"Actor: Pete Carr"

• Simon & Garfunkel - The Concert in Central Park | DVD | (01/03/2004) from £11.50   |  Saving you £2.49 (21.65%)   |  RRP £13.99

  What started as a suggestion for Paul Simon to play a concert in New York's Central Park blossomed, on September 19, 1981, into a full-blown Simon and Garfunkel reunion after an 11-year hiatus, and now proves a priceless snapshot of two of America's greatest folk-rock performers. (It's also the rightful bookend to Simon and Garfunkel's acoustic Live from New York City, 1967.) Performed with a who's-who of East Coast session aces before a record-setting crowd of half-a-million fans, the Concert in Central Park finds its stars just shy of their 40th birthdays and very much in their primes, their voices sweet and pure and their playing relaxed, perfectly in tune and in synch. The show features a mix of S&G and solo Simon tunes, including all the songs that appear on the CD, with the addition of a reprise of "Late in the Evening" and the first live performance of Simon's "The Late Great Johnny Ace". This is classic material from start to finish, 87 minutes of unmitigated beauty. --Michael Mikesell

• The Who And Special Guests - Live At The Royal Albert Hall | DVD | (24/09/2001) from £8.06   |  Saving you £1.93 (23.95%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The Who: Live at the Royal Albert Hall commemorates a remarkable charity gig in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust. Roger Daltrey does allow himself a smirk as he declaims his famous hope that he'll die before he gets old, but other than that, The Who are to be commended for playing their reunion entirely straight. Their souped-up rhythm'n'blues was always propelled by a self-belief as fervent as it was absolute; had any irony been allowed to impinge on proceedings here, the spectacle of three men well into their 50s delivering a set of what remain definitive hymns to youth and its attendant furies would have been wholly preposterous. As it is, the three surviving members of The Who (Daltrey, Pete Townshend, Jon Entwhistle) combine with keyboardist John Bundrick and drummer Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr) to altogether engaging effect. There is, obviously, nothing wrong with the songs "Pinball Wizard", "The Kids Are Alright", "You Better You Bet", and they all get the treatment they deserve here. In fact, the only downsides are the many guest performances, which are either redundant, like Noel Gallagher's rhythm guitar on "Won't Get Fooled Again", or actually detrimental, like Kelly Jones' dreadful braying of "Substitute".On the DVD: The widescreen DVD is enhanced for 16:9 TVs. The second disc of extras includes backstage and rehearsal footage, the option to watch the performance of "Pinball Wizard" from a variety of angles, and an interview with Roger Daltrey, which he devotes principally to his work for the Teenage Cancer Trust, who were the beneficiaries of the concert. Also included is a derisory booklet of hopeless out-of-focus photos of the show taken by Bryan Adams, who would be well advised, on this evidence, to stick with the day job. --Andrew Mueller

• Down Among The Z Men | DVD | (24/06/2002) from £7.29   |  Saving you £8.70 (119.34%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Although they made their name in the medium of radio, the legendary Goons also made brief forays into the world of television and, with Down Among the Z Men, film. It captures the team at a very early stage in their career, with Michael Bentine still in the fold, and with their unique, anarchic brand of humour still in its infancy. Sadly, the style and feel of the film does little to suit their comedy style. While radio offered an opportunity for their imaginations to run riot, here the four find themselves tied to a few stock characters, most of whom would make a more animated appearances later in their career. The plot--with its tale of eccentric professors and evil spies--sees a series of musical numbers and a variety performance crow barred into the proceedings. Those who wish to add to an already existing Goons collection may want to consider this, but anyone wondering what all the fuss is about should head straight for the many radio collections available and hear the sound of true genius at work. On The DVD: Down Among the Z Men offers little to recommend, with the DVD lacking in any extras whatsoever. Being taken from an original fifties print, the black and white picture is of reasonable quality yet cannot help but look extremely dated. At best it is the sort of curio that would pass time on a Sunday afternoon but it is hard to consider this a particularly essential DVD release. –-Phil Udell