"Director: Kevin Layne"

• The Doors Of The 21st Century - L.A. Woman Live | DVD | (26/07/2004) from £16.00   |  Saving you £-6.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Purists may scoff at The Doors of the 21st Century, but for those who believe in second chances, this concert succeeds as both reunion and revival of one of the greatest rock bands in history. Replacing the late, great Jim Morrison is a daunting task, but the addition of British vocalist Ian Astbury (who bears more than passing resemblance to Morrison) is a risk that pays off surprisingly well during this 102-minute gig, superbly recorded in Houston, Texas, during the band's 2003 world tour. Astbury respects Morrison's legacy, but wisely avoids slavish re-creation of "the Lizard King"'s inimitable style; he's paying affectionate tribute while channeling his own vocal energy into Morrison's poetry. In performing the entirety of the Doors' classic L.A. Woman along with other timeless hits, keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger (drummer John Densmore moved on to a variety of solo projects; he's replaced here by Ty Dennis) make good on a 32-year-old promise to give Doors fans the tour that Morrison's death pre-empted, adding what the Doors never officially had: a bass player (Angelo Barbera) to re-create the LP's rhythm section. The band's in excellent form here, so let the naysayers whine; this DVD proves that new Doors are better than no Doors at all. --Jeff Shannon

• Deep Purple - Perihelion | DVD | (19/08/2002) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-5.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The classic line-up of Deep Purple, like that of Yes, was always much more than the sum of its parts, so Perihelion, a near-as-damn-it reunion gig, has more going for it than cynics might contend. We get Ian Gillan (now shorn of his shoulder-length locks--no more cries of "Gillian!"--and looking remarkably like Robert Palmer), Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice, with Ritchie Blackmore's guitar duties now handled by Steve Morse. The band takes a couple of numbers to warm up, with Gillan's voice in particular taking a while to shake itself down and Morse tending to fumble and overplay in the first instance, but this soon passes and we're off on a trip through the best of the Purple catalogue. Tracks include "Woman from Tokyo" and a superb rendering of "Lazy", dedicated to the late Tony Ashton and introduced by a scorching Hammond solo from Jon Lord that quotes nicely from Ashton, Gardner & Dyke's r 'n' b (in the old sense) classic "Resurrection Shuffle". Other highlights include the obligatory "Smoke on the Water", the obligatory drum solo (neither too long nor too silly), and Gillan doing a few of his legendary vocalised guitar impressions. Listen out also for "No-one Came", "Fools" (one section of which is as close as Purple ever came to playing jazz) and the wonderful "Hey Cisco", dedicated to the long-retired actor who played the Lone Ranger in the classic TV series but was forbidden by the studio from earning the odd $200 to supplement his pension by opening supermarkets in costume. As Gillan explains, the band couldn't find a rhyme for "Lone Ranger"! --Roger Thomas