Dead Kennedys-The Early Years Live (Rajon Vision) (1987) (NTSC)

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General		Extras
Category	Music	Biographies-Cast & Crew Alternative Version-Sing-a-long songs (8)
Rating
Year Of Production	1987
Running Time	29:26
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Joe Reese
Studio Distributor	Rajon Vision	Starring	Jello Biafra Klaus Flouride Ted DH Peligro East Bay Ray 6025 (Carlos)
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	?	Music	Dead Kennedys

Dead Kennedys are one of the most seminal punk rock bands of the late 70s and early 80s, a band who carved their niche by fusing performance art, aggressive punk rock and clean 'surf-guitar' tones. The politically subversive lyrics of front man Jello Biafra are a direct assault on American culture, American foreign policy, consumerism and violence. Humour and scathing social commentary can be a potent blend for a rock band, and in my opinion there's no better example of this than Dead Kennedys.

This brief compilation of live performances was originally released on VHS in 1987, and covers a four year period in the band's early career, from 1978 to 1981. The production is amateur and very rough around the edges, but somehow the essence of the 80s San Francisco punk scene is captured perfectly.

Like many bands, Dead Kennedys experienced a few line-up changes early on. The early clips have a guy simply known as Ted on the drums, as well as an additional guitarist that goes by the pseudonym 6025 (Carlos). The later clips from 1981 onwards see the band whittled back to a single guitar and a different man on the drum stool; D. H. Peligro, who later became the drummer for Red Hot Chili Peppers for a brief time. The addition of Peligro, coupled with a single guitar attack, makes for a much tighter, more cohesive band and this is clearly evidenced in these contrasting live performance clips.

The musicians performing here include:

• Jello Biafra (Vocals)
• Klaus Flouride (Bass, Backing Vocals)
• East Bay Ray (Guitars)
• 6025 (Guitars 1978-1980)
• Ted (Drums 1978-1981)
• D. H. Peligro (Drums)

There are some respites of humour between the songs, some humorous film excerpts and most notably a legitimate news item covering Biafra's campaign to become mayor of San Francisco. I think he surprised more than a few people when he came fourth.

This disc is an essential purchase for fans of the band, if only to replace their tired, old VHS tape, and is certain to interest anyone with a love for 80s American punk rock.

Video

This NTSC video transfer has been derived from an analogue videotape source. The aspect is roughly 1.33:1, full frame.

Every conceivable analogue video artefact is represented here; magnetic tape errors and horizontal banding (microphony) are rife. Having said that, it is really difficult for me to pick this thing to pieces, simply because such an amateur presentation is perfectly in the vibe of this band. Aside from experiencing a live concert, I can't imagine seeing Dead Kennedys any other way than on a dodgy VHS tape.

Yes, the level of detail is pretty ordinary. Edits can be very clunky at times, and colours are faded and lifeless. Some clips are actually monochrome (black and white).

One consolation is that there are no MPEG or film artefacts to be seen.

There are no subtitle streams provided with the feature, however, there is a "sing-a-long" version in the extras, with scrolling lyrics.

This disc is DVD5 formatted.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

A single, solitary Dolby Digital stereo soundtrack is all we have, encoded at 192Kb/s. Like the video source, the audio is pretty rough around the edges

The spoken word is relatively legible, but Jello's singing is pretty hard to make out. Let's face it, he's not a guy who's known for his enunciation, and the quality of these recordings don't do him any favours in this regard. The audio is generally of a bootleg quality, sometimes distorted and often muffled. The tracks Bleed For Me and Holiday In Cambodia are the best of this bunch; not only is the band tighter and more experienced, the recording is in a controlled studio environment and the audio appears to have been professionally mixed.

Audio sync seems to be solid, although the pitch wavers from time to time and I did note a few minor dropouts in the sound. Considering the age and quality of the source, this isn't all that surprising.

During the live recordings, most of the instruments can be made out if you listen hard enough. Cymbals can be harsh at the best of times and the kick drum and bass are very flimsy. The guitars fare the best of all, surprisingly crisp and clear next to the other instruments.

Although the soundtrack is two-channel, I didn't note any use of the stereo soundfield, panning and the like. For all intents and purposes, this is a mono effort.

There is obviously no subwoofer or surround activity to report.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

Sing-a-long songs

The eight main tracks from the feature are presented with scrolling subtitles so the viewer can "sing along" to Biafra's lyrics. Each song must be played separately. Viva Las Vegas is actually only an excerpt that is played during the credits, and is not included here. It would have been easier to include a removable subtitle option with the feature, but I guess the main feature is so short there is plenty of room to spare.

Biographies

There are brief biographies for Biafra, Peligro, Flouride and East Bay Ray, including info on their other bands and musical projects. A rather lengthy Dead Kennedys band biography is also included, and is an interesting read. All of the text pages include the same audio clip, which becomes very irritating after a while.

The transfer betrays its analogue origins, but to be honest I can't imagine seeing DK on screen in any other way.

The extras are informative.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall