Latest releases reviewed

TIM BUCKLEY
My Fleeting House
Manifesto
****

"This is not a bootleg" says the back cover of this remarkable DVD, a collection of first- generation video clips of US singer-songwriter Tim Buckley. Buckley Sr was as singular a songwriter and singer in the 1960s as his son Jeff was in the 1990s. Both died tragically young, the father in 1975 from a heroin overdose at the age of 28. This Buckley estate-approved artefact includes clips (some of them available on YouTube) from film and TV performances from 1967 to 1974; all have something special about them, from singing Song to the Siren on a 1967 episode of The Monkees to performing The Dolphins on a 1974 Old Grey Whistle Test show. Extras include album reviews by Buckley's former musical foils, Lee Underwood and Larry Beckett, and an interview with biographer David Browne. www.timbuckleydvd.com TONY CLAYTON-LEA

THIN LIZZY
The Rocker - A Portrait of Phil Lynott
Digital Classics DVD
****

There have been a few halfway- decent documentaries about the life and times of Thin Lizzy's iconic frontman, but none have approached the depth and substance of Shay Healy's film, on reissue some 10 years after its initial release. What sets this apart from the others is Healy's skills as a teller of a good story and his own insider knowledge of the ill-fated singer-songwriter. The talking head guests are also top-drawer, including Caroline Crowther, Lynott's former wife, speaking about him for the first time. Bono, Jon Bon Jovi, Slash, Bob Geldof, Van Morrison, Thin Lizzy members Brian Downey, Gary Moore and Scott Gorham pitch in their tuppenceworth, adding layers onto the already substantial material. The picture that emerges is one we've been aware of for some time (that of a talented, sensitive but self- absorbed, kind yet self-destructive person). Yet it's delivered with such grace, intelligence and authority that it bears repeating. www.digitalclassics dvd.co.uk TONY CLAYTON-LEA