1.) Get Thrashed : The Story of Thrash Metal
By Far the Best and Most Comprehensive DVD in the lot. You get the whole spiel on thrash metal history. Starting and giving props to Metallica and even more importantly bassist Cliff Burton (R.I.P.). Interviews with Anthrax and Kirk Hammett (of Metallica) describe him as a quiet shadowy figure. Kirk said he would always practice guitar, so much so that Kirk would have to join him (Note: Cliff wasn’t even the guitarist!!!) It goes on to show the other 3 major thrash bands of the time Anthrax, Slayer and Megadeth. Then the documentary dives into another level of thrash metal bands under them with bands such as Death Angel, Kreator, and Overkill. And the extra features go by region and feature even more bands. A personal favorite of mine is the Canadian band Annihilator. I found out guitarist Jeff Young was asked to join Megadeth. All in all, this documentary is like a visual Heavy Metal Thrash magazine and gives you insight into the fact that Metallica wasn’t the only Heavy Metal Thrash band.
Grade : A
2.) Tom Petty : Running’ Down a Dream
This is another documentary, but only available at Best Buy as a 4-disc set (3 DVDs and 1 CD). This is the only documentary of Tom Petty worth checking out. The first two dvds are detail Tom Petty and The HeartBreakers start in Gainesville, Florida to present. You get insight as to what happened to Tom Petty and his band at the time (now called Mudcrutch) when he arrived in Hollywood. The inner turmoil with his drummer and eventual dismissal. The cons would be the later part of the 90’s are skimmed over quickly. The She’s The One soundtrack and albums Echo, The Last DJ and Highway Companion are skimmed over as footnotes and instead the last half is filled with a lot more filler as a result. The 3rd DVD is a crystal clear view of Tom Petty in concert. The best you can find as of this time and includes most of his hits. Although it leaves out the song “You Don’t Know How It Feels” and “Yer So Bad”, it makes up with special guests Stevie Nicks and a stunning rendition of “Southern Accents”. The CD is mainly of unreleased songs such as “Honey Bee” with Dave Navarro on SNL and a cover of Hank Williams “Lost Highway”. Overall, one of the best buys this year ($14.99 at bestbuy.com), no pun intended.
Grade : A
Jimmy Cliff was one of the most influential artists from Jamaica. He was the pulse of the great soundtrack The Harder They Come. However, he never made it big because his label Island Records chose to focus on Bob Marley instead. Forging ahead, Jimmy released a series of hits even influencing artists like Bob Dylan, Joe Strummer, Sting and UB40. Desmond Dekker even took Cliff’s own “You Can Get It If You Really Want” to the charts in England.