The rap on the Grateful Dead’s eponymous 1967 debut album—which the group mostly recorded in just four days—is that they didn’t yet understand the studio and failed to accurately represent what they could accomplish in concert. There’s some truth in that. Then again, as a bonus disc included with this 50th anniversary reissue makes clear,...
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February 8, 2017February 8, 2017Video
Blu-ray Review: The Take (2016) – aka Bastille Day
First off, The Take is a firecracker action-thriller starring Idris Elba as CIA operative Sean Briar and Richard Madden (Robb Stark in Game of Thrones) as expert pickpocket Michael Mason. Directed with economical verve by James Watkins, The Take mixes elements of Taken, Mission: Impossible, Die Hard, and TV’s 24 to very positive effect. It...
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January 12, 2017January 12, 2017Video
Blu-ray Review: The Whole Truth (2016)
The Whole Truth arrives on Blu-ray January 17, 2017 (via Lionsgate Films) and will likely draw attention from fans of its stars Keanu Reeves and Renée Zellweger. First, a word of respect for Truth‘s writer-director Courtney Hunt. Her 2008 crime drama (and directorial debut) Frozen River received heaps of praise and awards, including an Oscar...
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January 9, 2017January 9, 2017Music
Bentley’s Bandstand: January 2017
Dennis Coffey, Hot Coffey in the D. In 1968 Detroit was still on fire for musicians. Motown Records’ success had lit the city up, and its glow spread far and wide. Guitarist Dennis Coffey had been on a batch of successful records, and he soon found himself a Funk Brother in the hallowed rooms of...
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December 23, 2016December 23, 2016Music
Bentley’s Bandstand: The Best of 2016 (Second-Half)
2016 was rough. Losing friends and artists all through the year just would not stop, and the Presidential election turned the country into a hatful of hate. As always, music provided a way through it all. Favorite albums of the first-half of the year provided solace and inspiration and included Eric Clapton, I Still Do;...
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December 22, 2016December 22, 2016Music
Music Review: Bob Dylan – The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert
Is there any major artist doing as much for their fans as Bob Dylan? Maybe so, but it’s hard to imagine anyone is surpassing Dylan’s output of quality archival releases. Ever since the 1991 inception of The Bootleg Series (which reached Vol. 12 in 2015), there has been a wealth of previously unavailable studio and...
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December 12, 2016December 12, 2016Music
Bentley’s Bandstand: December 2016
The Big T.N.T. Show. During the 1960s when rock and roll was just becoming the currency of the realm for youth in America, there was a simulcast movie called The T.A.M.I. Show, which stood for “Teen-Age Music International,” that set young minds reeling. It has since become a storied exploration of what was popular musically...
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December 1, 2016December 1, 2016Video
Blu-ray Review: The BFG
The BFG is the swan song of screenwriter Melissa Mathison, best known for her Oscar-nominated screenplay for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Adapting the 1982 Roald Dahl novel was a long process, one that dates back to 1991 (Robin Williams was at one point attached to star as the BFG—aka “Big Friendly Giant”). Numerous screenwriters were involved,...
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November 22, 2016November 22, 2016Video
Blu-ray Review: The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years
Who directed the new Beatles documentary Eight Days a Week, George Lucas?? Some of the live performances (iconic stuff like their famous Washington Coliseum performance during their first U.S. visit and also some frequently-seen press conference footage) have been… colorized. Unlike George Lucas’ endless revisionism with his Star Wars series, obviously a work of fiction,...
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November 21, 2016November 21, 2016Music
Album Review: Bob Dylan – The 1966 Live Recordings
Talk about a Bobfest! This beautifully packaged new 36-CD box collects every known recording from Dylan’s 1966 shows on three continents—and no, 36 is not a typo. Throughout, Dylan is backed by an outfit that includes Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, and Garth Hudson of the Hawks (later the Band). The drummer is Mickey...