Al's Top Rated Films: Music and Musician Biographies

Incredible music-inspired fantasy/drama from Alan Parker based on Pink Floyd's classic 1979 album “The Wall”. The story is centered around a distressed rock star named "Pink" who's eventually driven to a psychological breakdown stemming from a troubled childhood, an overprotective mother, an absent father who dies in the grips of World War II, ruthlessly oppressive school teachers, the impossibility of making a connection with his wife in marriage, and other psychological walls that stand in his way. As the film moves along in a wide array of live action and tripped out animation, troubling metaphors become thicker and Pink’s fantasies intensify as he falls closer into the hole of madness. “The Wall” is front man and bassist Roger Waters' magnum opus in every way, and has remained my favorite double album of all time since I heard it roughly 30 years ago. I discovered the film not long after that, and it has only increased my love for the album over the years. I don’t see how fans could possibly be disappointed with the film, as it astoundingly breathes life into one of progressive rock’s most inventive and monumental masterpieces in the history of music. The direction, production design, and acting is also all deserving of critical praise. Bob Geldof delivers a phenomenal lead performance as Pink. He captures all the depression, paranoia, and maniacal ravings of the music beautifully. Kevin McKeon was also very good playing Pink as a child. Jenny Wright, Alex McAvoy, Bob Hoskins, David Bingham, Eleanor David, Christine Hargreaves, and others also had very nice supporting roles. I'm still waiting on a remaster blu-ray/4k of this release. Fantastic film for Pink Floyd fans

Fantastic jazz-inspired drama from Damien Chazelle, and arguably the greatest music drama of all time. The story follows a talented 19-year-old drummer named Andrew Niemann who attends class at the prestigious Shaffer Conservatory of Music—which is considered the best music school in the country. The esteemed leader of the jazz band is named Terence Fletcher, and every musician in the school aspires to be a core member of his band. He's a ruthless teacher, who uses intimidation, fear, and negative reinforcement to push his students to their maximum potential. Terence soon recruits Andrew to his class after he meets a challenge of playing double time swing. Performing in class proves to be a terrifying challenge as Andrew becomes more obsessed with gaining Terence's acceptance and fulfilling his dreams of being an exceptional drummer. Terence ends up pushing Andrew so hard, that he reaches his breaking point after a number of dramatic and painful events. Excellent story, dialogue, music, sound, cinematography, production design, and the ending unfolded quite spectacularly. There's not a dull moment throughout the entire film. Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons are extraordinary together. Both deliver the best lead performances I've seen from either actor yet. Simmons in particular delivers one of my favorite characters I've seen in any film. Melissa Benoist, Paul Reiser, Austin Stowell, Nate Lang, and Chris Mulkey had excellent roles among a solid supporting cast.

N.W.A is one of my favorite hip-hop groups of all time, and this film ended up being everything I had hoped it would be. Excellent direction from F. Gary Gray, a superb script, acting, great style and flair to the production, and one of the greatest soundtracks/scores of all time (R&B and Hip-Hop). Fantastic origin story about how these 5 promising young musicians formed the legendary hip-hop group in the gritty and turbulent streets of Compton, Los Angeles, California, circa 1987. The film did a great job mapping out their influence and revolutionary status in the game, as they face adversity, controversy, as well as their own egos and greed. O'Shea Jackson Jr. (Ice Cube), Corey Hawkins (Dr. Dre), Jason Mitchell (Eazy-E), Neil Brown Jr. (DJ Yella), and Aldis Hodge (MC Ren) all delivered excellent lead performances. Paul Giamatti (Jerry Heller), LaKeith Stanfield (Snoop), Marlon Yates Jr. (D.O.C.), R. Marcus Taylor (Suge Knight), Carra Patterson, Alexandra Shipp, and many others had great supporting roles. I'd love to see a sequel about the Aftermath story after seeing this hip-hop infused masterpiece.

