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DVD Review

The Secret Policeman Rocks!

Official Synopsis:

In June 1979, Pete Townshend gave a solo acoustic performance at Amnesty Internationals Secret Policeman's Ball benefit show in London, inspiring Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, David Gilmour, Sting, Bob Geldof, Phil Collins and many others to perform for Amnesty. It also helped inspire the unplugged of the 90s, and galvanized a generation of musicians to become involved in social and political causes: Sting, Peter Gabriel, Bob Geldof (who later founded Live Aid) and Bono all cite the show as the inspiration for their activism. In celebration of the 30th anniversary of that historic first show, Shout! Factory is proud to partner with Amnesty on this collection of the musical highlights from three decades of Secret Policeman’s Ball shows.

Our Take:

While yes, the performances you see in The Secret Policeman Rocks were given for a good cause, they are also just simply great performances. Pete Townshend got the ball rolling and Bob Geldof fashioned Live Aid out of all of this. The songs that you will hear in these clips are ones that you have likely heard before. However, that atmosphere of the concert seems to bring out even more in these songs.

From Phil Collins’ haunting performance of “In the Air Tonight,” to Bob Geldof’s sparse arrangement of “I Don’t Like Mondays,” to Peter Gabriel’s powerful rendition of “Biko,” this collection of performances does not disappoint in the least. Even the ever annoying “Roxanne,” is still somewhat enjoyable with just Sting on a Fender Strat, as is his version of “Message in a Bottle.” Pete Townshend himself is also great, going solo for “Pinball Wizard,” and a great acoustic version of “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” which seems to have more power when played this way, minus Roger Daltrey’s theatrics.

It’s great to see these musicians young and in their prime, playing some of the best songs in rock and roll history. I myself have always been a fan of the “stripped down” approach, as I believe it leaves a bit more to the imagination. Take Mark Knopfler and Chet Atkins’ rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine,” for instance. It is simply two acoustic guitars, but you are still able to paint the same picture in your mind as you would with the Lennon original; it just has that same call to action that version 1.0 does. These types of shows laid the groundwork for bands like U2, Pearl Jam and R.E.M. who base their music around these types of causes.

Of course, there are some minor lowlights in this collection. Dave Stewart’s scored instrumental, “Amnesty” left me somewhat cold. I also was not a fan of the final number by the “Secret Policeman,” or Sting and his makeshift reggae band. “I Shall Be Released” is not a reggae song, and I could have done without hearing it as such. In some cases the audio quality isn’t great, but hey, if you turn up the TV a bit, it’s not so bad.

Special Features:

There are no special features with this DVD.

Conclusion:

If you are a music fan who does not particularly like politics mixed in your music, check out this compilation anyway. You’re guaranteed to witness some of the finest performances you’ve ever seen. By the way, if you don’t think that the pairing of Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck is simply divine, you really need to watch this at least five more times.

RECOMMENDED!

Overall Picture:

Movie: A-
Extra Features: D

- Chris Laurenzo
Staff Writer