Aerosmith - You Gotta Move
Performance
Production
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Aerosmith - You Gotta Move
Performance
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Aerosmith's self-titled debut album, usually referred to as Dream On, was the first album I ever bought. We're talking 1976, fifth-grade here, which is how far back me and the boys from Beantown go. They have been one of my favorite bands ever since, and I have seen them in concert about six times. The first time was during their notorious, Rock In A Hard Place tour of 1982, which featured two replacement guitarists, Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay, since Joe Perry and Brad Whitford had recently quit the band. Aerosmith were in a drug and alcohol-induced stupor throughout most of the 80's, but this concert still kicked my ass, even without my hero Joe Perry up on stage. I remember people in the front row throwing joints up on stage, and the guitarists eagerly sampling the goods. Hey, they had to be polite. Maybe the concert actually sucked, but, damn, I was seeing Aerosmith for the first time. The last time I saw them was on their 2002 Just Push Play tour, and they have simply gotten better with age, which is what makes You Gotta Move such an essential DVD. You Gotta Move was filmed during Aerosmith's 2004 tour in support of their new Honkin' On Bobo album, and originally aired as a 90-minute A&E Network TV special in June. The DVD definitely has a TV-special look and feel and to it, as the picture is the original 4:3 full frame, instead of a more deserved widescreen presentation, and the camera editing is more appropriate for a music awards show than a rock concert. You Gotta Move is primarily a musical tour documentary, not a straight concert video. Unfortunately, it was directed and produced by Mark Haefeli, the same guy who nearly ruined Paul McCartney's Back In The US DVD. Both of these videos suffer from the same problem - backstage footage and interviews edited in before, during, and after, every live song performance. As a documentary, I expect to get all of the between-song dialogue, but, for Christ's sake, not all of the DURING-song dialogue. The most annoying offender of this was during the great performance of "Draw The Line". During the first 25 seconds of the song, before the vocals kick in, you get split screens of Kramer, Tyler, and Whitford, each talking about how hard they've had to work, blah, blah, blah, while you miss out on the song's great intro. Even worse, during Perry's killer extended slide solo, you get Perry and Tyler talking over the video for over a minute! Haefeli, also broke the cardinal rule of documentary-style concert DVD production, by not providing a "Concert Only" option - for those of us who don't want to sit through all of the documentary portions every time we want to rock to some live Aerosmith. There is a "Play Songs" option, which will run through all of the live performances, skipping all of the between-song dialog, but, you are still treated to all of the great during-song dialog. This is inexcusable! Other than those "minor" annoyances, this is still one hell of a kick-ass video. The setlist is fantastic, covering most of their classics, and also throwing in a few of the obligatory, sugar-coated ballads that have helped the band to prosper in the 90's and on into the new century. The main feature begins backstage as the band is being led out to the small stage that is set up in the middle of the arena. This is where they perform the first two songs, "Toys In the Attic", and "Love In An Elevator". By the third song, "Road Runner", the first selection played from Honkin' On Bobo, they are up on the main stage. Three other songs from Bobo are also played, "Baby Please Don't Go", "Stop Messin' Around", with Joe Perry on the lead vocals, and "Never Loved A Girl". I was surprised at how good these songs were. Aerosmith definitely made them their own, and they didn't slow down the show one bit. There were too many highlights to name them all. "Dream On" was incredible, and still gives me chills when I hear it. Tyler's vocals (and screams) are legendary. He is truly one of the best frontmen ever. Seeing Tyler and Perry share a vocal mike during "Draw The Line" brought me right back to 1978 when I used stare at their posters on my wall, dreaming I was Joe Perry, as I played air-guitar, while Live Bootleg cranked in the background. Not only do you get the 16-song set from the A&E broadcast, but they also include five bonus songs that were edited out of the show. For my money, these five songs were the highlight of the DVD. Included, were smoldering performances of "Fever", "Rats In The Cellar", "Livin' On The Edge", "Last Child", and "Same Old Song And Dance". The best thing about the bonus songs is that they are pure, unadulterated, live concert performances, with no interruptions from the documentary. The camera work and overall look during these songs captured the live concert atmosphere much better than on the main feature, which was burdened by hyper-fast camera angle changes, and way too many shots of all those current and future strippers dancing in the isles. Each of these live versions easily outshined its studio counterpart. "Fever" was heavier and rawer; "Rats In The Cellar" featured a great slow blues jam in the middle, with Tyler playing the maracas and then blowing some killer harp; "Living On the Edge" featured Perry playing a double-neck Gibson and driving the song much harder than the original; Brad Whitford simply owned "Last Child", and his guitar solos were some of the best of the concert, but, damn he sure looks like he is in pain when he is playing; and Tom Hamilton showed off some killer bass licks during a fantastic "Same Old Song And Dance". The video quality of this DVD was outstanding. The picture was clear and sharp, and the colors looked excellent. The Dolby 5.1 and PCM stereo tracks were just average though. The 5.1 surround track wasn't very dynamic and didn't present a convincing live concert ambience. It sounded more like a slick CD production than a concert DVD. The rear surround speakers contributed nicely to the overall mix, but there was barely any crowd noise mixed in, which would have presented a better concert atmosphere. The bass was also buried way down in the mix, and my subwoofer was hardly pushed at all. The Bonus Features include, along with the five additional songs, an excellent discography, which included background information about the making of each album, as well as a "Making of Honkin’ On Bobo" feature, which shows fascinating behind-the-scenes footage of the band creating and recording the new album. A bonus CD is also included that contains six live tracks from the show: "Toys In The Attic", "Love In An Elevator", "Rats In The Cellar", "Road Runner", "The Other Side", and "Back In The Saddle". With You Gotta Move, Aerosmith show that they are still at the top of their game. The band members all looked exceptionally fit and healthy for their ages, and were obviously invigorated by the success of Bobo - and the chance to return to their roots and the music they love. After seeing Aerosmith do their thing on stage again, it became obvious why they are still thriving after 30 years, and why so many of these new, so called, "rock" bands fade away so quickly. Have a look yourself, and you'll see what I mean. Reviewed by Paul M. Roy - December 2004 |
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Audio Transfer |
Video Transfer |
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Set List |
Performers Russ Irwin - Keyboards/Vocals |
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Running Time: 96 minutes
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DVD Release Date - November 2004 |