Live at Woodstock Live Performance by Jimi Hendrix Released 1992 (VHS), 1999 (DVD), 2008 (Bluray) Recorded August 17, 1969 Venue Woodstock Festival, NY Genre Rock, Blues Directed by Michael Wadleigh Produced by Robert Smith, Daryl Bamonte Length 248 mins Distributed by Eagle Vision (US) / Fiction Records (UK) Jimi Hendrix: Live at Woodstock features all of the existing film footage from Jimi Hendrix's unforgettable August 1969 Woodstock concert newly re-edited and presented uninterrupted and in its original performance sequence. It features never before seen version of "Foxey Lady," " Message To Love," "Hey Joe," "Spanish Castle Magic," and "Lover Man." The audio soundtrack now includes a new previously unavailable 5.1 and 2.0 stereo soundtrack mixed by Eddie Kramer, Jimi's original engineer.. Personnel Jimi Hendrix – lead guitar, vocals Mitch Mitchell – drums Billy Cox – bass guitar Larry Lee – rhythm guitar Juma Sultan – percussion Jerry Velez – percussion Track Listing Message To Love Spanish Castle Magic Red House Lover Man Foxey Lady Jam Back At The House Izabella Fire Voodoo Child (Slight Return) Star Spangled Banner Purple Haze Woodstock Improvisation Villanova Junction Hey Joe Version Control At Woodstock was first released in 1992 on VHS. It had eleven tracks, ending with “Hear My Train A' Comin’”. It was released on DVD in 1999 as Live at Woodstock with the same track listing. In 2005, a two DVD set was released with the set list expanded to 14 tracks, but without “Hear My Train A' Comin’”. A bluray edition was released in 2008, which is what I have. I decided I really needed the Hendrix bluray after reviewing the Woodstock bluray release a few months ago. Amazon. The Concert It’s got a 4:3 aspect ratio and it’s a little grainy – maybe a little better than average VHS video. I was expecting this would just be video of the Hendrix concert performance. But no, they had to go and pad it interviews, but fortunately it’s all in the first chapter, and in chapter 16 after the concert is over.. “Message To Love” Skipping ahead to chapter 2. This was a new song at the time, it appeared in a more polished form on Band of Gypsys. The band is introduced as the Jimi Hendrix Experience, but Jimi corrects the announcer – his band is now the the Rainbow something or just the Band of Gypsys. He still has Mitch Mitchell on drums, but Billy Cox is on bass, plus he another guitar player in the back plus two guys on congas. This was a new song at the time, it appeared in a more polished form on Band of Gypsys. Anyway, I don’t understand how Hendrix can play quitar with one hand, but he often does. “Spanish Castle Magic” From Axis: Bold as Love. There’s a conga player (Jerry Velez) directly behind Jimi who seems to be playing, but you can’t hear him at all. I’m not sure his mike was turned on, or more likely he was mixed down because he wasn’t in sync at all. In any case, it still sounds like Jimi, bass, and drums. “Red House” From Are You Experienced, UK edition. A blues song with lots of Hendrix guitar closeups. “Lover Man” A faster paced blues song. They don’t show the other guitar player (Lee) much, which is too bad – you can hear him. Lots of reverb in the back. “Foxey Lady” From Are You Experienced. I think Lee’s twanging rhythm guitar is actually mixed to the back on this one, and Hendrix is pretty much in surround (mixed equally to the rear) at the end. The conga [;ayer both seem to be “Jam Back At The House” The is a jam based on the song “Beginnings” that appears on posthumous albums. There’s a drum solo and Hendrix tells Velez to stop playing because he is just not in the same zone as Mitch. But this is a two-guitar version, and it’s pretty awesome. “Izabella” Another song of the future – this one appears on many of his posthumous albums. Hendrix guitar is in surround again, and I think Lee is mixed a bit more to the back again. “Fire” From Are You Experienced. Less in back on this one, I’d call it heavy reverb. Hendrix seems to be singing through his guitar, amazing. “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” From Electric Ladyland. Hendrix guitar and vocals are mixed to the back. This is without a doubt the best thing on here: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1983125262018068. "Star Spangled Banner " The national anthem with lots of reverb in the back. He tunes his guitar while he’s in the middle of a song. Who does that? It segues straight into…. “Purple Haze” From Are You Experienced. I think the extra percussionists actually contribute here. A Hendrix guitar solo with lots of extra reverb at the end. Hendrix starts to improvise a bit at the end of the song, which segues into…. “Woodstock Improvisation” Yeah, I don’t know what to say. That’s just not the way people normally play the guitar. Sounds amazing though. No vocals, just the guitar mixed in surround. The rest of the band just becomes part of the audience. Segues straight into… “Villanova Junction” A blues-based jam. Hendrix continues to jam, but he gets Mitchell and Cox to join in. Then he invites Lee in, then Sultan, then Velez right before he end. “Hey Joe” From Are You Experienced. The finale – people are continuing to leave. Bass drums and vocals in front, Hendrix guitar in surround. A relatively normal rendition of the song. ______ We’ll see how Monterey Pop stacks up, but this is a much more satisfying performance than the flawed recording of the Band of Gypsys concert. On the down side, it has the acoustics of a live outdoor concert, and he has a new band that doesn't deliver what I would call a tight performance. The conga player behind him (Velez) seemed especially useless; he doesn’t seem to have had much of a career after Woodstock. Hendrix might have been better off with just Mitchell and Cox. There is also quit a bit of improvisation which is quite entertaining, but it’s not his best stuff. The rear speakers are used to accentuate Hendrix reverb, which is a great reason to have rear speakers. Music – 2 Sound quality – 2 Video presentation – 3 Video quality – 1 Surround – 2
Thanks for this write-up. I wouldn’t expect video perfection on this, so that’s OK. Sound is probably reasonable for the same reasons. It won’t be perfect, but the historical importance would allow me to overlook that. Why the hell is Hear My Train A-Comin’ left off though?? That’s infuriating. Especially if it was previously released? Is there some flaw with the film, or the performance, that caused TPTB to want it removed? I’ve never heard anything wrong with it on CD. Janie Hendrix, and her infinite wisdom, strikes again. The performance would be incomplete either way, of course. No surprise the two songs sung by Larry Lee are left out. Every CD release of Jimi at Woodstock has rewritten that bit of history as well. Very disappointing to hear one of Jimi’s own songs has been cut though.
Hear My Train A-Comin is on disc two in black and white film. Yeah it sucks the Larry Lee songs are omitted.
Ah, didn’t know that. Still wonder why, though. Separate, and in black and white? Perhaps there was an issue with the film?
They were changing the film reels during Hear My Train. The black and white was captured on videotape by a 22 year old college student who snuck up on the side of the stage to record Jimi.
Baby Snakes Movie and Live Performance by Frank Zappa Release date December 21, 1979 Recorded October 28–31, 1977 Venue The Palladium, New York City Genre Hard rock, progressive rock, art rock, comedy rock Directed by Frank Zappa Produced by Frank Zappa, Bennett Glotzer Length 166 min Distributed by Intercontinental Absurdities Budget $679,000 Baby Snakes is a film which includes footage from Frank Zappa's 1977 Halloween concert at New York City's Palladium Theater, backstage antics from the crew, and stop motion clay animation from award-winning animator Bruce Bickford. Critics were not kind to the picture. In his TV, Movie & Video Guide, film historian Leonard Maltin called it an "...Excruciatingly overlong ego-trip...Zappa the producer should have fired Zappa the director." It has a 92% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Initially, the film had particular difficulty finding a distributor. Zappa tried to interest United Artists, the company that released 200 Motels, but they declined. Other studios followed United Artists' lead, fearing that Zappa's "cinematic style" had lost considerable appeal in 1970s pop culture, and also declined to distribute the film. Several European distributors told Zappa that there might be interest if the running time was cut from its original 168-minute length. The film was cut to 90 minutes, but still, there were no takers. Even after Bruce Bickford's sequences won first prize at a French animated film competition, there was no interest. Eventually Zappa took it upon himself to distribute the film independently, via his own production company, Intercontinental Absurdities. The film ran 24 hours a day at the Victoria Theater in New York City. The film was first released on videocassette in 1983 in two forms. The complete edition was priced at $200 and was aimed at rental stores. A 90-minute edited version was available to the general public at a more reasonable "sell-through" price of $59.98. Both editions sold out quickly. Finally, after many years of being "out of print" Baby Snakes was released on DVD on December 9, 2003, by Eagle Vision United States with a new 5.1 Surround mix added and in its complete, unedited form. This was the first time that the film was made commercially available to the public at large rather than through limited mail order directly from Zappa. Personnel Frank Zappa Terry Bozzio - drums Roy Estrada - vocals Adrian Belew –Vocals, guitar Ed Mann - Percussion Patrick O'Hearn – bass Peter Wolf - keyboards Tommy Mars - keyboards Track Listing There is an extended soundtrack for the whole movie, which was released in 2012. The track listing is as follows: No. Title Length 1. "Baby Snakes Rehearsal" 2:11 2. "'This Is the Show They Never See'" 5:52 3. "Baby Snakes - The Song" 2:04 4. "Bruce Bickford / 'Disco Outfreakage'" 6:15 5. "The Poodle Lecture" 5:03 6. "'She Said' / City of Tiny Lites" 10:28 7. "New York's Finest Crazy Persons" 1:55 8. "'The Way the Air Smells…' / Flakes" 4:01 9. "Pound Bass & Keyboard Solo" 6:36 10. "'In You' Rap / Dedication" 6:47 11. "Manuaga / Police Car / Drum Solo" 9:45 12. "Disco Boy" 4:02 13. "'Give People Somewhere to X-Scape Thru'" 6:26 14. "King Kong / Roy's Halloween Gas Mask" 9:01 15. "Bobby Brown Goes Down" 3:43 16. "Conehead / 'All You Need to Know'" 5:32 17. "I'm So Cute / 'Entertainment All the Way'" 5:15 18. "Titties 'n' Beer" 6:19 19. "Audience Participation / The Dance Contest" 6:36 20. "The Black Page#2" 2:55 21. "Jones Crusher" 2:53 22. "Broken Hearts Are for Assholes" 3:50 23. "Punky's Whips" 12:10 24. "'Thank You' / Dinah-Moe-Humm" 7:19 25. "Camarillo Brillo" 3:26 26. "Muffin Man" 4:59 27. "San Ber'dino" 5:02 28. "Black Napkins" 7:54 29. "New York's Finest Crazy Persons 2" 4:09 30. "'Good Night'" 1:22 Version Control This DVD is still in print and available new from Amazon for $20. However, on a per disc basis, it’s even cheaper if you buy it as part of a three disc set, which is what I did. The Movie It’s 4:3 video, the intro is DVD quality, but once the film gets going it’s VHS quality. The surround mix is DD 5.1. OK, I may not watch all of this. I’m going to concentrate on watching the live performance and the claymation sequences that have actual songs. The rest of it is strictly optional – I’ll decide as I go along. "Baby Snakes - The Song" The first actual song is on chapter 3, and it’s the title track. The video is partly Claymation plus some heavily edited video of FZ editing his video. For surround, we’ve got lead vocals and reverb in the back "Bruce Bickford / 'Disco Outfreakage'" Chapter 4 is comprised of FZ interviewing Bickford, followed by some Claymation with an FZ soundtrack. The sound effects employ some discrete mixing the back. "'She Said' / City of Tiny Lites" After about 30 seconds of back room silliness on chapter 6, Bozzio starts the song(s) off in his underwear. He is joined by a short-haired Belew on vocals and Mars on keyboards. After the first song concludes, Zappa shows up and starts the second song off with a blistering guitar solo. Belew finishes up with guitar and vocals. Pretty good stuff from Bozzio, Belew, and Zappa. However, there is more backroom stuff after the song is over. "Pound Bass & Keyboard Solo" On chapter 9, we’ve got Estrada, Bozzio, and Mars doing cool musician stuff. But there are a few interruptions. "Disco Boy" On Chapter 12, Bozzio is colead vocalist with FZ, who interacts with one of the female crowd members. FZ in center, background vocals and keyboards in the back. "'Give People Somewhere to X-Scape Thru'" Chapter 13 is similar to chapter 4 – FZ interviews Bickford, then Claymation with FZ soundtrack. Discrete sound effects in the back again. "King Kong / Roy's Halloween Gas Mask" Now on chapter 14, we’ve got more musicians doing music stuff. Not shirtless FZ though, but he is conducting a bit. Roy Estrada vocals, and percussion and keyboards in surround. It eventually gets very silly. "Bobby Brown Goes Down" Chapter 15 brings us an FZ monologue song. Belew backing vocals and guitar. "I'm So Cute / 'Entertainment All the Way'" Chapter 17 is straight Claymation with FZ soundtrack. Quite possibly the best thing on the disc. There is one other track I rather show, so I won’t use the embedded video here. However, here’s the link Baby Snakes, Frank Zappa stop motion clay Animation - part 3/3 Warning, there's some clay pornography in there. Once again, there are some nice discrete sound effects in surround. "Titties 'n' Beer" Chapter 18 is a dialog between FZ and Bozzio wearing a devil mask, with some backroom Belew changing clothes edited in for no good reason. I did get a chuckle out of this one. "Jones Crusher" Another actual song can be found on chapter 19. This one features Belew on lead vocals, and Zappa with some tasty guitar. Oh, Belew is wearing a skirt now. "Broken Hearts Are for Assholes" Chapter 20 has FZ with lead vocals and guitar, Bozzio and Belew backing. But it devolves into a monologue. "Punky's Whips” Chapter 21 has a long song making fun of music I’m not familiar with. Bozzio is the star of the show. "'Thank You' / Dinah-Moe-Humm" Chapter 22 has what is arguably the first good song. However, it is interrupted by interaction with the crowd, and they just aren’t that serious. "Camarillo Brillo" / “Muffin Man” OK, let’s try again on chapter 23. A little better. Belew is more entertaining than Zappa, who is mostly holding hands with the crowd again. They finally get mostly serious with the “Muffin Man” follow up, where Zappa stops fooling around with the crowd and picks up the guitar. FZ vocals seem to be mainly in the back. Guitar duet with Zappa left and Belew right. "San Ber'dino" I think I’ll spend the video here because they are still ballpark serious and because it heaviliy features the young Belew. FZ's guitar and vocals are in the back, while Belew is in the center channel. This an excellent good surround track. “Black Napkins" And on the final chapter (26) of interest, a jazz piece just to show FZ can play nice music if he wants to. That’s three good songs in a row. Also a very nice surround track. If only the rest of it were this good. _______ On the whole, most of this is pretty boring. There are some exceptions however. First, the three clay animation sequences are all pretty cool, especially the last one. Second, the finale strings together enough actual music that after two hours of mostly schlock you can finally sit back and listen. Third, I just got a kick out of seeing baby Belew working for Frank. The surround mix is actually better than average, but I’m not going to give it top marks because the excellence is too spotty. Music – 1 Sound quality – 2 Video presentation – 2 Video quality – 1 Surround – 2
Somewhere in South America Live Performance by Steve Hackett Released 2002 Recorded 2001 Venue Teatro Coliseo, Buenos Aires Genre Progressive rock Label Camino Records Somewhere in South America Includes a wide selection of favorite material from both Hackett and Genesis together with several previously unheard songs "road tested" here for the first time. Personnel Steve Hackett – Vocals, Guitar Roger King – Keyboards Rob Townsend – Sax and Flute Terry Gregory – Bass, Vocals Gary O'Toole – Drums, Vocals Track Listing 1. The Floating Seventh 2. Mechanical Bride 3. Medley 4. Serpentine Song 5. Watcher Of The Skies 6. Hairless Heart 7. Firth Of Firth 8. Riding The Colossus 9. Pollution 10. The Steppes 11. Gnossienne #1 12. Walking Away From Rainbows 13. Sierra Quemada 14. The Wall Of Knives 15. Vampyre With A Healthy Appetite 16. A Tower Struck Down 17. Lucridus 18. Darktown 19. Camino Royale 20. Intros 21. In Memoriam 22. Horizons 23. Los Endos Version Control There are CD, DVD, and CD+DVD versions of this. The DVD can be had from Amazon for $10. It is also included in the Broken Skies Outspread Wings (1984-2006) box set, which is what I have. The Concert It’s widescreen video, but the picture isn’t sharp at all – have to put it in the VHS category. I’m guessing this was shot with a video camera, and it’s been reformatted for wide screen by chopping the top and bottom off. The stereo and surround are both Dolby Digital. The surround mix is just a little reverb in the back, no use of center channel. “The Floating Seventh” Soundscape with one chord and drums. “Mechanical Bride” New song that later appears on To Watch the Storms. This sounds like a jazz band, and that’s what Hackett says it is in one of the interviews. “Medley” A collection of snippets of both Genesis and Hackett solo material. Some Trick of the Tail, W&W, Voyage and more. Not unlike "Los Endos". “Serpentine Song” New song that later appears on To Watch the Storms. Townsend with beautiful flute solo. “Watcher of the Skies” From Genesis Foxtrot. These days Hackett does a set for his solo work and then follows it with a Genesis set. This concert has the Genesis covers interspersed. King, O’Toole and Gregory are all perfectly adequate substitutes for Banks, Collins and Rutherford, but I have to wonder what happens when Gabriel is supposed to sing. The answer is nothing. This is the instrumental version. “Hairless Heart” From Genesis The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Well this was an instrumental to begin with. Townsend is on either a sax or a clarinet. Because the bottom of the screen is cut off, you can only see the top half of the instrument, but from a distance it looks like a clarinet. I guess maybe it’s a soprano sax. “Firth of Firth” From Genesis Selling England By the Pound. Wait, where’s the rest of the song? Not a good firth. “Riding The Colossus” From Genesis Revisited, a Genesis era song that never made it to an album. “Pollution” A spacey improv. “The Steppes” From Defector. Spacey yet bombastic, or is it bombastic yet spacey? I can never tell the difference. Hackett and Townsend carry the tune. “Gnossienne #1” An Erik Satie cover. Hackett snuck in a classical piece; it also heavily features Townsend. “Walking Away from Rainbows” From Guitar Noir. All semblance of a rock concert has dissipated at this point. Let it be recognized that Hackett was seriously dabbling at writing classical music at this point. “Sierra Quemada” From Guitar Noir. Here we go; starts off with drums, and Hackett thinks reverb is good again. Townsend is back to playing flute. Gregory gets to show off too. I’m so excited I’m going to use my video: “The Wall of Knives” A Crimsoneque improv. “Vampyre With A Healthy Appetite” From Guitar Noir. We’re still in Crimson mode, as Hackett does his best to imitate Adrian Belew. “A Tower Struck Down” From Voyage of the Acolyte. Good choice, don’t need Sally Oldfield for this one. “Lucridus” The lighting goes green and the improv is eerie, with Townsend on alto sax. It’s the intro for… “Darktown” From Darktown . Hackett still singing in his vampire voice, but I think he means it this time. Townsend still on alto sax. “Camino Royale” From Highly Strung. Townsend and O’Toole with backing vocals, Hackett proves he can make his guitar do just about anything. “In Memoriam” From Darktown . After band introductions, Townsend back on soprano sax, I’d say Hackett is narrating rather than singing, but Townsend, Gregory and O’Toole with backing vocals. End of set. “Horizons” This appeared on Genesis Foxtrot, but Hackett plays this solo so let’s call it the Bay of Kings version. “Los Endos” From Genesis Trick of the Tail. Another medley, but this one ended Trick of the Tail and most Hackett concerts, it seems. This version has Townsend on soprano sax. _______ This certainly is not as good of a concert as the Tokyo Tapes, which was recorded a few years earlier. In particular, Hackett did much better Genesis covers there, and he has done much better still since. However, it does convey the musical state Hackett was in at the turn of the century – which why it is a good concert to include in the box set. The songs covered from those albums are all very good. Music – 2 Sound quality – 2 Video presentation – 2 Video quality – 1 Surround – 1 The surround mixes found on the first DVD are reviewed on the surround thread.
