Live on Saturdays: Video Reviews and Summaries

The Doobie Brothers ‎– Live From The Beacon Theatre
Label: Rhino Entertainment Company ‎– BD2 591542
Format: Blu-ray, Stereo, Multichannel
Country: US
Released: 12 Jul 2019
Genre: Rock, Blues
Style: Classic Rock

• Acoustic Guitar – John McFee, Patrick Simmons, Tom Johnston
• Banjo – John McFee
• Bass – John Cowan
• Cello – John McFee
• Dobro – John McFee
• Drums – Ed Toth
• Electric Guitar – John McFee, Patrick Simmons, Tom Johnston
• Harmonica – John McFee
• Keyboards – Bill Payne
• Pedal Steel Guitar – John McFee
• Percussion – Marc Quinones
• Saxophone – Marc Russo, Roger Rosenberg
• Trumpet – Michael Leonhart
• Violin – John McFee
• Vocals – Bill Payne, John Cowan, John McFee, Marc Quinones, Patrick Simmons, Tom Johnston

• Mastered By – Scott Sedillo
• Mixed By – Bob Clearmountain

Toulouse Street
1 Five Corners
2 Listen To The Music
3 Rockin' Down The Highway
4 Mamaloi
5 Toulouse Street
6 Cotton Mouth
7 Don't Start Me To Talkin'
8 Jesus Is Just Alright
9 White Sun
10 Disciple
11 Snake Man
The Captain And Me
12 Natural Thing
13 Long Train Runnin'
14 China Grove
15 Dark Eyed Cajun Woman
16 Clear As The Driven Snow
17 Without You
18 South City Midnight Lady
19 Evil Woman
20 Busted Down Around O' Connelly Corners
21 Ukiah
22 The Captain And Me
Encore
23 Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me)
24 Black Water
25 Listen To The Music (Reprise)
----------------------------------------------
I always liked the Doobie Brothers, but they were relegated to a singles band by me, due to word of mouth, rather than proof of ears.
When the Captain and Me 5.1 dvd-audio came out I picked it up, with little in the way expectations, I just hoped the hits had good mixes, but I ended up thoroughly enjoying the album. In light of that I have the Quadio set on order, and I have a great deal of anticipation looking forward to it.
If you were looking to do this one @riskylogic my apologies ... We can work something out.

This disc is new to me ... Sometime around now I was supposed to be seeing the guys with Tom and Michael, which these days seems like the only way to see them, but of course all bets were off when the current situation arose, and so it seems that will not get to ever see the band . It's a shame because late last year I got to see Bob Seger for the first time, and it was great. Many big US rock bands never made it to Australia, so some of these latter day legacy tours or whatever have been a blessing for me.

Anyway, lets not get bogged down. This isn't probably the classic Doobies line up, but it is a great line up of musicians with some really important members of the Doobies. So lets have at it.

We open with some nice acoustic guitar, Five Corners, and the Snowy streets outside the theater.
We move backstage and get the band introduced by titled names.
Then smoothly move to Listen to the music.

Tom Johnstone sounds as good as ever. Patrick Simmons sings the bridge really well... so far so good.

The video quality is as pristine as one expects bluray to be.

We have a short audience do the singing of the chorus bit, but it feels natural, and isn't blown out too long.
Simmons lays down a nice lead, but it is slightly low in the mix.
Great opening.

Rocking Down The Highway keeps us up there.
Johnstone lays down a nice lead.
The mix is a little up front, particularly with so many instruments on stage.
To some degree it seem like some instruments only pop out of the mix at certain points... it certainly isn't bad.

Mamaloi has the acoustics come out and Bill Payne plays a steel drum type leas on the keyboards.
The sound is very good. It just isn't necessarily how I would have mixed it.
The percussionist is very good.

Toulouse Street comes in with Simmons on the lead vocals, and he seems slightly low in the mix.
John Mcfee is on the electric cello for this one, and we get a sax lead, not sure which of the guys listed up there it is though.

We do have sound in the sides. There is a sort of smoothness to the sound..... a kind of blend to the sound, so only at certain points instruments pop out for focus.
A valid way to mix a live album, but not how I would go about it.

Cotton Mouth.
A kind if funky tune that has the horns and Payne on the organ.
The mastering seems very good, as I keep turning the volume up.
The mix is actually set up to correlate to stage position.
Mcfee runs some lead licks during the vocals. Johnstone takes the lead break.
Then Mcfee takes a lead, and he is a little more animated as a player.
Payne takes a piano, and then organ lead.
As I suspected the organ is kind of across the middle.
Same sax player comes and tears up his alto sax.
This track has some nice unison and harmony playing.
Very cool.
This is a really cool jam out song, and everybody contributes, and well.
Simmons takes us into the horn refrain with some really nice lead.
we do have full use of channels, but it does base its mix from the front.
In there we had Sonny Boy Williamson's Don't start me Talkin.

Jesus is Just Alright comes in nicely and we get to the bridge breakdown and Mcfee gives us some lead and patrick Simmons nails the vocal and launches into a beautiful lead... dude's feeling it.
Payne slaps out some nice piano.
We roll back into the iconic tiff and Johnstone squeezes out a nice lead and we head back into the main vocal section to a finish.

White Sun gets a live debut. A really nice atmospheric song.
Acoustic guitar driven. Johnstone on vocals, and some wonderful harmonies.
The same sax player comes out and lays down a really gentle melodic lead this time, slowly building but not losing focus on the song.
There are some nice surround moments.

Disciple comes in as a Doobies rocker.
Simmons take a lead, then Mcfee and then we get a really nice three guitar harmony section.
Johnstone takes us out with a nice lead also.

Snake Man gets the acoustics out and Mcfee is playing the dobro.
As Johnstone introduced it we get a country blues, with a twist, and it is really very good.

We get a set break

Natural Thing gets the horns and keys playing the intro. We move into the song smoothly. I never saw them in the seventies, but the big noise was the pot smoking and these guys are really very professional, and know their stuff.
Same sax player plays a quick burst on the tenor.
I must say the drummer is solid too, with some nice fills.

Long Train Runnin, probably the band's signature tune?
The band introductions lead me to know that Mark Russo is the lead sax player.
Mcfee blows out the harp lead.
Russo rolls out another sax lead. Payne's organ is definitely across in the right rear.
The bass player is really very good too.
Simmons tears it up in the reprise section of the song.
We get a kind of jam section. Russo is playing lines and we get some accented percussion parts.

Johnstone launches instantly in China Grove, and Mcfee plays some lead over the intro. Classic radio track from when I was a pup.
The guys all seem to be having a blast. Johnstone tips off a nice lead.

Dark Eyed Cajun Woman would be probably the first none hit, semi-hit of the band I heard, when playing captain and me DVD-a, and instantly I knew they weren't a singles band.
Johnstone takes the lead. Russo comes in on a key change.
We modulate again back to the bridge.
Johnstone leads us out.

Clear as the driven snow. Simmons gives us an intro, involving him giving up drugs.
This is a wonderful song, and Simmons gives us the vocal. It makes sense now... I always just loved the song, but now I hear its context.
We get some really nice rhythmic changes, and this track comes over really well.
Simmons and Mcfee do a really nice acoustic section, augmented by Payne's keys. It isn't a lead, more an arrangement.
This gets punctuated by Johnstone coming in on the lead.
Excellent, possibly my favourite so far.

Without You, and the great songs keep coming.
I loved the arrangement here from that first listen to the dvd-a.
Mcfee takes the lead.
We get some more of the song and Johnstone takes a lead.
The three guitarists and bass player do the side by side front of the stage thing, we get a last vocal line and a big finish.

South City Midnight Lady. Mcfee is now on the pedal steel. Simmons takes the vocal with his acoustic.
This track sort of leans to the country side of the band, and the melodic writing here is a highlight. A somewhat gentle caress of an album.
Russo gives us some sax, Johnstone some lead and then Mcfee has a burst on the pedal steel.
This just makes me a little more annoyed about this years cancellations.
Sax lead, pedal steel then Johnstone to take us out.

Evil Woman starts off with that really cool riff, and Simmons pulls of the gritty vocal really well.
A nice dirty blues rock to break things up well.
Solid.

Busted Down Around O'Connolly Corners has Simmons opening us up with the acoustic, it is a slightly shortened version, if memory serves me, and we launch in Ukiah.

Ukiah is another surprisingly good album. The unison/harmony vocals come across really well.
Mcfee rolls out a lead.
After a short breakdown we get Payne rolling some organ over a semi-reggae feel and then Russo rolls out the sax. Then Payne and Russo trade off.
Then Mcfee takes the lead again.
We move into a riff and roll back into the song.

Captain and Me. Johnstone on the acoustic. Mcfee is now rolling on the banjo. Simmons on his strat.
This is another excellent track.
After the bulk of the song Mcfee get a short spotlight on the banjo and Payne rolls some organ, and we move into the coda.
Then we get a short burst of organ from Payne on the right side and set two is over.
The guys head straight back out on the video and
Take Me in Your Arms punches on board.
John Cowan takes the lead vocal and does a great job.
Simmons takes the bridge vocal.
Simmons rolls out the lead here, and he and Mcfee rock a nice harmony run to take us back to the vocal section.

Black Water ... or is this the signature tune?
Simmons opens us up on the acoustic and we roll into his vocal.
Mcfee is now on the violin, and takes a lead. Give this guy a set of strings and he'll do a great job.
Simmons and Mcfee do a nice little bit together.... then we get the section everyone knows.
They do a great version of this also.
The audience are incorporated, but it doesn't have any negative effect, they just sing a section, and it works well.

We get a reprise of Listen to the Music, with the horns.
We get a slightly longer audience vocal, and a great show comes around to a close, and everybody is happy.

This is an excellent disc. I am not sure if I like it more than Wolftrap, because it has been a while since I saw that, but the audio visual aspects of this are top notch. I have some very minor mixing quibbles, but they are more choice decisions rather than bad or good type things. The video is crystal clear and I doubt anyone would have reason to moan about that at all. The surround is good, but not the focus, the songs are the focus, and we have times where there are things in the sides and rears, but it isn't a constant. the mix seems to be going for a studio type sound, rather than a straight up live sound, with instruments sort of coming in and out for spotlighting sections, and it is a very effective way to mix, but not necessarily my favourite way to mix a live show. It doesn't really effect my enjoyment of the concert at all, it is just one of those little, ok well for me that could be better things.
The performances by all members are solid and spot on. We get solid playing, good renditions of songs, enough adlibbing for it to have some life and I can't really fault this disc at all.
I would imagine if you are a Doobies fan, you are more than likely going to enjoy this.

I would have picked Clear As The Driven Snow, but there are very few clips on youtube from this show, so Long Train Runnin it is

 

Loose in L.A.



Live Performance by the Pretenders
Recorded February 2003
Released 29 September 2003
Venue The Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles
Genre Rock
Length 90 Minutes
Label Eagle Vision
Director Brian Lockwood

Loose In L.A. is the first Pretenders in concert DVD to be released. ... The sold-out show was part of the Pretender's US tour in Support of their latest album Loose Screw. The set list combines a number of tracks from the Loose Screw album with favorite album tracks and a greatest hits selection.

