Back in the glorious ‘80s, the Aussie pub scene was rich with choice and there was never a shortage of powerhouse bands playing in your city. It was a time when good Aussie bands were not hard to find, and many began to taste international success. Bands such as Midnight Oil, Hunters and Collectors, INXS, Little Heroes, Rose Tattoo, The Models, Mondo Rock, Men At Work, Icehouse, Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons, just to name a few, could be seen any Saturday night down your local. Sadly, the live gig scene is not as rich and diverse today, even in the bigger cities, and I can honestly say that today’s youth are missing out. A DJ in the corner just doesn’t cut it.

Few Aussie rock bands defined the era better than the Divinyls. Fewer still did it with a lead singer who was a woman, and a very assertive and menacing one at that, who had such stage presence that she demanded your attention. With a reputation for being sultry and unpredictable on stage, but never less than intriguing, it was only a matter of time before a live DVD was released, and here it is, Divinyls – Jailhouse Rock Live.

Recorded in 1993 in Queensland’s notorious Boggo Road prison, this gig was part of a triple bill that also featured Rose Tattoo and Billy Thorpe and his Aztecs. The Divinyls had several lineups over the years, but the two constants were Christina “Chrissie� Amphlett on vocals, and Mark McEntee on guitar. The pair also wrote most of the band’s songs. The lineup for this gig was rounded out by Charley Drayton on drums, Jerome Smith on bass, Charlie Owen on rhythm guitar and Lee Borkman on keyboards.

The band manage to squeeze in most of their hits from their five albums, including their biggest hit, and most controversial, I Touch Myself. The gig kicks off in fine style with the early hit Boys in Town and the band perform a swag of songs in almost chronological order, finishing with Pleasure and Pain. Naturally, not everyone’s favourite is included, and I would have loved to have heard Siren, Hey Little Boy, Sleeping Beauty and maybe even Casual Encounter. Still, there are more than enough good songs here that highlight what a powerful band Divinyls were, and how fondly remembered they are by those that managed to catch a live show.

While it is nitpicking, the cover of this DVD is so riddled with factual and spelling errors that those responsible should be ashamed. The errors include:

1. The drummer’s name is Charley, not Charlie.
2. "Only the Lonely" should be Only Lonely (Back cover and Song Menu).
3. "Make you Happy" should be I’ll Make You Happy (Back cover and Song Menu).
4. "Guillotine Day" is spelled incorrectly in the Song List menu.
5. "Tempermental" should be Temperamental (Back cover and Song Menu).
6. Aint Gonna Eat Out My Heart needs the word Anymore and an apostrophe added (Back cover and Song Menu).
7. "Make Out All Right" should be Make Out Alright (Back cover and Song Menu).
8. "I Need A Lover" should be Need A Lover (Back cover and Song Menu).
9. The cover blurb says the band play hits including Sleeping Beauty - they don’t.
10. The run time should be 85 minutes, not 65 as claimed.
11. There are spelling and song title errors in the Biography.
12. Numerous punctuation errors.

Track listing...

It is no secret once the final credits roll that this has been mastered from a VHS tape. Aside from the fact that it looks like it, there are numerous sponsors listed at the show's completion, some of whom went into liquidation years ago. As you have probably surmised already, the image is rather affected by grain and is not exactly sharp and crisp. Long shots are decidedly worse and look quite soft. Close ups, however, don’t look too bad, even though the whole thing suffers from slight overexposure. I think it’s safe to assume that the show was not recorded using state-of-the-art equipment.

Colours are fair and consistent, but stage lighting again is a slightly disruptive. There is chroma noise in evidence, and black levels vary, especially in the long shots and crowd shots. There is some rather frequent shimmer on guitars, microphones, and speaker covers.

There are also a couple of tape glitches that, although minor, are noticeable and occur during Lay Your Body Down and Sex Will Keep Us Together.

It’s a shame there is not a great kick-arse audio provided as that is what most audiophiles crave. The original source tape displays its limitations when transferred to DVD, and the Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo, claimed on the cover to have been digitally remastered, is adequate at best. The whole thing is slightly thin and the drums and bass lack any real punch. Similarly, there are no crisp and crystal tops to rave about either. Vocals suffer a little and do sound a little thin, they improve after the first few songs.

The band has not been mixed with any great care either, and while this is not a fault of the transfer, it certainly doesn’t help. Vocals start muddy, and McEntee’s guitar solos tend to dominate a little. Keyboards are only evident in some numbers even though they are being played a lot more than you can hear. There is also not a lot of separation of instruments or vocals. The show does improve as it moves along, but it is still a little on the disappointing side.

While there are no problems with audio synch, there are some terribly obvious and disappointing audio dropouts during the songs Lay Your Body Down (that also features a speedy intro that changes tempo very rapidly after about five seconds), and Science Fiction. This may be a fault with the source material, but is rather obvious and annoying.

When, oh when, are these distributors going to give up on the notion that things such as Song Listing are Special Features? They are not!

The only genuine extra is a short text biography of the duo, (let’s forget calling them a ‘band’ okay? They haven’t been a band in the real sense of the word since 1985), which despite containing spelling, punctuation, and song title errors is actually quite informative – for Divinyls novices.

There is no denying the Divinyls' place in Australia’s rock and roll history. They were (at least I think they’re finished), a hard rockin’ outfit that tasted local and moderate international success. They were controversial (I Touch Myself), they had catchy songs, and Chrissie Amphlett is still the most unique and, as it has turned out, most versatile female vocalist this country has produced. I for one hope we haven’t seen the end of the Divinyls. With a bit of luck we might get a technically decent DVD out of them, one that will have a wider appeal than this one. For fans only I’m afraid.