40th Anniversary - Agents Of Fortune - Live 2016 Studio Performance by Blue Öyster Cult Released 06 Mar 2020 Recorded 2016 Genre Rock Length 36 min Label Frontiers Music SRL Producer Steve Schenk, Richie Castellano Agents of Fortune, originally released in 1976, is one of the most enduring records in the career of Blue Oyster Cult, buoyed by the success of the track “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper.” That song has become a calling card for Blue Oyster Cult over the years, peaking at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 2016, the band performed the album in its entirety at a special event in Hollywood, and 40th Anniversary - Agents Of Fortune - Live 2016 was released as a means of commemorating the record’s 40th anniversary. Personnel Eric Bloom – Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser – Guitar, Vocals Richie Castellano – Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals Jules Radino – Drums, Percussion Kasim Sulton – Bass, Vocals Special Guest: Albert Bouchard – Guitar, Percussion, Vocals Track Listing 1 True Confessions 2:49 2 (Don't Fear) The Reaper 5:14 3 E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) 3:59 4 The Revenge Of Vera Gemini 4:03 5 Sinful Love 3:17 6 Tattoo Vampire 2:38 7 Morning Final 4:41 8 Tenderloin 3:39 9 Debbie Denise 4:15 10 This Ain't The Summer of Love (Audio Bonus Track) 2:17 Version Control There are two versions of this – a CD+DVD set and the bluray. Amazon had it for under $8 as a preorder. It sold out and then some, so they had to make more. I got mine in May. It is back on sale, but for a lot more. Amazon. The Concert The picture is perfect. The surround mix is Dolby Digital, which is almost unfathomable. This is a new release and it’s a bluray. What makes it more fathomable is that there is nothing to it – no discrete use of the center or the rears, and the latter are hardly used at all. There is no crowd noise either because there is no crowd. So, it’s better in stereo which is PCM. Theoretically, this is was going to be the whole album played live. But, the first song is missing. There is an audio-only version that could be ripped, I suppose. “True Confessions” This is the one song that had Allen Lanier as lead vocalist – he also wrote it. Buck Dharma fills in for him here, with Castellano backing. This is not a note-for-note rendition of the original – this version definitely sounds better. More Buck Dharma guitar. “(Don't Fear) The Reaper” This is the song that Buck Dharma wrote, and he’s the lead vocalist again. Bloom and Sultan backing. There’s a projection screen in the back, the projector also lights up the band a bit. This is the one song where it’s pretty cool. Well, everything about this is awesome. There’s no video for it though – I guess they want you to buy it. Totally worth the $8 all by itself. “E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)” Bloom puts his guitar down and takes over lead vocals. Castellano, Roeser, and Sultan all backing. Castellano takes a turn at guitar. There are only two official videos, and “True Confessions” is the other one. So, here we go: “The Revenge Of Vera Gemini” Albert Bouchard shows up and takes over lead vocals, Roeser backing. Even though he was the drummer on the original, he has a guitar this time. They pipe the Patti Smith intro in, but that’s all we hear from her. Bloom just has a guitar that he barely plays. “Sinful Love” Still Bouchard on lead, everyone else but Radino backing. Bloom playing this time, Bouchard doesn’t much. Roeser is better guitarist than he was in 1976, and he was pretty amazing back then. “Tattoo Vampire” Bloom with the lead again, Castellano, Roeser, and Bouchard backing vocals. Castellano comes back out for another turn with a guitar – so that makes four guitarists, but Bloom isn’t playing. “Morning Final” Castellano with lead vocals (taking the place of Joe Bouchard), Bloom on keyboards beside him. Bloom with narrated vocals. “Tenderloin” Still Castellano with vocals, Bloom, Roeser, and Sulton backing. Albert Bouchard goes back to pound a cymbal next to Radino. After he is done singing, Castellano comes back out with guitar. “Debbie Denise” Bouchard lead vocalist; he and Bloom both have acoustic guitars. Roeser and Sulton backing. _______ Well that was short and sweet. Agents is my fourth or fifth favorite Blue Öyster Cult album, but it’s still a classic – which says something about how much I like this group. The two songs that I don’t especially like on the original – “True Confessions” and “Sinful Love” sound better here. I don’t miss “This Ain't The Summer of Love” all that much, but I do wonder what the problem was. It’s just a studio performance, but just getting to see them play makes a pretty decent show. Completely worth the initial asking price, but demands seems to have bumped the price up to nearly $20. Given how short it is, that seems like a bit much. Music – 3 Sound quality – 3 Video presentation – 2 Video quality – 3 Surround – 1
Time for another index update. Here is a synopsis of my current rating system that has been modified slightly since the opening post: 1) Music Quality. This is loosely tied to my collection of about 4000 stereo titles. A 3 means top 10%, a 2 is in the next 40%, a 1 is bottom half. 2) Visual performance. This is also completely subjective, and since I don’t have a frame a reference, I am basically just winging it. 3) Sound Quality. I am giving everything that is DTS or better a 3. Dolby Digital gets a 2, even though you may not notice the difference unless you are listening on a pretty good system. A 1 means there are obvious problems with the audio, no matter what you are listening on. 4) Video quality. 3 is bluray quality, 2 is DVD, 1 is VHS, 0 is Archival Footage. Longer explanation here. Note that it’s the quality of the actual video that matters, not the format itself; putting an old VHS recording on a bluray does not increase the score. 5) Surround Quality. 3’s are rare on this thread, but I give them for either discrete mixing in the back or for center channel use plus ambience (more than just reverb) in the back. Use of the center channel or use of the rears for more than just reverb is good enough for a 2. Stereo is 1, Mono is 0. Ranges indicate either that the rating is version dependent, or that the content varies. The reviews are mine unless other attribution is given. The highlighted link for the reviews and ratings are different if the initial review is from Mark or someone else, or if I have changed the ratings for some reason. AC/DC – Let There Be Rock / Live Performance and Concert Documentary (@mark winstanley) Anathema – A Moment in Time / Live Performance / Rating: 11 Ayreon - Electric Castle Live and Other Tales / Live Performance / Rating: 13 Band, The – The Last Waltz / Live Performance and Concert Documentary / Rating: 12-14 Beatles, The – A Hard Day’s Night / Movie / Rating: 11 Beatles, The – Help! / Movie / Rating: 9-12 Beatles, The – Magical Mystery Tour/ Movie / Rating: 8-10 Beatles, The – Yellow Submarine / Movie / Rating: 15 Beck, Jeff – Performing This Week... Live At Ronnie Scott's / Live Performance / Rating: 14 Blackfield – NYC: Live in New York City / Live Performance / Rating: 11 Blue Öyster Cult – Live 1976 / Live Performance / Rating: 7 Blue Öyster Cult – 40th Anniversary - Agents Of Fortune - Live 2016 / Studio Performance / Rating: 12 Camel – Live At The Royal Albert Hall / Live Performance / Rating: 12 Cave, Nick – Once More With Feeling / Concert Documentary (@mark winstanley) Church, The – Future Past Perfect / Live Performance / Rating: 11 Clapton, Eric – The Cream of Eric Clapton / Video Collection / Rating: 10* Cure, The – Trilogy / Live Performance / Rating: 11-13 Dead Can Dance – Yulunga and Other Stories / Video Collection / Rating: 9-12 Dire Straits – Alchemy / Live Performance / Rating: 13* Dream Theater – Distance Over Time / Video Collection /Rating: 12* Dylan, Bob – No Direction Home / Concert Documentary (@mark winstanley) Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams - The Video Album / Video Collection / Rating: 8 Gabriel, Peter – Secret World Live / Live Performance / Rating: 13 Gabriel, Peter – Play / Video Collection / Rating: 11-13* Gabriel, Peter – New Blood - Live In London / Live Performance / Rating: 13 Genesis – Pop Shop Live TV 1972 / Studio Performance / Rating: 8* Gentle Giant – The Power and the Suite / Video Collection / Rating: 13 Gilmour, David – Live in Gdańsk / Live Performance / Rating: 11 Gilmour, David – Live at Pompeii / Live Performance / Rating: 13 Glass, Philip – Koyaanisqatsi / Movie / Rating: 13 Grateful Dead – The Grateful Dead Movie / Concert Documentary / Rating: 11-12 Hackett, Steve – The Tokyo Tapes / Live Performance / Rating: 10 Hackett, Steve – Somewhere in South America / Live Performance / Rating: 8 Hendrix, Jimi – Band of Gypsys: Live at The Fillmore East / Concert Documentary / Rating: 8* Hendrix, Jimi – Live at Woodstock / Live Performance / Rating: 10 Iron Maiden – Flight 666 / Concert Documentary (@mark winstanley) King Crimson – Déjà Vrooom / Live Performance / Rating: 11 King Crimson – Eyes Wide Open, Part 1 / Live Performance / Rating: 9 King Crimson – Meltdown: Live in Mexico City / Live Performance / Rating: 14 Knopfler, Mark – A Night in London / Studio Performance / Rating: 8 Kraftwerk – 3D 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 / Video Collection / Rating: 13 Krauss, Allison & Union Station – Live! / Live Performance / Rating: 11 Lee, Albert - Tearing it Up / Live Performance (@mark winstanley) Mannheim Steamroller – Fresh Aire 8 / Video Collection / Rating: 9* Marillion – Fish Tales / Video Collection / Rating: 9-10* Marillion – Recital of the Script / Live Performance / Rating: 11* Marley, Bob & The Wailers – Live! at the Rainbow / Live Performance / Rating: 11 Nightwish – Vehicle of Spirit / Live Performance / Rating: 12 Pink Floyd – Devi/ation 1970 / Video Collection / Rating: 4 Pink Floyd – The Wall / Movie / Rating: 10 Porcupine Tree – Arriving Somewhere... / Live Performance / Rating: 13 - 14 Presley, Elvis – That's The Way It Is (@mark winstanley) R.E.M – Road Movie / Live Performance / Rating: 9 Roxy Music – The High Road / Live Performance / Rating: 12 Rush – Exit ..... Stage Left / Live