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 live material. Sometimes a more...
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 at the time, from the...
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, with Mathison coming on-board around...
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, director Ron Howard has gone...
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 Jones, who left the Hawks...
Bentley’s Bandstand: November 2016
Blind Boys of Alabama, Atom Bomb. As the new century started almost 17 years ago, one of America’s most venerable gospel groups turned a page in their playbook. The Blind Boys of Alabama signed to Peter Gabriel’s Real World label and took off for new territory. Atom Bomb was the last of four records done there, and in so many...
Bentley’s Bandstand: October 2016
Daniel Foose, of Waters and Ghosts. Talk about inspired: bassist and composer Daniel Foose grew up in Austin with deep Mississippi roots, went to college in Denton, Texas and then lit out for New York. Once there, he worked his way into the jazz world and, also, performed with Lady Gaga. Why not? On Foose’s new album he looks back...
Blu-ray Review: Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates
Loosely inspired by a similar real-life situation, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates came and went largely unnoticed during mid-summer 2016. Though it scared up about $45 million domestically, the bawdy comedy practically screamed “wait for video.” Now that it has arrived on Blu-ray (also 4K UltraHD) via 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, it just might find a wider audience....
Album Review: Fleetwood Mac – Mirage (Deluxe Edition)
If ever there was a case of the media building up and then knocking down a band, it was the one involving Fleetwood Mac in the late-’70s and early-’80s. The critics cheered when the group—newly energized by the addition of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks—delivered its chart-topping eponymous album in 1975 and the even better Rumours a year later. But...
Bentley’s Bandstand: August 2016
Hayes Carll, Lovers and Leavers. It’s always a promising sign when the phrase “Produced by Joe Henry” is on an album. It means the music inside will be deserving of the pinnacle of production that Henry brings to the studio. With Hayes Carll, that would never be in question. He is such a one-of-a-kind singer-songwriter that he just can’t miss....