Brian Boyd on The Clash and Tony Clayton-Lea on Sheryl Crow.

THE CLASH

Revolution Rock

Sony BMG

This dreadfully cobbled together anti-bootleg release boasts "previously unreleased" material, but the diligent Clash fan will already have most of the stuff. It's a series of TV appearances and snippets from live shows; the editing isn't great, but the worst aspect is that it purports to be a documentary. Yes, there is some narration, but it never enlightens. At the end we're informed that "Joe Strummer and Mick Jones ended their partnership" without any attempt to fill in the missing gaps or even address the existence of the woeful post-Jones Clash.

Avoid this and head instead to the thoroughly complete Westway to the Worlddocumentary DVD.

BRIAN BOYD

SHERYL CROW

Live

Soundstage

***

Fifteen years ago, Sheryl Crow was the belle of the ball, a singer-songwriter worn down by the music industry and the frustration of being a backing singer (to Michael Jackson, among others). Eventually signing a solo record deal, she set about fusing Tom Petty with Lucinda Williams (with a hint of Exile-era Rolling Stones) and turned out some very fine and gutsy early albums.

Such quality didn't last, and over the past few years you can see Crow wilting under the pressure of expectation. In a live setting she has always been singularly uncommunicative, particularly as the venues got larger. This gig, however, sees Crow getting into some kind of zone. Not even the bland camera angles cramp her style as she performs a mostly greatest hits set ( Home, If It Makes You Happy, All I Wanna Do, Everyday Is a Winding Road, Leaving Las Vegas).

It's a reminder of how good Crow can be when she puts her mind to it.

TONY CLAYTON-LEA