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September / October 2007GG Allin & The Murder Junkies | The Mentors | Quantum Leap "60's Rock" | Tony Palmer "All My Loving" | The Original Country Joe Band GG Allin & The Murder Junkies "BITE IT, YOU SCUM!" "Hated," the 1994 documentary about the life of GG Allin, has been released once again with some additional bonus material. The main program, which was completed shortly before GG Allin's death, featured concert footage, rehearsal footage and interviews with friends, fans and fellow band members. The film, which was completed shortly after his death, is legendary among his fan base, which continues to grow some fourteen years after his untimely demise. The bonus material is what people are really gonna go for here. First of all, there's a not so exclusive interview with GG Allin's mother. I say not so exclusive because the interview was also featured on the "Raw, Brutal, Rough & Bloody - Best Of 1991 Live" DVD. However, the interview with Merle Allin and Dino Sex is priceless. It's very informative, as is the commentary tracks with Merle, Dino and director Todd Phillips. What I'm impressed with is Merle's attention to detail. He knows the shows, he knows the dates, he knows what went down at each one. Even when I spoke to him on the phone, he was like that. I mentioned a clip I've seen and, by my description, he knew what show I was talkin' about. His attention to detail is mind blowing. "Die When You Die," "Gypsy Motherfucker" and "Bite It You Scum" are given the video treatment here. Compiled from various live performances, they serve as an excellent reminder of what a GG Allin show was like. This was an excellent addition to this collection. Well worth the price of admission. You also get temporary GG Allin tattoos and an inlay that gives you the opportunity to purchase a limited edition 18 x 24 inch replica poster of the GG Allin portrait that John Wayne Gacy painted for the film's original release. According to the inlay, this was painted in Gacy's jail cell on death row, two years before his execution. Any video footage of GG Allin is well worth having and "Hated" should be at the top of the list. This is the ultimate document of the man, the myth and his legend. The simple fact that "Hated" was done with at least some input from GG Allin himself will set this release above anything else we may see in the future. Sure, you can always find someone who knew him, someone who worked with him, someone who loved him...and while they may be able to shed some light on his character, nothing will ever be better than hearing from the man himself. One thing's for sure, there will never be another performer quite like GG Allin. His death left a great void in the music scene...a void which nobody...past, present or future...will ever be able to fill. Bottom line..."Hated" is a MUST HAVE for any true GG Allin fan. http://www.ggallin.com The Mentors I'm a casual fan of The Mentors. So, I don't know too much about their history. But, if I'm not mistaken, "El Duce Vita," is basically "The Wretched World Of The Mentors" with some additional live footage thrown in to add some extra punch to the main program. "The Wretched World Of The Mentors" was released in 1990 and it doesn't look like they touched it up at all. In fact, I think it would be safe to say that time is starting to work on this footage. So, it's good that they got it on DVD when they did. There's some classic stuff on here, tunes like "On The Rag," "Golden Showers" and "When You're Horny, You're Horny." It's a nice way to upgrade your collection. Plus, as I mentioned, you get some live footage. The first show is from September 11th, 1991. Pretty good footage, sound quality is decent. This show's probably the best of the bunch. The second show, sound quality's a bit rough and it's filmed from the side. Still, it has a moment or two of greatness. Same with the last show, which was filmed from the stage. Some good footage here and there. Don't know if any of the bonus material has ever been released before or not. But, it's well worth checking out. El Duce lives! http://www.myspace.com/thementors Quantum Leap Here's a rock 'n' roll blast from the past for you. Two song performances by some big names of yesterday. I did a review a month or two ago on another release from this series, which can probably still be found on this site if you care enough to look around for it. Anyway, this one has some really good material on it. The best of the bunch, in my opinion, is the legendary Wolfman Jack doing "Old Time Rock 'N' Roll" and "Shake, Rattle & Roll." That's worth the price of admission alone. You also get to see Bryan Hyland doing his two biggest hits, "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" and "Sealed With A Kiss." Spencer Davis does "Gimme Some Lovin'," Del Shannon does "Runaway" and Roger McGuinn does "Mr. Tamborine Man" and "Turn Turn Turn." Another performance that I was rather fond of was John Sebastian's "Welcome Back Kotter," which, as most of you should know, is the theme song for the tv show of the same name. I don't think I've ever seen this performed live before. So, that was a nice treat. Johnny Tillotson and Ray Peterson also make an appearance with two songs. "60's Rock 'N' Roll JukeBox" is well worth picking up. http://www.qleap.co.uk Tony Palmer I'll be honest with you...if "All My Loving" has a point or a message...I don't get it. I've watched this film twice and I don't have any set thought on what it was all about. Well, I mean, I know what it was about...it was about rock 'n' roll. What did it have to say about the music? That's where I draw a blank. However, this movie does leave quite an impression. The one thing I got from this film...which is something everybody should already know...is that the featured artists, which include The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Pink Floyd, Cream, Donovan, Frank Zappa and Eric Burdon, have earned their legendary statuts for a reason...and that's because of the music they made and, more importantly, the way they performed that music...with a passion. You watch old footage like this and compare it with stuff you see today and it's like lookin' at two different worlds, man. The funny thing is, most of the legends didn't have a lot of, shall we say, distractions while they were on stage. It was simply the band and the music they made...and you watch stuff like this...and it freakin' moves you. I'm not a fan of every artist that was featured in this film. But, I didn't get bored with it because, watching them, there was something magical about their performance. Even Frank Zappa who, unfortunately, wasn't represented with a live performance...watching the man talk...you can't help but watch in wonder and amazement. "All My Loving" was made in a time when music actually meant something and, for that reason, I think this film stands the test of time. Like one review said, which was used on the back of the DVD, "...ten years from now, it will be the definitive document of its time." Here we are, almost 30 years later, and the film is still getting rave reviews. I think that says a lot...don't you? Like I said...I didn't quite get the message. But, it certainly left an impression on me and, if you decide to check it out, I'm sure it will do the same for you. Long live rock 'n' roll. http://www.voiceprint.co.uk The Original Country Joe Band This performance was filmed and recorded at South Parade Pier in Southsea, England on June 13th, 2004. It includes the original line up playing a 19 song set and features and exclusive interview with Country Joe. In 2004, Country Joe re-formed some original members of Country Joe & The Fish as The Country Joe Band (Bruce Barthol, David Bennett Cohen and Gary "Chicken" Hirsh). The band toured Los Angeles, Berkeley, Bolinas, Sebastopol, Grants Pass, Eugene, Portland and Seattle. They then made a 10 stop tour of the United Kingdom and played at the Isle Of Wight and London. This excellent performance was filmed and recorded on that leg of the tour. That first paragraph was included in the press material that came with this release. I thought I would use that as an introduction because, well, The Country Joe Band was makin' music long before I was even born and, for the most part, I really don't get into a lot of music that's older than I am. So, I really wouldn't have a lot to say about this release and I figured it might be a good idea to at least give you some idea of what "Turned Up & Turned On" is all about. I do agree with the line about it being an excellent performance. It's not really my style of music. But, the band did have a solid sound. So, I don't think any long time Country Joe fans will be disappointed. It has a running time of 135 minutes. So, that's a lot of Country Joe to sink your teeth into. Besides the main performance, you get a rather lengthy and informative interview with Country Joe himself. It had slow pace. But, like I said, it was informative and that's the important part. |