X, "The Unheard Music," Silver Edition DVD, Newly Released

The band X was one of the bright lights of the punk-new wave movement. Exene's vocals and songwriting, John Doe's co-writing and co-vocals and the solid musicianship of the band upped the bar for the artband thing. Angel City Productions did a full length documentary on the band some 20 years ago entitled "The Unheard Music" which has now been issued in a Silver Edition with additional material previously unreleased (MVD Visual 5262D).

It is a great example of a fully thought out music documentary. It includes plenty of music live and in the studio, an overview of those rather heady times when punk-wave was a social as well as musical force, a look at Hollywod in the late '70s-early '80s, at X in relation to the music business as it then was, biographical info on the participants and their own version of the history and trajectory of their careers, and an art-auteur sort of thing, with nice effects, use of retro-stock film clips and an intelligent narrative thread.

The new material includes a bit more music and extensive interviews with Exene and John Doe as well as the filmmakers. It's a must for X fans as well as those with an interest in the era and the music scene. Well done!