Performance (@mark winstanley) Rush – R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour / Live Performance (@mark winstanley) Santana – Santana IV Live At The House Of Blues Las Vegas / Live Performance / Rating: 13 Simple Minds – Acoustic In Concert / Live Performance / Rating: 1o Springsteen, Bruce – The River Tour / Live Performance (@mark winstanley) Supertramp – Live In Paris '79 / Live Performance / Rating: 12 Talking Heads – Stop Making Sense / Live Performance / Rating: 11-13 Tangerine Dream – The Video Dream Mixes / Video Collection: Rating: 7 Tool – Vicarious / Video / Rating: 10 Townsend, Devin – Ocean Machine – Live / Live Performance (@mark winstanley) / Rating: 10-12 U2 – Under a Blood Red Sky / Live Performance (@mark winstanley) / Rating: 12 U2 – Rattle and Hum / Studio and Live Performance / Rating: 12-13 U2 – 360° at the Rose Bowl / Live Performance (@mark winstanley) U2 – Live in Paris / Live Performance (@mark winstanley) Ultravox – Rage in Eden / Live Performance (@mark winstanley) / Rating: 13 Various Artists – The Monterey Pop Festival / Live Performance / Rating: 11 Various Artists – Woodstock / Live Performance and Concert Documentary / Rating: 12* Various Artists – Baraka / Movie / Rating: 12 Wilson, Steven – Home Invasion / Live Performance / Rating: 15 Winter, Edgar – Reach For It / Live Performance / Rating: 9 Wishbone Ash – Live Dates 3 / Live Performance / Rating: 13 Yes – Yessongs / Live Performance / Rating: 6* Yes – Symphonic Live / Live Performance / Rating: 14 Zappa, Frank – Baby Snakes / Movie and Live Performance / Rating: 8 Zappa, Frank – The Torture Never Stops / Live Performance / Rating: 8 Zimmer, Hans – Live in Prague / Live Performance (@thetman) / Rating: 15 * One point deducted from original rating as a result of video rating scale adjustment. Comments on any of the above are always welcome.
Reflectors of Light Live Performance by Big Big Train Release date 06 Dec 2019 Recorded September 28 - October 1, 2017 Venue Cadogan Hall in London Genre Progressive rock, English Folk Directed & Edited by Peter Callow Label: English Electric Recordings Reflectors of Light is a phrase from the lyrics of “A Mead Hall in Winter”, the same goes for Merchants of Light. Both phrases suggest the world of Big Big Train (BBT) and are therefore extremely suitable as a title for this release. The Reflectors of Light Blu-Ray was recorded during the band’s three performances at the very end of September 2017, including the additional matinee show on 1st October, at the Cadogan Hall in London. The recording features the best performances from the three shows and every track played across the shows is represented. Personnel Big Big Train Nick D’Virgilio: Drums, vocals Dave Gregory: Guitars Rachel Hall : Violin, vocals David Longdon: Lead Vocals, Flute, Percussion Danny Manners: Keyboards Rikard Sjöblom: Guitars, Keyboards, vocals Greg Spawton: Bass, Bass pedals With: Andy Poole: Keyboards, Guitar, Mandolin Dave Desmond: Trombone Ben Godfrey : Trumpet Nick Stones : French Horn John Storey: Euphonium Jon Truscott: Tuba Track Listing 1. Folklore Overture 2. Folklore 3. Brave Captain 4. Last Train 5. London Plane 6. Meadowland 7. A Mead Hall in Winter 8. Experimental Gentlemen (Part Two) 9. Swan Hunter 10. Judas Unrepentant 11. The Transit of Venus Across the Sun 12. East Coast Racer 13. Telling the Bees 14. Victorian Brickwork 15. Drums and Brass 16. Wassail Version Control A new release and it’s bluray only. It is still available at Amazon, but it is out of stock at Burning Shed. You can also see it on Amazon with a Prime subscription. There is a double CD of the same material entitled Merchants of Light. The Concert It’s high resolution widescreen bluray and DTS-HD MA 5.1. Looks like most of the set list is from their two most recent albums - Folklore and Grimspound “Folklore Overture” We start out with Rachel Hall in the spotlight center stage playing violin from the center channel. We’ve also got what must be synthesized or prerecorded strings coming from the rear speakers. So, I think we can already conclude that this is going to be a true discrete sound mix. “Folklore” From Folklore. The horn section comes out and plays too, they are also mixed to the back. The rest of the band comes out, and Longdon takes over the center channel with vocals and flute. Drums and bass are in front, Hall violin moves left rear. Background vocals from Hall, Sjöblom, and D’Virgilio are all in the rear. Sjöblom guitar is left front (even though he is standing on the right – the mix otherwise sort of corresponds their position on stage), while Dave Gregory (yes he is the former XTC guitarist) is mixed right front. There are two sets of keyboards (Manners and Poole), one in front and another in back, but I’m not sure which at this point. The stage lighting on this song starts out blue and then alternates between that and more brightly lit. Screen in back shows a raven. “Brave Captain” From Grimspound. Horn players gone, and we’ve got red lighting. I think it’s Poole’s keyboards in back – he has a bass line on this song. Also, think Hall and D’Virgilio vocals are both rear left, while Sjöblom vocals are rear right. Sjöblom is playing keyboards, front left. There’s video on the screen now, but most of the time you can’t see it. Gregory guitar solo takes a turn in the center channel “Last Train” From The Underfall Yard. Sjöblom plays acoustic guitar in rear. Poole playing guitar on left, then mellotron in the back. Hall is still wearing the same dress, but most of the other band members have different clothes on, so this must be a different night than the first three tracks. “London Plane” From Folklore. Back to clothes set #1. Sjöblom with electric guitar, still in rear. Video screen showing WWII footage – Winston Churchill tip his hat at one point. Sjöblom with solo at the end, switches back from rear to left front. “Meadowland” From Grimspound. The horn section is back. Sjöblom starts with acoustic guitar, but Poole has one too. At least one of them is in the rear, Hall violin in the center channel. Meadowland video. “A Mead Hall in Winter” From Grimspound. Now the horns actually play. Trombone starts out left rear, then tuba right rear, Hall violin left rear again. Sjöblom has a foot/bass keyboard that comes out left front. Some of the horns are coming from the front, maybe there’s one for each speaker. Sjöblom takes a turn playing keyboards, which appear in the back. “Experimental Gentlemen (Part Two)” From Grimspound. Horn section is gone again. Sjöblom starts it off with electric guitar left front. For some reason one of the cameras is fuzzy on just this one song – it temporarily looks like VHS. Sjöblom gets a guitar solo in the center channel. “Swan Hunter” From English Electric Part Two. Manners starts it off with piano in front. The horns are back in the back, and Hall’s violin is back in the center along with Longdon’s vocals. “Judas Unrepentant” From English Electric Part One. Sjöblom with keyboards in the rear. Hall has a different dress on, so I guess this must be from a different night than all of the previous tracks. One of the cameras is fuzzy again. For some reason, the screen behind the stage has a framed cartoon picture of Donald Sutherlund, or so it seems. But I’m not saying it isn’t a good song. “The Transit of Venus Across the Sun” From Folklore. They’re back to clothes set #2, and the horn section is back in surround, with violin center. Sjöblom guitar is left front again until he gets a solo in the center. “East Coast Racer” From English Electric Part Two. Still clothes set #2. Jazzy song that starts out with piano (Manners) in front, mellotron (Poole) in back. Then Sjöblom guitar left front and Gregory right front. The normal mix. Sjöblom briefly switches to keyboards in the back and the horns also come in at the rear. Gregory gets turn in center. Trains on the screen. Longdon conducts the ending. “Telling the Bees” From Folklore. Clothes set #3. No horns. Sjöblom acoustic guitar and Poole keyboards in rear. Bee video on screen. “Victorian Brickwork” From The Underfall Yard. Clothes set #1. Sjöblom acoustic guitar then electric front left. Trumpet in center. Mellotron front. Coastline video with lighthouse on screen. Both Sjöblom and Gregory with guitar solos left and right front, respectively. Rest of horns in rear at the end, but trumpet stays in center. “Drums and Brass” Must be an encore piece. Starts with empty stage and a soundscape running. D’Virgilio comes out and plays solo with the soundscape still playing. He then introduces the brass section as they come out on stage. The then they jam with drums in front, trumpet center, horns in rear. “Wassail” From Folklore. Then the rest of the band comes out, and it’s clothes set #1. Longdon with a flute for the first time. Cartoon king on the screen, and Longdon puts on a mask. The horns join in, and this seems like a good place for a video clip: _______ Big Big Train is a band that’s growing on me. My initial interest came from this board. I acquired English Electric 2 a few years ago. I acquired this title as a surround disc last December, not even realizing it was a live concert. Since then I have discovered their bandcamp site, where the album download prices are much more reasonable than the relatively high priced CDs. I’ve downloaded Underfall Yard, English Electric Full Power (has both EE1 and EE2), Folklore, and Grimspound. Anyway, it’s a great surround disc and a nice compilation of recent material. I’d rate it as the second best surround mix I’ve reviewed in this thread – after King Crimson Meltdown. The mix has a relatively static placement for each band member, with the main wildcard being the instrument played Sjöblom, which can be either left front or rear. Like King Crimson they don’t put on much of a show, but they are at least a step ahead of them with a video screen. Music – 2 Sound quality – 3 Video presentation – 2 Video quality – 3 Surround – 3 Reflectors of Light is the second live bluray with surround from Big Big Train. The first one, Stone & Steel, was released in 2016 and it is also OOP – I don’t have it. There is a third live bluray with surround rumored for the fall, and The Underfall Yard may also be released with a surround mix later this year.
