadcasted internationally for television. The concert actually started with the first three songs, which is only represented in the audio portion of the DVD, then followed by the actual TV broadcast, and then goes back to the audio-only performances of the final three songs once the broadcast was over. Even Tull frontman Ian Anderson’s admits in the sleeve notes that the whole set-up seemed a bit unconventional. Regardless, the band was still at their progressive rock glory performing both popular tunes like “Aqualung” and “Locomotive Breath” and then-new songs like “Heavy Horses” and “No Lullaby.” Visually and musically the band was electric highlighted by Anderson’s campy yet energetic stage presence. This new release will probably only appeal to die-hard Tull fans but it’s entertaining if you love that era of bombastic rock.

Duran Duran
Rio: Special Limited Edition
Live at Hammersmith ’82 (CD/DVD)
Capitol/EMI
By David Chiu

First released in 1982, Duran Duran’s second album Rio was their breakthrough and is now considered a classic. It was the definitive musical statement of British new romanticism for its art rock and disco rhythms. Sure it has two of the band’s most beloved hit songs in the title track and “Hungry Like the Wolf” (both of which sound great and timeless nearly 30 years on), but unlike other pop albums, Rio doesn’t contain throwaways or filler. There are disco-influenced rockers in “My Own Way, “Lonely In Your Nightmare,” and “Last Chance on the Stairway”; the gorgeous ballad “Save a Prayer”; and the weirdly hypnotic closing track “The Chauffer”. This new edition of Rio includes U.S. remixes, demos and B-sides that now give an already great record the deluxe treatment.

Simultaneously Duran Duran’s previously unreleased performance at the Hammersmith from 1982 is now seeing the light of day both in CD and DVD formats. Live From Hammersmith ’82 a great snapshot of the classic Fab Five lineup at the beginning of the mania that was about to set the world on fire. Playing a set list drawing from the self-titled debut and Rio, Duran Duran gives an energetic and exciting performance, dispelling any notion that they’re just pretty boys on the surface: singer Simon Le Bon prancing along the stage; John Taylor and Andy Taylor rocking on the bass and guitar respectively; Nick Rhodes’s atmospheric keyboard playing; and Roger Taylor’s extraordinary and powerful drumming. This is truly Duran Duran at its height. In addition to the one-hour Hammersmith performance, the DVD portion of the set also contains the memorable videos from the Rio album as well as clips of the band “performing” “Rio” and “Hungry” from the legendary Top of the Pops TV program.

The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses—Legacy Edition
Silvertone/Legacy
By David Chiu

With the release of their self-titled debut album in 1989, Manchester’s Stones Roses defined the ‘Madchester’ sound of the late ‘80s-early ‘90s and paved a path for ‘Brit pop groups like Oasis. The timing of the group’s arrival onto the scene was perfect as their music, along with the Happy Mondays’ was the soundtrack for young Brits who were into trippy ‘60s/dance pop and drug-induced euphoria (See the movie 24 Hour Party People to get an idea of the Manchester scene).

Upon listening to The Stone Roses album in this special 20th anniversary 2 CD/1 DVD edition, it’s easy to see why the self-titled debut was voted in best albums poll. Though the record has is grounded in hazy and psychedelic atmospherics, The Stone is also very varied musically and not one-dimensional of the album. There also some really strong and driving rock numbers like “(Song for My) Sugar Spun Sister” and “I Wanna Be Adored,” and funk with the bonus track “Fools Gold”; they’re offset by mood pieces like “Don’t Stop” and “Shoot You Down,” Even the album’s closing song “I Am the Resurrection” is a bit of an intriguing puzzle: starting off as a Phil Spector homage before morphing into a progressive funk workout.

As evident from a DVD of a terrific live performance at Blackpool Empress Ballroom from 1989 that graces this set, it is clear that the members of the band brought something so unique and distinctive to the proceedings: from the driving rhythms of bassist Mani and drummer Reni to John Squire’s versatile guitar playing and Ian Brown’s charismatic and delicate vocals. In addition to the original album and DVD, this special edition of the album also contains a bonus disc of demo recordings.