THE ELECTRIC PRUNES
Rewired (Snapper)
     Although The Electric Prunes circa 2002 have lost practically all of the punch that can be heard on their incredible 1968 live album Stockholm '67, for a bunch of guys who've been-around-the-block they still play their old material in a way that isn't that embarrassing at all. Okay, the guitar parts (the new guy's to blame) are at times pretty dire and the tinny mix of a modern day PA -- where everything is mic'd -- looses the venomous power that can be heard on the '68 live analogue recording, but still, they play the songs pretty much like they were on the original records. James' voice has the same inflections that he had as a groovy youngster, even if he has lost the power, and it's cool to see that James resembles the Dude from Big Lebowski and that Mark Tulin still has a free spirit (well, a beard and long hair that he wears in true Woodstock veteran style). I prefer to see them like this rather than having grown old graciously. Read: square!
     The on-the-road documentaries included as extras are a laugh (and it was interesting to see Brian Hogg at the Scottish show looking like Iggy Pop's twin - rock scribes usually look like boring geek obsessives…) There is also the addition of Mark Tulin's spoken track-by-track for the songs that the band played at the Brighton gig that make up the brunt of this DVD. These are the best things about the DVD, although the concert is worth watching the once.
     I just wish that the clips of the Prunes' '60s TV show appearances were also included. Maybe this could be a separate project. Heartbeat?
www.snappermusic.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

LED ZEPPELIN
Led Zeppelin Box Set: The Legendary Performances (Atlantic; 2-DVD Box Set)
     Jimmy Page has been talking about a Led Zeppelin retrospective for a long time now. With the advent of DVD, the mission was expanded. The resulting dual release sees a career spanning DVD documentary coupled with a 1972 concert CD assembled from two Southern California shows. I would naturally be pretty skeptical about the mid 70's stuff. I only saw 'em on their first two tours in '69 and then their very last US gig. I couldn't go to those big area gigs after '69 mostly due to a bad experience called Altamont. The bootlegs I'd heard made me think they just didn't sound that good once they started to fill huge arenas and football stadiums. I've been proven to be wrong, with only slight reservations. 
     The first disc of the DVD is a collection of performances from their first year out. The 1970 Albert Hall is good fun to watch. Too bad it isn't complete. What's there is just about what I remember from when I saw them a year earlier. The band comes out like gangbusters. The one surprise is the opening number, 'We're Gonna Groove', which has replaced 'Train Kept a Rolling' in their set. We are treated to a dozen numbers, four each from the first two albums, the 'White Summer-Black Mountain Side' medley, and three covers. The two Eddie Cochran tunes show off the band's love of rock and roll, and their playful side, something often overlooked. 
     The balance of the CD is three TV/Radio performances from early 1969. The Super Show segment is fantastic. Page is wearing the same black leather jacket he had on at the second Fillmore gig I saw a few weeks later. And he's playing that Tele I'd seen him use with The Yardbirds as far back as '67. This is the earliest performance documented. This is probably the best of the four performances of 'Dazed And Confused' on disc one. 
     Also from March '69 is what might be the most compelling performance from this first year, the 'Danmark Radio' TV session. The sound on this segment is stunning. The band is set up in a small studio with the audience seated on the floor around them. The four-song set is the best representation of the ground breaking first album on the DVD. Like the BBC CD from a couple of years ago, 'Communication Breakdown' seems to have been a staple of every session. There is another version of 'Dazed…' which at this early stage still hadn't developed into the huge thing it later became, sticking closer to the album version. The real treat is beautiful rendition of 'Babe I'm Going To Leave You'. I might just be my favourite moment of the whole five hours. 
     The second DVD disc was the big surprise. The sound is uniformly excellent, which puts it right in your face, or all around the room if you've got a 5.1 home theatre. Even at their silliest, Zep were pretty good. John Paul Jones comes across as an excellent musician, but is nearly invisible. John Bonham had a very original drumming style - although between his original licks and patterns, he is a very simple rock and roll drummer. It's clearly the sum of the parts that made Led Zeppelin. There is no doubt about Page's talent. He never really moved away from the blueprint he established during his tenure with The Yardbirds. It's clear that the legions of bands they inspired never even came close to matching Zeppelin in full flight. 