Outstanding music biography from Taylor Hackford on the life of legendary R&B, soul, blues, gospel, country, jazz, and rock and roll singer and musician, Ray Charles (1930–2004). The story starts in the early 1930s with Ray growing up in a poverty-stricken Florida community with his single-mother, struggling to cope with the tragic death of his younger brother, going blind at the age of 7, to becoming as independent as a blind black man can be in a turbulent time for civil rights. After a rocky start and being taken advantage of in his first music gig, he finally lands a deal with Atlantic Records in 1952, which leads to massive early success, and also finds Ray falling into a serious drug addiction which spills into a troubled marriage and personal life. After gaining massive popularity, he moves on to bigger a better things at ABC Records in 1959, where his genre crossover mastery garnered him worldwide fame and respect, and earns him the nickname "The Genius". The story was outstanding, the production design and music/sound was done perfectly, and the casting was spot on. I became a much bigger Ray Charles fan after seeing this film. Jamie Foxx blew me away with his incredible lead performance. He transformed into Ray Charles in every way I could have imagined. Kerry Washington, Regina King, Clifton Powell, Harry Lennix, Bokeem Woodbine, Aunjanue Ellis, Sharon Warren, C.J. Sanders, Larenz Tate, Curtis Armstrong, Denise Dowse, Terrence Howard, Wendell Pierce, David Krumholtz, Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Warwick Davis, Kurt Fuller, and others also had excellent supporting roles.

Fantastic music-inspired crime drama/thriller from Edgar Wright that follows an extremely talented getaway driver named Baby. While he's partially hearing impaired, he depends on his specially curated iPod playlists to keep him focused on the job. He's only participating in these jobs to pay off a debt to a major crime boss who he's crossed in the past. But when his debt is paid in full, the boss threatens to kill Baby and everyone he loves if he doesn't keep working for him. With plans fueled by his new found love Debora, he sets out to break free from the world of crime. The action and getaway scenes in this film were intense and superbly done. Couple that with most excellent interweaving of R&B, Funk, Rock, Hip-Hop, and Reggae; and it's become one of my favorite music-inspired films of all time. Whoever was picking the music did an incredible job of enhancing every scene of the film. I've never seen Ansel Elgort in a lead role before, and he delivered an amazing performance as Baby. Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, Lily James, and Eiza González also had excellent starring roles. Jon Bernthal, Flea, Lanny Joon, CJ Jones, Hudson Meek, and others has excellent supporting roles.

Amazing music drama starring, directed by, and co-written by Bradley Cooper; that follows famous country musician Jackson Maine, who battles with alcohol and drug addiction stemming from a troubled childhood. When it seems that he has passed the prime of his career, he discovers a talented young singer named Ally in a drag bar after one of his shows, and falls in love with her. Believing in her abilities and talent to become a star, he brings her up on stage at one of his shows, and he literally makes her a YouTube sensation overnight, which blossoms into a beautiful marriage and working relationship. Trouble enters the picture when Ally starts gaining incredible fame, the direction of her music changes, and Jack gets back in his old pattern with alcohol and drugs. Amazing acting and writing overall. Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga both delivered amazing lead performances. Sam Elliott, Andrew Dice Clay, Dave Chappelle, Rafi Gavron, Anthony Ramos, Alec Baldwin, Barry Shabaka Henley, and many others had great roles among a fantastic supporting cast.

Bodacious music-inspired comedy adventure from Stephen Herek set in 1988 San Dimas, California, and follows two underachieving heavy metal loving high school seniors named Ted 'Theodore' Logan and Bill S. Preston 'Esquire', who must pass their oral history exam or else they won't graduate high-school. While cramming for their exam the night before, a phone booth-shaped time machine lands from the sky and a man named Rufus informs them that they are extremely important to the survival and well-being of the future as long as they graduate high school and aren't separated, and that he's there to help them complete their history report with the help of the time machine. Bill & Ted embark on a most excellent adventure as they travel throughout time and collect important historical figures to help them pass their exam and save the future. Bill & Ted are one of my favorite duos in cinema history. They just have those fun, kind, innocent personalities, and have great comedic chemistry together. I'd have to say it's my favorite film from Keanu Reeves (Ted), Alex Winter (Bill), and the great George Carlin (Rufus). And don't get me started on the soundtrack—one of my all-time favorites with cuts from Robbie Robb, Big Pig, and Shark Island (among others). The historical figures also all put on great performances: Terry Camilleri (Napoleon), Dan Shor (Billy the Kid), Tony Steedman (Socrates), Rod Loomis (Sigmund Freud), Al Leong (Genghis Khan), Jane Wiedlin (Joan of Arc), Robert V. Barron (Abraham Lincoln), Clifford David (Beethoven) were all great. Hal Landon Jr., Bernie Casey, Amy Stoch, J. Patrick McNamara, Diane Franklin, Kimberley Kates, and many others also had great supporting roles.

