Band
Vs. Brand
(2018/MVD/Cleopatra DVD)/Motown:
The Sound Of Young America
(2019/Thames & Hudson Books)/A
Star Is Born (2018/Warner
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: C/B Sound: B/B+ & B
Extras: C+ Book: B+ Main Programs: C+/B-
Now
for some very interesting music releases for you to hear about...
Band
Vs. Brand
(2018) is
an interesting documentary explores the marketing of a band and the
creation of its brand. A variety of musicians and industry
professionals talk about what makes a band and how a brand can
potentially outlive the band. This is true when you think of so many
iconic logos throughout the history of music, particularly the
ultimate money makers. Highlighting the importance of marketing
behind music, this doc is directed by Bob Nalbandian (director of
Inside
Metal
series).
The
doc features interviews with David Ellefson (Megadeth), Jack Russell
(Jack Russell's Great White), Nik Turner and Nicky Garrett (Nik
Turner's Hawkwind), Dave Lombardo (Suicidal Tendencies & Slayer),
Marc Ferrari (MasterSource/Universal and Keel), Frank Dimino (Angel),
Gus G. (Firewind/ex-Ozzy), Jean Beauvoir, David Tedds, Bjorn Englen,
manager Adam Parsons (Uriah Heep, Saxon, Europe, Thin Lizzy/BSR) and
Mike Varney from Shrapnel Records.
While
the content is interesting, the transfer leaves much to be desired.
Presented in standard definition, anamorphically enhanced DVD with a
1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a PCM 2.0 Stereo mix, the film
utilizes a lot of amateurishly shot interviews and live concert
footage. Many of the shots are a bit blown out and the quality
differs from clip to clip... some not even in the proper aspect
ratio. The editing isn't terrible and the audio doesn't have many
glaring issues.
Special
Features include...
Theatrical/Online
Trailers
Conny
Plank: The Potential Of Noise featurette
The
Scorpions: Forever and a Day featurette
and
The Damned: Don't You Wish We Were Dead featurette
There's
some interesting things in this new doc on the subject, but feels at
times like a homework assignment.
Like
band identities, record labels can work the same way. You have your
major labels, even in a shrinking industry (we've gone from 6 to 3
major labels in the last 20 years) and the business consolidation
along with fragmentation and not the best of times for music
innovation, the idea of a record label becoming a creative force has
become lost in the shuffle. Of the thousands of labels that have
come and gone, there are many just identified with a music genre and
even a movement, artistic or otherwise. Motown started in the late
1950s and managed to be an important force all the way until the
mid-1980s before things started shifting.
Motown:
The Sound Of Young America
(Thames & Hudson Books) was originally issued in 20-16, but now
we have this new edition of the very large-sized book (out softcover
has a coated cover on both sides) running 400 pages and loaded with
text and great, even classic illustrations of promo photos, 45 rpm
singles, album covers and much more. The text is extensive, though I
warn you that to get the book to this size, the text is overall
smaller than usual, but it does a pretty good job of covering the
history of one of the most discussed and written-about record
companies of all time. This one is written by Adam White with Barney
Ales, a longtime insider who was with the company in two major
periods and helped make it a success.
The
book starts with the rise of The Civil Rights Movement as a backdrop
to the rise of the company, though most of their songs were hardly
political until the later 1960s, yet the very existence of the
company doing more pop-oriented Soul in itself was more of a
subversive act than it often gets credit for being. We see the
miraculous way things came together with so much talent, so much
classic work (even early on) and what became a great family (royalty
payments aside) for much of its history (though that starts to crack
a bit with the controversial loss of Florence Ballard of the
Supremes) and some of the big acts who left (contracts expiring,
artists and writers wants more of a share of the profits, like any
other company) and how sometimes this even split acts (The Jackson 5
all left to be the Jacksons at Epic records save Jermaine, who was
married to a Gordy and stayed behind for years, culminating in a
decent solo career), but the book stays most focused on the rise of
the label itself in the pages it actually has
As
far as my longtime experience, knowledge and love of this music is
concerned, the book is pretty accurate overall and I loved how the
singles and album covers shown often are accompanied by the Pop (and
not Soul as well, oddly) chart successes of each release to show how
successful the crossover was and in showing how they became
innovators of the entire industry, not just Pop or Soul. The label
never even reported specific record sales until decades later which
is why Gold and Platinum certifications for those many classic were
so belated.
All
the major acts gets some great sections and I was impressed overall
despite some minor quips and the fact that so many more stories are
out there to be told as well as some that have already been told so
well. The label is now 60 years old, though many of the giants from
it are no longer with us sadly (some gone too soon), others are and
expect more celebrations.
The
proof too is in the music being licensed and referenced all these
decades later. Occasionally with a remake (most of which usually do
not work), but against so many odds, all involved built music that
has lasted, a legacy that is undeniable and especially in the face of
some very ugly, horrid, awful revisionism that has happened in the
last few years, one that cannot be erased, disrespected, mutilated or
lied about. It reminds us all of the real America and one that was
never any kind of myth, even if the stories meant to sell some of the
music was designed that way.
