Latest releases reviewed
DAVID BYRNE Live at the Union Chapel Nonesuch ****
At the beginning of his Live at Union Chapel concert, filmed at London's Union Chapel Hall in December 2002, singer songwriter David Byrne announces that he will sing "some new songs, and other songs used and abused in film and theatre". Then, astonishingly, he covers a lifetime's work in 18 songs - from early Talking Heads and later solo albums to his collaborations with choreographer Twyla Tharp and X Press 2, as well as quintessentially eclectic covers of Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance with Somebody and Verdi's Un Di Felice (from La Traviata). Supported by a powerhouse string quintet and a dynamic rhythm section, Byrne bounces gleefully through his set (intercut with short interviews about some songs), discovering new grooves in old tunes (Once in a Lifetime, What a Day That Was) and old heart in new songs (God's Child, U.B. Jesus). www.nonesuch.com
Jocelyn Clarke
Usher Rhythm City Vol 1 - Caught Up LaFace **
When you're hot you can flog any old tat. So it is with Usher, the r 'n' b superstar who is now, as they say, monetising his fanbase with this DVD on the back of Confessions. We can expect several other cash-ins in the next few months as Usher tries to make maximum hay while people still recognise his name. Here, then, is a mini-movie version of the Caught Up video, which largely consists of young Usher standing around, sitting around and dancing around, while the likes of P Diddy and Naomi Campbell get to look at the camera. To make sure, we get the message, there's the Making of Caught Up (all of the above but less dancing) and previously pimped promo clips for Yeah, Burn, Confessions Pt II, My Boo and, er, Caught Up. There are revenue streams and then there's having a laugh. www.usherworld.com
Jim Carroll
THE BOOMTOWN RATS Live at Hammersmith Odeon 1978 Eagle Vision **
Your correspondent is long enough in the tooth to have seen The Boomtown Rats far more regularly in London during 1977/1978 than in Dublin a couple of years before that. While Bob Geldof has recently expanded on the theory that The Rats were actually more "real" than The Clash (proof that even someone as smart as he can occasionally spout nonsense), in their live heyday the Rats, like The Clash, were never less than exciting and entertaining. A natural frontman in any era, Geldof was particularly aggressive, acerbic and focused during the post-punk years, as this unadorned film shows. The first two albums (The Boomtown Rats and Tonic for the Troops) are rifled for their best songs, while live favourite Do the Rat has the more lunatic fringe section of the audience, well, doing the rat. Ultimately? A very good, inordinately smart pub rock band that adeptly rode the punk wave until the tide turned. Extras bring it almost up to date with promotional videos from Geldof's primal scream solo album, Sex, Age & Death.
Tony Clayton-Lea
