| It seems like every band under the sun is getting in on the music DVD phenomenon. It makes sense for some artists – like Massive Attack, Stina Nordenstam and Bjork – to release compilations of their music videos, as they have extensive video catalogues directed by some of the most creative forces in cinema (Michel Gondry, Lars Von Trier, etc.). But for others, the visual aspect of the DVD format just detracts from the most important element – the music.
It’s surprising, then, that Americana diva Gillian Welch would jump on the bandwagon, so to speak. Nevertheless, The Revelator Collection marks Welch’s foray into DVD, and while the material here is of dubious cinematic value, completists will want to have the disk in their collection. Two of the three videos included represent alternate takes from the recording sessions for Welch’s latest album, Time (The Revelator), and although they differ little from the album versions, they expose the minimal recording process employed by Welch and guitarist David Rawlings in the studio.
More appealing are the nine live tracks on the disk. Captured from a more or less static camera position at centre-stage at clubs in Knoxville, Tennessee and Carrboro, North Carolina, they will appease guitar geeks who are eager for a close-up of Rawlings’s intricate finger-picking. Other than that, the performances and filmmaking aren’t exactly visually compelling, so you may as well just shut your eyes and crank up the volume on your stereo.
The best thing about The Revelator Collection is the inclusion of previously unreleased covers of songs by Bob Dylan ("Billy"), Neil Young ("Pocahontas") and Bill Monroe ("I’m On My Way Back To The Old Home"), the last offering proof that the often silent Rawlings actually can sing after all. Capping the whole lot off is a note-perfect rendition of Townes Van Zandt’s "White Freightliner Blues," which alone provides ample filler while we wait for Welch’s next studio recording. |
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