Last
but not least is a remake worth your time. Making a decent
directorial debut, Bradley cooper has helmed a new version of A
Star Is Born
(2018) and against some naysayers, it has become one of the year's
biggest hits and rightly so. The fifth hit version of the classic
tale, that makes it the most successful single Hollywood story of any
kind in cinema history, one that started as a music tale in 1932 (see
below) set in Hollywood, then become about filmmaking, but the last
two versions are set squarely in the world of big music success.
Mostly
based on the big 1976 Barbra Streisand/Kris Kristofferson hit
version, Cooper plays the very successful, gruff singer/songwriter
Jackson Maine, still selling out giant music venues with his brand of
Country Rock that is Blues and sometimes Pop oriented. He is still a
sort of sex symbol to his female fans (et al) times are good, but he
has a drinking problem, depression problem and is starting to lose
his hearing.
One
night after a show, looking for more booze because enough is never
enough, he picks just any bar at random and it turns out to be one
for cross-dressers who sing and he could care less if it is a gay
establishment, not judgmental to begin with. What he does not
expect is one of the singers is not gay, but a great friend of the
gang there and when she comes out on stage and starts to sing, he is
stunned. Lady Gaga, one of the most important singers of her
generation and already a national treasure, makes he big screen debut
and to the massive shock of critics worldwide, proves she can act as
well as she can sing, which says something. Suddenly, a film that
could have ben a disastrous connect-to-dots update is transformed
into something very real and palpable, with her presence more than a
match for the big screen. She also has some great unexpected
chemistry with Cooper.
Though
there are a few flaws and minor issues with the narrative, I liked
this a bit better than the Streisand version, a massive blockbuster
that got 70mm engagements and produced the classic hit ''Evergreen''
as this film comes very close with its own gem in ''Shallow''
and the subtle updates (especially when compared to the 1976 film)
shows how the music industry and world have changed. Sam Elliott is
great as his manager/friend who knows he maybe should have left him
years ago, Dave Chapelle shows up proving he can act as well and
infamous comedian Andrew Dice Clay plays her father in a turn that is
as authentic as it is convincing.
For
being a backstage musical, there are some great silent moments,
including transitions that harken back to the great American films of
the late 1960s to 1970s that are a plus here. Cooper plays it like
Eddie Vedder a decade before grunge and though it may be to close to
Kristofferson's 1976 version of Maine in some ways, it fits.
Warner
has issued this as a very solid 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray with regular
Blu-ray set that the film deserves (the other versions do too) and
also makes for one of the nice early music-oriented 4K releases.
Whether you have seen any of the earlier versions of it before, the
new A
Star Is Born
works well and after so many match-ups for the lead (as well as other
directors) fell through, nice to see them get it right again!
The
2160p HEVC/H.265, Dolby Vision/HDR (10+; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced
2.35 X 1 Ultra High Definition image sacrifices some fidelity for
realism in its shaky camerawork at times, but it does not play phony
like so many Blair
Witch Project
wanna-bees do with pointless variances of that. Shot with an Arri
Alexa and using Kowa anamorphic lenses, this is only the second
version of the film to be in scope (the 1954 Judy Garland version
used the old CinemaScope format), but Copper and Director
of Photography Matthew Libatique, A.S.C., use the framing to get more
intimate and find more naturalistic space despite going digital. The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image on
the regular Blu-ray is not bad, but cannot match the color range,
some of the detail and better warmth the 4K disc has, showing off the
acting better.
The
Dolby Atmos 11.1 (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older systems) I great
when it kicks in making it sonically worthy of its multi-channel
predecessors (the 1954 version had 4-track magnetic stereo, the 1976
was an early Dolby 4.1 70mm film helping to launch the format), but
it also has more than a few quiet moments when the track are not
engaged. The film is better for it, but that costs it a bit in the
letter grading. The Blu-ray has a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 7.1
lossless mix that is also fine and both now have Gaga available with
the best sound fidelity you can her of her singing anywhere in any
digital medium.
Extras
include Digital Copy for PC, PC portable and other cyber-capable
outlets, while the discs add some Songs & Performances not seen
in theaters, Music Videos and The
Road To Stardom: Making A
Star Is Born
featurette. For
coverage of earlier versions of the film, try these links...
What
Price Hollywood? (1932) DVD
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/12631/Eric+Clapton:+The+1970s+Review+(Chrome+Drea
A
Star Is Born 1954 DVD (now on Blu-ray w/DVD)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10062/A+Star+Is+Born+(1954/Warner+Bros.+DVD)
A
Star Is Born 1976 Blu-ray
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/12053/Lost+Horizon+(1973/Sony/Columbia/Twilight+Time
-
Nicholas Sheffo and James
Lockhart (Band)
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
