Get on up
'Four on the Floor' really proved to any lingering doubters that Juliette & the Licks were more than just a hobby for actress Juliette Lewis. Originally released back in September of 2006 it's a solid album of upbeat garage rock & roll with a smattering of classics like the opening salvo of 'Smash and Grab' and the excellent 'Hot Kiss'. Lewis gives an accomplished vocal performance and the musicianship is impressive (although you could never really say it was outstanding). Professional celebrity drummer Dave Grohl takes the drum seat, does what he does best and overall it's a good listen, certainly superior to their debut album.
The main focus of this reissue is the addition of bonus DVD content that was missing from the original release. Before you get to the footage though the question has to be asked as to why this wasn't this included on the original release? Or released simply as a budget price DVD that gave fans value for money? Expecting fans that bought the album first time around to fork out again just to get the DVD footage smacks of rip off but hey, maybe I'm just being a little cynical.
So what do you get in addition to your second copy of the band's second album? Well actually it's pretty good, there's a 'making of' feature about the album, which although it features a little too heavily on Dave Grohl in the first part is informative and interesting all the same. The second part centres around the rest of the band and the vocals and really gives a good insight into how the album came together as well as a feeling of the camaraderie that they have. The most entertaining footage is certainly the 'Loose Licks' collection of short clips from various tours, on the bus & backstage footage; there are several real laugh out loud moments.
In addition there are three music videos from the album ('Hot Kiss', 'Purgatory Blues' and 'Sticky Honey') and five older videos, all of which are entertaining and make for a good package of bonus footage. For existing fans it's an essential purchase even if it does mean a second copy of the album and for those that missed out first time around it adds another dimension that makes this reissue of 'Four on the Floor' rather impressive.