The Dead Boys
Return of the Living Dead Boys - Halloween Night 1986 Blu-Ray
Review by Gary Hill
I previously reviewed this video when it was released as a DVD. Here's what I said in that review:
"For my money when you are talking old school punk you just don't get any better than The Dead Boys. On Halloween 1986 the band did a reunion gig at the Ritz in NYC. Introduced by Joey Ramone, the group went on to make their way through a powerhouse set. They showed that they still had everything it took to be The Dead Boys. Opening and closing with their raw anthem, 'Sonic Reducer,' they included favorites like 'All This and More,' 'Caught With the Meat in Your Mouth,' 'Ain't Nothing To Do' and more. They also include a smoking cover of 'Search and Destroy.' The show is on fire! The film is suitably raw, shot from the audience. It's still fairly clean in terms of video and audio, though. All the glory of a punk show in terms of stage divers and the whole scene is captured here. This was an incredible show and the video lives up to every bit of it. We also get a cool bonus in the form of a 1980 TV interview of Stiv Bators. That interview section includes a great video of 'Sonic Reducer,' too. All in all, if you like old school punk you 'must have' this! If you have ever wondered what it's all about, pick this one up, too. It's the real deal."
This Blu-Ray captures all that magic, but it looks and sounds better, at least to me it does. We also get a video for "Sonic Reducer." That video is apparently very rare, and it was not included with the original DVD release. That makes this the superior release as far as I'm concerned. It's also worth the upgrade.
This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2024 Volume 3 More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2024.
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