Live in Berlin Live Performance by Depeche Mode Released 14 November 2014 Recorded 25–27 November 2013 Venue O2 World (Berlin, Germany) Length 129 minutes Label Mute, Columbia Director Anton Corbijn Producer Kirsten Sohrauer Live in Berlin is a live video album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, featuring a live concert directed and filmed by Anton Corbijn. It was released on 14 November 2014 by Mute Records and Columbia Records. It was filmed on location at the O2 World in Berlin on 25 and 27 November 2013 during the band's Delta Machine Tour. Before its release, the DVD was launched with one-off theatrical screenings in selected cities around the world, including over 40 cinemas in Germany. Personnel Depeche Mode Dave Gahan Martin Gore Andrew Fletcher Additional musicians Christian Eigner – drums Peter Gordeno – keyboards, backing vocals, bass guitar on "A Pain That I'm Used To", piano Track Listing 1. Welcome to My World 2. Angel 3. Walking In My Shoes 4. Precious 5. Black Celebration 6. Should Be Higher 7. Policy of Truth 8. The Child Inside 9. But Not Tonight 10. Heaven 11. Soothe My Soul 12. A Pain That I'm Used To 13. A Question of Time 14. Enjoy The Silence 15. Personal Jesus 16. Shake the Disease 17. Halo 18. Just Can't Get Enough 19. I Feel You 20. Never Let Me Down Again 21. Goodbye 22. Credits Version Control The deluxe edition in five discs includes the Live in Berlin DVD, the Live in Berlin Soundtrack concert audio on two CDs, second DVD Alive in Berlin, and the 2013 album Delta Machine 5.1 mix on Blu-ray. The standard edition consists of the concert DVD and the soundtrack. The second DVD featuring the full live show combined with behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with the band and their fans, and a two-song acoustic session filmed at Salon Bel Ami, the oldest existing brothel in Berlin, is also available as Depeche Mode: Alive in Berlin (HD) on iTunes from 19 December 2014. The soundtrack was also released as a double CD package. I have the deluxe edition, and it is still available. Amazon. The Concert Apparently Anton Corbijn thought that the DVD format was better for his film for “artistic reasons”. Furthermore, the 5.1 soundtrack is Dolby Digital while the stereo is LPCM. Finding that the surround mix is comprised of crowd noise in the back and limited use of the center channel (lead vocals are mixed in stereo), I will review this as a stereo recording. “Welcome to My World” From Delta Machine. Starts off with a soundscape and the band member making their way to the stage. We’ve got Gahan and Gore in front, everyone else in the back, and a huge screen behind the stage. The opener from the new album is pedestrian. Gahan on keyboards on this one, big circles on the screen. Gahan takes his jacket off at the end, maybe now they’ll get serious. “Angel” From Delta Machine. Also from the new one, but this one has a strong bass line and catchy. Gahan has a guitar, and the screen has of the musicians as they are performing. Much better song. “Walking In My Shoes” From Songs of Faith and Devotion. Now they’re working the back catalog; the more of that the better IMO. “Precious” From Playing the Angel. Gore with a different guitar, dogs on the screen. “Black Celebration” From Black Celebration. Gore on keyboards, and this is the first great Depeche Mode song so far. There‘s some overheading lighting that shows up for the first time (descending form the ceiling), plus there’s strobe light and red lights too – the light show picks up momentum. “Should Be Higher” From Delta Machine. Simmering synths that would sound great in surround, but they don’t here. “Policy of Truth” From Violator, yay. Great song, great rendition. Band on the screen, some balloons appear that bounce around in the crowd. “The Child Inside” From Delta Machine. Gore with lead vocals, Gordeno on piano, and nobody else. Not a very Modey song. “But Not Tonight” From Black Celebration (as bonus track). Same deal – just Gore on vocals, Fletcher piano. The crowd sings along. “Heaven” From Delta Machine. The rest of the band comes back out, but it’s another slow plodding song. Prerecorded video of the three band members in the woods on the screen. Gore back in guitar. “Soothe My Soul” From Delta Machine. Starts off with pulsating synthesizer. Maybe from Fletcher – I get the feeling that he is mainly a keyboard programming guy. Like Barbieri and Kraftwerk, he isn’t actually doing very much on stage. Well, it’s a good song for Delta Machine. “A Pain That I'm Used To” From Playing the Angel. Gahan has a rectangular guitar, Gordeno comes out front with a bass guitar. “A Question of Time” From Black Celebration. Live kaleidoscopic images of Gore and Gahan on screen. Starting a good run of songs. “Enjoy The Silence” From Violator. Lights all go blue, and the screen shows video of female contortion artists that eventually unwind. Gotta use the video here: “Personal Jesus” From Violator. This is probably my favorite DM song, but they start it out much slower than normal. Almost sounds like the Johnny Cash version. But thankfully it speeds up to it’s normal tempo, and the crowd sings along. End of set. “Shake the Disease” Single released in 1985. Another Gore and Gordeno duet, Gordeno with backing vocals this time. Meh. “Halo” From Violator. Moody song with Gore back on keyboards and the video on the screen shows a girl by herself with winter scenery. “Just Can't Get Enough” From Speak & Spell. This is what synth pop is all about, and the crowd knows it. “I Feel You” From Songs of Faith and Devotion. This version has an amped up rhythm section, with dancers on the video screen, and Gore on guitar. “Never Let Me Down Again” From Music for the Masses. I think maybe Gore has a different guitar every time he uses one. Gore and Gahan reproduces up on the big screen again at first, but then it switched to the crowd with Gahan waving them one. Great finish. _______ The Live in Berlin deluxe set should probably be titled the Delta Machine box set. You get a high rez stereo version, a 5.1 mix, and a live performance with most of the songs. It’s a great box if you like the album. But, I can’t get too excited about it. Fortunately for me, there are enough old classics in this performance to make it quite enjoyable anyway. Music – 2 (too much Delta Machine) Sound quality – 3 (stereo) Video presentation – 3 Video quality – 2 Surround – 1 @mark winstanley has reviewed the Delta Machine 5.1 mix on the bluray on the surround thread.
I love Anton Corbijn but I still don't understand why he chooses DVD over blu-ray. Aside from cost, I can't think of a single attribute where DVD beats blu-ray.
I used to think that, too, until I started reading more and more about Blu-rays failing. I’m sure DVDs and CDs fail, too, but it’s odd how much I’m hearing about it with BR these days. Makes me slightly paranoid, especially with music-related releases in box sets that become almost impossible to find again when they sell-out. Maybe it’s not a big deal and the instances I’m reading about only stick out because I own the ones that are being reported as failing. Beyond that... yeah, I prefer the BR format.
It's weird. I have read about it, and I am certainly not saying it doesn't happen, but I have tons of blurays, and none have failed on me.
There is a bluray in the box - but it has the surround mix for Delta Machine and not the concert video. I'm pretty sure they could have gotten them both on there.
On that topic, and putting aside the issue of BR failures, I do find it odd what decisions are made as to what goes on which disc when it comes to some releases. There’s a part of me that thinks that if they’d explain the thinking behind their choices, we’d be able to see what they see and understand the reason. But then there’s a bigger part of me that thinks we'd hear the reason, call B.S. on it, and then be upset that they didn’t cram the disc full of material.
Same here, Mark. I've only heard of Pink Floyd blu-rays failing and it seemed like there was a manufacturing issue with those. Is there a larger issue than that? The only other issue I can think of is some blu-ray discs being authored with newer features that some older players can't handle properly. Some of the XTC discs come to mind.
I honestly don't know. The only time I ever have any issues with any discs seems to be an intermittent failure on behalf of my ten year old equipment ... and I generally just start up again, and it resets itself, and everything is fine. The only Floyd box I got was Later Years, and that was because of some Birthday money. Generally they have been too expensive for me. So far The Later Years has been fine. More often than not most of the disc failures seem to come from a small percentage of particular pressing plants that have quality control issues. It really shouldn't be an issue these days, but when dollars are the main aim, quality is generally the first thing to fall by the way side to aid profit..... I can only assume that the alleged bluray problem stems directly from the same thing.
I've had a DVD flame out suddenly - and it took out the drive on my Oppo 203 with it. See: Wishbone Ash – Live Dates 3 So, no I don't think DVD's are a safer option.
