In the past few years, music on DVDs has become ubiquitous. Fans want to see the music as much as they want to hear it, and artists are answering with DualDisc releases and multidisc packaging that give fans something for their CD and DVD players.
Here are five quality recent releases:
Jeff Tweedy
Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest
The Wilco frontman’s solo tour of the United States brought him through Colorado for two shows, but this DVD captures him during five West Coast gigs. The video shows Tweedy as the charming entertainer and Tweedy as the grumpy artist. And the extensive material he covers makes this an important document. Bonus: It was shot by “Burn to Shine” doc makers Christoph Green and Brendan Canty, and they have a unique eye for music caught on film. $20
Barry Manilow
First & Farewell
True music fans are always skeptical of big-name farewell tours. Blame it on Cher, but we’ve just been burned too many times. Manilow took his One Night Live! One Last Night! farewell tour on the road in 2004 and recorded the final stop in Anaheim. Calif., that November, and that makes up the second disc of this two-DVD comp. The first? It goes back to the beginnings. It was November 1974 when Manilow started rehearsing in New York’s Carroll’s Studio for his first tour, and a video camera was rolling. $20
String Cheese Incident
Live From Austin, Texas
One of the regular frustrations with the “Austin City Limits” television broadcast is its half-hour format. If you’re feeling the music, 30 minutes is never enough – especially for fans of jam bands such as SCI, who are used to shows that last for hours. This “Live From Austin, Texas” series features a lot of previously unreleased material, and this 79-minute edition (recorded July 24, 2001,) follows the Boulder band from “Restless Wind” to “On the Road.” $20
Kiss
Kissology
Kiss was always a band that needed to be seen. That said, the band’s visual documents are even more important now than its records. This two- DVD set thankfully catches the band on the way up – one concert from 1975 (San Francisco), one from 1976 (Detroit) and two from 1977 (Tokyo and Houston) – and it has some other oddities, including an interview on the “Paul Lynde Halloween Special” and a documentary shot in Cadillac, Mich. $30
Hot Rize
Classic Hot Rize
When Hot Rize was recording a Lonesome Pine Special in Louisville, Ky., in 1987, the Colorado band had no idea the footage would be released nearly two decades later on DVD. This gem catches the bluegrass band at its peak and three years before they disbanded. $20
Pop music critic Ricardo Baca can be reached at 303-954-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com.