Hilarious music-inspired comedy from Rob Reiner and one of my favorite mockumentaries of all time. The story is a fictional biopic about an English heavy metal band named Spinal Tap. Since 1964, they have been rocking crowds with their brand of fan and critically acclaimed music. By time 1982 rolls around, they are completely washed up, but are still comically serious and boastful about the quality and message of their music, as well as their wild live shows. The story follows longtime Spinal Tap fan and film director Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner), as he directs and produces a documentary following Spinal Tap embarking on an American comeback tour after their latest album release, "Smell the Glove". Hysterical delusions by lead vocalist David St. Hubbins, lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel, bassist Derek Smalls, keyboardist Viv Savage, and drummer Mick Shrimpton occur as they are obliviously move ahead with concert mishaps, hysterical media interviews, disparaging album reviews, and their slight brushes of understanding the actual reality of each situation. Fantastic story all around with absolutely hysterical satire. While the music was made to sound a bit cheesy to match the story, it’s actually done perfectly for the film. Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer all delivered fantastic lead performance, along with their screenplay writing contributions. They are arguably the best roles of their careers. Tony Hendra and Rob Reiner also had great starring roles. R.J. Parnell, June Chadwick, Bruno Kirby, Fran Drescher, Paul Shaffer, Anjelica Huston, Fred Willard, Dana Carvey, Billy Crystal, Paul Benedict, Paul Shortino, Ed Begley Jr., and others also had great supporting roles.

Superb music biopic from James Mangold on the life of legendary country musician, Johnny Cash. Great story as it follows his early life during the Great Depression on an Arkansas cotton farm, his time in the air force when he gets more interested in music, his marriage and family troubles, his relationship with the gorgeous and famous June Carter and all the drama that follows it, drug and alcohol addiction, to his eventual rise to superstar fame. This film definitely made me a bigger Johnny Cash fan than I already was. Joaquin Phoenix delivered a fantastic performance as Johnny Cash...my favorite role from him yet. Reese Witherspoon also delivered one of her all time best Oscar winning performances as June Carter. Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Patrick, Dallas Roberts, Waylon Payne, and many others had great supporting roles.

Fantastic music drama/romance from Scott Cooper that follows a 57-year-old chain-smoking alcoholic country music legend named Bad Blake. While Bad was once famous, he's seemingly washed up, hasn't written a new song in years, and travels around the country in a beat up truck to play concerts at small bars and bowling alleys to make ends meet. While alcohol and depression has a firm grasp on his life, he meets a beautiful young journalist named Jean Craddock who wants to interview him, and quickly falls in love with her and her young son, Buddy. As he finds inspiration to move on through Jean, he finally catches a break for a real concert. The problem is, the concert is headlining Bad's old apprentice Tommy Sweet from years back. He taught him everything he knows, they had a falling out, and Tommy became famous while Bad went the opposite direction. Now he soon must face his demons in his life to salvage the time he has left. Incredible story all around, which really stands out with exceptional acting from pretty much the entire cast. The music was also excellent, and I'm not a fan of country music. Jeff Bridges certainly earned his Oscar for best leading role. It's arguably his greatest lead performance. The same can be said for Maggie Gyllenhaal's excellent Oscar-nominated performance. Colin Farrell also had an excellent starring role. James Keane, Robert Duvall, Tom Bower, Jack Nation, and many others also had great supporting roles.

