Santa Says:

Stuff Stockings With Retro Sights, Sounds

By John Voket

I had the pleasure of bumping into none other than Kris Kringle a few weeks ago before he started hunkering down for the challenging mission ahead – to deliver pleasing presents to all the little good girls and boys of the world in a flagging economy.

Well, there is no better way to conserve fuel and enjoy the cold winter nights winter than to park the car in the garage, shovel a great selection of music into the stereo or DVD player, and bundle up with the fire stoked and the brandy poured.

Among the collection of new releases hitting the shelves in recent weeks are collections of retro concerts and re-worked albums that have been digitized and re-mastered, or had additional material inserted into packaging to enhance both the sound and variety of contents.

Below are just a few of this music lover’s top recommendations for musical stocking stuffers that will have everyone on your gift list tapping their toes, singing along or performing their best air guitar solos.

Jeff Beck Performing This Week…

Live at Ronnie Scott’s

Jeff Beck is a true rock legend. From his time with The Yardbirds in the ‘60s, through The Jeff Beck Group and his solo career, his unique guitar style and constant desire to explore new musical sounds have won him the admiration of peers, critics and fans alike.

This sterling 2007 live gig at the famed British jazz club Ronnie Scott’s in London features the legendary guitarist in a 16-song career-spanning set that incorporates rock, jazz, ballads, beatles, blues, boogie and bolero. Beck raved it up so much with bassist Tal Wilkenfeld, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and keyboardist Jason Rebello that the usually sedate London Times gushed, “…perhaps the greatest living guitar virtuoso … combining astonishing technique with a blissful nuance he exercised an almost supernatural control of his fretboard.”

Recorded over a series of gigs with standing-room-only crowds, the electricity was bouncing off the walls as Beck was clearly inspired himself and egged on by the perfect complement of bandmates. A DVD of the event, the first such live concert DVD as authorized by Jeff Beck, will be available in 2009.

The 16-track set includes “Beck’s Bolero,” ‘Stratus,” “Scatterbrain” and “Space Boogie,” to name but a few. This is a must for any progressive jazz, rock or guitar music lover, or player, on your list! (Eagle Records, $13.98)

CSNY Deja Vu/Deja Vu LIVE CD

Whether you are checking out the full-length documentary on DVD or the CD of musical selections that are abundantly sprinkled throughout this film by Neil Young and featuring himself and bandmates David Crosby, Graham Nash and Stephen Stills, these companion projects define a snapshot in time for America.

In a recent interview with The Newtown Bee, Graham Nash had this to say about the project:

“This film shows a side of CSNY and the American people you might not be aware of. What Neil did was a brilliant job of showing people who loved us and people who absolutely hated us,” Nash said.

“There were a lot of people who agreed with us when we were calling for the impeachment of George W. Bush and his cronies, and there were a lot of people who did not agree with us. And we put them all into the movie,” he added. “Its called ‘Déjà Vu’ because we’ve all been here before. It shows our history, and it’s a very spirited film. We started out 40 years ago protesting the Vietnam War and we’re protesting the Iraq and Afghanistan war right now. And I think people who see it will get a very interesting perspective about what’s been going on in this country.”

The war in Iraq is the backdrop as the Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young Freedom of Speech Tour crisscrosses North America. Echoes of Vietnam-era anti-war sentiment abound as the band connects with today’s audiences. The film and CD feature classics like Nash’s anti-war anthem “Military Madness,” “Wooden Ships,” “For What It’s Worth,” and the incendiary “Let’s Impeach The President.”

Sure, this cannot be compared with holiday classics like A Charlie Brown Christmas, but it will certainly help stoke the political fires at a time when most Americans will likely be considering the payoff after eight years under the Bush administration. (Reprise, CD $10.99, DVD $14.99)

Tori Amos – Live At Montreaux

Now you can have your daily dose of Tori on screen, and in the car!

Tori Amos descended on the scene in the early 1990s brimming with newfound creativity, intelligence, sensitivity and an exacting literary bearing. Celebrated by critics and the public alike, that first spotlight was a heady time in the young singer/songwriter’s career.

Tori Amos Live At Montreux 1991-1992 is available on both CD (16 songs) and DVD (90 minutes, 19 songs). The ’91 gig came only months before her Little Earthquakes debut had catapulted her into an instant icon, the ’92 appearance shortly thereafter.

