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Post by riffraff on Jan 12, 2011 13:23:41 GMT -5
To bring the new year in right, I finally got to ordering the Rocks Europe DVD.
Looking forward to this package from amazon.com.
BB members who have already purchased this dvd, please post your reviews and comments.
Was this recorded in Spain? Germany?
The last I remembered Blue Cheer had to cancel the gig in Spain due to Dickie's health.
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Post by riffraff on Feb 18, 2011 20:20:42 GMT -5
Well., I dropped the disk on my DVD player and proceeded to watch Blue Cheer’s Rockpalast concert on my large format tv. Somehow, it was not sounding right…did not feel right. The sound mix didn’t fit. But that might have been due to my settings. Still, I got through the first five songs and I gotta say, tears welled up inside my eyes. Alas, Dickie was taken too soon. The phone rang and then I was distracted, actually distracted and depressed. So I turned it off and went into a slow slide depression. So I put the sleeve on my desk and there it sat for a couple of weeks. I diverted my attention to the Blue Cheer Tribute cd , which is quite good. And still the Blue Cheer dvd lay where I left it. Collecting a bit of dust, I picked it up and said, now is time to here this concert through. This second time around, though I opted for my portable dvd player and quality headphones. And that was the key. It deafinitely felt more personal that way, as I have met and talked with the Dickie, Paul and Duck. Settling in, I gotta say the sound is superb, the lighting and camera work fantastic. There are a lot of options on this dvd. You can select different sound settings and Dickie’s commentary is off by default. It can be turned on as you see fit. So back to the concert…..
Paul has a full drum set for this recording, not the smaller touring kit that most of us witnessed during the American tours. He plays it greatly! Dickie is in fine voice too!. And Duck, what can I say about Duck. His tone is superb, his arrangements clever and never wavering. Full on, he must say, bring it full on!
The set list is a little condensed but includes a good mixture of their classic tunes from Vincebus Eruptum and OutsideInside and new tunes from What Doesn’t Kill You…
The set list is :
Babylon
Parchment Farm
I’m Gonna Get to You
Rollin’ Dem Bones
Out of Focus
Just a Little Bit
Maladjusted Child
Summertime Blues
Doctor Please
Hunter
Highlights are: a nice jazzy section in Parchment Farm, where in the original was a fade out that led into a drum solo and the version of Doctor Please. This is a long song, and the band performs a killer version of it here. It is real nice they got it committed to dvd so we get to see how the band gets into it. Duck does his thing where he switches from the classic Blue Cheer style to his shredding style of guitar. He meshes them real well, continually weaving around the song’s structure. For those still not convinced of Duck’s talented guitar work, after they see this, there will be no doubters. Duck is more melodic than Leigh, the element of chaos taken out. Sometimes that element is missed a bit, since Duck keeps thing under control. He does like his feedback parts!. This song builds and builds, unlike a Led Zeppelin tune that will take a break in the middle and juxtapose a cover seemingly unrelated. Doctor Please build up to Paul’s drum solo which is masterly after all these years. I’m Gonna Get to You is in the vein of Alice in Chains and Maladjusted Child is just a great tune.
Dickie’s storytelling is cut short in the video, but you get a greater sense of that in his interview which is one of the many extras on the dvd. Wish they could have done more with a booklet to accompany the DVD, but so much of this band has gone undocumented, so finally at last we have this. As the liner notes say , this is the only complete concert footage of the legendary band Blue Cheer. I bet now, many wished they had done something the first time around. But I was there like many and we didn’t worry about those things. We all thought the good times would never end.
All in all you can’t go wrong with this dvd..…it is thunderous!
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Post by barbaricus on Feb 20, 2011 1:33:41 GMT -5
I think this DVD is a fantastic presentation of Blue Cheer's final incarnation. Dickie was showing the wear and tear of a very rough life, but it didn't take away from his performance, which was stellar. Duck and Paul were also in peak form. At first I could not locate the unreleased song. I was looking for it on the menus, and found it when I went to the slide show. Did anyone find any Easter eggs? One comment about artwork for the DVD and "What Doesn't Kill You" CD: I didn't really care for the depiction of the band (and audience) as skeletons. The Grateful Dead had the skull imagery sewn up, and to the best of my knowledge, nothing in BC's music or presentation ever suggested skeletons.
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Post by clockwork on Apr 9, 2011 14:18:38 GMT -5
Gonna get my GF to get me that DVD:)   By blackglove at 2011-04-09 |
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Post by isis on Apr 25, 2011 8:16:39 GMT -5
What a great review riffraff! I think it was right on.
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Post by riffraff on May 2, 2011 8:04:28 GMT -5
Thanks, Isis. I wish there was more than the one dvd, but it is done very well and the band should be commended for it.
Their record label should continue to promote Blue Cheer Rocks Europe and promote other side projects now that Dickie has left us.
There is an emotional side to all of this, and you caught on to it in the review, which is great.
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Post by gypsyball on May 9, 2011 1:23:50 GMT -5
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Post by jeanpierrelaret on Jun 18, 2011 3:39:29 GMT -5
Hello,It's a long time I have gone on the forum,and I don't know what become with Andrew Mc Donald,Paul Whaley.......and the name of Blue Cheer.Thanks from Belgium,Jean-Pierre
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Post by jeanpierrelaret on Sept 15, 2011 3:18:45 GMT -5
Horror!I don't have any DVD of Blue Cheer...I know the DVD "Blue Cheer rocks in Europe"....But,here,in Belgium It's difficult to find!!!And others DVD...??Blue Cheer(and Dickie Peterson),you miss us!!BC was the FIRST heavy metal(from Steppenwolf..!)in the world!!!  ;D Attachments:
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;D