Personnel
Chrissie Hynde – rhythm guitar, lead vocals
Adam Seymour – lead guitar, backing vocals
Andy Hobson – bass
Martin Chambers – drums
Zeben Jameson – Keyboards, Percussion, Backing Vocals

Track Listing

1. Lie To Me
2. Time
3. Message Of Love
4. My Baby
5. Talk Of The Town
6. You Know Who Your Friends Are
7. Time The Avenger
8. The Homecoming
9. Up The Neck
10. Fools Must Die
11. My City Was Gone
12. The Losing
13. Biker
14. Complex Person
15. Nothing Breaks Like A Heart
16. Back On The Chain Gang
17. Don't Get Me Wrong
18. Kid
19. Rebel Rock Me
20. Night In My Veins
21. Tattooed Love Boy
22. Precious
23. I'll Stand By You
24. Middle Of The Road
25. Mystery Achievement
26. Brass In Pocket

Version Control
It was first released in 2003 in DVD with no surround. Subsequent releases on both DVD and Bluray have a 5.1 mix. The bluray and DVD are still available new, and the DVD is like 6 bucks – but I have the bluray. Amazon.

The Concert
We’ve got bluray quality video and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack. However, I don’t think the surround is significantly different from stereo, but I’ll keep it on because it does have higher resolution.

“Lie To Me”
From Loose Screw. Hynde is front and center, Seymour is on the right. Hobson has a microphone left front, but when he is not singing, he tends to hang out with Jameson and Chambers who are in the back row left and center.

This song is from their most recent album, and I like. It’s nice and edgy.

“Time”
From Loose Screw. This song is just OK, but nice guitar work from Seymour.

“Message Of Love”
From Pretenders II. Time for a classic, Chrissy takes her jacket off. This is the only song from the second album, which seems weird to me. Chambers starts it up, Seymour and Hynde are co-rhythm guitarists for most of the song, but Seymour gets a chance to put a few licks in.

“My Baby”
From Get Close. Not quite so classic, but still pretty good.

“Talk Of The Town”
From EP. This is a classic. Hynde had to get a cortisone shot in her hip to get through the concert, good enough - they play it by the book.

“You Know Who Your Friends Are”
From Loose Screw. Back to the new album. The guitar work from Seymour is what catches my attention.

“Time The Avenger”
From Learning to Crawl. Here we go, first really great song. Enough reverb from Seymour in the back speakers to make em worth having.

“The Homecoming”
From G.I. Jane movie. Hynde mentions the “obscure” album Packed!, but this isn’t on it. Seymour wasn’t on that album either, but he makes this song interesting.

“Up The Neck”
From s/t debut. Back to beginning, and yeah that is some pretty tight rock and roll. They can still play and Hynde can still sing.

“Fools Must Die”
From Loose Screw. Another one from the new album, and I like it a lot. Fits in just fine with the older stuff.

“My City Was Gone”
From Learning to Crawl. Stone cold classic. Hobson and Chambers start it up while Hynde polishes up her guitar. Sounds like a Rolling Stones song – a very good one. Seymour is awesome.

“The Losing”
From Loose Screw. Jameson starts it off – he’s been invisible for most of the concert so far, but I guess the new album has keyboard parts. Hynde has given up her guitar. Solo for Jameson.

“Biker”
From ¡Viva El Amor! This is the album before last. No keyboards, and Hynde has a guitar again, but Seymour is better just saying. The lyrics are dumb.

“Complex Person”
From Loose Screw. Hynde claims this is reggae song, but it’s not good whatever it is. Hynde with no guitar, Jameson with background vocals. But, there is a brief duet with Jameson on a Melodica and Seymour on guitar that is pretty cool.

“Nothing Breaks Like A Heart”
From Loose Screw. This is more reggaesque, I’m thinking. It’s also very derivative of some other song that escapes me at the moment. Hynde no guitar and Jameson is busy

“Back On The Chain Gang”
From Learning to Crawl. OK, back to the classics with Hynde singing and playing a little guitar; Seymour and Hobson contributing the oohs and aahs.

“Don't Get Me Wrong”
From Get Close. So there is some improvisation on this one. Firstly, there is a keyboard part for Jameson. Secondly, and more importantly, they stop and startup again with the All Mighty Senators version. Ok, it was carefully rehearsed improvisation.

“Kid”
From s/t debut. Not much in the way of improvisation here, but that’s quite alright.

“Rebel Rock Me “
From Last of the Independents. This isn’t an album I’m familiar with at all, but there’ three songs from it on here. Hynde mentions the doctor who touched her ass for the third time – it must have been a memorable experience. Anyway, not so new-wavy; they’ve done gone rockabilly.

“Night In My Veins”
From Last of the Independents. This also sounds highly derivative of some other song, and it’s pissing me off that I can’t place it. Come on, someone help me out.

“Tattooed Love Boys”
From s/t debut. Starts off a six song finale with four of the songs coming from the debut. Great song; Hyde delivers the lyrics and Seymour the guitar,

“Precious”
From s/t debut. Yes, another great one. They could pass as a punk-rock band back then. Hobson comes all the way forward to help out with the background vocals. End of regular set

“I'll Stand By You”
From Last of the Independents. Starts out with Piano from Jameson, Hynde just sings with no guitar. No, this doesn’t pass for punk rock. Nice guitar from Seymour though.

“Middle Of The Road”
From Learning to Crawl. OK, back to business. Chambers starts the song up, and it’s Seymour with the high-pitched background vocals. Really nice bass work from Hobson, Seymour shines as usual, and Hynde finishes up on harmonica. Another ending.

“Mystery Achievement”
From s/t debut. Second encore. Chambers and Hobson start it up. Hynde just dances for a while, but then she gets tired of that and waits for someone to bring a guitar – which is different than the red one she has been using all along. She and Seymour then get around to rest of the song. Guitar duet. Best track on here:



“Brass In Pocket”
From s/t debut. Hynde gives up the guitar again so she can dance and sing at the same time. Hobson and Seymour move back to let her have the stage.
_______

So I’m one of those people who thinks the first three Pretenders albums were all pretty damn good, but I lost interest shortly after that. Twenty years later some of these guys have a few grey hairs but they can still play, and we get a relatively modern recording. There are a few songs in there that I don’t think much of, and they undoubtedly played with a little more energy when then were younger. There's really not much of a stage show either - they just play the music. But all still pretty good. The performances of the songs from the first album at the end are all terrific.

Music – 2.5
Sound quality – 3
Video presentation – 2
Video quality – 3
Surround – 1

 

Nice reviews for the Doobies and Pretenders.

Neither band ranks among my favorites, but I’ve always liked at least some of both band’s works. Agree that first three Pretenders albums are classic. Even though they peaked, commercially, a long time ago Chrissie, and whoever she surrounds herself with, has maintained a high level of great songs.

Never saw her/them live, but I bet it’s a fun show and she hasn’t lost a thing. Good to hear Martin Chambers is playing with her again. Might have to check that out. Nice that the BR has been upgraded with 5.1.

The Doobies are such a staple of classic rock radio in the States, they’re a group I don’t seek out or own anything by. I take ‘em for granted. Like the Eagles. But that early, pre-McDonald stuff is really pretty good for the most part.

I think they’re very much cruising as “oldies” or “legacy” act now, but that has its place too. Tom Johnston in the band, along with Simmons, makes it pretty legit. Sounds like a good show too. Playing two vintage, classic albums doesn’t hurt.

What year is the show from? Must be recent. Billy Payne, great keyboardist from Little Feat, sure gets my attention! So does percussionist Marc Quinones, from the Allman Brothers Band. Two excellent musicians who I’m glad to see are out there, still, doing their thing. I would imagine both could add some new dimensions to the Doobies sound.

”South City Midnight Lady” has always been a favorite of theirs for me, along with the ubiquitous radio hits. Too bad they didn’t include deep cut “I Cheat the Hangman.” That’s my favorite of theirs.

Thanks, guys!

 

"In November 2018, The Doobie Brothers returned to the Beacon Theatre for the first time in 25 years to perform two of their landmark albums, Toulouse Street and The Captain And Me. Both audio and video of that special performance are now set for release on June 28."
I had to actually look it up. I wondered why I hadn't added the recording date.... it wasn't on there lol

 

Jimi Plays Monterey



Live Performance by Jimi Hendrix
Recorded June 18, 1967
Released 1986
Venue Monterey Pop Festival in Monterey, California
Film Director – Chris Hegedus, D. A. Pennebaker, David Dawkins
Film Producer – John Phillips, Lou Adler

Jimi Plays Monterey & Shake! Otis At Monterey is a video documentary of the performances of both The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Otis Redding accompanied by Booker T. and the MGs and the Mar-Keys at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. The Hendrix set by itself was also released under the title Live at Monterey; has a cover that looks like this:



Personnel
Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix – Guitar, Vocals
Noel Redding – Bass, Backing Vocals
Mitch Mitchell – Drums, Percussion

Otis Redding
Vocals – Otis Redding
Andrew Love aritone Saxophone
Donald "Duck" Dunn – Bass
Al Jackson Jr. – Drums, Percussion
Steve Cropper – Guitar
Booker T. Jones – Organ
Joe Arnold – Tenor Saxophone
Wayne Jackson – Trumpet

Track Listing
Live at Monterey
1. Killing Floor
2. Foxey Lady
3. Like A Rolling Stone
4. Rock Me Baby
5. Hey Joe
6. The Wind Cries Mary
7. Purple Haze
8. Wild Thing

Jimi Plays Monterey
1. Can You See Me?
2. Purple Haze
3. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
4. Monterey
5. Killing Floor
6. Foxy Lady
7. Like A Rolling Stone
8. Rock Me Baby
9. Hey Joe
10. The Wind Cries Mary
11. Wild Thing

Shake! Otis At Monterey
1. Shake
2. Respect
3. I've Been Loving You Too Long
4. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
5. Try A Little Tenderness

Version Control
Live at Monterey was originally released with 8 tracks in 1986 on LP, CD, and VHS; it was released in DVD format in 2007 and bluray in 2008. The DVD is still available: Amazon. Jimi Plays Monterey & Shake! Otis At Monterey with 12 Hendrix tracks plus 5 Redding tracks was originally released as a Criterion DVD in 2006 and as a bluray in 2009. It is also the second disc of a three DVD Monterey Pop Festival set – which is what I have. I have previously reviewed discs one and three – but I skipped over the Hendrix and Redding parts. The stand alone criterion release is out of print, but there are used copies to be had: (Discogs)

The Concert
The video is widescreen and DVD quality. The 5.1 mixes for both the Hendrix and Redding performances are by Eddie Kramer. The center channel is used to feature Hendrix (vocals and guitar) and rears just ta a tiny bit of reverb and crowd noise in the rear. The surround isn’t significantly than the stereo mix, and the audio is just so-so; Since the audio format is DTS I’m sure that’s the fault of original recording.

I’ve had this for many years, but I don’t think I’ve ever watched it before. This is after his first album, so he doesn’t have a large catalog of his own songs to pick from.

Jimi Plays Monterey
“Can You See Me?”
This track is basically audio only – there is a video of a graffiti artist painting a picture of Hendrix in widescreen format. This song was actually the sixth song in the set.

“Purple Haze”
This was the eighth song of the set, but there is just a snippet of “Purple Haze” at the beginning, it continues with a documentary interview with John Phillips. The video plays again with the full song sans video during the credits shown at the end.

“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”
The interviews continues and then we get the Beatles song. After that concludes we get Hendrix fooling around with his guitar – it eventually breaks into the beginning of “Wild Thing” – I think this is the intro to the last song of the set.

“Monterey’
This chapter is all documentary – so you’re not missing anything by not having it on Live in Monterey.

“Killing Floor”
This starts with a documentary introduction to the set, so I guess we are finally really getting started. Yes we are, I was getting worried that his was going to be a bust, but this is what I was expecting. I think the performance clips for the previous chapters were from a different camera. This Howlin’ Wolf cover has a lot a more color. The camera is on Hendrix just about the whole time, but they do show Mitchell a bit.

“Foxy Lady”
Goes straight into this song with no documentary interruption – yay. Awesome performance, the video quality is amazingly good (much better than Woodstock), sound quality is quite decent, but the surround mix is worthless.