The progression in both performance and audience receptivity is appreciable. Material includes most of her stellar debut but also tracks from her indie EPs and some notable covers like Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” and “Thank You,” as well as Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

Critics and fans alike proclaimed Tori’s melodic sense, coupled with her unerring eye for the human foibles of a generation twice removed from the ‘60s sensibilities of her influences, made for a uniquely special art, which is showcased wonderfully here in either, or both formats. (Eagle Eye Media, CD $13.98, DVD $14.98)

Duran Duran, Rio

Rio, arguably the greatest of all Duran Duran albums, was originally released in 1982, a time of British riots, record unemployment and the highly unpopular Falklands war. The album catapulted Simon LeBon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Roger Taylor and Andy Taylor into international celebrity.

In this installment of “Classic Albums,” a fascinating story emerges, one of the writing, the recording and reaction to the unbelievable success of this sound. With new interviews, vintage clips of the original era, new and archival performance footage and musical demonstrations that explain the genesis of certain songs, this 90-minute insider peek is a must for all hardcore and casual fans.

Excerpts from songs such as “Rio,” “My Own Way,” “Hungry Like The Wolf,” “New Religion,” “Save A Prayer,” “The Chauffeur” and others are beautifully interwoven into the fabric of the story. Brand new session performances filmed in Boston exclusively for this program, plus interviews and demonstrations not seen in the original broadcast version, are included.

And in probably my favorite part of the project, producers elaborate on and break down studio tracks at the mixing board, musicians actually recreate solos and passages that further explain the recording and creation process. (Eagle Vision “Classic Albums” DVD documentary, $14.99)

ZZ Top: Live From Texas

Lynyrd Skynyrd * Sweet Home Alabama

When it comes to rousing, raucous southern rock, it’s always best to be prepared to pour a double-shot. And there’s no better double shot (or triple for that matter) than the CD or DVD of ZZ Top Live From Texas, chased with a generous shot of Skynyrd and its mid ‘90s and original lineup on the Sweet Home Alabama DVD.

Representing the band’s first-ever live concert DVD (released as both a DVD and a Blu-Ray), this project features a compendium of the entire ZZ Top career: 15 of the band’s most beloved tracks including “Tush,” “La Grange” and “Legs,” as recorded in 2007 deep in the heart of Texas.

Singer/guitarist/frontman Billy F. Gibbons, bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard make up one of the most instantly recognizable bands in rock history. From their 1969 Houston inception to their first million-seller (1973’s Tres Hombres) to today, they are the only major band in history to never have had a personnel change in almost a 40-year history.

Known for their self-designed custom guitars and their love of rural and urban American blues music and early rock ’n roll, they’re also primarily known as one of the greatest American live bands of all-time.

Nearly ten years after an infamous plane crash robbed Lynyrd Skynyrd of three members, the inimitable southern rock outfit rose from the ashes, with Johnny Van Zant stepping in for his brother as frontman. Sweet Home Alabama, recorded at Rockpalast’s Loreley Festival in 1996, features the band back in action, doing what they always did best: riling up crowds with charismatic renditions of their hits. This powerful concert film includes awesome renditions of “Working for MCA,” “Sweet Home Alabama,” and the most requested live song of all time, “Free Bird.”

Three bonus tracks catch the original lineup playing Hamburg, Germany in 1974, providing some historical perspective to this incomparable southern rock hit machine’s less than humble beginnings. (Eagle Vision)

Come Together: A Night For John Lennon’s Words & Music

This 90-minute star-studded 16-track DVD was filmed at New York City’s famed Radio City Music Hall in 2001 just three weeks after 9/11 in the city Lennon loved so much.

The far-ranging and eclectic artistry that makes these songs come alive again proves to be a poignant reminder of what the world lost on December 8, 1980. Dave Matthews (“In My Life”), Stone Temple Pilots (“Revolution”), Cyndi Lauper (“Strawberry Fields Forever”), Alanis Morissette (“Dear Prudence”) and Sean Lennon (“Julia”), among many others, were given total artistic license to re-create these songs any way they so felt.

The results proved touching, profound and made for a truly magical night that comes across on this very special viewing experience.

Sharing their Lennon remembrances, and sharing their insights into Lennon’s perpetual mission to bring about peace in this world are actors James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Steve Buscemi, Kevin Bacon and Kevin Spacey, who also performs a deeply touching rendition of John Lennon’s haunting “Mind Games.” (Eagle Vision DVD $11.98)