Phil Collins: Finally - The First Farewell Tour

Manufacturer: Island Brand: Uni Model: 2239860

First time on DVD. Bob Marley & The Wailers came to London's Rainbow Theatre in the summer of 1977. The Exodus album was riding the British charts. The band's potent, magical music was everywhere; on the airwaves, the jukeboxes, the sound system, hi-fi's. Live At The Rainbow captures a moment in time at the height of Bob Marley's popularity with a digitally enhanced picture, remastered DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, and Dolby Digital stereo. As a special bonus, the award-winning documentary Caribbean Nights: The Bob Marley Story and recently shot footage of The Bob Marley Museum, Tuff Gong Studios and Nine Mile have been included on this special two-disc DVD set. On June 2, 1977, London's Rainbow Theatre "caught fire"--in the best possible way, of course. At the time, Bob Marley and the Wailers, already huge in the UK, were on tour in support of the locally produced Exodus. While the show starts off with the slow-burning "Trenchtown Rock" (1973's African Herbsman), Marley's performance grows increasingly incendiary until, by the time they get to the climactic closer, "Exodus," it looks as he's in another world entirely. The turning point is an extended version of "Crazy Baldhead" (1976's Rastaman Vibration), in which Marley seemingly enters a trance, performing primarily with eyes closed. By the late-1970s, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer were long gone, making the electrifying Marley more the focus than ever before (and for the first few songs, the rest of the band is...

Manufacturer: Pacific Entertainment Brand: Genius Color: Green

This outstanding collection of Baby Genius DVDs includes themes about playtime outings and little children interacting in the events and places around them. The focus is on entertainment and teaching children in an environment filled with fun and adventure. Animation is combined with children’s songs and includes fun-loving Baby Genius characters like DJ the Dinosaur, Vinko the Dancing Bear and more.

Manufacturer: Paramount Brand: Paramount Pictures

FADE TO BLACK takes a look at the rapper’s career, providing a backstage glimpse during the concert and showing how his last album was conceived. Narrated by Jay-Z himself, the film features notable guest performances by Beyonce, Missy Elliott, Mary J. Blige, R. Kelly, Pharrell Williams, Foxy Brown and appearances by P. Diddy and 2004 Grammy-winner Kanye West. Fade to Black is a document of Jay-Z’s self-proclaimed final concert; a grand affair that took place before a sold-out crowd at New York’s Madison Square Garden in November 2003. (But anyone who follows celebrity news knows that Jay-Z was out of retirement and back performing at the Garden just a year later.) Fade to Black is a legitimately powerful record of a truly historic event in the annals of rap. Muttering offhand narration with typical bored, streetwise affect, Jay hails the concert as a momentous occasion for being the first time a hip-hop show was allowed to headline at the Garden. It’s unlikely that the full impact of the live performances will hit home to viewers unfamiliar with Jay-Z and his Roc-A-Fella Records stable of artists. Another frustration is trying to identify the array of visitors who trade raps on Jay’s stage. Included in the star-studded lineup are Missy Elliott, Foxy Brown, Pharell, Ghostface Killah, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, and R. Kelly. One unmistakable figure--and we do mean figure--is Jay’s squeeze Beyonce, who raises the temperature and the...

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon

Kathleen Battle and Luciano Pavarotti star in this 1991 Metropolitan Opera production of the Donizetti opera conducted by James Levine. Sound options include PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, and DTS 5.1. It would be hard to imagine a better performance of Donizetti's comic masterpiece. If there was one role that ideally suited Luciano Pavarotti's voice and stage personality, it was Nemorino, the impoverished and not-very-bright peasant who worships the village's prettiest and richest young woman from a distance, is swindled by a traveling vendor of "miracle" medicines, but wins her hand by dumb luck. The story has comedy, pathos, and a put-down of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde (or at least the Tristan story) written long before Wagner composed it. Kathleen Battle is not only a wonderful singer and convincing actress; as Adina, she is pretty enough to make Nemorino's infatuation totally credible. Juan Pons struts convincingly as Belcore, Nemorino's self-important rival, and Enzo Dara is properly spectacular as Dr. Dulcamara, who sells Nemorino the magic potion guaranteed to improve his love life, or at least to get him drunk. The melodies in this opera include some of the best ever written, and James Levine, his extraordinary orchestra, and his wonderful chorus know exactly what to do with them. Everything comes together in this production to make it one of the best opera DVDs available. --Joe McLellan

Manufacturer: Imports Brand: UNIVERSAL MUSIC VIDEO DIST.

TRACK LISTING: I Call Your Name Dancing In The Street Do You Believe In Magic Somebody Groovy Words Of Love Creeque Alley Twelve Thirty I Saw Her Again Dancing Bear Once Was A Time I Thought Dedicated To The One I Love Monday, Monday Straight Shooter My Heart Stood Still Dream A Little Dream Of Me California Dreamin' Sing For Your Supper Here In My Arms Make Your Own Kind Of Music Lou Adler California Dreamin' reminds us that '60s pop paragons The Mamas & The Papas had an appealing new sound, made some terrific records, and left behind a legacy that lives on more than 35 years after they called it quits. This hour-long documentary, originally aired on PBS, has all the standard elements of the genre: interviews (including some from 2004 and '05 with surviving members Michelle Phillips and Denny Doherty, as well as 1986 recollections by John Phillips, who died in '01, and a few brief words from Cass Elliot, who passed away in '74), photos, home movies, and a generous helping of music clips. The latter come from both television (Shindig!, Hollywood Palace, The Ed Sullivan Show) and concerts (Monterey Pop); some are totally lip-synced, some find the group singing to a pre-recorded track, and some are completely live. Almost all of the clips manage to convey the magic of a quartet that had a unique charm, both visually (the beautiful blonde Michelle, the corpulent Mama Cass) and musically (Doherty had perhaps the best singing voice, while John Phillips' songs and vocal arrangemen...

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon Brand: Universal Music

An award winning look at the making of the recording of West Side Story, as Leonard Bernstein had originally wanted it to be. Performances from Kiri Te Kanawa, Tatiana Troyanos, Jose Carreras, and the Kurt Ollmann Chorus and Orchestra.

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon Model: 2227964

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon

Paolo Montarsolo, Frederica Von Stade, Francisco Araiza, and Claudio Desderi star in this production of the Rossini opera with Claudio Abbado conducting the Orchestra E Coro Del Teatro Alla Scala.

Manufacturer: Image Entertainment Brand: Image Entertainment

Gillian Murphy and Angel Corella star in this American Ballet Theatre production of the Tchaikovsky ballet.