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VARIOUS ARTISTS : THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME 25TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT |
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DVD One
DVD Two :
Label : HBO Release Year : 2009 Running Time : 330 minutes Venue : Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, USA Recording Date : October 29 - 30, 2009 NTSC : 16:9 Review (AllMusic) : As a celebration for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's 25th Anniversary, the institute held two star-studded concerts in late October 2009, each bill bursting with inductees from throughout the decades. It's all captured here on a four-disc box and a 2 DVD box (the individual nights are available as two separate two-CD sets). Covers and collaborations were the order of the day, usually in sensible pairings: James Taylor sat in with Crosby, Stills & Nash, Jeff Beck reprised his guitar showcase on Stevie Wonder's "Superstition," Darlene Love fronted the E-Street Band, Metallica gleefully supports Ozzy Osbourne on a pair of Black Sabbath songs, U2 leads Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith and Roy Bittan make it through "Because the Night." Surprises aren't quite the order of the day - the only performance that reimagines the original is Jeff Beck's instrumental reading of the Beatles' "A Day in the Life" - and that goes for cameos from the younger set, too: Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello naturally appears during Springsteen's stomp through "London Calling," John Legend steps in for Marvin Gaye during Wonder's set and Fergie does capable Merry Clayton during U2 and Mick Jagger's "Gimme Shelter." Then again, who turns to a celebration of the past for anything but comfort? A reminder of what they loved in the first place? This concert does indeed offer that, and if there are some bumpy moments - the pairing of Lou Reed and Metallica on "Sweet Jane" defies any logic - they are outweighed by the pleasure of professionals taking a stroll through their back pages. Review (Amazon) : On October 29th and 30th, 2009, rock 'n' roll royalty held court at Madison Square Garden for what have been called 'the best concerts ever,' and 'where rock 'n' roll history was made.' The concerts featured a who's who of rock 'n' roll from the '50s to the '90s and included artists performing together in unprecedented combinations that will most likely never be witnessed again. 'The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Anniversary Concerts' included sets by Crosby, Stills & Nash; Stevie Wonder; Paul Simon; Simon & Garfunkel; Aretha Franklin; Metallica; U2; Jeff Beck and Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band. Joining this iconic line up on stage were special guests including: Jerry Lee Lewis, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Smokey Robinson, B.B. King, Annie Lennox, Lou Reed, John Fogerty, Mick Jagger, Fergie and others. A 4-hour special of the concerts aired on HBO to high ratings, and was seen by tens of millions. Now this historic event is available on DVD. Highlights include Mick Jagger and Fergie in a blistering version of the Stones' classic 'Gimme Shelter,' with U2 as the backing band, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel on-stage for a rollicking rendition of 'Born to Run', Sting joins Jeff Beck for the Curtis Mayfeld classic 'People Get Ready', Paul Simon, David Crosby and Graham Nash join together for a spine-tingling 'Here Comes the Sun', Ozzy Osbourne sings with Metallica on the Black Sabbath classics 'Iron Man' and 'Paranoid' and John Fogerty & Bruce Springsteen share vocals on Roy Orbison's 'Oh, Pretty Woman.' |