New AC/DC DVD set: Family Jewels. (1 Viewer)

[Frank@N]

Wandered into Coconuts/FYE today and was amazed to find a new AC/DC DVD product: Family Jewels.

It's 2-disc collection of all their promotional clips (videos) from over the years.

It was priced at $20, so I went to Walmart and got it for $15.

Looks like a nice set, but I don't like the internal packaging (two overlapping hubs).

I was lucky to get my discs out, might photocopy the cover and place them in a standard slim double.


Here's a review:

http://www.10kbullets.com/reviews/familyjewels.htm

 

[Frank@N]

Now all we need is 'Let there be Rock' on DVD.

 

[Bob clamer]

Yes. Bring "Let there be Rock" to DVD. Would be a no-brainer buy!

 

[Frank@N]

Disc 1: Unreleased & Amazing!

If you checked out the 'Bonfire' CD boxset (as I did), you might have wondered if there was any amount of good unreleased material from the band.

You might have wondered (as I did) if an unreleased video collection would have been just as anemic.

Well, I couldn't have been more wrong.

Disc 1 of 'Family Jewels' is a unreleased revelation for fans of the band.

Many clips are actual LIVE (!) performances, while a few are live performances with dubbed album music.

Some are purely promotional videos, but these allow the band to use interesting costumes and engage in other theatrical activities.

I've got a number of AC/DC photo books and this video collection brings to life many of the images I'd previously only seen on paper:

Bon's early sailor look...Bon in his leopard-skin shirt...Bon carrying Angus on his shoulders...Angus impaled by his guitar...late Bon in his sleeveless Levi jack...Long-haired late Bon.

Disc 1 is a surprisingly spontaneous look at the early years of the band.

By constantly changing formats and venues, the disc manages to be consistently interesting and never drags like some music DVDs (seven takes on Dazed and Confused?).

A/V is very engaging and will have your head bobbing and feet pounding.

What will Disc 2 hold?

Hopefully a few more unreleased live performances, but the balance will probably shift towards higher-budget previously released video sequences.

 

[Frank@N]

Disc 2: Disappointing...

I should say first that I never saw any of these videos on TV or bought any of the previous VHS sets.

I came into Disc 2 with high hopes and was consistently underwhelmed.

The 'Back in Black' clips are sleepy and dark, but seem fairly authentic.

Things get even more sedate (and low budget) with the 'Flick of the Switch' clips, which appear to be shot in the band's warehouse.

The 'Fly on the Wall' clips form a mini-movie concept, but despite the budget the band seems like an afterthought here.

I also found the 'Fly' video quality to be oversaturated, muddy, and shaky.

Things get better with the 'Who Made Who' clips.

'You Shook Me' might be the best clip on Disc 2.

The videos get more polished from here, but unfortunately not too much better.

 

[Lyle_JP]

Frank@N,

You should edit your web review. The disc isn't Dolby Digital Stereo, it's actually PCM Stereo!

-Lyle J.P.

 

[Andrew Radke]

Well I saw this for $37 (CDN) last week and was tempted to get it, especially after reading the packaging which lists the number of videos included. But after reading Frank's review (thank you by the way), I don't think I'm willing to spend that kind of cash on this, at least not without seeing the material beforehand. I also expected ALL of their videos to be on these DVD's. Unless I overlooked it, I don't recall seeing "Stiff Upper Lip" in the list.

 

[Walt Riarson]

No videos from "Ballbreaker" or "Stiff Upper Lip" are on Family Jewels. Only the Bon era through Razor's Edge. Their amusing video for "Big Gun" (featuring Arnold in full Angus attire) is also missing from the set, however I think another label owns that song, as it was part of a scoundtrack.

 

[Frank@N]

What movie was that from? Maybe it's on the movie DVD...

 

[Andrew Radke]

That was from "Last Action Hero". Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed that movie.

 

[Frank@N]

Think I know what made Disc 2 so boring: Brian Johnson has very little on-camera charisma.

He hides under his hat and typically ignores the camera.

Bon jumps, he winks, he smiles, he stomps, he snarls, he struts...it's fun to watch.

BJ could take a lesson from the kids on American Idol, at least they look at the camera and express something.

This has nothing to do with the music (which I love), the BJ videos are just kinda bland.