1 comments about Bite the Bullet.

1. If you ever saw the Gurus ( I did twice ) then you know the energy they put out live. The sound quality is powerful and clear with some great songs: Miss Freelove, Right Time, Be My Guru and songs that should have been hits in the states... I was lucky enough to buy the directors cut version of this when it first was released (two additional cds)and it was worth the price for the second disc alone "Doppleganger" which consists of live in the studio radio broadcasts. Songs like Linda Sue Dixon, Hey Anthea, I Got A Right and Quicksand are as great as anything released on the previous studio albums and of course the definitive version of Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except For Me and My Monkey will make you wish they hadn't ended it all too soon...

No comments about Final Damnation.

2 comments about Seven Day Weekend.

1. I find this to be there best one, it has amazing energy and I find it has some of there best songs like Seven Day Weekend, Frankenstein, and Jet Boy. A must have if your a dolls fan or if your not



2. Punk, this is Punk: straight forward, energetic, crazy descent lyrics. All are here. Surely not the best NY Dolls album, but it's an interesting document of the band. This is their early live album, and it features Johnny Thunder's best guitar playing. "Seven Day Weekend" is quite joyful, and "Bad detective" and "Vietnamese baby" is surprisingly reflective commentary of the society. Great work. Buy it if you love punk: it's some of the excellent moments of punk, not those spirit-less cheap punk power-chord stummers.

5 comments about A Rollins in the Wry.

1. Henry hits his stride with jabs at Rite Aid and Clinton-speak. Those looking for the emotional connection that rougher discs like "Big Ugly Mouth" and "Live at McCabe's" evoked won't find it here. However, even with a 'routine' set, he's more entertaining than many so-called 'professional' comedians. "ARITW" is well worth your time.



2. I've heard some of Henry Rollins spoken word routines on MTV and stations like this. After hearing this,....I didn't realize that Henry is actually funny. Not only has he done Black Flag, Rollins Band, but his spoken word albums is filled with the same angst in his lyrics but taking everything in the world and making light of it. He is intellectual as a comic with that hardcore edge that we have come to know and love. I DEFINITELY recomend this CD. Pop it in, listen to it, reflect on it, and be prepared to laugh. I just don't see why he does more of this sort of thing.




3. This CD is fine. It's not wall-to-wall laughs like most of Think Tank. It doesnt get deep like sections of Big Ugly Mouth. It's not the absolute pick of the bunch (depending on what you're looking for) but it's not a waste of money either. RITW is a stand-alone performance and the biggest thing wrong with it is the lacklustre crowd, who seem to respond quite well to the mention of their own town's name and not much else. I believe Henry gives his best performances when the crowd is responsive (both with Rollins Band and spoken word) and the crowd at this gig sound like they are half asleep and more interested in eating their meals than getting into the show.

   I won't dissect the CD and sing the praises of each individual track. If youre a fan, this is a worthy addition. If youre a first-time listener, its worth a go but probably isnt his best work in terms of outright comedic content or the make-you-think observations that characterise his previous offerings. That said, its not a dog either - I listen to my copy from time to time and certainly dont regret buying it.

   One last note for the Henry-is-past-it gang; I saw Henry in Melbourne a year ago and it was about the best thing I've heard him do. Stories like The KISS Army were just brilliant and outshone even some of the best stuff on Think Tank. His take on the way people behave, coupled with the clever references and links to things mentioned earlier in the show had the crowd falling about laughing. Stuff from that show will hopefully be released soon and prove that Henry is only getting better at Spoken Word as time goes by.

   Oh, and if any of the Powers That Be at Pioneer are reading - give us a spoken word DVD that isn't Zone 1 exclusive.




4. Most of the tracks on this album are very funny, especially "Death To Poets," a highly-justified rant about self-indulgent poetry readings, and "Clintonese," a funny comment on how Bubba used word games to weasel out of confessing. I especially like this track because it gives Bubba his due without brown-nosing him like most Democrats love to, with observations like "They should teach 'Clinton' in college." Also not to be missed: his encore, a short but absolutely hysterical rant on male-female relations. The album's only weak link: the "Maturity" rant, which goes on WAY too long and isn't particularly funny. Overall, it's still a great album, but it can't beat "Think Tank," Hank's funniest and smartest spoken-word album.



5. Okay, understand. I was Drama Geek Yuppie Larvae (TM) so Black Flag was not a band I'm terribly familiar with. The first time in my whole life that I actually became fully aware of Hank was a few months ago when we saw him doing some of his Spoken Word stuff on HBO.

   My God, what have I been missing all my life?

   Intensity? He has got it.

