I find myself writing this review at the same time as 'Last Temptation of Christ' (a film unfairly critcized by narrow-minded Christians) and 'The Passion of the Christ' (a film unfairly criticized by narrow-minded non-Christians). All of these films are great for completely different reasons - 'Last Temptation' for its artistic and philosophical boldness to go beyond the text of the New Testament to explore the dual nature of Jesus as God and man; adn 'The Passion' for its pure, unrelenting, singular, spiritual forcefulness.

My only criticism of this film is that it takes few chances, as the script is pretty much a chronological narrative of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, as set forth in the gospels. As saccarine as the visuals may appear 25 years later, this film pushed the limit alot further than the utterly unwatchable predecessors, such as "The Greatest Story Ever Told". The fact is that, in this day and age, where Christianity is un-politically correct, this miniseries, which is in my opinion the best made-for-TV film ever made, could never be made. Nonetheless, director Zeferelli did a great job with his underrated 'Hamlet' (1990) and did an underrated film here, and the musical themse is haunting and unforgettable. For these reasons, I give it a thumbs up.

First of all, this was originally released as an EP in 1986, with the five live tracks taken from the final tour with guitarist Vivian Campbell, and the studio cut "Time to Burn", a particularly unmemorable introduction of new guitarist Craig Goldy. Second, I have to say that the this one has one of the most no-it's-not-Spinal-Tap,-it's-serious album in heavy metal history. Third, this relatively expensive and rare CD does not appear to be a remaster.

That said, it is not all bad. Namely, it has definitive versions of "Sacred Heart" (although the remastered live version is included on the new 'Anthology') and "Rock and Roll Children", complete with a medley of Rainbow tunes, "Long Live Rock and Roll" and "Man on the Silver Mountain".

While the film is not as authentic as the upcoming "The Passion of the Christ" (where Aramaic is used), it was much more realistic and gritty than previous film portrayals. What really adds to the drama of the film is the soundtrack by Peter Gabriel.

Having received 12 years of Catholic school education, culminating when this film was released, I was amused to read the incredible outpouring of emotions by narrow-minded Christians against this film, both at the time is was released and in the reviews. To me, a sure-fire sign of narrow-mindedness is their utter inability to appreciate art for what it is and the fact (evident from their reviews) that they have not even seen the movie. My faith was not so weak as to refuse to entertain artistic explorations and alternative viewpoints.

Although not wholly based on the scriptures, the theme of this film IS based more upon the very nature of Jesus Christ himself. That is, the film and the book both attempt to dramatically explore the contradictions associated with the dual identity of Jesus as both God and man - a schitzophrenic combination indeed.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

In this film, Jesus as man resists God's call, at age 30, to take up his role as spiritual savior. Jesus-as-man IS tempted by his own thoughts and doubts (manifested by Satan), the last temptation occuring in a stupor as he hangs dying on the cross - the opportunity of becoming all man. This post-death illusion sequence, where Jesus goes on to marry Mary Magdeline and see the dire consequences of such a course of action, covers the last 3rd or so of the film. What is most interesting is the confrontation between Jesus and Paul, the latter of whom is the most signficant evangelical Christian of all time - which turns out to be an express of the argument that the idea of Jesus Christ as savior may have been more important (at least politically) that the historical facts. In any case, for those who find this sequence blasphemous, they need to remember that it is a DREAM. (e.g., The crowds are still cheering at the cross as he is taken down by a lovely little girl.) In the end, Jesus triumphs over the evil of human frailty to assume his position in Christian beliefs.

Other interesting factors include the expanded role of Judas (played here by Harvey Kietel), as Jesus' true right-hand man. In an interesting twist, Judas is at least as interested in political revolution as a spiritual one, and Jesus manipulates Judas' anger and convinces him to turn Jesus in for persecution.

In any case, I give it a firm thumbs up. Too bad that this is too expensive for any casual observer to pick it up on DVD, though.

This highly-anticipated and delayed follow-up to the breakthrough 'Fumbling Toward Ecstacy' (1993) proved to be mediocre at best. Although the Grammy-winning single "Building a Mystery", the successful follow-up "Sweet Surrender", and deliciously-quirky instrumental "Last Dance" (also Grammy-winning) are notable entries in her catalogue, the rest falls short as a set of phoned-in piano ballads, which (with the possible exception of "Angel") are utterly disposable. Gone are the superb vocals of "Ben's Song" (from 'Touch' (1989)), musical experimentation of "Black" (from 'Solace' (1991)), the lyrical edge of "Possession" (from 'Fumbling'), or the sheer power of "Fear" (also from 'Fumbling')?