Powaqqatsi Movie by Philip Glass Directed by Godfrey Reggio Produced by Mel Lawrence, Godfrey Reggio, Lawrence Taub Written by Godfrey Reggio, Ken Richards Music by Philip Glass Cinematography Graham Berry, Leonidas Zourdoumis Edited by Iris Cahn, Alton Walpole Production company Golan-Globus Distributed by The Cannon Group Release date April 29, 1988 Running time 99 minutes Country United States Box office $589,244 Powaqqatsi (or Powaqqatsi: Life in Transformation) is a 1988 American documentary film directed by Godfrey Reggio and the sequel to Reggio's experimental 1982 film, Koyaanisqatsi. It is the second film in the Qatsi trilogy. Powaqqatsi is a Hopi neologism coined by Reggio meaning "parasitic way of life" or "life in transition". While Koyaanisqatsi focused on modern life in industrial countries, Powaqqatsi, which similarly has no dialogue, focuses more on the conflict in Third World countries between traditional ways of life and the new ways of life introduced with industrialization.[3] As with Koyaanisqatsi and the third and final part of the 'Qatsi' trilogy, Naqoyqatsi, the film is strongly related to its soundtrack, written by Philip Glass.many natural landscapes across the United States. The visual tone poem contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of images and music. Reggio explained the lack of dialogue by stating "it's not for lack of love of the language that these films have no words. It's because, from my point of view, our language is in a state of vast humiliation. It no longer describes the world in which we live." In the Hopi language, the word Koyaanisqatsi means "unbalanced life". The producers journeyed to ten countries on five continents, including Brazil, Egypt, Kenya, Peru, India, Hong Kong, Israel, France, Nepal and Berlin selecting both urban and rural locations to support the theme of Powaqqatsi. In the beginning chapter, "Serra Pelada", men from Serra Pelada (a gold mine in Brazil) are seen carrying bags of dirt up to a destination. In the middle of the chapter, various shots outside of Serra Pelada are shown. Near the end of the chapter, a few men are carrying another man who was struck by a falling rock (mentioned in the "Impact of Progress" feature on the DVD/Blu-ray) uphill along a procession of workers who are carrying dirt-filled sacks. After that, several discordant layered exposures of the dirt carriers are shown. The scene cross fades to show the image of a head, with multiple exposures of the same head rapidly rotating and layered upon to give a manifold appearance. This is an apparent allusion to Janus, the god of beginnings, endings and transitions, keeping with the film's central themes of progress and change. In Anthem: Part 1, the sun rises up above an African village. Later, a man raises a sail for a boat. The next chapter, That Place, starts zooming out from a waterfall. Children can be heard laughing. Villages are shown as well as children and upside down water reflections. Anthem: Part 2 has various shots of villages and islands shown. Mosque and Temple shows various natural shots as well as religious scenes. Some of these scenes are a transparent inside a church with someone walking by, a man praying, a monk sitting while a bird flies off his stick, the same monk walking by the river, a bird flying by a sunset, more children, crows flying above a river, two men rowing their boat in that river, a woman praying in the Ganges river, two men practicing yoga, another monk, and a temple in Nepal. Personnel Michael Reisman, conductor Foday Musa Suso, kora, balafon, dousongoni, nyanyer, kari nyan Shaikh Fathy Mady, vocal solo Al DeRuiter, bass voice Joe Passaro, Sue Evans, Roger Squitero, Valerie Naranjo, percussion ensemble Sergiu Schwartz, Sanford Allen, Elliott Rosoff, Karen Karlsrud, Richard Sortomme, Linda Quan, Carol Pool, violin Jill Jaffe, Karl Bargen, Lois Marten, Jack Rosenberg, viola Seymour Barab, cello Barbara Wilson, bass Michael Parloff, Jack Kripl, Diva Goodfriend-Koven, flute, piccolo Jorge Joven, Miguel Grande, Jefe Ronda, quena ensemble John Moses, Steve Hartman, Laura Flax, clarinet Jack Kripl, Jon Gibson, Steve Elson, saxophones Lauren Goldstein, Ethan Bauch, Mike Finn, bassoon Jon Gibson, dijerido Wilmer Wise, Lorraine Cohen, Bill Rhodin, Neil Balm, trumpet Sharon Moe, Joe Anderer, Ann Yarbrough, Tony Miranda, Alan Spangler, French horn James Pugh, Keith Oquinn, Alan Raph, trombone Alan Raph, tuba Michael Reisman, Jeffrey Rona, Martin Goldray, Paul Rice, Lee Curreri, keyboards Frank Menusan, tanpura Hispanic Young People’s Chorus Musical director: Angélica Rosa Sepúlveda Track Listing 1. Serra Pelada 5:02 2. The Title 0:23 3. Anthem-Part 1 6:22 4. That Place 4:41 5. Anthem-Part 2 3:48 6. Mosque and Temple 4:42 7. Anthem-Part 3 8:11 8. Train to Sao Paulo 3:04 9. Video Dream 2:14 10. New Cities in Ancient Lands, China 2:47 11. New Cities in Ancient Lands, Africa 2:56 12. New Cities in Ancient Lands, India 4:42 13. The Unutterable 7:02 14. CAUGHT! 7:20 15. Mr. Suso #1 1:08 16. From Egypt 3:23 17. Mr. Suso #2 with Reflection 1:18 18. Powaqqatsi 4:35 Version Control Powaqqatsi was originally released on VHS in 1990, then on DVD in 2002. There is also a Koyanisqatsi / Powaqqatsi DVD set. A stand alone bluray was released in 2016. Amazon. It is also part of the Criterion Qatsi trilogy that was released in 2012 in both DVD and bluray formats. Amazon. I have the Criterion bluray set. In addition, there is a Philip Glass soundtrack on CD. Amazon. ____ The Movie I had the DVD before getting the set and didn’t think much of it. But wanting the bluray for Koyanisqatsi and not having seen the last one, I went for the whole set. Let’s give it another try. The video is a smidge better than the first one, but it’s not anywhere near as eye-poppingly clear and gorgeous as Baraka, which is what I am going to inevitably be comparing to. The audio quality is excellent DTS-HD MA, so if nothing else it’s a great copy of the soundtrack in surround. “Serra Pelada / The Title” The movie starts out with slow motion video of a gold mining operation in Brazil, where bags of dirt are hauled uphill by an army of manual laborers. Looks like it must be one of the worst jobs in the world. The summary of the movie plot says it in intended to “reveal the everyday beauty of the traditional ways of life of native people in Africa, Asia, and South America, and to show how those cultures are being eroded as their environment is gradually taken over by industry”. Well, this is a pretty poor starting point – all I can think of is that surely there are machines that could do that work much more easily. Anyway, the sound track is repetitive percussion that is punctuated by horns and complimented my what I presume to be Hispanic Young People’s Chorus. There does seem to be some discrete use of the center channel by some of the drums and horns. The rear speakers are active, but I’d call it heavy reverb. “Anthem-Part 1” This chapter starts out in a Kenyan village which must be on the coast because they have a sailboat. Switches to mountain arms – in Nepal I think. Very pretty, but not as good as Baraka mind you. As for the soundtrack, there’s definitely a bass line here - from a synthesizer, I’d guess, plus horns and woodwinds – the latter dominate the back. “That Place” Starts with a waterfall that we soon see runs from under a building with a thatched roof. But then we go somewhere in rural Egypt I guess, where a lady in red shows us her picturesque village. The music seems to have an Egyptian theme played by strings overlaid with Philip Glass horns “Anthem-Part 2” The bass line horns and woodwinds back, with more flute this time. We’re also back on the coast again, seems to switching back and for the between Africa (Kenya) and Asia (Hong Kong?). there’s some camels in there too, so maybe Egypt is still part of the mix. “Mosque and Temple” More Egyptian strings, but we start out in a Bhuddist temple – Nepal I presume. Then maybe the inside of the mosque, but it looks rather Byzantine to me. Some extra cross-cultural percussion added in. Back to the (Kenyan?) coast, and I think Benares in India, back to Nepal. “Anthem-Part 3” The enthem theles again comprised of a synth bass line and percussion, horns and woodwinds. We’re in big cities either India or Nepal (Katmandu) or both. Also I think Peru, and some more Kenya. Lots of dancing and pagentry - very much like segments from Baraka. “Train to Sao Paulo” Staccato horns and were getting some time lapse photography (of a train) after all. Aerial photography of Sao Paulo, and we end with a large signal tower. “Video Dream” And now for something completely different, a bunch of TV images from all over the world spliced together. Some of the images are of Christie Brinkley, so some of the descriptions of this movie suggest that it stars her, which is pretty hilarious. The soundtrack is comprised of horns, woodwinds, percussion, and TV (presumably) sound samples. This is sort of an international version of a video sequence that is part of the "The Grid" in Koyanniqatsi. “New Cities in Ancient Lands, China” The horns stop at least temporarily, and strings take over and we’re looking at a very large apartment building – Hong Kong I guess. We also get a shot in Kenya or Egypt, which isn’t China, just saying. The horns and woodwinds come back, of course. We end the chapter in Berlin, which isn’t in China either. “New Cities in Ancient Lands, Africa” Starts off with percussion which sounds really good in surround. Maybe a violin in there occasionally too. No horns. Brief snippet in Kenya, which is in Africa, but then we’re off to India, which isn’t. Then Egypt, which is technically on the continent of Africa, and we keep jumping from one urban area to another. Definitely Hong Kong and maybe Peru are part of the mix too. “New Cities in Ancient Lands, India” The percussion continues, but the strings suddenly pick up, then the horns. We start with a view of a very smoggy city that we can only see the hazy skyline of. Presumably India, looks like the Calcutta dump in Baraka again. Hong Kong and Peru again. “The Unutterable” The percussion stops, and we’ve got just horns and strings. Overcrowded transportation seems to be the theme – boats and trains, and we’re in Egypt, Kenya, India and maybe Peru. Then we get to foot traffic with joggers and pedestrians in Iquitos, Peru. Ferris wheel, still in Peru. Then we’re looking a big city on the coast – Sao Paulo I guess, and we get another series of video images as a timpani joins in. A fortification with barbed wire somewhere, a soccer match, a plane taking of in Hong Kong – it’s seeming rather random at this point. Anyway, the timpani stops and a flute takes over and we’re looking a very large set of apartment buildings again. “CAUGHT!