Happy 4th of July to all our friends around the U.S.! It isn't unusual this time of year but it has been a VERY quiet week heading into this mid-point of Summer.



Just a few things to point out this Sunday...out now on DVD from the Anamorphic Widescreen Label is AEROSMITH "Unplugged Hideaway", a nice version of the FULL unedited performance of the boys from their MTV filming at The Ed Sullivan Theater on August 11th, 1990 and this is more than twice as long as what was broadcast!...and would be well worth seeking out. Other notable silver DVD releases include...GREEN DAY "Television Dreams of Tomorrow Brought To You Today", released on the Night Entertainment Label and captures the band performing the entire "American Idiot" CD in L.A. this past March...the disc also tacks on bonus footage of the oft-booted AOL Sessions ALL in pro-shot quality. From Hi-Fi Barfly comes NIGHTWISH "Live In Bucharest", which is a pro-shot video of the band live in Romania back in 2004 with the bonus feature of 4 promotional videos - all housed in a nice Digipack sleeve...and then there is PAUL McCARTNEY "Careerspan" which is described as a "killer" Wings rarities collection that supplements the official "Wingspan" offering with alternate videos, studio footage, etc...and is put out on the Mac Label.



On the DVD-R front there is a "new" Label that has released some wonderful and wacky titles this week...it's called TV Tunes and here is what we learned about their titles hot off the burner...CHEAP TRICK "Japan Surrenders" is a complete pro-shot/soundboard production, capturing their performance at The Budokan in Tokyo 1977!...as a bonus you get their peformance at "Japan Aid II" in 1979 and I couldn't tell you exactly what that benefit was all about! C'mon you historians-refresh our memories! Great stuff nontheless. Delving deep into the broadcast archives, TV Tunes unearths quite a collection with THE COWSILLS "On The Tube"!...yes, they were the model for the Partridge Family story and TV show and now you can get quite a compilation of their TV appearances direct from Network TV reels and not shown since their broadcasts...almost too strange not to be enticed...I mean, it's got to be entertaining and a good laugh...Other releases include FOREIGNER "Japan 1985", filmed in Tokyo 1985, a rare high-quality vid from the band...JIMI HENDRIX "The Jimi Hendrix Collection" is simply a dupe of an officially released Japanese VHS that was gone in the blink of an eye, the collection features many rare TV appearances and sounds like one that yours truly should chase down!...HOLE "Big Day Out" is the Courtney Love topless show from Australia in January of '99...JOURNEY "Milwaukee '77" is that pro-shot video that surfaced a few weeks back and is supposed to be a superb quality video...PAUL McCARTNEY & WINGS "Rockshow" is a superb print of the theatrical movie that hasn't been released officially - aside from Japanese Laserdisc back in the mid-80's...STEVE MILLER BAND "Live" is an intriguing piece because this pro-shot gem comes with little info or details on it's origin except that it is an early '80's performance, and a fantastic one at that...BOB SEGER "Let's Head Out To Fire Lake" features a rare and excellent video from Largo, Maryland 1980 and while the master source has it's flaws - there simply isn't any vintage Bob Seger footage in circulation...BILLY SQUIER "Detroit 1983" is another pro-shot gem that just might make you nauseous!...it depends on how embarrassed you are by the 80's I guess...STYX "Visual Archives Vol. 1" is a stellar compilation of promos, live appearances, TV Spots and whatever else could be culled from the archives - which makes it essential for fans of the group...this one looks REALLY nice - MICK TAYLOR "Stone Rocks Alone", a double-DVDR featuring several pro-shot performances from the Diamond Club in Toronto 1980, Crossroads Blues and The Lone Star Roadhouse in New York on November 23rd, 1990! Whatever your interest, it seems this new label will have something worthwhile for you to check out. That's why it's the creativity and resourcefulness that makes labels stick out and TV Tunes just may be another niche Label that provides the quality goods. I have not seen a sample of their DVD-R work yet, so I cannot comment on the quality of presentation and playability just yet.



Some quick bootleg CD releases we learned about this week...Scorpio UK has just issued LED ZEPPELIN "V-and-a-half Extravaganza", a 3CD set which comes in a beautiful triple foldout digipack, it features the Seattle soundboard from July 17, 1973 with bonus soundboard audio taken from the common July 27th, 1973 Madison Square Garden show...from Voodoo Sounds comes THE WHITE STRIPES "Morphing The Blues" which offers over 75 minutes of Demos, Rarities and live versions - including some pre-White Stripes material...and then there is the unusual offering from Dandelion, JESSE WINCHESTER "Demo Tapes", a single disc packed with 29 demos that have been buried and lost all these years. Very cool.



That's it for this week, thanks for stopping in to catch up. Enjoy your holidays wherever you are or wherever they take you. Keep an eye on the HotWacks On-line News Ticker for the quick bites and meet me back here next week. We may just change this column to a Monday posting due to the way information flows in and a trend in my availability and routine so we might just start that next week on July 11th. I hope that doesn't screw too many of our members and collectors up. Any comments can be emailed to sb@hotwacks.com

Have an awesome week.

Svengi
July 3rd, 2005