“Like A Rolling Stone”
A Bob Dylan cover, and like “All Along the Watchtower”, his improvisations make the song a lot longer than the original version. OK, it’s not as good as that, but it’s still a fair comparison.
“Rock Me Baby”
A BB King song that Hendrix plays a lot faster, but he stretches it out with some extra guitar work at the end. Get to see some of Redding on this one.

“Hey Joe”
Holy crap, he plays with his teeth. I was going to try to save the video for the Wild Thing fireworks that are also in the original movie, but I just can’t.



“The Wind Cries Mary”
Another one of his own songs. There are a few full stage shots that show the whole band that are a little grainy –seems like some cameras or film canisters are better than others.

“Wild Thing”
We get the intro shown earlier for a second time. He makes his guitar do stuff it wasn’t designed to do. Then we get the actual song with Redding on background vocals. Then Hendrix plays his guitar while somersaulting, with it on his back, then he humps the amp with it, Then he sets it on fire, and puts the fire out by banging it on the stage – good thing it’s the last song of the set. He throws pieces of the guitar to the crowd. Maybe you can buy one on ebay.

Shake! Otis At Monterey
This five song set is a separate selection from the main menu of the Criterion release. It is not on Hendrix Live at Monterey.

“Shake”
Starts with band intro. Pretty much the same video and audio quality, but the horns show up in the rears a little bit.

“Respect”
Great rendition of his own song, bass player Dunn also puts on a great show.

“I've Been Loving You Too Long”
Rockers give way to a blues numbers; Redding definitely knows how to work the horns for points of emphasis.

“(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction”
Rolling Stones with sax and horns instead of a guitar – still mighty fine bass guitar work though, and the pace picks up.

“Try A Little Tenderness”
Slows back down again with just percussion, bass, and keyboards from Booker T. Sax and horns come in as the video cuts away from the stage to show festival scenery.
_______

All of the Hendrix video available seems to be somewhat flawed , but this may be the least flawed. The video quality is the best of the bunch. Here we see Hendrix as he was just becoming famous, and about half the songs are covers. He puts more effort into the stage show, but that unfortunately comes somewhat at the expense of the musical performance. However, the surround mix is not as good as Woodstock – the reverb hardly makes it back there. It’s a short performance – there isn’t much more than 40 minutes of Hendrix playing music, and there's really only seven tracks that come with full video. If you start Jimi Plays Monterey on chapter 5, you will miss the documentary segments and not much at all in the way of the concert - just two minutes of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”. The Redding set is a nice addition.

Music – 2.5
Sound quality – 2
Video presentation – 3
Video quality – 2
Surround – 1

 

Live at Coventry Cathedral 1975



Music Video by Tangerine Dream
Recorded October 4th. 1975
Released BBC (Old Grey Whistle Test) Oct 3rd, 1976, DVD 2007

On the first glance on the cover of this DVD release entitled Live at Coventry Cathedral 1975 one might think to see a live taping of TD's concert at Coventry Cathedral, but actually it contains a half-hour concert montage of performance footage heavily processed by video effects. This is how it was broadcast on BBC2 on October 3rd, 1976 -- almost a year to the day after the Coventry concert. Tony Palmer had filmed the concert for a 50 minute edition of 'Omnibus' (being the BBC's then flagship Arts programme), but somebody carelessly lost the audio -- forcing Palmer to completely re-do the entire programme. So he edited the shots to excerpts from TD's then new album Ricochet. The UK press announced that Chris Franke flew in specially to help with the editing.

In fact, reception of this DVD release was quite mixed, as many expected to see a complete live concert, including previously unheard music and hence were extremely disappointed by the contents of this release.

From a technical standpoint, Palmer's montage is very much of its time. Combining psychedelic effects with the cathedral's own architectural and artistic imagery, Palmer created an extended music video for a band whose performances, at that time, consisted of expressionless manipulation of analog synthesizers. But the video effects and transition filters, rendering chunky, blocky, op-art geometric shapes in blazing primary and purplish colours, may be distracting to those wanting a precise and complete record of the original concert. And of course, the edits do not sync with any performance close-ups at all.

Anyway, given the fact that only few video material from that era does exist at all, those who never attended the band's concerts in the seventies will find fascinating shots of the massive gear used to create the group's sound, that is surrounding Edgar Froese, Chris Franke and Peter Baumann.

Personnel
Peter Baumann – keyboards
Chris Franke – keyboards, drums
Edgar Froese – keyboards, guitar

Track Listing
1. Ricochet, Part One [Excerpt] 16:40
2. Ricochet, Part Two [Excerpt] 11:04
Total running time 27:44

Version Control
The was first released as a DVD in 2007 and as a CD+ DVD in 2013 set. Amazon still sells it. It is also on the second bluray of the In Search of Hades box set released in 2019 – that is what I have. It seems that the original audio from the concert was finally located over 40 years later – that is included in the box set.

The Video
Yes, I was sort of expecting a concert performance, but that’s not what this is. It’s a just under 30 minute music video with a few bits of concert footage and lots of psychedelic scenery from the cathedral. It’s VHS video quality with a 4:3 screen format. The audio is all from the original album in mono. There’s also a frequently an overlay of a tape machine running that belies the fact that, despite it’s billing as a live album, the better part of the album was produced in the studio. That is all I have to say about this. It’s OK as bonus material, but I would be quite annoyed if I had spent over $20 for it. Here is a promotional video:



Oh yeah, I should mention here that Ricochet is very good album but it’s not among the cream of the Virgin years.

Music – 2
Sound quality – 2
Video presentation – 3
Video quality – 1
Surround – 0

Mark reviewed the 5.1 mix of Tangerine Dream - Ricochet last week. That's the main attraction on disc 18 of the box set, for sure. Wish they had redubbed the video with the surround mix.

 

Endless River



Video Collection by Pink Floyd

@mark winstanley reviewed the surround mix of this album today, so you can go there for the album details. The bluray of the deluxe edition also comes with videos for six songs. I'll run through those quickly.

The Videos
These are all stereo only, and all in black and white.

"Anisina"
All of the videos except for this one were produced in 1993. This one is widescreen, DVD quality, and black and white. Starts out with Gilmour playing piano, then cuts away to still shots of all three band members.

"Untitled"
Very short video shot with a video camera with very small 4:3 screen - not even VHS quality, I'm afraid. Shows band playing in the studio.

"Evrika (a)"
Same video quality, but this time it's just Gilmour in the studio. Much longer clip, sounds pretty good.

"Nervana"
This is better 4:3 video - VHS quality. The whole band is in a different studio, and most of the shots are of them not playing. Hey, this is a rock song. Maybe that's why it doesn't actually appear on what and album that can be mostly characterized as the Pink Floyd entry into the ambient genre.



"Allons-Y"
Back to the itty-bitty screen, and they are all playing. Well, this is a rock song too, and it does appear on the album.

"Evrika (b)"
OK, back to ambient mode. Five musicians on the itty-bitty screen this time - there's an extra keyboard player next to Wright.
______

There's nothing on here that you would want to pay good money for, but I've seen worse bonus material on Pink Floyd sets.

Music – 1
Sound quality – 3
Video presentation – 2
Video quality – 1 (range 0-2)
Surround – 1

 

The Doors ‎– Live At The Bowl '68
Label:
Eagle Vision ‎– EVB334319
Format:
Blu-ray
Country:
US
Released:
2012
Genre:
Rock
Style:
Psychedelic Rock



Live At The Bowl '68 2:15:00
1 Start Show / Intro
2 When The Music's Over
3 Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)
4 Back Door Man
5 Five To One
6 Back Door Man (Reprise)
7 The Wasp (Texas Radio And The Big Beat)
8 Hello, I Love You
9 Moonlight Drive
10 Horse Latitudes
11 A Little Game
12 The Hill Dwellers
13 Spanish Caravan
14 Hey, What Would You Guys Like To Hear?
15 Wake Up!
16 Light My Fire
17 Light My Fire (Segue)
18 The Unknown Soldier
19 The End (Segue)
20 The End
Bonus Features
21 Echoes From The Bowl
22 You Had To Be There
23 Reworking The Doors
Bonus Tracks:
24 Wild Child (From The Smothers Brothers Show)
25 Light My Fire (From The Jonathan Winters Show)
26 Gloria (Music Video)
--------------------------------------------
The Doors were one of my favourite bands as a teen in the eighties. I just thought they had this whole thing going on that nobody else did... I don't know if that's strictly true, but they still seem a little unique to me.

I had the VHS of this back in the day, and I would have watched it a fair bit. I think I have watched this once ... there is much to be said about not overkilling something, and I listened to The Doors so much in the eighties that they haven't had much of a go for a long time.

Anyway, enough of that. Lets see if we can get through this.

We open up with Ray and John.
Jim wandering thevstage like a public menace.
I assume this was shot on film for 1968 the picture is stunning.
The intro is probably a little long, but it is building drama.
When the music's over is among my favourite Doors tracks, and we open up here, and everyone here is in their game.
Morrison must have been relatively sober of mind, as you see him subtly signal for his monitors to be raised.
We have a pretty straight forward mix ....
Ray is on the left towards the front but in the side nonetheless. There is some sub on the organ bass, and it is a nice subtle addition and sounds good.
Robie is in the right, and again is somewhat in the side, but more to the front.
We definitely have width though.
John is in the middle, such an important parts of the band.
The mix isn't really using the rears for the music, but for this band in this setting the mix we have is excellent.
We can hear everything and as I say we have a full 180 degree zone, and it sounds good.
Sound picture and audio are spot on.
Morrison was an unpredictable frontman, and the band had gotten used to his antics, and had developed pretty good improvisational abilities.
Alabama Song has never been a favourite, but they do a good job, and we slide beautifully into Back Door Man.

Jim is certainly wasted but in the zone. Five to one comes in for it's part of the medley. Morrison pulls of his vocals really well.

Jim starts reciting Texas Radio and the Big Beat. The band improvise a backing, minimalist, but effective.
Hello I Love You comes in.
Yea to me this looks and sounds great.
It is probably the most stable document of The Doors live.

Moonlight Drive, almost gets distracted, wanting to know what was happening in the audience.
He takes the mic off the stand for the first time and slowly wanders around a little.
Horse latitudes gets inserted over the ending of Moonlight Drive and again the band move into improvising mode.

We get Little Game, from the Celebration of the Lizard King, followed by the Hill Dwellers.

With the Doors, you are either drawn into the way they do their thing or you aren't. This isn't a big stage show. There are certainly interesting visual moments, but the show visually is based around Morrison and his faces and erratic presence.
Great for a Doors fan, probably not for anyone else.

Spanish Caravan comes in, and gets a good treatment.

Wake up comes in, another excerpt from Celebration. The we bounce straight into Light My Fire.
I figure there were fireworks left over from the fourth as reasonably frequently we get bangs and pops in the rears from the crowd setting them off.
Ray takes his lead and is in his own little world. Robby patiently awaits his turn, and lays down a great lead.

Morrison wanders around as if trying to think of something he can do to shake things up a bit. Robbie plays the first chord to Unknown Soldier, and gets his attention back.
The move into the marching sequence and Robbie is manipulating his amp.
Morrison stands at the mic ad if hands tied behind his back, and Robbie lines him up with the SG and shoots him. Morrison violently falls to the floor.
They do a good job of this.

Ray tinkles with the keys Robbie quickly checks his tuning.
Jim asks for the lights to be turned down taunting the light guy and we move into The End.
Jim moves into some improv. as the band improvises in the background.

This probably isn't something for everybody, The Doors are from a couple of generations ago, and their special brand of strangeness probably doesn't go over as well these days, but if you like the Doors, I think this is a pretty good way of experiencing, to some degree, what their live shows were like, although it must be said that this one seems to be one of the more controlled and less outrageous performances.
They were known to be very erratic and Jim was known to play all sorts of mind games with the audience ... on occasion Ray would have to sing some tracks, because Jim was so out there , there was no bringing him back.
Here we get a disciplined performance and the bands own quirky take on a live concert.
It goes for about seventy minutes and is extended from the original release. I'm not sure if it's the whole show, but it would probably be pretty close, most shows were still pretty short back then.
I think the video quality is excellent, and I think the 5.1 is very serviceable. The performance is The Doors, and you'll either love it or hate it based on that.

 

Townsend, Devin - Acoustically Inclined at Leeds. This is a short one man show with just vocals and acoustic guitar that comes with the Empath Deluxe box.. He sure does get a lot of reverb out of a acoustic guitar though. Since I'm not really familiar with his work, I didn't have to worry about whether or not he botched some of his best songs. Since it's a modern recording, the video and audio are better than what you often get as bonus material. But since the band is missing it's still pretty hard to appreciate it as anything other than bonus material.

Music – 1
Sound quality – 3
Video presentation – 2
Video quality – 3
Surround – 1

 

Clapton, Eric and Winwood, Steve – Live From Madison Square Garden. I had my eye on this one already, but Mark pushed me over the edge - I snagged a new copy from the UK for $20 or so.

First off, this has to be regarded at least as much as a Steve Winwood concert as an Eric Clapton concert. He is listed first when the credits roll.

Second, I never thought of Winwood as a guitarist at all - but he starts and finishes with a guitar in his hands. Not only that, he's really good - great solo on "Dear Mr Fantasy".

Third, what a great set list. As a sort of Blind Faith reunion. they they play all the songs on the first side plus a bonus track. No "Sea of Joy" though. They play plenty of Traffic songs and Clapton solo stuff, but no Cream ("I'm so Glad" instead of "Glad" perhaps?) or anything from Arc of a Diver. But I'll forgive all that for the two Jimi Hendrix covers. Holy moly, Clapton playing "Voodoo Chile" with Winwood vocals and keyboards; every 16 minutes of it is fantastic:



Fourth, the rears are very active, mostly with keyboards. On some tracks it sounds like Dire Straits Alchemy with the mystery keyboardist in the back (Stainton in this case), but Winwood is mixed back there too sometimes. It ain't just reverb.

Fifth, no stage show to speak of but oh well it's still a great concert.

Music – 3
Sound quality – 3
Video presentation – 2
Video quality – 3
Surround – 2

 

Coming late to this thread I have the luxury of choosing from a lot of good discs for my debut post, and this is going to be a real treat because I'm going to start with Reflectors of Light. This was recorded at (I think) four concerts at the Cadogan Hall in London, and I was actually at one of those. I was also at the (two?) King's Hall gigs that were recorded in part for Stone and Steel: Big Big Train have the distinction of getting two surround sound discs plus two double albums out of what were effectively their first five concerts as a stage band! It's also worth pointing out that this is now virtually the only chance to see the “dream lineup” of the band, since Dave Gregory (XTC) and Andy Poole (a founder member of the band) have since left. Both are a huge loss.

As @riskylogic has already said, stage spectacle isn't much of a part of this band's skillset and, worse, lead singer David Longdon can be actively offputting with some of his stage posturing, but the musicianship from all band members (including Longdon) is so rock solid that musically this is close to studio album territory. The sedentary, middle-aged audience does little to add to the atmosphere (there's a reason why so many concert videos are filmed in South America) but they are kept politely quiet in the mix anyway: perhaps too quiet during the climactic singalong. Camera coverage is excellent and lighting is kept high more or less throughout to cut down (though not entirely prevent) the grain problems that plague so many other concert video recordings.

Rather than go through the thing meticulously like I would with the “Surrounded on Sundays“ thread, I'll just mention a few highlights. One of them is the backing vocals: Nick D’Virgilio (Spock’s Beard) is a lead singer in his own right, and the harmony vocal work from him, Rickard & Rachel is nicely mixed, often into the rears. Having two keyboardists and two lead guitarists is a recipe for sludgy textures but the presence of violin, plus occasional use of brass and flute, gives enough contrast to prevent even the longer songs (the average length of songs here is about eight minutes) becoming dull. [Mind you, I like the band a lot, so other listeners may admittedly find the concert dull at times! ] Amongst the acoustic sounds, Rickard's 12-string on “Meadowlands” is simply amazing ... acoustic guitars should just not sound that good on stage! The brass recording on the start of “The Transit Of Venus Across The Sun” is also gorgeous.

It's worth pointing out that while the band is channelled for the most part “as seen on stage” the brass quintet wraps around the listening position, so that for example you can turn to your right to hear the trumpet better in “A Mead Hall In Winter”. Similarly the violin sometimes migrates from front left to rear left, so the sound is not the equivalent of a multi-channel recording from the front centre seats: it's fuller and more impressive than that. For most of the these songs the version in surround becomes preferable to hearing the original recordings in stereo. “Wassail” - an attempt to write a BBT version of “Sledgehammer” - provides a rousing finale.

Frankly I'm amazed that a little struggling Symphonic Prog band were able to pull together a surround concert video beyond the apparent technical capabilities of so many bigger names. Rob Aubrey, who did the surround mix, isn’t even a surround specialist ... he's just the band's regular producer/engineer. Ironically, despite how good the recording is, I can remember finding the actual setlist for the most part disappointing on the night and there's no doubt in my mind that the highlight of the night, “East Coast Racer”, remains the highlight here though “Victorian Brickwork” has its advocates. If you can get your hands on it, Stone and Steel (half concert, half recorded “as live” in the studio at Peter Gabriel's Real World studio) is worth tracking down as well for the fantastic performance of “The Underfall Yard” but it sells for silly money now.

 

I'm not going to watch Stop Making Sense through complete again because I know it very, very well and if it's not in your top ten concert films of all time, what's wrong with you? I have the DVD of this and the (dare one use the word?) iconic opening with Byrne playing “Psycho Killer” on an empty stage is an interesting 5.1 experience because it's pretty much mono. “Heaven” starts out the same way until the off-stage vocals are funnelled into front and rear left and right. With Chris Frantz's arrival on stage we're up to regular 5.1 and there are still a fair number of band members to come.

“Found A Job” the celebrated side shot of Harrison, Byrne and Wymouth going out of phase while dancing to the song (15:30): oh so cool. “Slippery People” reminds me of the sad story of the backing singer who cut her hair before the concert, resulting in her having to wear hair extensions for the shoot. Here come the percussion and keyboard risers.

I know that I should hang in there until at least “Take Me To The River” but for me the peak of the movie is probably “Life During Wartime” and I don't have to hear any more to know that the DD 5.1 Feature Film mix is very underwhelming: very little in the rears and, as a result, a very stage-facing musical experience. At the time, the sense of being at a great Talking Heads concert was all that was needed but although the entertainment value is sky high, largely down to Byrne’s imaginative staging and choreography, the sonics of the music sound rather old-fashioned now. It definitely suffers from coming straight after Big Big Train!

So it's back to the start for the “Studio” mix. Now the tape machine is not quite as mono as it was on the Feature Film mix ... it's in all channels and therefore feels in the middle of the listener's head, which is not actually an improvement because it's meant to be on stage. Again, with “Heaven” we have more in the rears, but I can tell that because I'm literally looking at audio meters that tell me that ... I'm not sure that there's much difference. Seriously, I'm switching A to B and the difference isn't worth writing home about. On “Slippery People” the audio is noticeably drier, though, suggesting that some of the auditorium reverb has been taken out of the mix, but also some of the bottom end is missing so the Feature Film may well be preferable overall. There's also slightly less crowd noise in the Studio mix, but it's a pretty hyped audience in both mixes.

You watch Stop Making Sense because you want to see a great band at the peak of its creativity, not to show off your sound system.

 

That's exactly what I thought.
The bluray was an upgrade for me.
The dvd I used to have had syncing problems during naive melody and although it said it had the two mixes, it only had the one.

 

For the most part, the mix is actually pretty simple and straightforward - each musician is assigned a spot in the surround field which roughly corresponds to their position stage. It's a great way to generate a surround mix while also maintaining the semblance of a sound stage. The only real technical trick is that you need a mike/track for each musician. King Crimson did the same thing on Meltdown. I often like studio mixes with no soundstage, but for a live performance I think it's important to have one.

 

R40 Live



Live Performance by Rush
Released November 20, 2015
Recorded June 17 and 19, 2015
Venue Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Canada
Genre Progressive rock, hard rock
Length 195:57 (CD version)
Label Anthem
Producer Allan Weinrib Recorded & Mixed by David Bottrill

R40 Live is the name for both the last live audio album release, and the live video release, of Canadian rock band Rush's R40 Live Tour. Both formats were released November 20, 2015. The performances were filmed on June 17 and 19, 2015, at Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Canada. The video DVD/Blu-ray versions only contain the first three of the seven bonus tracks. It was also the last official live album to feature drummer Neil Peart before his retirement from touring due to health issues in 2018 and his death in 2020.

Personnel
Geddy Lee – vocals, bass guitar, keyboards, rhythm guitar
Alex Lifeson – guitars, backing vocals
Neil Peart – drums, percussion

Track Listing

1. The World is .. The World is ...
2. The Anarchist
3. Headlong Flight
4. Far Cry
5. The Main Monkey Business
6. How It Is
7. Animate
8. Roll the Bones
9. Between the Wheels
10. Losing It (with Ben Mink)
11. Subdivisions
12. No Country for Old Hens
13. Tom Sawyer
14. YYZ
15. The Spirit of Radio
16. Natural Science
17. Jacob's Ladder
18. Hemispheres: Prelude
19. Cygnus X-1/The Story So Far (drum solo)
20. Closer to the Heart
21. Xanadu
22. 2112
23. Mel's Rockpile (with Eugene Levy)
24. Lakeside Park/Anthem
25. What You re Doing/Working Man
26. Exit Stage Left
27. One Little Victory
28. Distant Early Warning
29. Red Barchetta

Version Control
There’s a 3CD set with four extra bonus songs, 3CD+DVD, 3CD+Bluray, DVD only, and the stand alone bluray I have. Amazon.

The Concert
The stage is sort of laid out like all their other modern concerts. Behind Lifeson are three circular screens. Over on the right behind Lee, we’ve got an old phonograph, a pickled brain canister, another phonograph, and a popcorn machine. One giant screen behind the stage and a couple of tall narrow screens behind the amps and the washing machines. There also a couple od wide screens far upper left and right that usually show band members playing.

The video and audio are pretty much like R30 too - both are excellent. Yes, there’s a surround mix but it’s mainly just crowd noise in the back – not much different from stereo.

“The Anarchist”
From Clockwork Angels. There’s an introductory video, so the concert really starts on chapter 2. The set list runs in reverse chronological order, so the concert starts with two songs from their most recent album. The center screen shows live band member shots, the side screens have stacks of a repeating video – can’t tell what it’s supposed to be. The circular screens behind Lifeson have flames.

“Headlong Flight”
From Clockwork Angels. The items on the right are labeled “Bassy”, “Brainy”, “Horny” and “Corny”. Big screen is blank, circular screens show moving cirlces, side screens have pictures of equipment. While the song still going, technicians bring out two amps to sit behind Lifeson. And “Bassy” gets replaced by a fake washing machine - it’s has a circular screen showing. simulated laundry.

“Far Cry”
From Snakes and Arrows. Back one more album. The big screens show assorted video, the circular screens have yet another oscillating motif.