   I recently got to attend one of his spoken word shows here in California. I walked up to the girl with the T-shirts, CD's, and Video tapes and said, "Look, I just discovered this guy. I have NOTHING of his and I don't have much money with me. You are the expert, what do you suggest?"

   I walked away with this CD and Talking from the Box on Video. (And a T-Shirt and a couple of free stickers... CONSUME LITTLE AMERICAN! :) ) It was a good combination I think.

   The CD was recorded in 1999 so I suppose you would say it is some of his later stuff. And right now, it's my most played CD.

   Mostly it's just a bunch of his thoughts about things and people he's observed while he's on tour. (Which is pretty much of the time. The man has circled the world more times the SPUTNIK.) He talks about things like Language, how he reacted to being in Jerusalem, and his love/hate relationship with Rite Aid/Thrifty.

   Definitely on the lighter side of things then the earlier stuff I see in "Talking from the Box"... So I suppose that's why long term Rollins fans might see this CD as "weaker". The nihilism that they've come to know and love is tempered with his since of humor far more in this CD then in the older stuff I've heard so far.

   He talks a bit in the CD about maturity and getting older, at the time this was recorded, he was 38. And taking a long hard look at 40.

   He is doing something different. He's making the gracefull transition from angry, cynical, young man to angry, cynical, old man.

5 comments about Arena.

1. I like Duran Duran. I like the flavour of the 80's. I've seen them 'live' and they are wonderful. But this album stinks. Poor production, obvious over-dubbing, no 'live' feel. This should never have seen the light of day but then again, when a band are on a roll, it's the moneymen that pull the strings...I am sure that Simon and the boys look back now with regret...
   I gave it a 2** purely for the songs...



2. In 1984, with three studio albums under their belts - Duran Duran released their first live album called "Arena". Just four albums into their young, but successful careers - it might seem early to release a live album, however at this time Duran Duran was as hot as any group. Their last two studio albums ("Rio" and "Seven and the Ragged Tiger") had made them the toast of MTV and Top 40 radio. In addition, the band had embarked on a very successful world tour, so it seemed a wise move to release the live album. This collection includes 9 tracks from that world tour as well as a new studio track called "Wildboys". A lot of people were very critical on the quintet's effort on "Arena". Some of this criticism is justifiable. Some of this criticism is unfair because there is some good work on this album that was done by the band.
   
   First for some of the bad news about "Arena" album. Arena makes some of the fundamental mistakes that many live albums make. This main mistake is not capturing the magic of one great performance, but rather forming a "best of" compilation of live performances from the band. I find when this is done, something is taken away from the individual live performances that are on here. It also immediately takes away from the continuity and flow of the CD. Since this isn't a single performance, we aren't made aware of what would have been the opening song, closing song, encore songs, etc. If you listen to other live albums like Fleetwood Mac's "The Dance" and Rush's "Rush in Rio", these capture most or all of the live performance on CD and stick to the original flow. The result is something magical and intangible - something that "Arena" really lacks. What is worse is the studio track, "Wildboys" is stuck right in the middle of the live tracks.
   
   Another key point is we don't know where these recordings came from. The live recordings are credited from "recorded around the world". Yes all of the tour locations are listed by the month - but no specific tour dates and no specifics on where each track was recorded from. The only exception is the studio track - "Wildboys" is credited to being recorded in London.
   
   Unfortunately for "Arena" there are some other problems beyond the mistakes listed above. This collection just doesn't feel like a live CD. There is a minimum of crowd noise. There isn't a lot of interaction happening with the crowd (possibly the only part where there is true interaction is when Simon Le Bon asks the audience before "Hungry Like the Wolf" - 'Is Anybody Hungry?' - but even that doesn't get me doing handstands) Duran Duran had the reputation for being a very high energy band in the 1980s, yet most of this album doesn't have the high energy of a Duran Duran concert.
   
   However, despite the shortcomings above, there are some good things to point out about this collection. The set does a nice job at balancing out the works from the 3 studio albums - 3 songs from "Duran Duran", 4 songs from "Rio", and 2 from "Seven and the Ragged Tiger". I am disappointed that "The Reflex" or "New Moon on Mondays" were not included with this collection, but I think it also was a good thing to not include too much material from the last studio album.
   
   The opening track is "Is There Something I Should Know". It isn't my favorite Duran Duran track, but I like that there is some horn music integrated toward the end of this song. To a lesser extent, "Planet Earth" and "Careless Memories" have some nice horns that give this a new spin to these tunes. WhatI find very interesting is on "Arena" the band tends to do a better job on the lesser known tunes. Tracks such as "New Religion", "Careless Memories", and "The Chauffeur" are terrific. The more popular tracks are also nicely done - "Hungry Like the Wolf", "Union of the Snake", "Save a Prayer", and "Planet Earth". I think one of the more creative things is the segue that is done between "The Seventh Stranger" and "The Chauffeur". While these songs are from two distinct albums, Duran Duran makes them seem like one seemless song. It's hard to tell that this is a product of the editing of the collection or if this is the way they were actually performed during the Tour. I think "The Chauffeur" is the most underrated track on this collection - it really has a true "haunting" quality as you listen to it. I think the real issue where I have with "Arena" is that Duran Duran does a nice job with the music on this collection - but it could have been so much more. This could have captured the passion and energy of the live concert much more consistently.
   
