Living Things, the band went back to the
remix board again to produce Recharged, a
collection of 12 new remixes from Living
Things along with two versions of a new
track “A Light that Never Comes” (with
Steve Aoki). The biggest surprise this time
is that LP went full on electronic/techno
with Recharged, leaving any hint of rock
behind, which for obvious reasons, could
disappoint its many rock fans. But the new
single is classic LP, with forceful Mike
Shinoda rapping melded together with
another instantly memorable Chester
Bennington chorus. And a few of the
remixes do include some new vocals
thanks to guest rappers like Cody B. Ware
& Ryu (“Skin to Bone”), Bun B (“Roads
Untraveled”), and Pusha T (“I’ll Be
Gone”). The rest of the remixes push the
techno-infusion so far that it’s almost too
much—but enough of the original songs’
core remains in each (and a compelling
core it is), that it’s hard to mess them up
too much.
– Carter Moss
8
VARIOUS
Dr. Who: The 5Oth
Anniversary Collection
(Silva Screen.)
The Rolling Stones may have grabbed
the half-century anniversary spotlight last
year, but unbeknownst to many there was
another British cultural icon commemorating the 50-year mark, too. Dr. Who debuted
on the BBC in late 1963, and a respectable
new retrospective revels in every melodic
milestone. The 45-track set is a compositional TARDIS, kicking off with the classic
"Doctor Who (Original Theme)" before
serving up everything from avant-garde
electronica through the Gustav Holsttinged "Timelash Suite" to the doo-wop
sound of "Here's To The Future."
Careening through five decades of assorted adventures, it's a simultaneously celebratory and chaotic journey through
sound, space, and time.
-- Jeff Berkwits
6
ROY ORBISON
Black And White Night
The Last Concert 25th Anniversary Edition
(Legacy)
Shortly after long-time admirer Bruce
Springsteen initiated Roy Orbison into the
second class of the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame in 1987, the two paired up to film a
concert of Roy’s string of ‘60s hit singles
that, while still resonating, relevant and
remembered, were no longer available due
to the demise of his then label Monument
Records. In addition to the backing of
Springsteen and Elvis’ own TCB Band, the
concert would be assisted by a virtual
who’s who of current rock “royalty,”
including Tom Waits, Jackson Brown, Elvis
Costello, Bonnie Raitt and k.d. lang,
among others—nor to overlook the similarly stellar array of rock musicdom populating the audience at L.A.'s legendary
Coconut Grove Ballroom. Captured in one
take and a hit as both cable special and
DVD release, as well as a staple of PBS
pledge weeks ever since, the re-release of
this legendary performance is welcome
indeed.
Fast forward a little over a year later,
and Orbison is riding a wave of success
even greater than his peak two decades
previous. Yet a third generation was discovering him as a member of
the
Traveling Wilburys at the same time as rediscovering him via inclusion of his 1963
hit “In Dreams” in the widely popular
David Lynch film “Blue Velvet. Following
an awards trip to Europe, Orbison was
back touring in the U.S., playing an “in the
round” show at The Front Row Theatre in
Highland Heights, OH on December 4.
Two days later, Orbison would die at
home from a heart attack. While no video
of what would become known as “The
Last Concert” exists, the complete audio
recording has just been re-released and,
while essentially offering the same material as the previous year’s LA video, it does
capture a more “stripped down” Orbison
and veteran touring band exactly as millions around the world would have witnessed during this “second coming” of
success. But even better is the DVD that’s
packaged along with the CD, containing
not only what would be Roy’s final TV
interview and photo montage of the OH
performance, but also live performance
from Houston around the same time, as
well as unreleased live videos from a 1981
Reseda, CA gig that many aficionados
consider one of Roy’s greatest. It’s hard to
go wrong with either
– Dave Eldredge
9
8
Countryside, Milwaukee & Palatine
Sat. February 15
Holiday Inn
Countryside
6201 Joliet Road (Rt.66)
Countryside • 847-409-9656
Show Hours: 10-4pm
Sun. Feb 16
Black and White Night
The Last Concert – 25th Anniv. Edition
Serb Hall
POLAR BEAR CLUB
Death Chorus
5101 W. Oklahoma
Milwaukee, WI
10am-4pm
(Rise)
Post-hardcore act, Polar Bear Club, has
had a respectable string of albums that
have hewed closely to genre confines.
Signing to Kingmakers Rise Records, they
find themselves at a crucial juncture with
their fourth album. Vocalist Jimmy Stadt
has admitted that he’s no