“The Main Monkey Business”
From Snakes and Arrows. Another two amps brought in behind Lifeson – up to four now. “Brainy” gets replaced by another fake washing machine with identical simulated laundry. Main screens blank, circular screens with different weird stuff.

“How It Is”
From Vapor Trails. Big screens with live shots. Circular screens off – technicians come out and take one away.

“Animate”
From Counterparts. Test for Echo got skipped over without a song. Another circular screen goes bye-bye, but the one left is on. More equipment brought out instead – makes me think that yes the amps in R30 were just there as props. The popcorn machine gets replace by another fake washer; “Horny” is still out there. The large screens are used to display words from the lyrics, e.g. “animate”, with the first and last letters on the side screens.

“Roll the Bones”
From Roll the Bones. Side screens show RtB cover art, big screen with live shots and then switched to video with prerecorded vocals. Circular screen shows a VU meter.

“Between the Wheels”
From Grace Under Pressure. Whoa, skipped over three albums. Guess the synth era doesn’t fit in here. Nonetheless, Lee does venture over to the keyboards to start the song off. The last circular screen and “Horny” go off stage, so now we’ve just amps on the left and four pseudo washing machines on the right.

“Losing It”
From Signals. We’ve got a guest musician for this one; Ben Mink comes out with an electric violin. More synth from Lee to start it off, but then goes back to the bass.

“Subdivisions”
From Signals. Bass line and lots more from the synth. But Lee still finds time to play some bass too. Lifeson’s amps have been outfitted with toys and stuffed animals. Random video on the big screen.

“Tom Sawyer”
From Moving Pictures. Another video to start off the second set. The washing machines are gone, now we have stacks of amps behind both Lifeson and Lee – different brands though. The ones behind Lifeson are different than the one that were out there before.

“YYZ”
From Moving Pictures. Some extra lights kick in from the floor, very cool. The floor technicians cart on of Lee’s amps away.

“The Spirit of Radio”
From Permanent Waves. More amps go byebye on both sides. Same light show with video on the big screens.

“Natural Science”
From Permanent Waves. Lifeson starts out on acoustic guitar. Sciencey video on the big screens.

“Jacob's Ladder”
From Permanent Waves. Clouds on the screen, and the video really goes well with the lighting. I think this is as good a place as any for the video – it was in fact released as a promotional video for the concert:



“Hemispheres: Prelude”
From Hemispheres. Lifeson and Lee both lose some more amps.

“Cygnus X-1/The Story So Far”
From Hemispheres. Geddy starts out by himself, then Peart, and finally Lifeson. But we end up with a drum solo that is accompanied by a little synth. After Peart is done, Lifeson takes a brief turn playing solo, and then we’re back to a threesome.

“Closer to the Heart”
From A Farewell to Kings. Lifeson starts with acoustic guitar, Peart with chimes. Random video on the screen.

“Xanadu”
From A Farewell to Kings. Both Lifeson and Geddy go double-necked – Lifeson has a 6+12 string version, while Lee has 6+4. Lees starts out with the Moog that has replaced his old keyboard setup though. More amps get carted off. Geddy still seems to be mostly playing with four strings, while Lifeson mostly uses 6. Go figure. OK, Lifeson does use 12 for a few passages. Noticeable reverb in the rears on this one.

“2112”
From 2112. Starts with prerecorded synth. It’s a somewhat abbreviated 12 minute version, but this is still the highlight of the show for me.

“Lakeside Park/Anthem”
From Caress of Steel / Fly By Night. We’re into the encores, and Lifeson and Lee are down to a couple of amps each. Geddy’s voice just can’t do this anymore. Lots of reverb in the rears again.

“What You re Doing/Working Man”
From s/t debut. Video screen shows a high school gym – presumably the sort of venue they played in at the time. “Working Man” is a great finale – not just for the concert, but for the band.

Bonus Material
You just have to skipover two chapters with the last video and the credits to get to these. They are from the same venue, but on a different night perhaps. I don't know why these were postponed the - perhaps they didn't want to show the stage being dismantled twice.

“One Little Victory”
From Vapor Trails. Better song than the one from that album in the first set IMO.

“Distant Early Warning”
From Grace Under Pressure. And this is why I had to do the bonus tracks – I love this song. Big screen shows live shots framed as an old tube TV – very cool.

“Red Barchetta”
From Moving Pictures. Starts with on-the-big-screen video that has sound effects in the back. All of the bonus tracks are quite good.
________

The problem with Rush is that there seems to be an overabundance of great concert videos to choose from. Even though this is a very fine concert, there are at least two better ones that I’ve seen so far (R30 and S&A Live). The strength of this one is the coverage of (almost) the entire catalog, and especially the early stuff that comes at the end. The surround mix isn’t completely worthless – there is some very nice reverb in the rears on many of the songs., but I’m still not giving it a point.

Music – 2.5
Sound quality – 3
Video presentation – 3
Video quality – 3
Surround – 1

I picked up a used copy of Replay, plus I have Clockworks Angels Tour coming. So, more Rush to come.

 

Zappa The Roxy Movie


Eagle Vision/Honker Home Video

Roxy The Movie
BR-1/2 "Something Terrible Has Happened"/Cosmik Debris 11:18
BR-3 Penguin In Bondage 7:58
BR-4 T'Mershi Duween 1:57
BR-5 The Dog Breath Variations/Uncle Meat 4:14
BR-6 RDNZL 5:03
BR-7 Audience Participation - RDNZL 1:44
BR-8 Inca Roads 8:12
BR-9 Echidna's Arf (Of You) 3:56
BR-10 Don't You Ever Wash That Thing? 7:02
BR-11 Cheepnis-Percussion 4:09
BR-12 Cheepnis 5:45
BR-13 I'm The Slime 4:04
BR-14 Big Swifty 8:57
BR-15 Be-Bop Tango (Of The Old Jazzmen's Church) 17:32
*BR-16 End Credits (Don't Eat The Yellow Snow/Father O'Blivion) 3:36 *note that these are studio session snippets

Yes & But Also
BR-18 Pygmy Twylyte 8:36
BR-19 The Idiot Bastard Son 2:27
BR-20 Dickie's Such An ******* 9:47

Roxy The Soundtrack
CD-1 "Something Terrible Has Happened" 1:20
CD-2 Cosmik Debris 9:55
CD-3 Penguin In Bondage 8:23
CD-4 T'Mershi Duween 1:57
CD-5 The Dog Breath Variations/Uncle Meat 4:14
CD-6 RDNZL 4:52
CD-7 Echidna's Arf (Of You) 3:55
CD-8 Don't You Ever Wash That Thing? 7:03
CD-9 Cheepnis-Percussion 4:08
CD-10 Cheepnis 5:41
CD-11 Be-Bop Tango (Of The Old Jazzmen's Church) 17:32

Catalog #: ERBRD5257
Format: Blu-ray - 16:9 Screen Format - NTSC - All Regions - American English - DTS-HD Master Audio, LPCM Stereo
Total Running Time: 116 mins approx.

Directed, Written, Music Composed & Performed by FRANK ZAPPA

Starring Frank Zappa & The Mothers existing of
Ruth Underwood, Ralph Humphrey, George Duke, Tom Fowler, Bruce Fowler, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Chester Thompson

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This concert was supposed to have been released decades ago, but due to some issue, there was a syncing problem with the video and audio and it sat in the vaults ........

There was an announcement at some point that the complete Roxy performances were going to be released on the bluray, but we didn't get those..... eventually we got this.

Now I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed when I saw what was on this, but that was before I had watched it. That disappointment actually led me to not buy this for a while, but eventually my love for Zappa, and my love for Roxy and Elsewhere led me to buy this, and I am so glad I did. I have watched this quite a few times since getting it, and I love it.
No fancy effects, no cut aways to nonsensical stuff, just a straight up live show from that marvellous band of musicians that Zappa had on stage in December 1973 ....

So lets not dawdle

Still available on Amazon for about $26 https://www.amazon.com/Roxy-Movie-Blu-ray-Frank-Zappa/dp/B014RDS6RO
On discogs for about $20 Frank Zappa & The Mothers - Roxy The Movie

Unfortunately the audio is only dolby digital 5.1, but it sounds good.

The opening section is just Zappa explaining that something technical has gone wrong and so there's a slightly.
The band break into a blues jam, to fill.
Zappa ends up starting to sing Cosmic Debris over the blues jam. We still get all the excellent fills and change ups, just with a slightly different feel .... and being Zappa's band, this could have been rehearsed this way, or just improvised this way.
It is very cool anyway. Napolean takes a nice sax lead, and then George does some cool boogie woogie type piano. Then he gets on a d6? Zappa then take a wah effected lead break, in typical Zappa style. I'm always amazed when folks suggest Zappa hired great musicians to hide the fact that he wasn't very good .... what a bunch of crud ...
We get the funk change at the crystal ball section, it is just slower.
The interplay between Zappa and Napolean is great.

The Penguin in Bondage intro always cracks me up.

The video quality is excellent. Shot on film I believe, and it looks like film, and it is clear and very good.

Zappa's interaction with the crowd is always relaxed and fun.

Penguin in Bondage starts to show how good this band is, and we're introduced to Zappa doing some of his conducting, pulling the band in and out, and I always enjoy watching this happen.

Ralph Humphrey in on drums and percussion just left of front left.
Chester Thompson is on drums just right of front right.
Ruth Underwood is on all sorts of percussion, and it comes from various locations.
Bruce Fowler is on trombone
Tom Fowler is on the bass
George Duke is on keys and they are often on the right side.
Napolean Murphy Brock is on sax and vocals.
Zappa guitar, vocals and percussion.

Zappa was just playing the percussion during RDNZL.

The 5.1 is immersive. Not like a studio mix, but very good.
For example, George was just playing a keyboard lead and it was across the middle.

Zappa plays a game with the audience using a technique he just used with the band... fun.

While Zappa introduces Inca Roads synth and percussion fly all over the place.
Inca Roads starts off like a Tony Bennett track or something along those lines.
Ruth plays her fill on the xylophone, as per the album. We go back into the smooth jazz. Then we move into a more familiar arrangement. The band is just amazing.

Yea, I think this is a nice mix.

Napolean on flute, Chester on percussion.
George plays an electric piano lead.
Bruce lays down a nice trombone lead.

The band really look they are having fun.

Echidna's Arf comes in.
George's synth slides across the right side.
Great track, nice mix.
Don't you ever wash that thing is a great track, and in the stop section, in between the stabs of notes all the bands members adjust their hair... it is a neat visual gag.
Bruce rolls out some more lead trombone.

Ralph and Chester alternate on the drums with some nice solo spots... no boring solo this. Then they come in together...
Ruth joins on percussion... this is the cheepnis percussion only track now, and it is one of the highlights of the show for me.
Chester keeps the groove rolling and Ralph joins Ruth in the percussion section. I love it.
Then we get Cheepnis the spoken intro, and I always loved this. Of course then the song follows.
Napolean takes the vocals here.
This is like the most amazing novelty song you've ever heard.

I'm the slime.
One of Zappa's most astute lyrics, and a great piece of music. That just happens to make a great song.
The performance of the song is spot on, and Bruce, George and Napolean do a good job of the original female backing vocals.
Zappa take a lead. A short one that leads effortlessly into Big Swifty.
Such a unique band to watch.
Zappa inserts some more hand signaled fills, and then takes a lead.

Be-bop tango comes to the party, and we get a pretty full on piece of music followed by something like a dance contest, and acid trip, and an orgy combined in a groovy piece of improv, that turns into a blues jam.
Just a bunch of good fun really.

