MusiCares Presents A Person Of The Year Tribute To Brian
Wilson (Eagle Vision) + James Taylor (Rhino)
Picture: B- Sound: B/B- Extras: C/D Main Programs: B+/B
MusiCares
is growing into a great organization that literally shows the heart and soul of
real musicianship, music and love of the artform as well as activism in charity
and emergency situations where the community pulls together to reach out to
good causes. Part of this process is a
new and great series of events honoring some of the biggest names in
music. In 2005, James Taylor was
honored, followed by Brian Wilson the next year in 2006. These money and awareness-raising events have
become Person Of The Year tributes
that become more profound as the industry itself is in an artistic crisis.
Maybe
even more than even the Rock N Roll Hall OF Fame ceremonies, these are amazing
tributes that bring the best in the business together to tip their hat to music
geniuses who represent what is the gold standard for artistic success that also
became critical and influential successes as the artists performing demonstrate.
Performances
for the Taylor show include The Dixie Chicks (Shower The People), Bonnie Raitt (Rainy Day Man), India.Arie (Secret
O'Life), Jackson Browne, David Crosby, and Sheryl Crow (Mexico), Sting (You Can Close Your Eyes), Dr. John and Taj Mahal (Everybody Has The Blues), Alison Krauss
and Jerry Douglas (Carolina In My Mind)
Keith Urban (Country Road), Bruce
Springsteen (Millworker), Carole King
(You've Got A Friend) and three from
Taylor: Shed A Little Light, How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) and
Fire And Rain.
Performances
for the Wilson concert include The Red Hot Chili Peppers (I Get Around), Bon Jovi lead guitarist Richie Sambora (City Blues), Barenaked Ladies (Brian Wilson), John Legend (I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times), The
Backstreet Boys (surprisingly good on When
I Grow Up To Be A Man), Shelby Lynne (Surfer
Girl), Michael McDonald and the late Billy Preston (Don’t Worry Baby), Jeff Beck (Surf’s
Up & Surfin’ USA), Earth,
Wind & Fire (Don’t Talk, Put Your
Head On My Shoulder), Darlene Love (Wouldn’t
It Be Nice) and The Brian Wilson Band (five-song medley of Pet Sounds, Heroes & Villains, Good
Vibrations, Fun, Fun, Fun and Love & Mercy).
The guest
performances are consistently strong, something you rarely get from any
star-studded programs anymore, which feel more like package deals. It takes the love of some big names to make
this happen and happen it does. They are
both extraordinary programs with the Taylor show running a bit longer than
Wilson’s, though the Wilson one seemed even richer and more stunning in its
reach and feel. Perhaps it is because
Wilson has been through so much personally or that tribute was especially
overdue, but Taylor is also a survivor who never sold out, something we do not
see enough of and he can never get enough credit for.
Both also
go a long way to show how serious MusiCares is and is becoming, a much-needed
new force in music and for positive change.
This is not the temporary change of lies, politics and naïve optimism,
but one rooted in real progress and expression.
Let’s hope this becomes one of the first great music series of the 21st
Century, a period whose musical soul is in early doubt.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on both programs look about the same,
with some edge to the Wilson shoot and both are digital High Definition
productions. They learned from the
Taylor production, which is still very good.
Both have Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes that are good, but the Wilson DVD
comes with a DTS 5.1 mix that is even better, with richer, fuller sound and
better detail. In fairness to Rhino, we
tried to get the HD-DVD version of the Taylor concert, but they had no more
press copies and Eagle has not announced the Wilson program in HD-DVD or
Blu-ray, though it seems to be a natural for both. There are no extras for the Taylor program
here, though the Wilson DVD has stills and a behind the scenes featurette on
the making of the program.
Don
Henley is up next and we look forward to that and hopefully, the disc versions
will be the best yet. This is an
important concert series becoming more important all the time and one to watch
for. Don’t miss any of them!
- Nicholas Sheffo
