Mike Mettler

Blu-ray Movie Reviews
ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas
Mike Mettler  |  Jun 26, 2020  |  0 comments
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ZZ Top ain't been nicknamed That Little Ol' Band From Texas for nothing, you know. But just in case you don't, please bear witness to this highly informative 2019 Banger Films documentary, which delves Rio Grande-deep into the true origins of this tight-knit blues 'n' boogie trio. (Incidentally, said trio also happens to comprise the longest-running unchanged lineup in rock history—51 years and counting, as of presstime.)
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Stream On
Yet Another Ten Must-See Rockumentaries
Mike Mettler  |  Jun 25, 2020  |  0 comments
Welcome back my friends, to the sheltering that never ends! Well, I suppose that assessment technically depends on just how good your home state has been in adhering to our respective pandemic guidelines, but I digress. Regardless of whether you're following a strict lockdown or beginning to safely venture out and about (albeit while wearing a mask, please!), we can all still agree there's nothing quite like spending some quality screen time with top-shelf streaming content, no matter what's going on outside as summer gets into full swing.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsMusic Disc Reviews
10 Top Concert Blu-ray Discs
Mike Mettler  |  May 21, 2020  |  22 comments
One thing our ongoing pandemic lockdown continues to remind many of us music lovers of on a daily basis is just how much we all miss attending live concert events.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsMusic Disc Reviews
Hail! Hail! Rock 'N' Roll
Mike Mettler  |  May 15, 2020  |  1 comments
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It would be easy to characterize Chuck Berry, who passed away at age 90 in 2017, as one cantankerously acrimonious fellow, but after revisiting Taylor Hackford's astute 1987 documentary Hail! Hail! Rock 'N' Roll, now available on Blu-ray for the first time via Shout Select, I'm reminded of how captivating, creative, and downright business-savvy the pioneering, guitar-playing singer/ songwriter actually was.
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Music Disc Reviews
Best 5.1 Surround Sound Music Tracks
Mike Mettler  |  May 07, 2020  |  32 comments
Okay, you got me. I freely admit before all my fellow music lovers and audiophiles alike that I had a very specific ulterior motive when I noted in a recent Remaster Class column that the title track to Yes' September 1972 magnum opus Close to the Edge was my "second-favorite 5.1 mix." Following my primary intention of encouraging listeners to marvel at the fully enveloping scope of that song's truly amazing surround sound mix, I figured the next thing anyone reading said comment might wonder would be along the lines of, "Yeah, cool cool cool, that's great and all—but what's No. 1?"
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Stream On
Ten More Must-See Rockumentaries to Shelter in Place With
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 30, 2020  |  0 comments
So . . . seen anything good lately? Now that we have almost nothing but time on our hands as we collectively self-quarantine behind closed doors and chill in front of our screens, there's no better time than the here and now to catch up on all the great rock documentaries we've been meaning to delve into via the streaming universe. Naturally, we here at S&V assume you've already devoured—and loved—the half-dozen rock docs I recommended here just a few short weeks ago, so what should you watch next?
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Music Disc Reviews
Remaster Class: Yes: Close to the Edge
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 24, 2020  |  1 comments
Yes may have hit the roundabout motherlode with November 1971's Fragile, but their true zenith came with the following album, September 1972's Close to the Edge. Edge was the perfect intersection of envelope-pushing, multi-movement compositions and beyond-heady lyrical mysticism, permanently cementing Yes' status as top-tier progressive rock progenitors.
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Music Disc Reviews
Prince 1999 - Super Deluxe Edition
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 17, 2020  |  3 comments
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Prince was determined. While he had made some inroads on both the sales charts and urban radio with his first four hot-button, mostly one-man-show albums of the late-'70s and early-'80s, an opening slot on The Rolling Stones' 1981 tour exposed the narrowmindedness of many concertgoers who outright booed and/or threw things at Prince and his band while they were onstage.
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Stream On
6 Must-See Rockumentaries to Shelter in Place With
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 02, 2020  |  5 comments
The always-must-be-fed M.O. of today’s streaming services has produced a plethora of rock documentaries. Here are six you don’t want to miss.
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The S&V Interview
Prog Giants Nektar Remember The Future from The Other Side
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 26, 2020  |  0 comments
Some bands have sonic innovation flowing through their veins, right from conception. Case in point: Nektar, the progressive European collective who initially made their bones in Germany in the 1970s, even though their founding members were all from the U.K. Early, mind-expanding Nektar albums like 1971’s Journey to the Centre of the Eye, 1972’s A Tab in the Ocean, and 1973’s Remember the Future were all said to have influenced the always exploratory likes of Pink Floyd. I sat down with Derek “Mo” Moore and founding drummer Ron Howden to discuss the enduring legacy of their deep canon and how they address their history on their recent album The Other Side.
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