We get some bonus footage
First we get Pygmy Twilight.
Napolean sings, and a young lady named Pamela attempts to distract him.... then she attempts to distract Chester while he's playing the drums.
Zappa takes a lead.
This is 5.1 also, and seems even more full I surround than the main feature.
We movie smoothly into the Idiot Bastard Son.

The screen goes black for a second. I love this track ... I think I first heard it on You can't do that in stage .... Dickie's Such An A hole.
These tracks are put as a bonus, and I kind of wish they had edited them into the show, but it feels like an encore.
George lays it down on the electric piano.
Then FZ takes a lead.

I love Zappa, so for me this is just brilliant. It is an entertaining show for so many reasons, the music, the madness, the fun ... I think the video is excellent except for the odd manual focus camera going out of focus on occasion, the video is very good quality. The 5.1 is good, and there is usage of all channels. Most of it is in a 180 degree arc, but it does go beyond that on occasion.
The show is great. I reckon any Zappa fan, sort or, must have it.

I think this is the only footage from the actual bluray. There is some other stuff on youtube, but it appears to be alternate footage .....
The video quality is better than what is here.

 

Nightwish has been one of my favourite bands for the last few years so I was excited enough by the prospect of two BR discs full of live performance to buy Vehicle of Spirit in its more expensive ‘earbook’ format. Symphonic Metal concert films are always a difficult prospect because the orchestra is such a big part of the studio recordings, so either you do the livd orchestral thing (like Within Temptation did on Let Us Burn and Black Symphony) or you get a largely “hybrid” performance where a lot of the music is on a backing tape. Vehicle of Spirit does the latter, so that you end up with something like the album played in front of a very loud & appreciative audience: not much spontaneity and thus not much of what I go to concerts for.

With Showtime, Storytime (an earlier Nightwish video) you had the drama of the new vocalist taking on songs associated with her immediate predecessors, but by Vehicle Floor Jansen was well-established and a fan favourite. This could be described as the band at the height of its power & popularity and the lightshow is particularly impressive, especially on “The Poet and the Pendulum”. Sonically the mix is satisfyingly meaty, but the surround mixing is pretty disappointing, with very little localisation on any element, including the vocals. When the orchestral tape gets its moment in the sun on “Storytime” it is almost drowned out by the audience, which is probably an authentic reproduction of what was happening in the hall on the night but not what the armchair listener wants. The picture is sharp and coverage good but the editing is meat & potatoes. While the vocals are superb (including from Marco & Troy) the stage banter is close to cringeworthy at times.

I do watch this video a lot: if you're a Nightwish fan it is notable for a number of things such as the great versions of “While Your Lips Are Still Red”, “7 Days To The Wolves”, “Ever Dream” and “The Greatest Show On Earth”. I also think that the setlist is preferable to the back-catalogue trawl represented by the later Decades video. The Tampere show feels like something of an afterthought (it's in a smaller venue with a very similar setlist) but that, together with generous sampling of performances from other dates on the world tour, does add hugely to the fan package.

Overall I don't really see something that is going to draw in a casual surround fan or even someone collection classic concert videos ... if you're either a fan or curious to hear the band, this is nevertheless well worth picking up.

 

The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus



Studio Performance by the Rolling Stones and Various Artists
Recorded 11 December 1968
Release date 1995 (VHS), October 2004 (DVD), 2019 (Bluray)
Directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg
Produced by Sandy Leiberson
Starring The Rolling Stones, Jethro Tull, the Who, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull, the Dirty Mac, Yoko Ono, Sir Robert Fossett's Circus and the Nurses.
Cinematography Anthony B. Richmond
Edited by Ruth Foster, Robin Klein

The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus was a concert show organised by the Rolling Stones on 11 December 1968. The show was filmed on a makeshift circus stage with Jethro Tull, the Who, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull, and the Rolling Stones. John Lennon and his fiancee Yoko Ono also performed as part of a one-shot supergroup called the Dirty Mac, featuring Eric Clapton, Mitch Mitchell, and Keith Richards. The original idea for the concert was going to include the Small Faces, the Rolling Stones, and the Who, and the concept of a circus was first thought up between Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend and Ronnie Lane. It was meant to be aired on the BBC, but instead the Rolling Stones withheld it. The Rolling Stones contended they did so because of their substandard performance, clearly exhausted after 15 hours (and some indulgence in drugs).[3] There is also the fact that this was Brian Jones' last appearance with the Rolling Stones; he drowned some seven months later while the film was being edited. Some speculate that another reason for not releasing the film was that the Who, who were fresh off a concert tour, seemingly upstaged the Stones on their own production. Led Zeppelin was considered for inclusion but the idea was dropped. The show was not released commercially until 1996.

The project was originally conceived by Mick Jagger as a way to promote the new record Beggars Banquet beside conventional press and concert appearances.[3] Jagger approached Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who had directed two promos for Rolling Stones songs (and would go on to direct the Beatles' Let It Be documentary), to make a full-length TV show for them. According to Lindsay-Hogg, the idea of combining rock music and a circus setting came to him when he was trying to come up with ideas; he drew a circle on a piece of paper and free-associated.

The Rolling Stones and their guests performed in a replica of a seedy big top on a British sound stage—in front of an invited audience. The performances began at around 2 pm on 11 December 1968, but setting up between acts and reloading cameras took longer than planned, which meant that the final performances took place at almost 5 o'clock in the morning on the 12th.

By that time the audience and most of the Rolling Stones were exhausted. It was only due to Jagger's sheer enthusiasm and stamina that they kept going until the end. Regardless, Jagger was reportedly so disappointed with his and the band's performance that he cancelled the airing of the film, and kept it from public view. Pete Townshend recalled:

When they really get moving, there is a kind of white magic that starts to replace the black magic, and everything starts to really fly. That didn't happen on this occasion; there's no question about that. They weren't just usurped by The Who, they were also usurped by Taj Mahal – who was just, as always, extraordinary. They were usurped to some extent by the event itself: the crowd by the time the Stones went on were radically festive.​

This was the last public performance of Brian Jones with the Rolling Stones, and for much of the Stones performance he is inaudible, although his slide guitar on "No Expectations", maracas on "Sympathy for the Devil", and rhythm guitar on "Jumpin' Jack Flash" remain clear. Ian Anderson remarked:

Brian Jones was well past his sell-by date by then… We spoke to Brian and he didn't really know what was going on. He was rather cut off from the others – there was a lot of embarrassed silence. But a delightful chap, and we felt rather sorry for him… I was approached for an interview by a chap from Record Mirror… I inadvertently remarked that the Stones were a bit under-rehearsed and that Brian couldn't even tune his guitar, which was literally the truth but a bit tactless and inappropriate for me to say. This was duly reported, whereupon Mick Jagger was mightily upset. I had to send a grovelling apology to his office.​

Personnel

Jethro Tull
Ian Anderson – flute & vocals (recorded live)
Glenn Cornick – bass & harmonica (mimed)
Tony Iommi – guitar (mimed)
Clive Bunker – drums (mimed)

The Who
Roger Daltrey – vocals
Pete Townshend – guitar & vocals
John Entwistle – bass & vocals
Keith Moon – drums

Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal – harmonica & vocals
Jesse Ed Davis – guitar
Gary Gilmore – bass
Chuck Blackwell – drums

Marianne Faithfull
backed by pre-recorded instrumental tracks

The Dirty Mac
John Lennon – guitar & vocals
Eric Clapton – guitar
Keith Richards – bass
Mitch Mitchell – drums
Ivry Gitlis – violin
Yoko Ono – vocals

The Rolling Stones
Mick Jagger – vocals
Keith Richards – guitar
Brian Jones – guitar
Bill Wyman – bass
Charlie Watts – drums
Nicky Hopkins – piano
Kwasi Rocky Dzidzornu – percussion
Julius Katchen – piano (bonus tracks only)

Track Listing
1. David Dalton's written historic introduction (0:33)
2. "Entry of the Gladiators" (Julius Fučík) – Orchester / The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus Parade / Mick Jagger's introduction of Rock and Roll Circus (2:10)
3. Mick Jagger's introduction of Jethro Tull / "Song for Jeffrey" (Ian Anderson) – Jethro Tull (3:43)
4. Keith Richards's introduction of The Who / "A Quick One While He's Away" (Pete Townshend) – The Who (7:40)
5. "Over the Waves" (Juventino Rosas) – Orchester (1:20)
6. "Ain't That a Lot of Love" (Willia Dean "Deanie" Parker, Homer Banks) – Taj Mahal (3:52)
7. Charlie Watts' introduction of Marianne Faithfull / "Something Better" (Barry Mann, Gerry Goffin) – Marianne Faithfull (2:37)
8. Keith Richards's introduction of Danny Camara / "Fire Eater and Luna (Donyale Luna)" (1:28)
9. Mick Jagger and John Lennon's introduction of The Dirty Mac (1:05)
10. "Yer Blues" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – The Dirty Mac (4:26)
11. "Whole Lotta Yoko" (Yoko Ono) – Yoko Ono, Ivry Gitlis, The Dirty Mac (5:03)
12. John Lennon's introduction of The Rolling Stones / "Jumping Jack Flash" (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) – The Rolling Stones (3:38)
13. "Parachute Woman" (Jagger, Richards) – The Rolling Stones (2:57)
14. "No Expectations" (Jagger, Richards) – The Rolling Stones (4:07)
15. "You Can't Always Get What You Want" (Jagger, Richards) – The Rolling Stones (4:27)
16. "Sympathy for the Devil" (Jagger, Richards) – The Rolling Stones (8:52)
17. "Salt of the Earth" (Jagger, Richards) – The Rolling Stones (4:56)
18. Credits, to the sound of "Salt of the Earth" (2:45)

Version Control
The video was first released as in VHS format in 1995 and on DVD in 1996, and rereleased in 2004 on DVD with a surround mix. A soundtrack was released on LP and CD in 1989. The bluray I have was released in 2019 – it has restored video and a Dolby Atmos mix. Amazon.

The Show
On the bluray, you have a choice of the original 4:3 or widescreen. On a modern screen, I prefer the former – it’s less grainy and you get the full picture. I will skip over the circus acts.

"Song for Jeffrey"– Jethro Tull
This is all prerecorded, except for Ian Anderson. The other two actual band members are miming. Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi is out there pretending to be Mick Abrams who I guess had already left the band. The Atmos mix has Ian in the center channel and the ceiling speakers. Just a little reverb in the rears.

“A Quick One While He's Away" – The Who
A mini rock-opera – they did this at Monterey too. The surround mix seems to be seven channel mono – there’s a little variation, but not much.

"Ain't That a Lot of Love" – Taj Mahal
Sounds like the JT mix – Taj in is center and the ceiling, the rest of the band is in front with a little reverb in the back.

"Something Better"– Marianne Faithfull
Yes, I think that’s the formula – lead in center and ceiling, everything else in front with just a smidge in the rear.

"Yer Blues"– The Dirty Mac
OK, check this out: John Lennon and Eric Clapton on guitar, Keith Richards on bass, Mitch Mitchell on drums. Lennon gets the center channel. This is supposed to be a Rolling Stones concert, so I won’t embed here – but it’s well worth watching at least once:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeFwaWFTGYU

"Whole Lotta Yoko" – The Dirty Mac
So, a violin player and Yoko get in there too. Yoko doesn’t do anything for a while, but she eventually she starts screeching – center channel and ceiling. Perhaps I should say at this point that the audience have been outfitted with headware and ponchos of varying coloration.

"Jumping Jack Flash" – The Rolling Stones
OK, we’re into the Rolling Stones part of the set. Who knew they were ever that young? Besides being staged front and center, Jagger gets center and ceiling, of course. He also sometimes sings directly at the camera. Kinda hard not to check out what Brian Jones is doing or not doing. He seems to doing OK here.

