Born
Innocent: The Redd Kross Story
(2024*)/Cinderella
In Concert
(1991/Cleopatra*)/Elvis
'56
(1987/Lightyear*)/Secret
Lives Of Bill Bartell
(2025*)/Song
Sung Blue
(2025/Universal Blu-ray)/Soul
To Soul
(1971/Liberation Hall/*all MVD Blu-ray)
Picture:
B-/C+/C+/B-/B-/B- Sound: B-/C+/C+/B-/B/B- Extras:
B-/C-/D/B-/C+/B Main Programs: B-/C+/B-/B-/C+/B-
Now
for some music releases that all remind us of the artform's
independent spirit...
Andrew
Reich's Born
Innocent: The Redd Kross Story
(2024) is a good documentary about a still somewhat unknown band that
formed in 1978 by brothers Steve and Jeff McDonald, who were
originally part of a Punk Rock band called The Tourists, not to be
confused with the band of the same name Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart
were part of before forming Eurythmics at about the same time. While
that duo became a major New Wave force, et al, Redd Kross were
unapologetic rockers all the way never selling out their 1970s roots
and influencing all kinds of artist, especially in the genre.
With
plenty of new interviews and a large amount of vintage footage,
stills and songs, this authentic-enough-to-be-called-a-Rockumentary
spends its nearly 90 minutes very well and shows how they were always
there, even if too many did not know and how important they were to
the genre, especially when it starts to get into trouble in the 1980s
with hair bands, nostalgia and 1980s anti-Rock movements. The result
is worth a look for music fans, especially Rock fans and is simply
well done.
Extras
include
an Audio Commentary Track with Jeff McDonald, Steven McDonald and
Andrew Reich
Desperate
Teenage Lovedolls and Lovedolls Superstar featurette 15:07
Polliwog
Park Concert 1979 featurette with Black Flag 5:09
Santa
Monica Pier Concert 1982 featurette 4:29
Beginnings
- Expanded 8:04
The
Posh Boy Era - Expanded 10:34
Ron
Reyes and Dez Cadena 4:49
Name
Change from Red Cross to Redd Kross 9:12
Teen
Babes From Monsanto - Expanded 12:32
Neurotica
- Expanded 8:38
The
Naz Pad 2:04
Third
Eye Gets A Good Rap 1:47
Spirit
of '76 - Expanded
Naz
Pad Rehearsal Jan 1989 52:41
Media
Blitz Appearance 12:29
Digging
in Jeff's Record Closet 18:31
Steve
Breaks Down Every Redd Kross Record 27:50
Kim
Shattuck Full Interview 30:52
The
Tourists Reunion Rehearsal 11/21/15 12:37
The
Tourists Reunion Show 11/22/15 13:18
The
McDonald Brothers Unplugged 41:21
Santa
Monica Screening Q&A with McDonald Brothers and Andrew Reich
11/11/24 30:09
and
the First Pressing of 2,000 Limited Editions comes packaged in an
O-ring with a booklet and 2 of 4 randomly inserted postcards.
Cinderella
In Concert
(1991) is surprisingly the first time in over two decades we have
covered the Philadelphia Rock band, but here is a show they did
touring to support their third album, Heartbreak
Station
issued the year before. That included what would be their last top
40 hit, but they racked up many more on the Rock charts. Its a good
show, with the band as fired up as the audience, but little did
anyone know that this would be the peak of the band, which is no
longer together.
The
songs include:
1.
The More Things Change
2. Push Push
3. Sick For The Cure
4.
Make Your Own Way
5. Night Songs
6. Back Home Again
7.
Somebody Save Me
8. Heartbreak Station
9. Coming Home
10.
Fallin' Apart At The Seams
11. Love's Got Me Doin Time
12. Drum
Solo
13. Love Gone Bad
14. Don't Know What You Got (Till It's
Gone)
15. Nobody's Fool
16. Gypsy Road
17. Shake Me
18.