Outstanding music biography on the life of “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business” and R&B/funk music icon, James Brown (1933–2006). The story jumps around to pivotal eras in Brown’s life, with the earliest being his poverty-stricken childhood in the Augusta, Georgia, 1939, where he battles with an abusive father, an absent mother, and homelessness. In 1949 Brown is arrested and sentenced to prison for stealing a man’s three-piece suit, where he meets future collaborative music partner, friend, and right-hand man, Bobby Byrd. By 1955, Brown’s unique brand of music started taking the world by storm, when he meets manager Ben Bart, who helped Brown become the most influential Funk/R&B/Soul musician of all time. Fantastic story with great writing, dialogue, and extremely entertaining segways and musical performances. Chadwick Boseman (1976–2020) was an amazing young talent we lost way too early, and this is arguably the greatest lead performance of his career. He absolutely transformed into James Brown. I can’t imagine anyone playing the part better. Nelsan Ellis also delivered a great starring role as Bobby Byrd. Dan Aykroyd, Viola Davis, Lennie James, Octavia Spencer, Craig Robinson, Jill Scott, Brandon Mychal Smith, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and others also had very nice supporting roles.

Superb music biography/drama from Bill Pohlad that follows the painful and troubled life of one of the most innovative and outstanding musicians that ever lived—Brian Wilson. Much of his trauma stems from the relationship with his physically and verbally abusive father, which as troubling effects in the 1960s when his vision of the Beach Boys' music changes to the avant garde and inventive sounds of their classic Pet Sounds (1966) album, accompanied by experimentation with drugs. That soon results in sever depression and signs of paranoid schizophrenia, and losing control over his mind. Then there is a "future" aspect of the story, which follows Brian in the 1980s as he starts a relationship with a beautiful and caring Cadillac salesman named Melinda Ledbetter. This period of his life is equally disturbing, as his unethical legal guardian Dr. Eugene Landy has complete control over him and is systematically destroying his life for his own benefit. This film was unique for a biopic, and one of the finer examples I've see in the genre. The future and past shots with Paul Dano playing young Brian and John Cusack playing old Brian was surprisingly effect throughout. They both delivered a couple of their best lead performances. I'd also have to say that Elizabeth Banks delivered the best lead performance Ive ever seen from her yet. Paul Giamatti also had a great hard-hitting starring role. Jake Abel, Kenny Wormald, Brett Davern, Graham Rogers, Erin Darke, Bill Camp, and others also had great supporting roles.

Fantastic historical music drama and partial biography from George C. Wolfe set in 1927 and follows three veteran blues musicians who walk into a Chicago recording studio. The highly influential American blues singer Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, aka the "Mother of the Blues", heads up the band, and tensions immediately begin to rise as the record producer and studio executive are on a tight schedule, and are upset the Ma and trumpet player Levee haven't yet arrived. Levee arrives shortly after, and proceeds to get in powerful philosophical debates with the band about life as a black man. Ma finally arrives one hour late and immediately makes her presence known. She calls the shots, and won't take crap from anybody, and won't be bullied into anything she doesn't want to do. Struggles for control over the music and band comes from several different directions as Levee's rage and defiance fuels many heated arguments that ultimately produces very disturbing results. Fantastic story and great dialogue concerning music, racism, power, and acceptance. The film is almost as much about Ma Rainey as it is the young and determined trumpeter Levee, which really heightened the power of the film. Both Viola Davis (Ma Rainey), and Chadwick Boseman (Levee) arguably deliver their best and most powerful lead performances. Colman Domingo (Cutler), Glynn Turman (Toledo), Michael Potts (Slow Drag), Dusan Brown, Jeremy Shamos, and Taylour Paige all delivered excellent supporting roles.

