TOP PICK
The Simpsons:
The Complete Twelfth Season
(Twentieth Century Fox)
The 12th season’s best outings — “HOMR,” “The Worst Episode
Ever,” “Trilogy of Error” — focus on the series’ enduring
strengths: pop-culture jabs, smart historical skewering and Homer. This
four-DVD box includes all 21 episodes, plus deleted scenes,
featurettes, commentary and some Easter eggs. D’oh!
CD
Woody Guthrie:
My Dusty Road
(Rounder)
This four-disc box gathers more than 50 songs from Guthrie’s peak
years. The spare intimate tunes — American folk classics like
“This Land Is Your Land,” “Hard Travelin'” and “Pretty Boy Floyd”
— have influenced everyone from Bob Dylan to Bruce Springsteen to
Conor Oberst. And the remastered 60-year-old recordings have never
sounded better.
CD
Jimi Hendrix Experience:
Live at Woburn
(Dagger)
The sound on this “official bootleg” is kinda crappy. And some songs
aren’t complete. But this 1968 concert — from one of the U.K.’s
first music fests — includes some fierce performances, especially
an 11-minute “Red House.” Too bad “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club
Band” isn’t all there, but the first-ever live “Voodoo Child (Slight
Return)” makes up for it.
VIDEO
Heroes: Season 3
(Universal)
This geek-approved sci-fi series settled into a for-the-fans rhythm
during its third season. The 25 episodes are divided into “Villains”
and “Fugitives” volumes, boosting the comic-book tone. This six-disc
set includes deleted scenes, alternate stories, commentary and more. Be
sure to pick up the Blu-ray version for the total HD geek
experience.
VIDEO
State of Play
(Universal)
Russell Crowe rarely lets us down, and he’s explosive here as a
Washington, D.C., reporter investigating a pair of deaths that may or
may not be related to a congressman. You can tell he does things his
own way because he has Eddie Vedder hair. He’s also pretty sure there’s
a conspiracy going on. The Blu-ray includes deleted scenes and
interactive features.
This article appears in Sep 2-8, 2009.