'Talking Heads: Chronology Deluxe'
(Talking Heads / DVD / NR / 2012 / Eagle Eye Media)
Overview: 'Chronology' pulls together live performances from across Talking Heads' career. It starts with their earliest days at CBGB and The Kitchen in New York City in the mid-seventies, through their breakthrough years in the late seventies and on to global success in the eighties.
DVD Verdict: For the record, I'm a huge Talking Heads fan and I have a lot of collectibles including unreleased songs. This is a nice addition to my collection but I really wish it were longer, a lot longer. Talking Heads have such a long history and there is so much to tell. Maybe I'm being greedy. But it is worth the price and I don't regret the purchase. It is still an amazing product though, don't get me wrong!
From an awkward, almost painful beginning in our old NYC hood downtown to the bittersweet farewell at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, this is a must-have documentary for anyone who treasures the journey of one of the all-time greatest bands in pop music history. To have decades of musical growth gathered into a single collection is an endless delight.
Yet, for me, again, even more than these snapshots of the band as an increasingly sophisticated whole, the most remarkable thing in this retrospective is watching a man save his own life through the act of performing. David Byrne, from his almost painful awkwardness in the mid-70s, to the expressions of sheer musical joy of the 80s, to the comfort and assurance of the mature artist. Simply incredible.
Sure the fade-outs between clips were much too quick and many times they cut off the ends of people's speech. The choices in where to cut clips were also really clunky and not very natural- you'd think cutting a clip after someone talks would be alright! Besides that, and a few more things a true fan would/will notice, the book-style casing is beautiful and the footage is great!
You need to own this 'Chronology,' folks. This is music as fresh today as it ever was. This is a Full Screen Presentation (1.33:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs, and comes with the Bonus Features of:
Full audio commentary by David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth.
35 minute South Bank Show feature (1979)
David Byrne interview (1978)
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