Fantastic music drama from Steve Kloves that follows a pair of brothers and piano players named Jack and Frank Baker who’ve been playing music together for 31 years, and 15 years professionally. Their brand of lounge music has grown a bit tired over the years, so they decide to hire a female singer to breathe some life back into the band and become more successful. After they audition 37 candidates, they finally meet Susie Diamond, who has enormous talent and is perfect for the part, despite being a former prostitute. They instantly become a success and play a tour of high-paying shows, but trouble comes into play when Frank and Susie become romantically involved, which plagues the entire trio with drama that could tear them apart. Great story all around with well-placed comedy surrounding superb drama. The excellent production is highlighted by Oscar nominations for best cinematography, best film editing, and best original music score from Dave Grusin. The casting is what really makes the film great. It was awesome to see Beau Bridges sink his teeth into such a rare lead performance. Jeff Bridges delivers one of his best lead roles as well, and his interaction with his brother is excellent. Michelle Pfeiffer also arguably delivers her greatest Oscar-nominated lead performance, and had a superb singing voice, which was all her own in the film. Ellie Raab, Jennifer Tilly, and others also had great supporting roles.

Fantastic historical music drama/biography from Milos Forman that follows a well-respected dementia-stricken Italian classical music composer named Antonio Salieri (1750–1825) in the year 1823, attempting to commit suicide and begging for God's forgiveness for having killed the extremely inventive and influential classical composer and prodigy, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, in 1791. Salieri recounts his story in the form of a confession, and tells a very detailed story of his life and Mozart's. Salieri struggles with jealousy and envy of Mozart's awe-inspiring musical mastery, which sends his life and relationship with God into a whirlwind of pain and torture. Meanwhile, the picture shows Mozart as an extremely troubled alcoholic and workaholic, who was broke almost his entire life; and was never given the true respect for his groundbreaking prowess. Powerful, epic, and thought-provoking film all around, which is evidenced by its enormous critical acclaim. The film won Oscars for best picture of 1985, best screenplay from Peter Shaffer, best directing from Milos Forman, best art direction, best costume design, best sound, and best makeup; and was also Oscar-nominated for best cinematography and best film editing. F. Murray Abraham (Salieri) delivered a fantastic Oscar-winning lead performance, along with Tom Hulce (Mozart), who Oscar-nominated for his excellent performance. Jeffrey Jones, Elizabeth Berridge, Charles Kay, Roy Dotrice, Simon Callow, Christine Ebersole, and others also had great supporting roles.

Superb music drama/biography from Oliver Stone set during the massively influential 1960s psychedelic/blues rock explosion, and follows the rise of the groundbreaking group The Doors, which is led by the eccentric and extremely talented lead vocalist, Jim Morrison. It follows Morrison’s early years as a UCLA film student in Los Angeles, where he met the rest of the band, and dives deep into his experimentation with drugs and alcoholism, as he controversially takes the band to new heights and super stardom. It all leads to his eventual psychological breakdown that led to his premature death at age 27, in July 1971. The story is excellent and much bigger than your standard musician biopic. The production has a really tripped out feel that really speaks to the band’s mood. The dialogue is excellent, the music is magnificently done throughout, and includes a perfect cast. Val Kilmer arguably delivers his all-time great lead performance. He was simply born to play the role of Jim Morrison. I can’t imagine anyone playing him better. Kyle MacLachlan, Kevin Dillon, and Frank Whaley also had great starring roles as the other band members. Meg Ryan as also excellent as his wife, Pamela Courson. Kathleen Quinlan, Michael Madsen, Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman, Crispin Glover, and many others also had very nice supporting roles.

Fantastic coming-of-age music drama from John Badham set in Brooklyn, New York, 1979. The story follows a cocky and self-centered 19-year-old Italian-American paint store employee named Tony Manero who lives a troubled home life with his frequently enraged and overcritical parents that don’t show him any love. While one of Tony’s big outlets is hanging out with his buddies and cursing around town, he’s a killer on the dance floor at the 2001 Odyssey disco club, and revered as a star by every patron in attendance when he commands the dance floor. He always catches the eyes of several women who would love to be with him in any way they can. But Tony generally brushes off most of them since he feels they aren’t good enough for him. One night he meets an exceptional dancer named Stephanie at 2001 who challenges him in every way possible, which sets off a chain of events that changes his path in life. Excellent story, beautiful production design with blown out oversaturated colors, and fantastic dialogue and casting. One thing that makes me rate this film so highly is the incredible funk and R&B soundtrack that drives the film along in an extremely entertaining fashion. I’d have to say it’s a top 5 soundtrack of all-time in my book. John Travolta arguably delivers his all-time greatest Oscar-nominated lead performance. Karen Lynn Gorney, Barry Miller, Joseph Cali, Paul Pape, and Donna Pescow also had excellent starring roles. Martin Shakar, Julie Bovasso, Bruce Ornstein, Sam Coppola, Denny Dillon, Fran Drescher, and others also had great supporting roles.