For those of us fans who were utterly awed by 'Fumbling Toward Ecstasy' (1993), somewhat disappointed with 'Surfacing' (1997), and have been waiting for 6 years for new material, the return to her long locks had us hoping.

Specifically, I was hoping that Sarah would veer away from the unplugged/piano/torch/singer approach overutilized on her last studio record and now mastered by Norah Jones, and begin re-utilizing the talents of Pierre Marchand, who has helmed the production on all her records. I was not disappointed by the first single, "Fallen", or the superb tracks, "Stupid" and "Time". But even though this record is more . . . well, electric . . . the incessant mellowness is endemic. On some spots it works, such as the groove on "Train Wreck" or the closer "Dirty Little Secret", but the rest of the songs suffer from the same lyrical sapiness that characterized 'Surfacing'.

In any case, I do have one major complaint. That is, when you sift through the live and remix records and appearances on soundtracks (usually with cover tunes), over the last DECADE, we have been treated to 19 new songs, clocking in at less than 80 minutes. Here's a suggestion - why doesn't she just release one single a year.

I had to wait a long time to get this relatively obscure metal classic and finally it was remastered and reissued. This is, in my opinion, the most diverse and highest quality post-Ozzy era record, and perhaps the most accessible Black Sabbath record ever. You've got it all - catchy riffs ("Danger Zone"), blues ("Heart Like a Wheel"), and moody "ballads" ("No Stranger to Love", "Angry Heart/In Memory"). Too bad the collaberation between Tony Iommi and Glenn Hughes would be short-lived.

10 songs from the last 4 records just is not going to do it. The major flaws here are:
(1) The inclusion of "The Song Remains the Same" and "No Quarter", which are definitely the strongest or most memorable tracks from 'Houses of the Holy' (1973) (such as "Over the Hills and Far Away", "The Ocean", "Dancing Days", or "D'yer Mak'er").
(2) The inclusion of 10+ minute "Achilles Last Stand" from the weakest record, 'Presence' (1976), could have been replaced with 2-3 much better, more memorable songs from other records ("Over the Hills and Far Away", "The Ocean", "Dancing Days", "D'Yer Mak'er", "Fool in the Rain", or "In the Evening").

Save the money from purchasing these two compilations and spend the money on the complete recordings and make your own compilation.

Released in 1982, two years after the band disbanded, 'Coda' (1982) has only one truly indispensible track, a 1970 rehearsal version of "I Can't Quit You Babe" (originally from the first record). Also included is a well-executed cover tune ("We're Gonna Groove"), an unremarkable drum solo ("Bonzo's Montreaux"), an outtake from Led Zeppelin III ("Poor Tom"), an outtake from 'Houses of the Holy' ("Darlene"), and three outtakes from their last record, the most interesting of which is the punkish "Wearing and Tearing". Bottom line: this should be the last addition to your collection.

In the midst of the rise of Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, etc. in 1976, it is no coincidence that Jimmy Page made this one rock harder than any other. The problem here is that, with the notable exception of the tightly-executed "Nobody's Fault But Mine", the song-writing is uninspired and, since an injured and grieving Robert Plant was phoning in his performance, the result was not satisfactory. Many cite "Achilles Last Stand" as a highlight, but I find that it goes about 4-5 minutes too long. The same is true of the slow blues attempt, "Tea for One". The rest of the record is truly unmemorable, although the original album cover art is one of my favorites of all time (even if it does play off of '2001: A Space Odyssey'). Aside from the postumously released 'Coda' (1982), this should be the last addition to your LZ collection.

As history states, Jimmy Page helmed the band for 'Presence' (1976) and Robert Plant helmed the band for this record (1979), the last true studio album from a legendary band. Because of the changes made in the sound, and most notably the addition of synths and a different vocal style by Robert Plant, it is hard to judge this record in a vacuum without the benefit of seeing where the band would go next. That is, as Led Zeppelin III is often judged as a misstep, it was a necessary step to get to the arguably best record, "IV". That said, it is undeniably better than its predecessor and has a number of tunes worthy of inclusion as official LZ classics, such as "In the Evening", "All My Love", "Fool in the Rain", and the often overlooked, but elegant blues of "I'm Gonna Crawl".