Quiet Riot--'89 Live In Japan
MVD 2004
Quiet Riot's tumultuous history is no secret. For that ultimate high of having been the first metal band to score a number one album on the Billboard pop charts with Metal Health, they had to suffer countless lows afterwards too many and too painful to list here. Perhaps the lowest low came during their post-Kevin Dubrow period. Forced to can the motormouthed frontman after his public rants and breakdowns had all but destroyed Quiet Riot, drummer Frankie Banali and guitarist Carlos Cavazo, along with fresh bassist Sean MacNabb, forged onward with former Rough Cutt belter Paul Shortino taking over on mic. The album that followed from this lineup, QR, was a disasterous commercial flop, pushing the band to fold for quite awhile after. This DVD, '89 Live In Japan, captures the Shortino led Quiet Riot onstage shortly before their split. Looking back on things now, it feels like these guys should've gotten more credit for what they managed to pump out--it was actually quite good, just different.
First off, it goes without saying that Quiet Riot diehards are going to flip out for this opportunity to observe a very underdocumented time of the band's legacy. Casual fans may be a bit turned off by the setlist, as it focuses very heavily on material from the QR disc. However, this ultimately turns out to be the biggest blessing of the DVD. Remember: at the point of time during which this was filmed, the market was completely oversaturated with outfits playing in this style. Many worthy bands got unjustly overlooked and this mach of Quiet Riot may have been one of those, in retrospect.
One thing '89 Live In Japan makes abundantly clear is that Quiet Riot with Shortino was an almost entirely different sounding band than the classic lineup. Shortino was technically a better vocalist than Dubrow, leaning more towards the blues-tinged side of hard rock. The result is a sound that bears more resemblence to Slide It In-era Whitesnake than Quiet Riot's past glories. These guys still do a great job with the new direction, propelled by solid songs like "Stay With Me Tonight" and "Run To You." Also, getting to hear Shortino wail out the band's most underrated song, QRIII's "The Wild And The Young," is a thrill--this redition is arguably better than the original. Still, when the money shot of "Cum On Feel the Noize" hits, it's apparent something isn't exactly right with this scene. Shortino noodles on far too long here, appearing to forget some lyrics along the way, and a couple quick cutaways to Frankie Banali's face show the frustration. Nothing to ruin the whole of the DVD, but it's there.
In the end, '89 Live In Japan does stand as a piece of redemption for this version of Quiet Riot. Not anywhere close to being as awful as the history books have written them out to be, fans of the band and this musical style in general will find lots of enjoyment to be had by this view. Shortino has good charisma and is top notch at what he does vocally. Maybe if they had gone on with a different name, this band would've had a better chance. We'll never know now but the overall quality of this show will raise those questions.
Score this DVD directly from MVD
|