Fantastic music-inspired drama/romance from John Carney set in Dublin, Ireland, and follows a singer/songwriter street musician and vacuum cleaner repairman named Guy. Guy regularly plays his heart out on the street to earn some extra income, with songs inspired by a heart-breaking relationship he's been suffering with for years. He catches the eye and ear of a poor Czech immigrant and street flower salesman named Girl, who's immediately taken with his music and initiates a friendship. Their relationship grows organically when he discovers she is also a singer/songwriter/piano player, and they make gorgeous music together. While he begins to fall in love with her, Girl has a husband and a daughter, which complicates the situation for both of them as they continue to make beautiful music. Fantastic story with a great unknown cast that are directed perfectly by John Carney. None of the roles are overdone, and it's just a moving a fantastic love story throughout. Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová both delivered excellent lead performances, along with a great supporting cast.

Fantastic music documentary from D.A. Pennebaker that follows Bob Dylan's 1965 groundbreaking concert tour in England. This film shows Bob Dylan’s most historically important, progressive, and entertaining era of his career. This is when he changed up his traditional acoustic guitar set and switched to the full glory of electric guitar, which created a massive amount of controversy (as many felt he sold out). The greatest thing about this film is getting to see the inner workings of Bob Dylan’s thoughts and insight about music, as well as plenty of social matters. Watching him blow off reporters and giving eccentric answers to foolish questions and backwards thinking was very entertaining and thought provoking. Much of his sentiment is just as powerful by todays standards. The music throughout the film is superb, but the focus is on the story is definitely on the unconventional and free-spirited mind of Bob Dylan. One of the best rockumentaries I have ever purchased. The film also features Joan Baez, Donovan and Alan Price (of The Animals), and a handful of other figures of the time.

Underrated music-inspired war drama from Thomas Carter, set during World War II in Hamburg, Germany, 1939. The story follows a group of German teens who love jazz and swing music. They distract themselves from the horrors of war by dancing at a swing club named the Bismarck, which is on the verge of being shutdown by the Nazis who don’t approve of swing music and the non-German musicians that play it. Swing music was strictly forbidden at the time, and only traditional German music is allowed to be played in clubs, while many of them break the law and play swing music when the Nazis aren’t looking. The story mainly follows best friends Peter and Thomas, who generally sympathize with Jews and other minorities that their society teaches them to hate, along with all of their like-minded friends. Severe complications come into play when Peter and Thomas are forced to join the pro-Nazi youth league after stealing a radio from a local business. Nazi brainwashing and special privileges that exceptional Nazi youth league members receive, puts them add serious odds with each other, and has them them questioning what is actually right and wrong, and causes intense turmoil. I've loved this story since I was 12-years-old, and watched it all the time growing up. The story is powerful and very entertaining throughout, includes strong messages, an excellent production, and one of my all-time favorite soundtracks. This film was the sole reason I become interested in jazz and swing music as a kid, and I still play this soundtrack all the time today. It’s one of the best jazz soundtracks out there. Robert Sean Leonard delivers one of his all-time best lead performances, and Christian Bale also delivers a superb starring role. Frank Whaley, Barbara Hershey, Kenneth Branagh, Tushka Bergen, David Tom, Jayce Bartok, and plenty others have great supporting roles.

