40th Anniversary of The Band's "Last Waltz" Dances in on November 11

On Thanksgiving Day 1976, The Band took the stage for the very last time at the Winterland Theatre in San Francisco. The concert, aptly billed as The Last Waltz, has become one of the most revered performances of all time. For the show, Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, and Robbie Robertson were joined by an all-star group of music pioneers, including Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Ronnie Hawkins, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Muddy Waters, and Neil Young, among others. The evening was captured on film by director Martin Scorsese. Released theatrically in April 1978 to critical acclaim, The Last Waltz is still considered by many to be the greatest concert film ever made.

Rhino will celebrate THE LAST WALTZ with four new 40th Anniversary Editions, including the pairing of the audio and video for the first time. All formats will be available November 11 except the Collector's Edition, which will be available December 9.

• 40th Anniversary Edition (2-CD, $19.98) - Original soundtrack with newly re-mastered
audio from the original master tapes on two CDs.
• 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (4-CD/Blu-Ray, $64.98) - Complete audio from the
concert, including rehearsals and outtakes, plus The Last Waltz film on Blu-Ray.
•  40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition Vinyl (6-LP, $119.98) - Complete audio from the
concert, including rehearsals and outtakes, pressed on 180-gram vinyl for the first time and
presented in an ornate lift-top box.
•  40th Anniversary Collector's Edition (4-CD/2-Blu-Ray, $259.98) - Limited to 2,500
copies, this version includes:
o Complete audio from the concert.
o The Last Waltz film on Blu-ray.
o Second Blu-Ray disc including a rarely seen interview from the 1990s with Martin Scorsese
and Robbie Robertson, photo gallery, and 5.1 audio mix of the original album.
o 300-page book, bound in red faux-leather with a full replication of Scorsese's shooting script,
rare and previously unseen photos, set sketches, three foldout storyboards, and a foreword by
Scorsese.

U2 – iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE – Live In Paris, On DVD/BD

“The Paris show that concluded U2’s Innocence and Experience tour… was concert as personal memoir, archetypal story, prayer, exorcism and vow of unity.”—THE NEW YORK TIMES

 

U2 – iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE – Live In Paris will be released worldwide on Blu-ray and  DVD  on Friday 10th June on Interscope/Island.  The concert film captures the Irish band’s groundbreaking tour as it returned to the French capital for two very special shows in December last year—one of which was The New York Times’ Jon Pareles’ #1 concert of 2015—despite the fact that he was not in attendance, marking quite possibly the first time a TV broadcast topped the Times’ live shows of the year list.

In addition to the guest spots from Eagles of Death Metal and Patti Smith, U2 – iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE – Live In Paris puts viewers inside the AccorHotels Arena with Bono, Adam Clayton, The Edge and Larry Mullen Jr.: the deluxe versions of the release also include a behind-the-scenes interview with live broadcast director Hamish Hamilton; exclusive tour visuals narrated by the band’s lifelong friend Gavin Friday; music videos; additional live tracks filmed during the tour; and much more.

“Directing iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE was scary,” says live broadcast director Hamish Hamilton who previously worked with U2 on their 2001 Elevation Tour. “A technical nightmare married with a creative rollercoaster. It challenged everything I knew on so many levels…what blew my mind were the multiple narrative arcs combined with the number of emotional arcs you are taken through as you journey through the show. There’s a lot of good shows out there – but very few great shows.”

U2’s iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE Tour kicked off in Vancouver in May 2015 and, to date, has played to over 1.2 million fans in 22 cities across Europe and North America. Staged in the round, the tour features multiple performance areas plus a state of the art 100 foot LED screen suspended above a 118 foot walkway running the length of the arena floor. Combined with an innovative suspended sound system, the tour has delivered mindblowing sound and visuals from every seat in every venue, as every night has seen “U2 reinvent the arena show”  wrote Rolling Stone.

Frank Zappa's "Roxy :The Movie" to Arrive on DVD/BD

On October 30, Eagle Rock Entertainment and Zappa's Honker Home Video will issue the never-before-released Frank Zappa’s Roxy : The Movie on DVD & Blu-Ray with an exclusive Soundtrack included.

A Frank Zappa show goes way beyond a mere concert,  it is an experience…a flight of improvisation, musicianship, and cerebral cynicism. An unparalleled Composer and Guitarist, Zappa redefined rock n roll paradigms by introducing into the mix his favorite influences from classical music, jazz, blues, doowop, traditional and non-traditional music. And he did so with unparalleled humor and audacity. But it was the music itself that influenced generations of musicians and, quite frankly, blew minds. Roxy: The Movie, filmed over three nights in December 1973, at the Roxy Theatre in Hollywood, CA, is a powerful display of this experience, and reveals what made him such a pioneering musical revolutionary.

Right from the top of the program, the film exudes the essence of Zappa, as we only see a dark room with a single light, and we hear him commiserating with the audience, as he stalls for time because of technical snafus that would ultimately force the film into hibernation for decades (make that eras in musical terms) while advancement in technology aligned allowing the Zappa Family Trust to bring this project to a patient and deserving audience. The curtain goes up and the magic unravels to reveal “Cosmic Debris” and we are up and away with one of the most enduring band line-ups under Frank Zappa's leadership.