Beatles’ really big shews

Imagine it’s 8 p.m. on a Sunday 40 years ago and you’re tuning in to “The Ed Sullivan Show” to see the Beatles’ U.S. TV debut.

After the curtain rises on the Feb. 9 show, Sullivan, the former newspaper columnist who was so stiff on camera that he was the butt of countless comedic impressions, steps on stage to face what was, to date, the largest U.S. TV audience ever.

“You know, something very nice happened and the Beatles got a kick out of it,” the host of the weekly variety show says. “They just received a wire from Elvis Presley and Col. Tom Parker wishing them a tremendous success in our country.”

After pausing for a commercial, Sullivan returns to the stage and introduces the four “youngsters” from Liverpool. The girls in the theater begin shrieking with the intensity that would lead journalists to coin the term “Beatlemania.”

The Beatles, in suits and ties, open with “All My Loving,” then go into “Till There Was You,” a ballad from “The Music Man.” During the song, the name of each Beatle flashes on the screen. In Lennon’s case, “John” is followed humorously by “Sorry girls, he’s married.”

The Beatles’ arrival on the Sullivan show has been shown in documentaries, but the unique thing about a new DVD, “The Four Complete Historic Ed Sullivan Shows Featuring the Beatles,” is that it doesn’t just offer us the Beatles’ 20 performances from three shows in 1964 and one in 1965, but the entire programs, including commercials. So we can watch each show just as viewers did.

Sullivan prided himself on presenting high culture to pop culture, mixing opera singers with circus acts, as well as stacking the audience with famous people whose contribution to the show often was no more than a wave.

On these four shows, guests ranged from the cast of the Broadway musical “Oliver!” and the comedy team of Allen & Rossi to jazz delight Cab Calloway and the aerobatic comedy team of Wells & the Four Fays. Fighters Joe Louis and Sonny Liston took bows from the audience.

It’s a wonderful, two-disc salute to a classic moment in American pop history, and its recent release by SOFA Entertainment underscores the increasing number of pop music options available on DVD.

There were lots of pop offerings during the VCR era, but the superior picture quality and range of playback options on DVDs have lifted home entertainment programming to a much higher level.

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Also worthy of your DVD player

Some pop DVDs are designed with history in mind. Others are simply souvenir packages drawn from a band’s latest tour. All of these recent releases, however, should please fans of the artists involved.

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Various Artists

“The Old Grey Whistle Test” (BBC Video)

For much of the ‘70s and ‘80s, pop fans in England tuned in Tuesday nights to see live performances by some of music’s brightest new faces as well as occasional guest appearances by superstars.

In this marvelously entertaining package, we see 28 performers, ranging from Elton John (singing “Tiny Dancer”) and Bob Marley & the Wailers (“Stir It Up”) to Tom Waits (“Tom Traubert’s Blues”) and R.E.M. (a medley of “Moon River” and “Pretty Persuasion”). You’ll also hear Curtis Mayfield, Captain Beefheart, Emmylou Harris, Little Feat, the Police and U2.

In addition, the DVD offers interviews with Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Robert Plant, Bruce Springsteen and the especially charming and open John Lennon.

If you’re looking for ways to spend that holiday gift certificate, be sure to consider this. When you see some of these musicians again, it’s hard to believe they were ever that young.

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Various Artists

“Concert for George”

(Warner Strategic Marketing)

Besides music by Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, Ravi Shankar and others at the tender memorial tribute to the late George Harrison, the intriguing thing about this set is that it contains last year’s entire London concert on one disc and the theatrical film from the concert on a second disc.

It’s as if the DVD of “The Last Waltz” contained both the Martin Scorsese film and the Band’s entire 1976 farewell concert, so that you can see how things were changed, for better or worse.

In this case, the film skips past some of the lovely sitar music at the beginning of the concert and takes us right to the rock ‘n’ roll. It also brightens things with backstage footage and interviews. It’s a classy two-disc package.

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The Rolling Stones

“Four Flicks” (TGA)

If you’ve wondered how different it was seeing the Rolling Stones tour last year in an arena, a stadium or a small theater, this is your chance to explore that question. Each of three discs is devoted to a separate show in one of the settings, while the fourth is a documentary, featuring rehearsal footage and some interviews.

What keeps it all from becoming too repetitive is the way the Stones changed the set lists as they moved from one setting to another.

The overall package includes versions of more than 50 songs, from the expected hits to such surprises as Smokey Robinson & the Miracles’ “Going to a Go-Go.” Lots to enjoy.

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Linkin Park

“Live From Texas” (Warner Reprise Video)

This Los Angeles band is one of the few bestsellers from the rap-rock movement that matters, thanks largely to the conviction and underdog sensibilities of lead singer Chester Bennington and the group’s customized mix of hip-hop beats and rock power. The footage is from two outdoor shows last summer in Houston and Irving, Texas. The second disc is a CD featuring 12 songs.

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Coldplay

“Live 2003” (Capitol)

Yes, there is a trace of Radiohead lushness and U2 anthems in Coldplay’s music, but the British quartet still asserts enough individuality and craft to rank as one of the most appealing new forces in rock in years.

Besides concert footage from its world tour last year, there is a tour diary, and if you watch closely during the tour bus sequence of the documentary, you will see a bit of an L.A. Times interview with Chris Martin. Two discs.

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Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band

“Live in Barcelona” (Columbia Music Video)

Because Springsteen and the band began their 1999 reunion tour in Barcelona, Spain, many Springsteen fans may assume this two-disc set documents that historic show. Instead, it is taken from Springsteen’s return to Barcelona during 2002’s “The Rising” tour. Besides the songs from that album, which was a moving reflection on the trauma of Sept. 11, the concert features such signature Springsteen songs as “Badlands,” “Born to Run” and “Thunder Road.” The bonus footage includes a tour documentary.

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Justin Timberlake

“Live From London” (Jive)

Once you get past the Michael Jackson affectations, Timberlake proved on last year’s co-headlining tour with Christina Aguilera that he is blessed with the charisma and musical instincts to be a major star for years. This concert footage is too straightforward to capture the good-natured spontaneity that Timberlake conveys live, but it still shows he’s a commanding figure on stage. Among the extra features are a video for “I’m Loving It” and a CD that includes, among other things, a Paul Oakenfold mix of “Rock Your Body.”

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U2

“U2 Go Home/Live From Slane Castle, Ireland” (Interscope)

Seeing U2 before a hometown crowd in Dublin must be a lot like seeing Springsteen at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. The band and the fans are both supercharged emotionally for this 2001 performance in which the band plays songs from the “All That You Can’t Leave Behind” album as well as earlier hits. Engaging bonus features.