CLIPS

CLIPS

WILLIE AND THE POOR BOYS

(Passport Music Video)

A surprisingly top-notch halfhour starring Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, Andy Fairweather Low, Geraint Watkins, Micky Gee and a host of other good ol’ limeys. Despite Wyman’s blundering solo career—from the greatness of “In Another Land” to two stiff solo LPs to movie soundtracks to Stones historian to revivalist rocker—there is no denying this set’s lack of pretensions shows the aging bassist to be a fairly charismatic rocker. There’s a minute plot, but the excellent editing and general fast pace make it a highly enjoyable, informal 30 minutes of well-played, well-meant rock ’n’ roll. “Donations from proceeds from this videocassette are being made to A.R.M.S.,” we’re told somewhat non-specifically, but who cares? Recommended. K.C.

TINA TURNER Tina Turner Live (Sony Video LP)

You would not be blamed for being a little sick of Tina Turner at this point in 1985—except perhaps by Tina, who as always seems just a little too well-intentioned to blame anybody. Nevertheless, this video captures Tina at the peak of her renewed fame, in the best of voice and with the finest of companions—except perhaps for Bryan Adams, who as always seems just a litUH tie too bland, ordinary and potato-like to be enjoyed by anybody except for a worldfamous Pringles magnate who has always looked upon the Canadian rocker in lascivious ways best not recounted here. And Miss Turner’s “surprise” duet with David Bowie is stunning, heartfelt and an allaround swell time, though as always she stands up just fine on her own. If you’re looking for a superb-sounding video documentation of Tina in this, her year of 1985, you would do no wrong in assuming this taped performance is the one you must buy. In fact, you should go out right now and buy it. M.D.

GIVE MY REGARDS TO BROAD STREET (CBS/Fox Video)

There’s a very good chance you’ve never seen this film, especially if you read a single review of it anywhere but in Club Sandwich, the Paul McCartney fan club newsletter and a darned fine bathroom read any day, which said it was a great movie but then again they would, wouldn’t they? McCartney’s megaflop isn’t quite

so horrendous on videotape, thanks mostly to the VCR pause button and a vast quantity of beer that might conveniently be stored in your refrigerator getting cooler by the minute as it is being watched. Take it from me, beer most certainly enhances the film’s rather

simplistic plot, not to mention the sheer joy of considering that McCartney actually wrote this thing’s screenplay, and it stinks, and you’re sitting in your living room watching it when you’re not putting the thing on pause and getting another beer and enhancing your joy even further by planning to play “Cook Of The House” as soon as the tape is done and you can barely walk. In all, perhaps the greatest film starring Paul and Linda McCartney ever watched in your house on the day you’re watching it unless you want to count that live Wings Over America thing, which you probably don’t have anyway. Yep. D.D.

BLANCMANGE (Pioneer Laserdisc)

Three videos by this curious Brit group that occagame!” sionally border on the heavyhanded—most notably the opener, “Living On The Ceiling,” which with its David Byrne-meetsRavi Shankar overtones and ethnic Indian dancing may well resemble the sort of films Video Video was reviewing a few issues back. One gets the impression that this sort of thing was dated mere seconds after it was produced, and one gets that impression quite rightfully, but nonetheless as the curio it was surely not intended to be it certainly shines. K.C.

UTOPIA

A Retrospective 1977-1984 (Passport Music Video)

It’s ironic that Todd Rundgren, a true video pioneer, has put together this 70-minute compilation of what appear to be very amateurish videos, but that’s the price he pays for being a pioneer. Because the bulk of these clips were shot well before the Duran Duran Go To Sri Lanka Syndrome, and most of them are videotaped rather than filmed and then transferred to videotape, comparisons to the ’85 norm don’t exactly favor Utopia. Best: Beatles parody “I Just Want To Touch You.” Worst: early live Mahavishnu-ish sludge. Odd: that Rundgren has it within him to produce spectacular albums and never does, very regularly. Have you noticed? D.D.

(reviews written by Dave DiMartino, Martin Dio and Kevin Christopher)