Shelter Me
Though
I only liked their music so much, they had some good songs and even
with their notable commercial success, people still talk about them,
I thought they should have been even more successful. This release
partly proves my point.
Extras
include a
music slide show and more live performance outside of the concert.
Alan
Raymond's Elvis
'56
(1987) is a popular old program about that key year for the King of
Rock has he broke through with RCA Records in a way he could or would
not have been able to with his original label, Sun Records. It only
runs 61 minutes, but was produced with Elvis' estate and has plenty
of
original, licensed music throughout.
Like
the horror movies on VHS that were only produced an released in that
format, some of these Elvis titles did make the old 12-inch LaserDisc
format for a time, but when they are this good and key to the
singer's legacy and history, they deserve an upscaled Blu-ray
release, though it would have been nice like the recent upgrade to
The
Beatles Anthology
if someone could have gone back and inserted updated, HD scans of any
or all of the filmed clips. Still, its nice to have these in their
original form and it is worth a look.
By
the way, I recently found out another thing about Sun Records because
of some vinyl reissues of other classic titles from the legendary
label. They may have had some legendary groundbreaking talent, at
least starting at their label, but it turns out their vinyl pressings
were not the best, to say the least. Still highly collectible, turns
out their quality and sonics leave something to be desired. The
specifics would make a good separate essay, but in a very short time,
that could have killed the big career Elvis would have instead of
helping it.
There
are no extras.
David
Markey's The
Secret Lives Of Bill Bartell
(2025) is a look at the man who also performed as Pat Fear and as
part of satirical early 1980s Punk band White Flag, but he soon left
that group, yet stayed a major, important fixture in that music scene
in still working on music and playing it, while also backing and
advocating for artists and certain music acts he believed had
something special to offer.
A
staple of the Southern California Punk scene until his untimely
death, this documentary also offers some new
interviews with a large amount of vintage footage, stills and songs,
so you get another essential viewing for fans of this music and those
interested in any independent music scene, especially before the
Internet era. Now more than ever, ewe need to hear and hear about
these talents that did not get the wide exposure they needed and
deserved.
Extras
include 46 Minutes of Deleted Scenes and Bonus Footage
Craig
Brewers'
Song
Sung Blue
(2025) sounds like another bad music biopic, maybe about Neil
Diamond, but instead is based on the true story of a couple who come
together after doing all kinds of concerts covering the music of
other artists and making a solid side job of it. Kate Hudson
actually got a Best Actress Oscar Nomination as Claire, playing
opposite Hugh Jackman as Mike, forming a tribute duo called Lightning
and
Thunder.
So
much here could have gone wrong and the film still has its ups and
downs, but I liked that all took a risk to try to make this into a
movie and make it work, the kind of thing we used to see more often.
No, it is not a home run and I am only so much of a Diamond fan, but
they duo do have some chemistry, I like both of them overall and it
works enough that those interested might like it and more than I did.
Extras
include Digital Code, while the disc (per the press release) adds
EXTENDED PERFORMANCES:
Crunchy
Granola Suite
Sweet
Caroline
ONE
PLUS ONE EQUALS THREE - There is no Lightning without Thunder.
Watch as Hugh and Kate reminisce on their characters' love story,
co-dependency, and their undeniable electricity.
LIGHTNING
IN THE BOTTLE - A love letter to the small-time performers, go
behind the scenes with Writer/Director Craig Brewer to see how he
brought SONG SUNG BLUE to life.
EYE
FOR STYLE - In this featurette, Costume Designer Ernesto Martinez
reveals the art of storytelling through stitch and style.
and
a FEATURE COMMENTARY WITH WRITER/DIRECTOR CRAIG BREWER
Denis
Sanders' Soul
To Soul
(1971) is a landmark music film that came out of the Rocumentary
cycle, but is all soul music as the music acts go to Ghana to
perform, though we get more than a nice portion of the film about
their journey, interviews, meeting people and then the music.