   As for the new track "Wildboys". I don't think it's the best Duran Duran track, however I don't feel it's the worst. What I do notice is that Roger Taylor's drumming becomes more promient on this track and this seemed to carry over into when they would release the James Bond soundtrack song "A View to a Kill".
   
   As for the liner notes - not terrific. There are some pictures of each of the band members that look like they were taken for teen magainzes. There are no lyrics. The band members and studio musicians are listed, but are not credited with any instruments. As mentioned above Tour Cities are listed.
   
   The best way to summarize is that this isn't a terrible live album, but it isn't terrific. This is a live album that could have been so much more. If you love Duran Duran, this album probably won't disappoint - otherwise, this may not be a collection of interest.



3. OK, first. To the clod who wrote that this CD is not live...shame on you. It IS live. The audience is mostly filtered out, NOT added in (if they were added in, don't you think they would have made them louder?). That's the biggest drawback to Arena; the passion of the audience is eliminated. Plus it has some really bad singing. You're better off finding a bootleg live CD than buying this one!

   Also, don't you love those who keep posting 1 star negative reviews and then tell us we are better off listening to Iron Maiden and Ozzy Osbourne? Why are they even listening to DD in the first place? And honestly, do you think they've even HEARD a DD CD? Incidentally, when was the last Iron Maiden or OO CD? Did they sell well? Didn't they both drop off the face of the earth (musically, that is)? I love the comparisons to NSYNC - this is 25 years later and DD and still around and going strong. Where is NSYNC? What was the last NSYNC album where they wrote the songs and produced? Oh yeah....there hasn't been one!




4. I am not used to write comments down here just for a question of time but reading previous reviews I cannot but write!
   How can you rate such a good album 1/2 stars????
   I am a massive fan since 1984 and that's a story...but this album worths buying!! it's a good album. Yes, studio albums are much much better (RIO to tell one!) and it's a shame audience is not "alive" in this recording, but it's indeed a good recording that sum up Duran style at that time (they were at the top after Wild Boys release).
   If you never heard any song of the boys let's start with RIO otherwise this live cd is a good starting point!!!!!!!!!
   And they are back now!!!!!!!!!!



5. When I first heard Duran Duran's phenomenal 1984 "Arena," it changed my life forever. In the past, live albums were pretty much worthless and were released just to fulfill the terms of a record contract. But "Arena" is a different story. Duran Duran give touching live concert performances of many of their hits like "Is There Something I Should Know," "New Religion," and a [worthless] version of "Careless Memories," which just makes me go wild! These guys really rock and lead the pack when it comes to putting out a great live show that doesn't cheat the audience. Duran Duran are legends and I love them and this CD is a total MUST OWN. If Simon, Nick, John, Roger, and Andy are reading this: I LOVE YOU GUYS!!

No comments about Punk: Live & Nasty.

1 comments about Help Save the Youth of America EP: Live and Dubious.

1. This record isn't really that bad, it's just not all that great, either. Billy Bragg is a great songwriter, and these are all great songs, but there are so few of them, that the purchase isn't really justified. The performances are competant, but a longer track listing would have made a far more interesting release.

1 comments about The Peel Sessions.

1. Excellent capturing of the band at a prolifically inventive period. Sharp and sparkling versions of, i am the fly, 106 beats that.

No comments about Live Shepperton 1980.

1 comments about Peel Sessions.

1. Peel songs can be something or not. The UNDERTONES were one of those bands who pretty much recreated their songs in the Peel studios live like they sounded on their records. I've heard several live UNDERTONES shows and they really got into it. Actually, I sent like 12 friends and relatives to see their San Diego show in like 1980 and I was workin' that evening. BUMMER.
   So, yeah, these Peel songs are nice but not crucial. Yer not gonna hear great variations on the studio versions here. A big UNDERTONES fan should definitely get them cuz, well, cuz it's more UNDERTONES, in theory. Otherwise, I'd stick with their studio albums.
   
   I always wanna hear Peel sets by the bands I really like to see if there's variations on some of their great songs. You don't really find that here. SLITS did a cool Peel set. Heck, there's gobs of bands who played it over the decades. I'm just glad they've released a bunch of 'em. chrisbct@hotmail.com