Excellent music drama based on a true story and set in 1986 about a married couple's struggles to reconnect with their estranged son after not seeing him for 20 years. He has a brain tumor which prevents him from forming new memories, but they soon find classic rock from the 60s and 70s (especially the Grateful Dead) brings him back to a time he was happy. It's a great story of redemption for the father, as he tries to make things right with his son, where he failed him in the past. Lou Taylor Pucci, J.K. Simmons, and Cara Seymour all deliver fantastic lead performances—arguably the best of their careers. Julia Ormond, Scott Adsit, Tammy Blanchard, Mía Maestro, and others had great supporting roles.

Fantastic music documentary/thriller that follows the preparation and presentation of an iconic free concert headlined by The Rolling Stones at San Francisco's Altamont Speedway on December 6, 1969. The film starts off a bit slow with the concerns in the preparation of the show; such as venue problems, parking issues, and media the surrounding the event. We get a good look at the inner thoughts of each bad member. As soon as December 6th arrives, the film is all thrills and presents people in the realest form possible. The Hells Angels infamously ran security for the event, which did not mix well with the drug-infested crowd of hippies. It results in horrifying tension, and and has tragic results that the show will forever be remembered for. This is arguably the most groundbreaking music documentary I’ve ever seen, and they way they filmed the audience was done exceptionally well, and really captures the time period in a gorgeous and disturbing fashion. The direction from Albert and David Maysles, and Charlotte Zwerin was fantastic throughout. The picture was clear and the sound is far better than some music films of the era. The film left me a bigger fan of The Rolling Stones than I ever was before.

Outstanding live concert and partial documentary on my favorite band of all time—Pink Floyd. The concert is set at the ancient Roman amphitheater in Pompeii, Italy, 1971. It’s an awe-inspiring location to setup a concert, and there’s no audience in attendance; which adds an extra eerie element to their already experimental and psychedelic early material. Aside from the incredible concert, the director’s cut DVD adds footage beyond the original film, and also adds about 10 minutes of documentary material shot in 1971, with some footage of them in the studio recording Dark Side of the Moon (1973). The whole concert is incredible, but I must say I love cuts like "Careful With That Axe, Eugene”, “A Saucerful of Secrets”, and “Echoes, Pts. 1 - 2”. Much of the live versions are arguably better than the studio material. While the interview material is interesting, you are definitely buying this set for the concert. It’s epic in every respect, and one of the finest live concert films I own. Pink Floyd fans can’t go wrong.

Fantastic live concert from Zane Vella that presents a fantastic show by alternative rock band Ween, at the Vic Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, November 2003. Ween has historically been known for their outstanding live shows, and this is their 5th live album to back that up (some are up to 3 full CDs in length). That said, this is the first DVD concert I’ve seen from Ween, and I loved every minute of it. Ween is my favorite live band, and they cleverly change up the studio versions of their set list for inspired live versions like they usually do. And I’m constantly stunned by their musicianship and deep connection with the audience and fans. Dean must be one of the greatest guitarists in music history. Some of his solos (on tracks like "I'll be your Johnny on the spot" and "Voodoo lady”) were totally killer. Also included is a great cover of Led Zeppelin's "All Of My Love”. The 5.1 surround mastering is great. This is a must purchase for Ween fans.

Outstanding live concert from Nick Wickham that presents a phenomenal show from the Red Hot Chili Peppers set on August 23, 2003, at the Slane Castle in Ireland. The venue is amazing, and home to many legendary concerts. The event comes well after their crazed drug-infested party days of their 1980s and 1990s early years, and finds them settling into the classic sound of their smash hit albums “Californication” (1999) and “By the Way” (2002). Simply put, they deliver a mind-blowing performance. In some cases, the live versions rival the studio versions. The whole band is in top form. John Frusciante was especially in top form, delivering a blistering performance, changing up riffs, adding guitar sections, and adding more funk to the show. His vocals are also more on point than ever. Not only is the performance arguably perfect, so is the production. This is probably the best sounding live concert I've ever purchased. The guitars, bass, and drums all sound crystal clear; and nothing over powers Anthony's incredible vocals. This DVD is worth every penny for Red Hot Chili Peppers fans.