Whether your musical tastes favor groundbreaking New Wave, classic '70s soul, British favorites Def Leppard or traditional Mexican music, there are outstanding new releases to discover.
Title: Live At US Festival (Shout! Factory)
You might like if you enjoy: the B-52's, Devo, the US Festival
Tell me more: Thirty-eight years after the B-52s took the stage at the inaugural US Festival in September 1982, the group's fabled appearance – featuring the band's classic era lineup – is available to see via a terrific DVD. The groundbreaking forerunner to Coachella, the US Festival was a music, technology and culture event staged in Glen Helen Regional Park in the Southern California desert in 1982 and again in 1983. The B-52s' performance has long been considered one of the finest of the two-year event and its showcase on the Shout! Factory release delivers on that promise in spades. The B-52s are on fire throughout the performance, fueling a bona fide dance party with one surefire uptempo post-punk New Wave track after another. Led by singer Fred Schneider, singer-percussionist Cindy Wilson, singer-keyboardist Kate Pierson, guitar great Ricky Wilson (who passed away in 1985) and drummer Keith Strickland, the band is also joined by a two-man horn section (sax player Ralph Carney, trumpeter Dave Buck) to further power the dance-minded material in the performance. The fast-moving set includes 13 classic originals including beloved favorites "Party Out Of Bounds," "Planet Claire," "Mesopotamia," "Private Idaho" and "Rock Lobster." There are also interview segments where Schneider, Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson discuss the US Festival performance, Ricky Wilson's contributions, and their enduring career. Information: ShoutFactory.com.
Artist: Al Green, Sly & the Family Stone, Ray Charles, James Brown, many more
Title: The Soul of Midnight Special (TimeLife)
You might like if you enjoy: James Brown, Al Green, Sly & the Family Stone, Chuck Berry, the Staple Singers
Tell me more: Fans of '70s soul music will want to get the newly-released "The Soul of Midnight Special," featuring more than 70 live performances. The performances are offered up in chronological order, spanning from February 1973 to December 1976. Highlights on this collection – which includes more than 70 inspired live performances spanning five DVD discs – abound; the Spinners' "I'll Be Around," the O'Jays "Love Train," Ray Charles' "Georgia on My Mind," Gladys Knight and B.B. King collaborating on "The Thrill Is Gone," and Billy Preston's "Will It Go Round in Circles" are among the countless standouts on the early part of this collection. Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Lean On Me," Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," the Staple Singers' "Let's Do It Again" and "Respect Yourself," James Brown's "Sex Machine," and Earth, Wind & Fire's "Devotion" shine on the latter part of the title. Among the hosts seen on the set are Lou Rawls, The Bee Gees, Paul Williams, Wilson Pickett, Wolfman Jack, Helen Reddy and Chuck Berry (who is also featured offering up a terrific version of "Johnny B. Goode"). The audio and visual quality of the discs is good and it's great to see so many legendary artists performing their greatest hits. Information: TimeLife.com.
Title: Linda and the Mockingbirds (Shout! Studios / PCH Films)
You might like if you enjoy: Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Los Cenzontles
Tell me more: Since 1989, San Pablo, California-based Los Cenzontles Cultural Arts Academy has trained thousands of children in the art of traditional Mexican music and dance. Multi-Grammy Award winner Linda Ronstadt's long-time support of the group led to the production of a powerful new documentary ("Linda and the Mockingbirds") that chronicles the singer's 2019 journey to Mexico with a group of young students that was captured by award-winning director James Keach (who also directed Glen Campbell's "I'll Be Me" and the Linda Ronstadt documentary "The Sound of My Voice"). Los Cenzontles ("The Mockingbirds") was founded by Eugene Rodriguez – who along with singer-songwriter great Jackson Browne – also features prominently in the compelling documentary. But the true heart of the film is the road trip by Ronstadt, Browne and a large tour bus filled with young singers, dancers and instrumentalists who journey to the small town of Banámichi in the Mexican state of Sonora (where Ronstadt's grandfather grew up) to perform and meet with the folkloric dance troupe Grupo de Danza Xunutzi and stage a performance in the community. The documentary masterfully examines the important role of traditional Mexican music and dance for those who live on both sides of the border, as well as issues related to the hot topic of immigration and how that impacts families who are often divided by politics. "Linda and the Mockingbirds" was released digitally Oct. 20 via Shout! Studios. Information: ShoutFactory.com.
Titles: "Hysteria At The O2" and "Hits Vegas, Live At Planet Hollywood" (Eagle Rock Entertainment)
You might like if you enjoy: Def Leppard, Queen
Tell me more: Earlier this year Rock and Roll Hall of Fame rock quintet Def Leppard released the outstanding multi-format release "London To Vegas," available as a deluxe 2Blu-ray+4CD, 2DVD+4CD and via digital formats. Now Eagle Rock Entertainment has just released standalone audio versions of "Hysteria At The O2" and "Hits Vegas, Live At Planet Hollywood" as limited edition 2CDs releases. "Hysteria At The O2," finds Def Leppard celebrating their 1987 album Hysteria with a concert set revisiting that multi-platinum album from start to finish before a hometown crowd in London in December 2018. To be sure this is an important outing for the group, and the members of Def Leppard (singer Joe Elliott, guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell, bassist Rick "Sav" Savage and drummer Rick Allen) offer up powerful arena rock-ready takes of classics including "Love Bites," "Pour Some Sugar On Me," "Animal," "Gods of War" and the rest of "Hysteria" before delving into other moments in their history for choice cuts including the set-ending "Let's Get Rocked," "Rock of Ages" and "Photograph."
Robert Kinsler
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