Niji Entertainment

Dio on the "Magica" tour with Jimmy Bain (left) and Craig Goldy

Dio
Finding the Sacred Heart: Live in Philly 1986
Eagle Vision, 143 mins., $14.98 DVD/$19.98 Blu-ray

Though he passed away from stomach cancer in 2010 (right here in Houston, according to several reports), fans of Ronnie James Dio have had a steady stream of newly-released music and projects to feast on, setting the stage for the release of the autobiography he was finishing at the time of his death.

Live in Philly 1986 is a high-energy show from the 1985/86 tour in support of the Sacred Heart LP. Arguably showcasing Dio at the height of his vocal and performing powers, this tour was also famous (or, in a Spinal Tap way, infamous) for one of its stage sets.

It included a medieval dungeon, pyro, lights, costumes of satin, silver, and wristbands and, for the finale, Dio slaying an actual animatronic fire-breathing dragon with a laser sword onstage. It might seem corny and primitive to 2013 eyes, but at the time, I'm sure it was pretty fucking cool to see.

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Rockshow
Paul McCartney and Wings
Eagle Vision, 139 mins., $29.98 DVD/$34.98 Blu-ray

According to rollingstone.com, the act that owned last weekend's Bonnaroo Festival was not some hirsute jam band, plaintive female singer-songwriter, or preppy indie-rockers, but a guy that much of the world has loved all of his career and even when he turned 64...seven years ago on June 18.

Yes, it was Paul McCartney's Herculean two-and-a-half-hour set of nearly 40 songs, made up mostly of Beatles material, that electrified festivalgoer, according to the review. But this was hardly Macca's first shot at a lengthy concert, as this DVD proves.

Shot over four night in three cities on the 1975/76 "Wings Over the World" tour -- which also spawned the recently reissued triple-LP Wings Over America set -- Rockshow did not see the light of day until 1980, and then only in movie theatres. Except for a short Betamax release in 1981, this is the first time it's been available since then.

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Photo by Marc Brubaker

The Stooges' James Williamson (left) and Iggy Pop at Free Press Summer Fest 2013

Tribute to Ron Asheton
MVD Video, $16.95, 114 mins.

While at the time not a whole lot of people "got" the first two Stooges records - The Stooges and Fun House - and only slightly more come on board for Raw Power - the appreciation for and influence of Iggy Pop and the Stooges on bands and listeners has grown tremendously in the ensuing decades.

And while Iggy went on to as successful solo career, surviving members of the original lineup/ brothers Ron (guitar) and Scott (drums) Asheton had a much more hardscrabble existence both in music and in life. It was Ron in particular who always held out for a reunion.

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I'm just going to go with the obvious here and say that when you're at a concert, there's a golden rule that one should follow, both with your fellow concertgoers and with the performers. It's a rule that has been reiterated since the dawn of man: keep your hands to yourselves. Sticky paws are not welcome in public, but that is especially true when you're crammed ass to elbows by a stage with strangers.

I would have thought that most people were aware that just because you're crammed in like sardines at a concert, it does not give you the go-ahead to grab somebody's shit, but but judging by the video of a dude flat-out smacking Beyonce on the ass the other night in Copenhagen, perhaps it's a subject that needs to be touched upon again.

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The Rolling Stones: Crossfire Hurricane
Eagle Rock, $14.98 DVD/$19.98 Blu-Ray, 147 mins.

Originally shown on HBO last year, Crossfire Hurricane is the latest release from the Stones camp to commemorate the band's 50th anniversary, and meant to be the definitive documentary on their career.

But what it ends up being is something a bit more interesting. It eschews the straight-biography format familiar to these rock docs ("and then...and then...") -- you won't hear Keith Richards regurgitating "I first Mick on a bus and he was holding some imported Chess LPs..." -- but instead takes on flashpoints in the band's incredible narrative.

The DVD is stuffed full of rare and unseen footage, much of it shot when the Stones were not "on." So when we see actual riots break out at their early shows with the band sprinting literally for their lives from the stage to waiting cars, it's not the happy-go-lucky jaunts the Beatles showed in A Hard Day's Night. In fact, the Stones always seemed to attract more danger and darkness than the Fabs.

"The Beatles got the white hat," Richards says in a voiceover about the much-discussed social comparisons between the groups. "What's left? The black hat."

