Music gift guide -- DVDs
Pink, “Pink’s Funhouse Tour: Live in Australia’’ See the daring young lady on the flying trapeze sing “Sober.’’ Witness her have a silly pillow fight with her dancers during “So What.’’ Watch her “Get the Party Started’’ in this document - which includes a CD - of one of the year’s most vivid and enjoyable concert tours.
Duran Duran, “Hammersmith ’82! Live’’ If you were a squee-ing fangirl this is the DVD (and CD) for you as it captures the New Romantics in their post-“Rio’’ ascendance. The parachute pants and rototoms may seem dated on the slightly grainy video, but John Taylor’s cheekbones and inventive bass lines don’t.
Kings of Leon, “Live at the O2 London, England’’ For their first DVD, the Followill boys took their fresh faces and their lively, and increasingly popular, Southern and psychedelia-tinged rock ’n’ roll sound across the pond earlier this year to capture a night on the tour for their latest album “Only By the Night.’’
The Black Crowes, “Cabin Fever’’ This disc promises a sneak peek at the creative process of the Brothers Robinson et al., as it documents the recording of their dynamic album “Before the Frost . . . Until the Freeze’’ at Levon Helm’s homestead. A rootsy good time looks like the order of the day.
Beyoncé, “I Am . . . Yours: An Intimate Performance at Wynn Las Vegas’’ This snazzy Sin City show has much to recommend it including a swell jazz interlude, interesting acoustic rearrangements of her hits, and a charming B telling her life story in song.
George Michael, “Live in London’’ The dance-pop heartthrob wisely recorded his dazzling and triumphant “25 Live’’ tour for posterity. The hometown crowd revels in the fizz of Wham!-era confections, gospel interludes, and electro treats. No matter the offstage travails, it’s easy to listen without prejudice to that voice. (Out Dec. 8)
Tina Turner, “Tina Live’’ Age was nothing but a number when Tina Turner, who was a fierce 69 at the time, came out of concert retirement last year for a world tour. “Tina Live,’’ recorded in Holland, presents Turner on DVD and CD and spans her whole career, from “Proud Mary’’ to “What’s Love Got to Do With It.’’
The Killers, “Live From the Royal Albert Hall’’ The Killers aren’t British, but they might as well be, given frontman Brandon Flowers’s penchant for Freddie Mercury’s theatrics. This CD/DVD package captures the band’s two-night stand at Royal Albert Hall last summer.
Thalía, “En Primera Fila’’ As one of Mexico’s top-selling pop stars, Thalía is more used to playing arenas, which makes this concert film all that more enticing. In July, Thalía performed an intimate show in Coral Gables, Fla., relegating her dance hits to a medley in favor of classics by Latin American singer-songwriters. (Out Dec. 1)
Leonard Cohen, “Live in London’’ It was a big year for the bard of doom and gloom, who launched his first US tour in 15 years and sold out houses across the country. For those who got shut out, “Live in London’’ (sold separately as a CD) documents the tour; for vintage Cohen, there’s also the new “Live at the Isle of Wight 1970’’ CD/DVD combo.
Robyn Hitchcock, “I Often Dream of Trains in New York’’ Performing entire albums live from front to back was undoubtedly one of the year’s most prevalent trends. Cult singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock even got in on it with a tour devoted to his 1984 classic, “I Often Dream of Trains,’’ presented here on DVD and CD.
Thelonious Monk, “American Composer’’ Monk is among three iconic jazz artists - including Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday - whose lives are dissected in the TV series “Masters of American Music’’ through interviews and performance footage.
Madeleine Peyroux, “Somethin’ Grand’’ Elusive songbird Madeleine Peyroux hasn’t been exactly transparent since she first beguiled audiences in the mid-’90s with her smoldering mix of jazz, blues, and pop. “Somethin’ Grand’’ lifts the veil, though, with a concert recorded this year in Los Angeles, but the real treat is the documentary in which Peyroux and a host of others (including her mother) tell her story.
Indigo Girls, “Live at the Roxy’’ Consummate road warriors Emily Saliers and Amy Ray seem to feel most at home when they’re on the open highway. Adding to their string of concert releases, “Live at the Roxy’’ is a snapshot of a 2007 show at the Roxy Theater in Atlanta.
Courtesy Boston Globe © Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