     The later footage is well done, and the song choice seems good at every turn. It's baffling that the out takes from Song Remains The Same are so good. I walked out of the premier screening for that movie half way through, it was so awful. It seems that clearer heads prevailed on the second time around. I think the term 'kick ass' can be applied here. The Earls Court segment opens with a tidy little acoustic set that had become a regular part of the set. Even 'Stairway To Heaven' has a lot of charm. Here is a song that more than a few of us might not ever want to hear again played with real feeling. There is no need for visual effects to put this across. A surprise. 
     The fifty-minute extract from the original three hour show hits as hard as any music ever recorded. 'Rock And roll', 'Nobody's Fault', and 'Sick Again' pound away like the proverbial jack hammer. How Page and Jones manage to fill in all the complex parts on 'Achilles Last Stand' is a mystery. 'In The Evening'and 'Kashmir' give the band a chance to stretch out. Jones sits at his Yamaha Dream Machine painting layers of synth and string sounds while Page cuts loose with some of the most psychedelic music I've ever heard. The set concludes with a new arrangement of 'Whole Lotta Love'. These old war horses aren't suppose to be this good. 
     Disc two is also filled out with some very funny interviews and promos made in 1990 for the re-mastered Box set. 
     In the end you get nearly 40 concert performances. Amazingly, it's riveting for the whole five hours and twenty minutes. The debate over the merits of Led Zeppelin will surely continue. This video feast probably would not convert someone who has decided not to enjoy their music, but if you never got a chance to see Led Zep live, or only saw Song Remains The Same, this is for you. It captures the feel of the transition from the 60's to the 70's, when music became the massive machine it now is. For long time fans, this simply is what you've been waiting for. 
Ronald Sanchez (Director Of A&R Career Records www.CareerRecords.com )

BRIAN WILSON
On Tour (Sanctuary)
     A well-made on-the-road documentary that pushes hard to show how revered our hero is --'musical legends' as Macca, Pete Townsend and Neil Young shower him with praises. Do we need reminding? This man is indeed the pop god! The star's bum licking may seem overdone, but they do sincerely mean it. Neil Young: 'He's like Mozart, Chopin or Beethoven. This music will live forever!' Wilson is after all the musicians' musician. The only man in the mid-'60s music to give The Beatles the willys! Possessing a loveable child-like innocence Wilson comes up trumps in the interview sections with such honest and touching statements as 'I didn't realise how people could like me for me, I know they like the music, but… I went on stage and it scared the hell out of me, but I did it anyway.' The trials and tribulations of Wilson's life, so it seems, are summed up in this one short sentence! And it hammers the truth home! Constantly looking like a frightened bird one does wonder what Wilson is putting himself through undergoing tours and interviews after having practically withdrawn from the industry, even everyday life, for decades. Nevertheless, even if this is the last we see of the great man (now 60) he does seem to be enjoying the attention and the performances. And if the old songs don't work, the '65-'73 period still come across wonderfully.
     Of course, the original Beach Boys were one of the greatest bands in R&R history. And even if Brian did have more than his fair share of troubles with band members, telling his current 'Beach Boys' The Wondermints 'You sound better than The Beach Boys, you have a better blend!' and 'My band is the best band I have ever seen' is proof of how his new gained confidence and happiness has distorted his reality. The five piece original '60s band had a scope of voices that worked wonders; in 2002 he has 12 people, all of whom can sing, but when listening to the intricacies of the harmonies in 5:1 DTS surround sound on this DVD they don't sound even a fifth as good as the original band. Not knocking The Wondermints (who are a great band in their own right that do a great line in Wilson inspired pure pop) they sure ain't The Beach Boys. By a long way. In truth, the shows we get to see on last year's American tour consist of a few decent nights of cabaret for those who wanted to hear Wilson. His voice has suffered, but he's Brian. We can accept that. He still has it. But what with the pretty blond girl backing singer shaking her butt in the back row???!!!! No, no, no. 
     My partner, friends and I saw the Royal Festival Show and were all moved to tears. It was as close as we got to hearing The Beach Boys. But of course, it wasn't - even if we did manage to fool ourselves. Both this DVD and the Brian Wilson Pet Sound Live CD unfortunately shatter that illusion!
www.sanctuaryrecordsgroup.co.uk
Jon 'Mojo' Mills