Monday, September 13, 2010

Ian Dury - Rare and Unseen, Cliff Richard - Rare and Unseen

 (MVD) This DVD series is not deceptive, even though you may not get what you're expecting. They find rare, virtually unseen TV appearances and video footage of musical figures and edit it a bit, but include long, significant portions, so any true fan will be excited to see it. In the case of Dury, the music hall comedy-style punk rocker (who was twice the Sex Pistols' ages in '77) even casual fans will be delighted to see his big, bouncy personality shine in clips ranging from the 70s to just before his death, including dynamic musical performances of (amongst others) "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" and "Sweet Gene Vincent" (which made me decide that was his peak). In addition to the great songs, every appearance he ever did, be it for a a flippant talk show, a dry program about handicap advocacy (Dury had polio s a young man), or a cameo on a cop show, makes him seem funnier, stranger and more interesting. Fan or not, this is a great DVD.  The Richard edition is a bit less valuable, in part because it is virtually music free, featuring only a few snippets of Richard singing a cover tune. Considering the great Shadows reunion concert DVD that just came out this doesn't really show much of what makes him special. That said, it's pretty interesting, and for a Richard fan likely a must have because it's full of rare interviews dating back to the days the BBC was in black and white...and because every interview included makes Richard seem like a super square. It seems every rare and unseen clip they found (other than a press conference for the recent reunion) is about being a born again Christian or worrying about how the Bowies and Alice Coopers of the world are making a bad impression on the kids. I suppose if you're a less colorful character than Dury  lost footage isn't always going to be as fun.

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