'Whistle Test,' 'Paul is Live' discs present gems of music history

By Terry Lawson
Knight Ridder News Service

Though vintage, classic and obscure TV series remain the most requested items of DVD collectors, music videos and films remain a close second, with animation collections next. (A "Looney Tunes" set is on the horizon.)

While the bulk of the "Shindig," "American Bandstand," "Midnight Special" and "Soul Train" episodes are still missing in action — not to mention all the great regional shows, many of which may be lost forever — a boxed set devoted to "Saturday Night Live" musical guests (alas, not provided for review) was recently released.

And Britain's BBC is beginning to crack its vaunted vaults, with a selection of live performances from "The Old Grey Whistle Test" (BBC), the most serious-minded of music series, available for the first time to U.S. audiences.

For old-timers, the "Whistle Test" highlight will certainly be John Lennon's appearance to support the single "Stand By Me" from his "Rock 'n' Roll" oldies set. But others should be excited by the inclusion of Alice Cooper's "Under My Wheels" and Iggy Pop's "I'm So Bored," while the intelligentsia will be seduced by rare sightings of Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band playing "Upon the My-O-My," Tom Waits growling his way through "Tom Traubert's Blues," XTC's "Statue of Liberty" and Randy Newman's "Political Science."

Extras include interviews with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Bruce Springsteen (who also tears up "Rosalita"), and commentary by presenter Mike Appleton. It's safe to say this may be the only DVD that includes selections by Lynyrd Skynyrd ("Free Bird") and Curtis Mayfield ("We Got to Have Peace").

For reasons I can't quite comprehend, the folk-and-roots label Rounder has obtained the rights to "Paul is Live in Concert," a concert film compiled from Paul McCartney's 1993 world tour with what was arguably his best post-Wings backing band: guitarists Robbie MacIntosh and Hamish Stuart; keyboardist Paul "Wix" Wickens; McCartney's late wife, Linda; and drummer Blair Cunningham. The song selection and sound reproduction are terrific in a set, culled from various stops, that begins with

"Drive My Car" and ends with "Hey Jude." But the only extras are bios and a photo gallery.

The recent and revelatory 5.1 Surround re-mix CD of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" is now augmented by a DVD edition (Eagle Vision) originally produced for VH1's "Classic Albums" series. This edition dissects the record track-by-track with help from the band members, and acknowledges the substantial contributions of saxophonist Dick Parry and vocalist Claire Torry. Even Roger Waters shows up to claim the credit he rightly deserves.

Cher's recent, elongated, goodbye-I-promise outing is preserved on "Cher: The Farewell Tour" (Image), a spectacle in which she not only revisits her hits, but also her old TV show — and, incomprehensibly, "West Side Story," in a skit in which she recreates the major roles. This is actually a far more entertaining camp-out than you might imagine, mostly because Cher, beautiful beyond surgery, is self-imagined and -created, and proud of it.

Box sets for cultists: "Beast Wars: Transformers" (Rhino) collects the original 26 episodes of the Japanese sci-fi animated series, while "Dark Shadows: DVD Collection 7" (MPI) stitches together 22 1975 episodes of what was then the weirdest soap opera ever produced, augmented by interviews with the cast, including the vampire Barnabas himself, played with no embarrassment by Jonathan Frid.

Now you see them, now you don't: Nicolas Cage's directing debut, "Sonny" (HBO), is an earnest, sordid and soporific drama starring James Franco as a New Orleans gigolo, and its debt to "Midnight Cowboy" is acknowledged with a cameo by Brenda Vacarro.

"In Search of Peace Part One" (Koch-Lorber) is a straightforward, timely documentary about the establishment of Israel, narrated by Michael Douglas, and despite its obvious bias is informative and thorough.

"Dysfunktional Family" (Miramax) documents comedian Eddie Griffith on a recent concert tour, where the routines are interspersed with interviews with his family members, including a lovable, unrepentant, porn-loving uncle who steals the movie.