"Parachute Woman" – The Rolling Stones
Jaggar plays some harmonica, Jones seems fine I guess, but they don’t show him very much.

"No Expectations" – The Rolling Stones
Richards with acoustic guitar, Jones playing slide on his electric guitar perfectly as near as I can tell. They are both seated. Jaggar vocals, and I guess Nick Hopkins is playing piano. Richards guitar is coming out of the ceiling speakers.

"You Can't Always Get What You Want"– The Rolling Stones
Jaggar singing into the camera again. I guess Jones in playing, but Richards is doing all the cool stuff.

"Sympathy for the Devil" – The Rolling Stones
Jones just with Marimbas, but he’s in the ceiling speakers. The Who and Lennon are in the audience dancing.



"Salt of the Earth" – The Rolling Stones
The Stones and the other band members are sitting with the audience – they are all outfitted with ponchos. Jaggar and Richards sing; the acoustic guitar and drums must be prerecorded.
______

This isn’t a great concert and neither the video nor the audio are especially good. The "4K restoration" the bluray is supposed to have is pure hype. But it’s still a very fun show, and Jones played some mean slide even if he was past his expiry date. Not a bad way to spend an hour at all. The surround mix is no great shakes either, but the fact that it uses the ceiling speakers is worth a point.

Music – 2.5
Sound quality – 2
Video presentation – 3
Video quality – 2
Surround – 2 (The Atmos drags it over the line)

 

Zappa was a big influence on my taste but I don't listen to him very much these days, so I haven't spent much time with Roxy By Proxy. Part of the problem (as we'll see further when I get to Grateful Dead videos) is that we've been spoiled by the sort of coverage you get with small, cheap, digital cameras so that the concert footage of earlier periods comes across as very “archival”. In this case the image focus often feels quite soft.

It's worth noting immediately that the sound quality on this release is top notch despite the compressed audio format. Although the surround isn't intended to give a lot of information in the rears, the basic band tracks have an analogue warmth that will stand up to comparison of any classic rock “live album” you care to mention, although admittedly some of the orchestral percussion lacks bottom end. It probably goes without saying that the musical performances exhibit the customary Zappa band virtuosity as well; FZ knew his own music backwards and his command of the band on stage is fascinating to see. In contrast to the Nightwish, this is music where the process of performance is particularly “alive” and the soloists shine on their feature spots.

Overall while I like this disc a lot I just wish that I enjoyed it as much as Ruth Underwood does. I also wish that I found the dance routines in “Be Bop Tango” more entertaining. But this is certainly a very solid movie.

 

Yea more goofy than anything. Nice to have, but I would have liked more of the tracks played than the "dance contest" which ends up being like some kind of soft core porn insert lol

 

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.

Rating System Explained Here

AC/DC – Let There Be Rock / Live Performance and Concert Documentary (@mark winstanley)
Anathema – A Moment in Time / Live Performance / Rating: 13 &
Anathema – Universal / Live Performance / Rating: 16
Ayreon - Electric Castle Live and Other Tales / Live Performance / Rating: 14 &

Band, The – The Last Waltz / Live Performance and Concert Documentary / Rating: 15-17
Beatles, The – A Hard Day’s Night / Movie / Rating: 11-13
Beatles, The – Help! / Movie / Rating: 11-14
Beatles, The – Magical Mystery Tour/ Movie / Rating: 10-12
Beatles, The – Yellow Submarine / Movie / Rating: 17 &
Beck, Jeff – Rock 'n' Roll Party (Honoring Les Paul) / Live Performance / Rating: 14-15
Beck, Jeff – Performing This Week... Live At Ronnie Scott's / Live Performance / Rating: 17
Big Big Train – Reflectors of Light / Live Performance / Rating: 15
Blackfield – NYC: Live in New York City / Live Performance / Rating: 13
Blue Öyster Cult – Live 1976 / Live Performance / Rating: 9
Blue Öyster Cult – 40th Anniversary - Agents Of Fortune - Live 2016 / Studio Performance / Rating: 14 &

Camel – Live At The Royal Albert Hall / Live Performance / Rating: 14&
Camel – Moondances / Live Performance / Rating: 11-12
Cave, Nick – Once More With Feeling / Concert Documentary (@mark winstanley)
Church, The – Future Past Perfect / Live Performance / Rating: 13&
Clapton, Eric – The Cream of Eric Clapton / Video Collection / Rating: 12*&
Clapton, Eric and Winwood, Steve – Live From Madison Square Garden / Live Performance (@mark winstanley) /Rating:16
Clapton, Eric – Slowhand at 70 – Live at the Royal Albert Hall / Live Performance / Rating: 16 &
Cliff, Jimmy – The Harder They Come / Movie / Rating: 15
Cold Chisel – The Last Stand / Live Performance (@mark winstanley)
Cure, The – Trilogy / Live Performance / Rating: 13-15

Dead Can Dance – Yulunga and Other Stories / Video Collection / Rating: 12-15
Dead Can Dance – Toward the Within / Live Performance / Rating: 11
Depeche Mode – Live in Berlin / Live Performance / Rating: 12&
Dido - Live at Brixton Academy / Live Performance / Rating: 13
Dire Straits – Alchemy / Live Performance / Rating: 16*
Doobie Brothers, The ‎– Live From The Beacon Theatre / Live Performance (@mark winstanley)
Doors, The ‎– Live At The Bowl '68 / Live Performance (@mark winstanley)
Dream Theater – Distance Over Time / Video Collection /Rating: 13*&
Dream Theater – Score / Live Performance /Rating: 13
Dylan, Bob – No Direction Home / Concert Documentary (@mark winstanley)

Emerson, Lake & Palmer – 40th Anniversary Reunion Concert / Live Performance / Rating: 14&
Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams - The Video Album / Video Collection / Rating: 9

Gabriel, Peter – Secret World Live / Live Performance / Rating: 16
Gabriel, Peter – Play / Video Collection / Rating: 12-15 *&
Gabriel, Peter – Growing Up / Live Performance / Rating: 16
Gabriel, Peter – New Blood - Live In London / Live Performance / Rating: 14 &
Genesis – Pop Shop Live TV 1972 / Studio Performance / Rating: 11 *
Gentle Giant – GG at the GG / Live Performance / Rating: 13
Gentle Giant – The Power and the Suite / Video Collection / Rating: 16
Gilmour, David – Live in Gdańsk / Live Performance / Rating: 11
Gilmour, David – Live at Pompeii / Live Performance / Rating: 15
Glass, Philip – Koyaanisqatsi / Movie / Rating: 15 &
Glass, Philip – Powaqqatsi / Movie / Rating: 13
Grateful Dead – The Grateful Dead Movie / Concert Documentary / Rating: 13-14
Green Day – Bullet in a Bible / Live Performance / Rating: 11 &

Hackett, Steve – The Tokyo Tapes / Live Performance / Rating: 13
Hackett, Steve – Somewhere in South America / Live Performance / Rating: 10
Hendrix, Jimi – Jimi Plays Monterey / Live Performance / Rating: 13
Hendrix, Jimi – Live at Woodstock / Live Performance / Rating: 12
Hendrix, Jimi – Band of Gypsys: Live at The Fillmore East / Concert Documentary / Rating: 10 *&

INXS - Live Baby Live / Live Performance (@mark winstanley) / Rating: 13
Iron Maiden – Flight 666 / Concert Documentary (@mark winstanley)
Jethro Tull – Too Old To Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young To Die (The TV Special Edition) / Studio Performance / Rating: 11

Kansas – There's Know Place Like Home / Live Performance / Rating: 15-16
Killing Joke – XXV Gathering! / Live Performance / Rating: 11
King Crimson – Déjà Vrooom / Live Performance / Rating: 13
King Crimson – Eyes Wide Open, Part 1 / Live Performance / Rating: 11
King Crimson – Eyes Wide Open, Part 2 / Live Performance / Rating: 15
King Crimson – Meltdown: Live in Mexico City / Live Performance / Rating: 17
Knopfler, Mark – A Night in London / Studio Performance / Rating: 9&
Kraftwerk – 3D 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 / Video Collection / Rating: 15
Krauss, Allison & Union Station – Live! / Live Performance / Rating: 13

Led Zeppelin – The Song Remains the Same / Live Performance and Movie / Rating: 14
Lee, Albert – Tearing it Up / Live Performance (@mark winstanley)

Mannheim Steamroller – Fresh Aire 8 / Video Collection / Rating: 11*
Marillion – Fish Tales / Video Collection / Rating: 12-13*
Marillion – Recital of the Script / Live Performance / Rating: 13*&
Marillion – Somewhere in London / Live Performance / Rating: 13
Marley, Bob & The Wailers – Live! at the Rainbow / Live Performance / Rating: 14
Midnight Oil – Best of Both Worlds / Live Performance (@mark winstanley)
Midnight Oil – Armistice Day / Live Performance / Rating: 16&
Nightwish – Vehicle of Spirit / Live Performance / Rating: 14

Pineapple Thief, The – Where We Stood / Live Performance / Rating: 17
Pink Floyd – 1970 Devi/ation / Video Collection / Rating: 5
Pink Floyd – 1971 Reverber/ation / Video Collection / Rating: 9&
Pink Floyd – Live at Pompeii / Live Performance / Rating: 13-15&
Pink Floyd – The Wall / Movie / Rating: 12
Pink Floyd – The Endless River / Music Video Collection / Rating: 9
Porcupine Tree – Arriving Somewhere... / Live Performance / Rating: 16 - 17
Presley, Elvis – That's The Way It Is (@mark winstanley)
Pretenders, The – Loose in L.A. / Live Performance / Rating: 14

R.E.M – Road Movie / Live Performance / Rating: 11
Rolling Stones, The & Various Artists – Rock and Roll Circus / Studio Performance / Rating: 14
Roxy Music – The High Road / Live Performance / Rating: 15
Rush – Exit ..... Stage Left / Live Performance (@mark winstanley)
Rush – R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour / Live Performance (@mark winstanley) / Rating: 17
Rush – Rush in Rio / Live Performance (@mark winstanley)
Rush – Snakes & Arrows Live / Live Performance / Rating: 16
Rush – Clockwork Angels Tour / Live Performance (@mark winstanley)
Rush – R40 Live / Live Performance / Rating: 15

Santana – Santana IV Live At The House Of Blues Las Vegas / Live Performance / Rating: 15&
Simple Minds – Acoustic In Concert / Live Performance / Rating: 12-13
Springsteen, Bruce – The River Tour / Live Performance (@mark winstanley)
Sting – Live in Berlin / Live Performance / Rating: 12
Supertramp – Live In Paris '79 / Live Performance / Rating: 15

Talking Heads – Stop Making Sense / Live Performance / Rating: 14-16
Tangerine Dream – Live at Coventry Cathedral 1975 / Music Video / Rating: 10
Tangerine Dream – The Video Dream Mixes / Video Collection: Rating: 8
Tool – Vicarious / Video / Rating: 12&
Townsend, Devin – Ocean Machine – Live / Live Performance (@mark winstanley) / Rating: 12-14
Townsend, Devin – Acoustically Inclined in Leeds / Live Performance (@mark winstanley) / Rating: 11
Transatlantic – Whirld Tour 2010 / Live Performance / Rating: 12

U2 – Under a Blood Red Sky / Live Performance (@mark winstanley) / Rating: 15
U2 – Rattle and Hum / Studio and Live Performance / Rating: 14-15
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: 16

Vai, Steve ‎– Visual Sound Theories (Live With Holland Metropole Orkest) / Live Performance (@mark winstanley)
Various Artists – The Monterey Pop Festival / Live Performance / Rating: 13&
Various Artists – Woodstock / Live Performance and Concert Documentary / Rating: 15*
Various Artists – Baraka / Movie / Rating: 14

Waters, Roger – In the Flesh - Live / Live Performance (@mark winstanley)
Wilson, Steven – Home Invasion / Live Performance / Rating: 18
Winter, Edgar – Reach For It / Live Performance / Rating: 11
Wishbone Ash – Live Dates 3 / Live Performance / Rating: 15 &
Wishbone Ash – Live in Hamburg / Live Performance / Rating: 13

Yello – Live in Berlin / Live Performance (@jamesc)
Yes – Yessongs / Live Performance / Rating: 9*
Yes – Symphonic Live / Live Performance / Rating: 17

Zappa, Frank – Baby Snakes / Movie and Live Performance / Rating: 9
Zappa, Frank – The Torture Never Stops / Live Performance / Rating: 9
Zappa, Frank – The Roxy Movie / Live Performance (@mark winstanley)
Zimmer, Hans – Live in Prague / Live Performance (@thetman) / Rating: 17&

* One point deducted from original rating as a result of video rating scale adjustment.
& Half point deducted from music score before doubling

Comments on any of the above are always welcome.

