CLIPS

CLIPS

This month’s Clips were written by Martin Dio, Jeffrey Morgan and Dave DiMartino

ELVIS COSTELLO &

THE ATTRACTIONS The Best Of Elvis Costello & The Attractions (CBS/Fox Video)

An outstanding collection of 22 separate Costello clips, this is surely a sign of “video albums” to come. From the primitive early stuff—“Pump It Up,” “(I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea”—to the more elaborately staged mid-’80s videos— “Everyday I Write The Book” and “The Only Flame In Town”—Costello’s had his hand in just about every music video approach, and it’s all here. Best of the bunch: “I Wanna Be Loved,” directed by “the Rich Kids.” There’s not enough from Imperial Bedroom, but no other complaints whatsoever. D.D.

A HARD DAY’S NIGHT (M.P.I. Video)

This classic rock film still hasn’t been approached since the Monkees’ Head— and where’s that?—but it merits mention in this new format. M.P.I. took the new “expanded” version and merged it with digitally remixed stereo from EMI’s original masters. What it all means is that if you’ve a VCR that’s Hi-Fi, you’re about to hear the best-sounding Beatle tracks you’ve ever heard in your life. There are acoustic guitars you’ve never noticed before, hands that you can hear beating tambourines and much more. Though the transitions from the low-fi dialog to the hi-fi music are initially jarring, you’ll very likely be stunned to hear the quality of this recording. And remember: still no Beatle CDs. D.D.

PETE TOWNSHEND White City (Vestron Video)

Had to watch this thing twice to make sure I understood it, and I still don’t. In its LP format, it makes about as much sense as Quadrophenia or Tommy did—

none—and here it doesn’t even have the vision of a Ken Russell to flesh out its extremely bare-boned plot. I don’t have any idea at all what Pete Townshend is trying to get across; his explanations elsewhere illuminate little, the tape itself even less. I would trade all his much-touted compassion and humanism for one song the likes of “Rael” in 1986, but he probably thinks that sort of thing is kids’ stuff. What does he think this is? D.D.

THE BEATLES LIVE (Sony Video 45)

You’d think that after securing a niche in rock’s pantheon as the man who gave the world the Tottenham Sound, Dave Clark could afford to take it easy, right? Well, thtnk again. Dave’s bought up the rights to the legendary U.K. Ready Steady Go! TV show and is in the midst of presenting selected highlights on video for a North American audience that has never seen them before. This “Special Edition” Beatles tape features outstanding quality in both sound and picture—and not one word of narration to mar the presentation of this 1964 episode. It’s all lip-synched to specially studio recorded versions of their greatest hits (not the album versions), but you’d be hard pressed to notice that it isn’t an actual live concert. (In fact, if you watch carefully, you can catch John, Paul, and Ringo blowing a line or two. Only George doesn’t miss a beat.) John does “Twist And Shout”; Paul does “Long Tall Sally”; George does “Roll Over Beethoven”; Ringo does “I Wanna Be Your Man”; and they all do a medley of their biggest singles at the time, including a complete version of “Can’t Buy Me Love.” Without a doubt, this will be the fastest 20 minutes you’ll spend in your life in front of a television set. (Dave, how about a Dave Clark Five Special Edition next, huh?) J. M.

VARIOUS ARTISTS Prime Cuts: Jazz & Beyond (CBS/Fox Video)

What do you get when you put videos by Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Chuck Mangione, Al DiMeola, Andreas Vollenweider, Hiroshima, the Clarke/Duke Project and Weather Report together on one videotape and attempt to sell it to “jazz” fans? A confused mishmash that is alternately immensely watchable, technically astonishing, stupid as hell, dorky, mindnumbingly inane, anonymous, incredibly condescending and actually pretty sharp. M.D.

KING CRIMSON Three Of A Perfect Pair*

Live In Japan (EG Video)

One of the better vidcassettes around, this 82-minute live performance features the latterday version of King Crimson at their finest. Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Tony Levin and Bill Bruford are seen in Tokyo in April 1984, and, note for note, you couldn’t ask for a tighter, more cohesive band. Though Belew’s David Byrnisms remain this version of Crimson’s weakest link, the noises—and there are noises —here are mostly quite heavenly. A must for Fripp fans. M.D,