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Creative Commons

The line between rock star and cranky toddler can be a fine one; deny them their candy and you've got tears welling up and naughty words being shrieked at ear-bursting decibels. Every once in a blue moon, though, a rational thought will pipe up from said rock star, and it deserves a little bit of notice from the general public.

That's what happened here, courtesy of Garbage front woman Shirley Manson. In response to the reports that Beyonce has banned photographers from her concerts, presumably to keep photos like those less-than-flattering Superbowl stills from hitting the press circuit, Manson had this to say about the idea of controlling press photos on her Facebook page a few days back:

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eaglesband.com

Who looks happy here? The Eagles near their breakup: Glenn Frey, Don Felder, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, and Timothy B. Schmit.

History of the Eagles
Jigsaw Productions, 3-DVD, $34.99

Originally shown as a two-part special on Showtime earlier this year, History of the Eagles arrives for home consumption in a variety of formats. The most user (and wallet)-friendly is this 3-DVD version that also includes a bonus disc of highlights from a 1977 concert on the Hotel California tour.

Disc 1 chronicles the story of the band from the members' early groups to their stint backing Linda Ronstadt to their instant and massive success until an acrimonious 1980 breakup due to a deadly mixture of cocaine (which Glenn Frey notes "brought out the worst in everybody"), egos and fatigue.

And while it's admirable that screen time is also given to former band members Bernie Leadon, Randy Meisner, and Don Felder -- none of whom left under good circumstances -- this nest has clearly always been run by Don Henley and Glenn Frey in a not-always-benevolent dictatorship.

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Images ©Promotour BV, Directed by Robert Frank/Courtesy MFAH

It is the most infamous rock documentary of all time that the fewest people have actually seen in its entirety -- and even then mostly through third-generation VHS dubs or grainy DVDs. And its legend has only grown over the ensuing decades, as has its subjects, the Rolling Stones.

The film is Cocksucker Blues, director/photographer Robert Frank's unblinking and unfettered view of the Stones' 1972 tour to support their Exile on Main Street record. With its segments of debauchery, nudity, and drug use, the Stones thought twice when they viewed the final product and successfully sued Frank to stop distribution.

Years of complex legal wranglings allow only a handful of screenings each year, and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston will host two of them - in a refurbished digital format with full theater sound.

This is in part to the Museum's close relationship with the now 88-year-old Frank as the repository and distributor of his film and video. They are the first authorized Houston screenings since 1986. The title comes from a song that the band submitted (but was never released) to Decca Records as a "fuck you" when their contract ended.

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Paul Williams: Still Alive
A Film by Stephen Kessler
Virgil Films, 84 mins, $19.99.

In the 1970s the diminutive Paul Williams was everywhere. And I mean, everywhere.

The singer-songwriter was best known for penning hits for others like the Carpenters ("Rainy Days and Mondays," "We've Only Just Begun"), Three Dog Night ("Just an Old-Fashioned Love Song," "Out in the Country"), Helen Reddy ("You and Me Against the World"), and Kermit the Frog ("The Rainbow Connection").

But he was also a performer himself and very frequent guest and co-host on talk shows (appearing on "The Tonight Show" some 50 times), had acting spots on many shows like "The Love Boat" and "The Odd Couple," scored films and made a few big screen appearances.

Oh, and he won an Oscar for Best Original Song (with Barbara Streisand) for "Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)". You know, "love...soft as an easy chair..."

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Photo by Barry Sigman

Peter Frampton at House of Blues in October 2011

FCA! 35 Tour : An Evening with Peter Frampton
Eagle Rock, 189 mins., $19.98

Things weren't looking so hot for 25-year-old singer/guitarist Peter Frampton's career at the end of 1975. After stints as a teen idol (with the Herd), lead guitarist (Humble Pie), and bandleader (Frampton's Camel), his subsequent solo career wasn't exactly setting the world -- or record sales -- on fire.

Rewind:

Last Night: Peter Frampton at House of Blues (October 16, 2011)

Concerned that the power and intensity of his live shows weren't coming across on studio records, artist and management took the (then) bold step of releasing a double live record early the next year. Shockingly, Frampton Comes Alive! became a monolithic runaway success, setting the now de rigueur discography entry for any successful act. In 2011, it was certified eight times platinum.

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