“ Percussion starts up, and it sound like we’ve got bass guitar. A whole bunch of pretty random urban images. Kenya, Israel, Egypt, India, Peru are all in there. Some sped up video from the front of a train – that never gets old. Lots of facial close-ups – maybe those are what are “caught”. “Mr. Suso #1/ From Egypt”/ Mr. Suso #2 with Reflection Starts off on a highway in the desert with a broken down car in the foreground, presumably Egypt. Uses double imagery to keep the foreground fixed, but the moving cars are semi-transparent and ghostly. Starts off in silence, and then Shaikh Fathy Mady starts an Islamic recitation. Only the second track with vocals. When then move into the city where the double imagery continues, and the picture eventually gets very blurry. The recitation stops and thing clears up with a non-western string instrument playing. One these, I’m guessing: kora, balafon, dousongoni, nyanyer, kari nyan. The recitation starts up again, and we’re in Kenya or pretty far up the Nile. Then some images from earlier in the movie are recycled, sometimes with double imagery again. The background is a reflection in the water that we see clearly at the end. “Powaqqatsi” The credits roll, and it sounds like Anthem, part 4. So, I haven done a video yet. Here’s the whole movie at 16x speed, with the soundtrack from “Caught”: _______ Well, this isn’t as good as the first one, and it’s not as good as Baraka either. The novelty of the trademark Philip Glass horns has worn off a bit, and the music isn’t as tightly coordinated with the video. However, the music is still very interesting; it has more of an international feel to it. While there is some gorgeous videography, it’s just not the same without Ron Fricke who went off and did his own thing: The Baraka video is much much better. Like Koyanniqatsi, the 5.1 mix doesn’t feature very much in the way of discrete mixing, but it does use the rears to provide ambient surround, and there are points at which it sounds very very good. Yes, I will add it to my small but growing classical surround collection. Music – 2 Sound quality – 3 Video presentation – 2 Video quality – 2 Surround – 2
Moondances Live and Studio Performance by Camel Released 2007 Recorded 14 April, 1976 and 22 September 1977 Venues Hammersmith Odeon (1976) and Hippodrome (1977), both in London Genre Progressive Rock Length 109 min Label Camel Productions Moondances contains performances at the Hammersmith Odeon (1976) and The Hippodrome (1977). Bonus: Includes previously unreleased audio recordings from the original band lineup. Personnel Hammersmith Odeon 1976 Andrew Latimer (guitars, vocals, flute) Peter Bardens (keyboards) Doug Ferguson (bass guitar) Andy Ward (drums) Hippodrome 1977 Andrew Latimer (guitars, vocals, flute) Peter Bardens (keyboards) Richard Sinclair (bass guitar, vocals) Mel Collins (saxaphones and flute) Andy Ward (drums). Track Listing Hammersmith Odeon 1976 1. White Rider 2. Lunar Sea 3. Preparation 4. Dunkirk 5. Another Night 6. Lady Fantasy Hippodrome 1977 7. First Light 8. Metrognome 9. Unevensong 10. Rhayader 11. Rhayader Goes To Town 12. Skylines 13. Highways Of The Sun 14. Lunar Sea 15. Rain Dances 16. Never Let Go 17. One Of These Days I'll Get An Early Night Version Control There is only one version of this. I bought it from Camel Productions. The Concerts Hammersmith Odeon 1976 This concert is a mini widescreen – 16x9 or thereabouts, but it doesn’t take up the whole screen, let call it not expecially good VHS quality. It looks like it’s been lopped top and bottom, which was dumb. The camera shots are almost all closeups of one of the band members – I say about 60% Latimer, 25% Bardens, and 15% Ward. I don’t think they ever show the whole stage, nor do they hardly ever show the bass player Evans. I don’t know what the deal is with that, but one year later he was no longer with the band. It’s also very dark. The audio is Dolby Digital stereo. There are only six songs, but they are long – the whole set goes for over 50 minutes. The show is from the Moonmadness tour, but only two of the songs are from than album. “White Rider” From Mirage. They briefly show the whole stage, and Evans is standing to the right of the drum set in the dark. But it’s the other three guys in the spotlight and the camera. Latimer with vocals – his head is cropped at the top as he sings. Double imaging of Latimer and drummer during spacey guitar solo. “Lunar Sea” From Moonmadness. Double imaging of both Bardens and Latimer with Cymbals during intro. Bass starts up, but we don’t see Evans. Fantastic 70’s instrumental prog rock piece that I was completely unaware of at the time. There’s a little audio bloopery in the middle of it – maybe they can do better on the next set. It seems there a video screen in the back, but you can barely see it. “Preparation” From The Snow Goose. Bardens synth and Latimer guitar with awesome start. Latimer wailing vocals. Awesome. “Dunkirk” From The Snow Goose. Drums and bass join in, and the screen starts up, but you can’t see much of it because the top is cropped. Ward’s drum work shown from behind, which is nice. They show the whole stage again, but I can’t really make out Evans in the dark. “Another Night” From Moonmadness. Bardens starts it off, then bass, then drums, then guitar. Latimer vocals. There’s actually another microphone that must be for Evans, but he doesn’t sing on any of the songs included here. Another audio hiccup. “Lady Fantasy” From Mirage. This prog epic from their second album seems to be their standard concert ender. Latimer plays and sings at the same time, but both his head and the guitar are cropped. Worst film editing job ever. Bardens and Latimer complement each other very well. Hippodrome 1977 This much better. 4:3 video that qualifies as high-end VHS. The stage is well lit and we get to see everyone, including the new members Richard Sinclair (ex-Caravan) and Mel Collins (ex-King Crimson). There is a small audience, but this is recorded for TV so I think it qualifies as a studio performance. This lineup almost qualifies as a supergroup; they did one more album, Breathless, after this. It’s still DD stereo and the set lasts a little over 58 minutes. “First Light” From Rain Dances. They are lined up left to right: Bardens, Collins, Latimer, Sinclair, Ward. Ward is largely facing the band rather than the crowd. He’s also shirtless and wearing shorts – I guess Bozzio was following his fashion sense a month later in New York. Latimer has a double necked guitar, and he’s playing the 12-string, Collins with soprano sax, Bardens with a battery of keyboards that you can actually see this time. Collins switches to alto sax. No vocals. “Metrognome” From Rain Dances. Ward is off to the rights side of the stage, starts out he song with metronome-like percussion. Sinclair lead vocals, Latimer backing. Collins alto sax, Latimer playing six-string. “Unevensong” From Rain Dances. Latimer introduces the song, but it’s still Sinclair with lead vocals. Collins tenor sax, Latimer 12-string and 6-string. Another audio drop-out. “Rhayader” From The Snow Goose. Bardens introduces the song, Latimer with a flute, and Collins has one too – and we’ve got a flute duet. Latimer switches to single neck six string guitar for a bit, then back to two flutes. “Rhayader Goes To Town” From The Snow Goose. Latimer back to guitar; Collins tenor sax, then alto. “Skylines” From Rain Dances. Jazz intro from Bardens, Latimer double-necked guitar playing both 6 and 12 string. Collins sitting this one out. “Highways Of The Sun” From Rain Dances. Collins back out with alto sax, Latimer vocals. Bardens with a solo. “Lunar Sea” From Moonmadness. OK, let’s do this again only with a soprano sax this time. Sinclair introduces the song. I guess it must be a pretty good song cause it sounded great this time too. “Rain Dances” From Rain Dances. Collins still with soprano sax and flute, Latimer back to doubleneck. Ward has a gong in the back that makes use of, xylophone also. “Never Let Go” From Camel s/t. Collins alto sax, Sinclair vocals. Bardens plays keyboards with one hand and marimbas with the other. An announcer introduces the band afterward indicating that is was actually the first song played. “One Of These Days I'll Get An Early Night” From Rain Dances. Collin both soprano and alto sax. A very jazzy piece. Credits roll at the end. _______ It’s all fantastic music and a lot can be forgiven because of that. The second concert is a lot jazzier than the first, but they both certainly qualify as progressive rock. How come I never heard of these guys until 15 years ago? I’m still going to give that first set my first “1” for video presentation on account of the dark picture and the video editing. Otherwise, it’s pretty much what you would expect for a concert filmed over 40 years ago. PCM stereo would be better than DD, but there are some minor problems with the audio anyway. Music – 3 Sound quality – 2 Video presentation – 1 (1976) 2 (1977) Video quality – 1 Surround – 1
Thanks for reminding me I have this on DVD Dolby 5.1, spun it to listen to but not stare at this morning as I puttered around. I find I appreciate Glass' orchestral movie soundtracks more when I turn up the volume to appreciate the impact of the activity in the low end & sub. Had the good fortune to see the Philip Glass Ensemble live in the 80s. The blend of electronic keyboards and mic'd wind instruments was mixed live on stage by audio engineer Kurt Munkasci, who sat at a console with his back to the audience like an orchestra conductor, while Glass and Michael Riesman played synths. Very powerful during the fortissimo passages, with sufficient large speakers to vibrate the pews just like a good pipe organ's bass pedals & pipes can. Happy my system can approximate that intensity when I'm in the mood.