Performances
include Wilson Pickett - In
the Midnight Hour
A
key music work up there with Wattstax,
Woodstock,
Monterey
Pop,
Gimme
Shelter,
Elvis
On Tour,
Fillmore,
Let
It Be
and the cycle concluding with Scorsese's The
Last Waltz,
this film has been out of print and circulation for 20 years (!!!)
has finally been restored and re-released with timing that could not
be better. We sadly lost Tina Turner a few years ago when she should
still be with us, while Carlos Santana and Mavis Staples still
touring and recording. The film has plenty of surprises and great
moments, so it is a must-see film, music and otherwise.
Extras
include a
nicely illustrated booklet on the film including informative text and
essays, while the disc adds:
Trailer
32-page
booklet with expanded liner notes by Rob Bowman
Outtake
performance: Ike & Tina
Turner: I've
Been Loving You Too Long
Commentary
Track One: Mavis Staples: The Staple Singers
Commentary
Track Two: Les McCann with Kevin Griffin (The Voices of East Harlem)
Commentary
Track Three: Producer Tom Mosk with re-issue producers David Peck of
Reelin' In the Years Productions
Commentary
Track Four: Ike Turner, Michael Shrieve (Santana), Obo Addy (Ghanian
drummer), Kevin Griffin and Les McCann.
Now
for playback performance. The 1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition
image Born Innocent is a mix of
new interviews, older footage, old and new audio and because the band
was well into the videotape era, most vintage footage is from the
analog video era, so it is low def and can be rough depending.
Therefore, sonic limits extend to the PCM 2.0 Stereo mix which is as
well remastered as it is going to get.
The
1080p 1.33 X 1 digital High Definition image on Cinderella
In Concert
is simply an upscale of the NTSC analog, color videotape recording
the show was taped on, but like the dozens of SD upscales that Eagle
Vision has done, its still rough and has the usual detail issues.
Color is consistent and the PCM 2.0 Stereo is also sadly limited,
though a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix is also included
that is a little better, but that also disappoints. This is likely
just because it was how it was recorded and/or the soundmaster did
not survive well, so be careful of high volume playback and volume
switching. Still, it is a show in their prime and this is a better
format than DVD or obviously VHS or Beta to have it on.
The
1080p 1.33 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Elvis
'56
can show
the age of the materials used, the second-oldest production here, it
was all produced and finalized in the NTSC format like so many
programs of its day, even with the many photochemical film prints
here in low def, which includes some other old Elvis releases we have
reviewed over the years. Like the Cinderella
disc, its nice to have it on a better format like Blu-ray and
hardcore Elvis fans will be particularly pleased. The
PCM 2.0 Stereo is simple at best and rough, with some inherent
background noise with sources event hen in various shape, so be
careful of high volume playback and volume switching here as well.
The
1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image on The
Secret Lives Of Bill Bartell
also has its rough moments, but is in shape closer to Born
Innocent
than the Cinderella
and Elvis
discs and not just because of the aspect ratios. The PCM 2.0 Stereo
happens to also fare better relatively, but still, you get rough
audio all over.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image on Song
Sung Blue
is well shot, but a little soft, this being a now-older format and I
bet this would resolve better if it ever arrives on 4K disc. The
lossless Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mix is narrowly and sonically the best on
the list, though I guess they are holding Dolby Atmos hostage for a
potential 4K disc. The combination is still just about fine for the
Blu-ray format.
The
1080p 1.33 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on the landmark
Soul
To Soul
has been very nicely and carefully remastered from the original 16mm
elements and can
sometimes show the age of the materials used, but looks pretty
impressive throughout despite minor flaws, could also shine in 4K if
we get that and is up there with the best 16mm Rockumentaries
releases on Blu-ray (like the Criterion Gimme
Shelter)
that we have seen on disc to date. We are very lucky all that film
survived as well as it did and it is often exciting to watch. Just
see the Tina Turner and Santana music segments alone. The
PCM 2.0 Stereo does its best to remaster the location audio, but it
is limits by necessity and the limits of the technology of the time,
so you can crank it up, but just be careful of high volume playback
and volume switching here and you'll be able to enjoy it as much as
possible.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
