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JOHN LYDON
THE BEST OF BRITISH �1 NOTES Virgin/EMI Records, LYDONVD1 Running Time Approx 1hr 30 mins Multi-Region DVD (PAL) 16.9 Anamorphic Widescreen Dolby Digital 2.0 Released in UK & Europe October 3rd 2005 To buy it try here AMAZON As diverse and colourful as John Lydon�s (AKA John Rotten�s) musical career goes. He has long since been a true maverick or a bona fide musical innovator. In fact he�s seen nowadays as some cantankerous English eccentricity to the public in general. Not the demonic antichrist of lore. To most British kids today Lydon's more famous for his �Im A Celebrity Get Me Outta Here� appearance, than his long time musical pedigree, which is a sad reflection but a fact of life. So this collection on paper maybe worth investigating if you wanna reaquaint yerself with punk history. But be prepared for 75 % crud and 25 % bang on sulphur. Thankfully the sulphur comes first and burns right through your DVD screen during the opening 3 minutes of the �Anarchy In The UK� promo. Which is at long last left un-cut! We get to see the Sex Pistols perform at their most primal. Bands today need expensive videos to ensnare their public but this mimed but totally primed studio performance is as compelling to view now as it must�ve been back at the arse end of �76. Rotten is central and suitably draped in an �Anarchy� shirt as he jerks around hand in pocket and stamping his feet in defiance of a country that was going to the dogs, and didn�t he know it? You glimpse the bitterness of the era as Steve Jones sneers into camera displaying how much revulsion was coming out this band at that time. Dangerous and exciting is an understatement! Its followed of course by the Pistols most treasonous act to date (apart from reforming in 1996). And that treachery was �God Save The Queen�. Easily the high point of their career as the summer of �77 hots up and the band are public enemy number one. We seen it all before, but this promo is probably the most watched slice of punk video tape your ever gonna see. And it fits brilliantly with the subterfuge and sickening power the Pistols had at their control when they really did mean it man! Red, white and blue are the dominant colours, along with Rotten�s bright orange barnet, Sid�s snarl and Steve�s string vested guitar licks. This great British backlash is the ultimate in punk decadence and figurehead abuse since Charles 1st got the chop in 1649. They were just red hot on the day and with those chaotic camera angles all they had to do was plug in and perform. Strange we didnt get no 'Pretty Vacant' to complete the hatrick though? As John Lydon stumbled out the fallout from the Pistols implosion he soon unleashed his new band PIL heralding a whole new chapter in music development. Video was still in its primitive state by 1978 when PIL perform their debut single �Public image�. PIL give us with a less intimate almost cold portrayal. From Wobbles sinister bass runs and equally menacing leer, to Levines shimmering guitar work on top of Jim Walkers pounding drumbeat they made for a unique experience. The band are on stage playing in this dark netherworld of black plastic and cheezy showbiz jackets, which along with Lydon�s sneering vocalisation drags us through an ominous black hole of media manipulation. Not quite the visual impact of the Pistols on camera but still depressingly real and brutal in retrospect. Its gets even more darker for �Death Disco�. A song inspired by John Lydon�s mom who had died of cancer. This is almost breathtakingly claustrophobic as strips of light rip through the darkness unveiling Rotten�s piercing stare and creates a perfect environment for a song that screams torment and loss. And with that eerie booming backbeat and those Swan Lake guitars makes it one the most memorable from PIL�s highly impressive early repertoire. Alas those were the highlights of this DVD collection along with some rare Audio �Metal Box� outtakes which feature a 10 minute version of �Death Disco� thats worth hearing. And even with Lydons flurescent artwork wrapping itself around the sleeve it was completely downhill from here on in, both in musical terms and band dynamics. No more Wobble on bass and the sheering Levine guitar shards were sacked in favour of a legion of wannabe�s. Which leaves Lydon himself to front the rest of his patchy career as he virtually turned into a one man show by 1984. There�s only so may times you can stare at that face splashed across your screen and as concept videos came into play and the songs got weaker whilst Lydon gets older, you begin to turn off completely. Martin Atkins miming his drumbeats must be an all time low. Even popular tunes like �Rise� has a shitty video unless you get kicks from hanging out with the washing. And its gets worse as the suits gets baggier and the hairstyles more ludicrous. Of the Sex Pistols live footage from 1996 and 2002, the less said about that the better....Black rappers introduce the Pistols on stage to perform Hawkwind�s �Silver Machine� fer fucks sake!!! DON'T MISS (the first 4 promo clips), the rest was pretty BORING. PETER DON'T CARE Cheers to Paul K for chucking this my way! JOHN LYDON - THE BEST OF BRITISH �1 NOTES Videos Anarchy in the UK (original EMI version) God Save The Queen Public Image Death Disco This is Not a Love Song Bad Life World Destruction Rise Home Seattle The Body (uncensored version) Warrior Disappointed Don't Ask Me (title version) Cruel Covered Open Up Sun Extras Sex Pistols live tracks: Pretty Vacant - Finsbury Park 1996 Bodies - Phoenix Festival 1996 Silver Machine - Crystal Palace 2002 Audio Extras Unreleased PiL Monitor Mixes: Death Disco (unedited monitor mix) Albatross (unedited monitor mix) Albatross ('Melodrama' mix) |
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