Rush - R30. The only thing to pick on is the surround. I've sort of already given in to the idea that Rush and surround just don't mix - how can you can have a wall of sound if some of it is coming from the back? There's plenty of reverb though, but what really seals the deal for at least one surround point are the sound-effect vocals on "Roll the Bones". Plenty of other things worth mentioning: The bobble-head video at the intermission is hilarious. So are the washing and vending machines behind Lee. One of the stage hands comes out and changes the clothes in the middle of one of the songs. That raises the question - are the stack of Hughs & Kettner guitar amps behind Lifeson functional or are they just stage props? Lee plays just as loud, just sayin'. The over 30 min "2112/La Villa/By-Tor/Xanadu/Working Man" medley is freaking awesome. The "Crossroads" cover as one of the closers is too. But, if I wanted to encapsulate a great show with a video that has both a great song and a great light show, I'd go with this one: Geddy Lee - Bass, lead vocals, and keyboards. Now that's how to have a three piece band. Music – 3 Sound quality – 3 Video presentation – 3 Video quality – 3 Surround – 2
Live at Pompeii Studio Performance by Pink Floyd Directed by Adrian Maben Starring Pink Floyd Music by Pink Floyd Cinematography Willy Kurant, Gábor Pogány Edited by José Pinheiro Distributed by PolyGram Music Video (1983-1999), Universal Pictures (1999-present) Release date 2 September 1972 Running time 64 minutes Country United Kingdom, France, Belgium, West Germany Language English Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii is a 1972 concert documentary film directed by Adrian Maben and featuring the English rock group Pink Floyd performing at the ancient Roman amphitheatre in Pompeii, Italy. Although the band perform a typical live set from the era, there is no audience beyond the basic film crew. The main footage in and around the amphitheatre was filmed over four days in October 1971, using the band's regular touring equipment, including a mobile 8-track recorder from Paris[2] (before being bumped up to 16-track in post-production).[3] Additional footage filmed in a Paris television studio the following December was added for the original 1972 release. The film was then re-released in 1974 with additional studio material of the band working on The Dark Side of the Moon, and interviews at Abbey Road Studios. The film has subsequently been released on video numerous times, and in 2002, a Director's cut DVD appeared which combined the original footage from 1971 with more contemporary shots of space and the area around Pompeii, assembled by Maben. A number of bands have taken inspiration from the film in creating their own videos, or filming concerts without an audience. The original premiere took place on 2 September 1972, at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. This initial cut, running for one hour, only featured the live footage. The film was scheduled for a special premiere at London's Rainbow Theatre, on 25 November 1972. It was cancelled at the last minute by the theatre's owner, Rank Strand[5] as they didn't have a certificate from the British Board of Film Censors and the theatre could be seen to be in competition with established cinemas. Maben was concerned that one of the problems with the film was that it was too short. In early 1973, Maben was fly fishing with Waters, and suggested the possibility of improving the film by watching them at work in a recording studio. Subsequently, Maben was invited with a small crew using a single 35 mm camera to Abbey Road Studios to film supposed recording sessions of The Dark Side of the Moon, as well as interviews conducted off-camera by Maben, and footage of the band eating and talking at the studio cafeteria. Maben was particularly happy with this footage, feeling it captured the spontaneous humour of the band. The film was not financially successful according to Mason, though Maben disagrees, and suffered particularly from being overshadowed by the release of The Dark Side of the Moon not long after the original theatrical showing. It was released on various home video formats several times. A director's cut version of the film was released in 2002. It included all the original footage, including the interviews, along with some additional filming of the Apollo space program. It also includes the original one-hour cut as a bonus feature. Personnel Roger Waters: bass guitar, rhythm guitar on "Mademoiselle Nobs", gong, cymbals, screams and spoken words on "Careful with That Axe, Eugene", lead vocals on "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun", additional piano on "Echoes" David Gilmour: lead guitar, slide guitar, harmonica on "Mademoiselle Nobs", lead vocals on "Echoes", vocals on "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" and "A Saucerful of Secrets", additional vocals on "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" Richard Wright: Hammond organ, Farfisa organ, grand piano, lead vocals on "Echoes", VCS 3 on "Pompeii" (intro) Nick Mason: drums, percussion, vocal phrase on "One of These Days" Track Listing 1972 original film 1. "Pompeii" 2. "Echoes, Part 1" 3. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" 4. "A Saucerful of Secrets" 5. "One of These Days" 6. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" 7. "Mademoiselle Nobs" 8. "Echoes, Part 2" 1974 theatrical version 1. "Pompeii" 2. "Echoes, Part 1" 3. "On the Run" (studio footage) 4. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" 5. "A Saucerful of Secrets" 6. "Us and Them" (studio footage) 7. "One of These Days" 8. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" 9. "Brain Damage" (studio footage) 10. "Mademoiselle Nobs" 11. "Echoes, Part 2" 2002 DVD 1. "Echoes, Part 1" 2. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" 3. "A Saucerful of Secrets" 4. "Us and Them" (studio footage) 5. "One of These Days" 6. "Mademoiselle Nobs" 7. "Brain Damage" (studio footage) 8. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" 9. "Echoes, Part 2" 2016 5.1 Surround Sound film and stereo CD This version is available as part of The Early Years 1965–1972 box set or the smaller 1972: Obfusc/ation set. 1. "Careful With That Axe, Eugene" 2. "A Saucerful of Secrets" 3. "One of These Days" 4. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" 5. "Echoes" Version Control Yes, there are many versions of this, but I only have the 2002 DVD, which as a cover that looks like this: Now, I’m thinking I may also need the Obfusc/ation set. They both have something the other one doesn’t have: The 2002 DVD has 2 studio performance tracks from DSOTM and "Mademoiselle Nobs", while Obfusc/ation set has surround for the rest. However, I’m just doing the 2002 DVD today. The Director's Cut I’ve led a sheltered life apparently. I’ve never seen this movie in any form, and this version is the easiest one to come by. The video quality is pretty damned good for early 70’s – definitely DVD quality. The audio is disappointing however – Dolby Digital stereo is all there is. I know the music will be excellent. The only thing left to comment on really is the movie itself. Since I’ve never seen it before I will sit through the documentary parts. "Echoes, Part 1" After the the blank screen intro titles "Pompeii" in the ther versions, "Echoes" starts out with a rocket launch and a planetary tour that includes at least some Apollo footage with the music already playing. Then we get to the empty Roman stadium with a daytime performance, which is awesome. There is a shot of a London subway in the middle of it, which seems odd until 13 minutes into the song them movie switches to Abbey Road London where they are working on recording DSOTM. All very interesting, but it doesn’t exactly fit. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" Back to Pompeii, the city, and Pompeii the volcano. The live lava flows must be from elsewhere. Anyway, this time the performance shown when the movie is not cut away to show landscape is at night. Waters with most of the eerie vocals. After the songs ends, there’s more documentary comprised of band member interviews, this time in Paris. "A Saucerful of Secrets" Back to Pompeii and another daytime performance. Waters bangs on cymbals and a gong, Gilmour plays slide guitar with the instrument laid flat, Wright plays a real piano, while Mason plays lead drums. Pretty awesome to see it played. Waters switches to bass, and Gilmour takes on the vocals. Cuts away at the end to show a town demolished by a volcano eruption – obviously not Pompeii. More documentary at the end. "Us and Them" Back at Abbey Road studios. The song plays, but it’s mostly and empty studio. We see Wright playing piano, but the song is interrupted by interviews. That was pretty disappointing. "One of These Days" Back in Pompeii at dusk. Cuts away to what appears to be animated planetary landscape with no atmosphere. Mason’s vocal is prerecorded, but there is still lots of Mason video on this track. Cuts to a way too long documentary. "Mademoiselle Nobs" Back in Pompeii at night. Gilmour on harmonica, Waters on guitar, and Nobs with the vocals. Not really in the same league as “Seamus”, but I think that one had the music arranged around the vocals – so this is pretty good for a “live” performance”. I swear I’ve seen video of Seamus performing in what looked like the same room as the front cover of Ummagumma, but I can’t find anything like it on youtube. So, this will have to do: "Brain Damage" Back at Abbey Road. This is also mostly documentary with a smidgen of studio performance from Gilmour. Another disappointment. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" Back in Pompeii. Waters gong and vocals, Mason on drums, Wright organ and synth, Gilmour slide guitar. Cut away video to ancient artwork and solar photography. More Abbey Road documentary ensues. "Echoes, Part 2" Back in Pompeii with more volcanic landscape video. Looks like they are performing in front of a screen: I’m inclined to think it’s a video editing trick. Lots of shots of the volcano and the ruins, many with the band members in them. Animated view of Pompeii before it’s destruction, and then the lava rolls in, then finishes with daytime performance with video cutaways to views from space. 1972 original film It has about the same video quality, but it's 4:3 screen format. After the black screen intro, it starts out with scenery from the Pompeii ruins. When Echoes I starts, we see Wright and Gilmour playing instead of Apollo footage. Throughout the film there is are still some cutaways to Pompeii artwork, ruins, and volcano landscape - but not nearly as much. "Mademoiselle Nobs" is after "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" instead of before. The CGI depiction of Pompeii during Echoes II is also missing. In other words, more live performance and less other stuff. _______ The good thing about the Director’s Cut is that all the documentary is all at the end of chapters. If you punch the “Next chapter” button the eight times you encounter band interviews you will end up with what is pretty close to the original film in widescreen format. "Mademoiselle Nobs" is out of order, but so what. Or, you can just watch original movie which has a little more actual performance instead of landscape video and Apollo footage, albeit in 4:3 screen format. Better audio would be nice too, of course – I guess that’s what you get with Obfusc/ation. I also feel that by watching the band interviews associated with the Director’s Cut that I have keener sense of why the Meddle 5.1 may never be officially released. Music – 3 Sound quality – 2 Video presentation – 2 (2002), 3 (original) Video quality – 2 Surround – 1 If I get Obfusc/ation there will be an addendum. The only reason to get it is for the audio - how's the surround?
