I had a chance to pick up another handful of the Classic Albums titles on DVD recently, on the cheap. As usual, they are a mixed bag, but most of them are pretty good. If you’re not familiar with this series, the program takes a classic album, interviews as many original participants as possible, and often dissects the album in front of the mixing console to highlight the parts that are buried in the mix.
Continue reading “Classic Albums” DVDs, Pt. 2 →

There is an ongoing discussion at Steve Hoffman’s forum about the new Fantasy CD, A Charlie Brown Christmas, which is supposedly a new mix from the original 3-track tapes. Aside from the sound, we’ve been debating whether or not some of the songs were alternate versions. The forum thread has links to a sound sample with an important difference we discovered.
Continue reading Shooting Out Charlie Brown →

I finally got around to watching this DVD on my surround system, and it’s a keeper! Rumble In Brixton is a video presentation of one concert on a reunion tour of the Stray Cats with the original lineup of Slim Jim Phantom, Lee Rocker and Brian Setzer. The DVD includes a lot of concert footage, plus some bonus extras that are entertaining.
Continue reading Stray Cats: Rumble In Brixton (DVD) →

There has been a certain amount of controversy regarding the recent Sergio Mendes recording called Timeless. Rather than give us a Brazilian pop album, Sergio has teamed up with rap artist will.i.am (of the Black Eyed Peas) and gave us a hybrid Brazilian/hip-hop/rap album unlike any other. What’s the big deal about Sergio Mendes recording with a modern-day artist anyway?
Continue reading Some Timeless Thoughts about Sergio Mendes →