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Starz: Back in Action Live 2003 (DVD)

Unless you cared, you probably missed the 2003 reunion of Starz, featuring the original lineup of the late-Seventies band that played straightforward AOR-tinged American hard rock. Well, never fear. One of the gigs — June 7, 2003, on a cramped stage at The Wreck Room in Wallington, N.J. — was captured for a DVD that was initially released in 2004. Now with wider distribution, thanks to Music Video Distributors, Back In Action Live 2003 will no doubt become a valued keepsake for one-time or longtime fans of the band. But this is hardly the place to start for newcomers. Singer Michael Lee Smith went from hunk to chunk and dresses for this performance in shorts and a ratty T-shirt more appropriate for a backyard barbecue than a rock show. Guitarist Richie Ranno's fancy fretwork still impresses, though, and songs like "Nitecrawler," "Cool One" and "Detroit Girls" still crackle. Plus, the rest of the band seems happy to be given another chance – regardless of how small. But there's something oddly disconcerting watching aging men trying to act young again by playing a song like "So Young, So Bad" with the maybe-acceptable-in-1979-but-creepy-in-2003 line "You should be home playing with your dolls/Instead you're here playing with my balls."

The beginning of Back In Action Live 2003 features a few images from back in day, when the guys in Starz were, well, almost stars. But bonus material in the form of live performances from that era would have provided a better overview of this band. Instead, we get a grainy performance recorded in 2.0 stereo from a band that's seen better days.


Track Listing:
1) Fallen Angel
2) Monkey Business
3) Detroit Girls
4) Rock Six Times
5) Subway Terror
6) Nitecrawler
7) Tear It Down
8) She
9) Any Way You Want It
10) Cherry Baby
11) Pull the Plug
12) Violation
13) Cool One
14) Waiting On You
15) Coliseum Rock
16) It's A Riot
17) So Young, So Bad
18) Outfit
19) Boys In Action

Added: January 27th 2006
Reviewer: Michael Popke
Score:
Related Link: Official Starz Web Site
Hits: 2876
Language: english

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