IRON MAIDEN: LIVE AFTER DEATH | New Door/UME | February 5 | This two-disc set features a full 1984 90-minute concert performed in Long Beach, California. But the real gems are on the second disc, an “Early Days” documentary that includes rare footage of early Maiden, promo videos, and a behind-the-scenes look at British metal in its formative stages.
KURT COBAIN: ABOUT A SON | Shout! Factory | February 19 | If it seems like it was just a few months ago that this indie film about Nirvana’s troubled leader was in theaters, well, that’s because it was just a few months ago. And now the filmic portrait, pieced together from audio interviews Michael Azerrad conducted with Cobain for his book Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana, is ready for a second life in the DVD market.
FAIRPORT CONVENTION: MAIDSTONE 1970 | Zeit | February 19 | This is the stuff that provokes tears of joy from fans of the venerable Brit folk-rock outfit: a film of classic line-up Fairport — yes, with a young Richard Thompson on board — working out live in the summer of ’70. The DVD also includes two songs from original Fairport Convention member Iain Matthews’s then-nascent spin-off, Matthews Southern Comfort.
THE TOMORROW SHOW WITH TOM SNYDER: JOHN, PAUL, TOM & RINGO | Shout! Factory | April 1 | John Lennon’s last major TV interview from 1975, plus Ringo in 1981 and Paul (with wife Linda and members of Wings) in 1979, all come together in the latest installment of this series of broadcasts from the long-gone TV gabfest, back when Tom Snyder (who died this past July) was actually a pretty hip dude.
JAZZ
NON-STOP TRAVELS WITH MICHEL PETRUCCIANI | Dreyfus Jazz | January 22 | Originally aired on PBS, the hour-long documentary surveys the later life of jazz pianist Petrucciani (1962–1999). Also includes a concert taped in Germany less than a year before his death at age 36.
LOUIS ARMSTRONG: THE PORTRAIT COLLECTION | Verve | February 29 | This collection features Satch clips dating back to 1933, including ’50s appearances on TV programs hosted by Frank Sinatra and Jackie Gleason. Also includes 40 minutes of Armstrong talking about his life and career.
NORMAN GRANZ PRESENTS ELLA & DUKE | Eagle Rock | March 18 | The latest release in the celebrated “Norman Granz Presents” series spotlights, on two discs, the iconic Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington at the Cote d’Azur with Joan Miro as tour guide in “The Last Jam Session.”
R&B/BLUES
ONE MORE NIGHT WITH CHRIS SMITHER | Signature Sounds | February 5 | This is the first live concert DVD by Boston folk-blues hero Smither. And, fittingly, it was recorded nearby, at a club in Lyme, Connecticut, and even closer to home at the Somerville Theatre. The disc includes an interview with Smither.
B.B. KING: LIVE | Geffen | February 19 | Two hours of the king of the blues performing in 2006 at — where else? — a pair of B.B. King’s blues clubs, one in Nashville and the other in Memphis. And for the true B.B. fanatic, there’s also a “making of” documentary.
ALBERT COLLINS: LIVE AT MONTREUX 1992 |Eagle Rock | March 4 | Collins (1932–1993) was one of the truly great blues guitarists, and he’d probably still be if lung cancer hadn’t gotten to him. This disc documents one of his final performances.
DON’T FORGET THE MOTORCITY | MVD | March 18 | A three-disc revue of Motown-era soul, featuring more than 100 videos of artists such as Mary Wells, the Miracles, Bettye LaVette, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, and a whole lot of others who weren’t nearly as famous but were every bit as good.