 

Anesthetize



Live Performance by Porcupine Tree
Released May 2010
Recorded 013 Popcentrum; Tilburg, Netherlands, October 2008
Genre Progressive rock, progressive metal
Length 2:15:50 (CD)
Label Kscope, Roadrunner Records
Director Lasse Hoile
Producer Porcupine Tree

Anesthetize is the second live album by progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, released on 20 May 2010.[1] The Blu-ray edition was released on 15 June. It is filmed in high definition and taken from two concerts given by Porcupine Tree at Tilburg, Netherlands on 15 and 16 October, at the end of the Fear of a Blank Planet tour in 2008. The film is directed and edited by Lasse Hoile and the audio track is mixed in stereo and 5.1 Surround by Steven Wilson.

Personnel
Steven Wilson – guitars, keyboards, lead vocals
Richard Barbieri – keyboards
Colin Edwin – bass
Gavin Harrison – drums
John Wesley – guitars, vocals

Track Listing
1. Intro
2. "Fear of a Blank Planet"
3. "My Ashes"
4. "Anesthetize"
5. "Sentimental"
6. "Way Out of Here"
7. "Sleep Together"
8. "What Happens Now?"
9. "Normal"
10. "Dark Matter"
11. "Drown With Me"
12. "Cheating the Polygraph"
13. "Half-Light"
14. "Sever"
15. "Wedding Nails"
16. "Strip the Soul" / ".3"
17. "Sleep of No Dreaming"
18. "Halo"
19. Outro

Version Control
The deluxe special edition of Anesthetize includes a 130-minute concert film on both standard definition DVD and high definition Blu-ray Disc. Additionally, the package includes two audio CDs of the entire live film soundtrack, alongside a bonus track not featured in the film. Limited to 4,000 copies with a grey cover and 1,000 copies with a red cover, the special edition comes in a cloth bound hardback book featuring concert photography of the band taken over the last few years. The first retail edition of Anesthetize included a Blu-ray and a DVD. A stand-alone bluray was also released in 2015. For no reason other than the fact that they were my favorite band at the time, I have a grey cover limited edition. However, they are all out of print. On the used market. the 2010 Digipack seems to be the best option, but they aren’t cheap. Discogs.

The Concert
We’ve got bluray video and DTS-HD audio, so no problems there. The surround is what I’ve come to expect from a Wilson – it’s a stage envelope scheme. This might even be the earliest example of it (well both or Arriving Somewhere.. and Blackfield in NYC might be counted as the first too) , which would mean WIlson invented it and King Crimson and Big Big Train coped it. Anyway, let’s go through it the usual sound field placements:

Wilson: Lead vocals are isolated in center channel, and I think that is all that ever is in the center channel. Whatever instrument he is playing (usually guitar, but sometimes keyboards) are on the right, usually dominating the right rear channel. However, some piano parts and keyboard parts are mixed in front.

Wesley: As the “other” Wilson (he takes many of his studio parts), he is on the left. His vocals are typically front left, his guitar more to the rear.

Edwin: Bass is in front.

Barbieri: He often has two keyboard parts in both the front and rear. Great to see a surroundscape in action.

Harrison: Mostly in front, but there is some cymbal reverb in the rears. Must be two mikes for him because you can sometimes hear and see him drumming left and right. There are also cymbals in the rear speakers on occasion.

It’s a medium sized venue – guessing 500 in attendance There are three large screens, the one in the center is the one you can usually see. Wesley, Wilson, and Edwin are lined up in front. Barbieri is back left, Harrison back right.

"Fear of a Blank Planet"
The first six tracks reproduce Fear of a Blank Planet in it’s entirety. Wilson starts, then Harrison, then Edwin, then Wesley, then Barbieri. Wesley handles some of the lead vocals left front, which lets Wilson concentrate on playing his guitar. On screen video shows playground hoodlums and pill popping.

"My Ashes"
Barbieri starts off in rear speakers. Wesley on acoustic guitar, Wilson on keyboard set to piano mixed in front. Wesley colead vocalist again. There is an onscreen video, but you don’t get to see much of it – it’s one of the one shown as an extra.

"Anesthetize"
Harrsion and Wilson start it up. Wilson handles lead vocals, Wesley backing vocals in rear. Wilson spends some time at the keyboard, but it’s mostly guitar on this one. Wesley with electric guitar too. Lots of Barbieri soundscaping both front and rear – at one point he starts off a new passage and you get to see him manufacture a soundscape one hand at a time. A lot of it is preprogrammed, of course. There’s a an screen video that you get to see sporadically – lots more pills.

"Sentimental"
Wilson starts it off with piano (keyboard) in surround. Wilson lead vocals in center, Wesley backing vocals in rear. Barbieri in rear. Ends with just Wilson vocals and Barbieri.

"Way Out of Here"
Barbieri starts up another surroundscape with next to no effort, then Wilson vocals and Wesley guitar, then Edwin and Harrison. Wesley co-lead vocalist front left. Wilson guitar solo on right. Edwin takes over for a bit too. Another video that takes place on the train tracks – it’s included as an extra.

"Sleep Together"
Starts out with a soundscape, then Wilson vocals, then Harrison drums. Then the rock song takes, but subsides for a spacey Wilson keyboard solo, with cymbals in rear. Gradually builds up to metal again. There’s a skinny alien video that you get to see quite a bit of. (The alien also appeared on a different video in the Arriving Somewhere.. tour). I think there’s an intermission after this.



"What Happens Now?"
From Nil Recurring. Now that we are done with their most recent album, let’s proceed with outtakes from their most recent album. Barbieri starts up another soundscape; only the rear is played live. Wilson vocals center, then drums and bass. Wesley electric guitar on left, Wilson eventually joins in on right. The screen is off.

"Normal"
From Nil Recurring. This song sounds like a different version of “Sentimental”. Wilson starts with acoustic guitar on right and lead vocals. Rest of band joins in; Wesley with electric guitar and co-lead vocals. Barbieri with several live parts. The screen is still off, but there’s some projector graphics on the back wall.

"Dark Matter"
From Signify. OK, now we actually get to the back catalog – but we just passed over four albums. Barbieri starts up another soundscape, then Harrison, Edwin, Wesley, and Wilson. Wesley and Wilson both with electric guitars, both with lead vocals parts. Wilson with the guitar solo.

"Drown With Me"
B-side from In Absentia. Screen comes back on with graphics that complement the projector that is also running. Wilson with acoustic guitar, Wesley electric – colead vocals. Some furious soundscaping from Barbieri – sort of sounds like a guitar solo, but it’s not.

"Cheating the Polygraph"
From Nil Recurring. Wilson starts off on electric guitar with lots of reverb – he is in surround. Harrison joins in, Wesley takes over on guitar and Wilson concentrates on vocals. Edwin joins in and the song goes metal. Wilson guitar returns to right side, Wesley with some backing vocals. Big screen is off again.

"Half-Light"
B-side from Deadwing. Barbieri soundscape, Wilson has a guitar that has a built-in graphics screen; mixed to right. Low key percussion from Harrison – cymbals in surround. Song picks up a bit with Edwin coming in, Wesley with lead vocal part.

"Sever"
From Signify. Screen back with matching projector graphics. Starts with mostly preprogrammed Barbieri soundscape – I think only the rear is live again. Vocals and lead guitar split again. Very nice dual guitar at the end.

"Wedding Nails"
From In Absentia. Metal song from the start; Edwin and Harrison very busy. More dual electric guitar work. The screen is back on with a video. The song takes a break for a preprogrammed soundscape in the middle, but starts up again.

"Strip the Soul" / ".3"
From In Absentia. Edwin starts it off with great bass line, then drums and soundscape. Another on-screen video. Wilson and Wesley share the guitar work and lead vocals – solos from both. Another on screen video – this one is included as an extra.

"Sleep of No Dreaming"
From Signify. Great version of a great early PT song. Barbieri starts it off with live keyboards, then a soundscape, drums, bass and Wilson join in. Wesley sits this one out, but Wilson guitar still on right. Screen back to matching projector graphics.

"Halo"
From Deadwing. Last song – seems like PT always ended with this, and it starts out with video and a soundscape. Then Harrison drums, Edwin bass, Wilson guitar and vocals, plus some live keyboard work from Barbieri. Wesley comes in for the chorus with guitar and backing vocals.
_______

I already knew this was really good, but this is the first time I’ve watched it on my new system. All kinds of awesome. The video production on the other damn near perfect concert video Home Invasion is better, but this has the better track list. It’s also a concert from a tour I went to in person, and I have to say that the concert video doesn’t really do justice to the some of the brilliant on stage videos that you get to see only a bit of here. Some of those are included as extras on the bluray, but no there are no skinny aliens synchronized to the Harrison beat. Bummer. A video of the title track from Nil Recurring is also included even though it is not played in the concert.

It perhaps also should be pointed out that this has very little song overlap with Arriving Somewhere… Anesthetize somewhat strangely has three songs from Signify, but none from either Stupid Dream or Lightbulb Sun. No reason not to have both except for the fact that Arriving is easy to get and Anesthetize isn’t.

Music – 3
Sound quality – 3
Video presentation – 3
Video quality – 3
Surround – 3

 

The History of Iron Maiden – Part 1: The Early Days


Video by
Iron Maiden
Released 8 November 2004
Recorded 1980–83
Genre Heavy metal
Length 4:30:00
Label EMI
Director Matthew Amos

The History of Iron Maiden – Part 1: The Early Days is a DVD video by Iron Maiden, released in 2004. It features the first part of The History of Iron Maiden series, a 90-minute documentary which describes their beginnings in London's East End in 1975 through to the Piece of Mind album and tour in 1983. The set also features a large collection of rare videos and concert footage, as well as interviews with former members such as Paul Di'Anno, Clive Burr, Dennis Stratton, Dave Sullivan, Terry Rance, Doug Sampson, Ron Matthews, Terry Wapram and Bob Sawyer. The DVD won a 2004 Metal Edge Readers' Choice Award for Home Video/DVD of the Year.[1]

The second part of the History of Iron Maiden series was later included on the Live After Death DVD release in 2008, while a third instalment was released as part of the Maiden England '88 DVD in 2013.

The Early Days was met with critical acclaim, with AllMusic describing it as "A masterpiece."[2] Classic Rock gave the DVD 5 out of 5, calling the live footage "fascinating," while stating that "the tales of Maiden's early birth pains are utterly compelling."[3] Kerrang! also gave it full marks, describing the feature documentary as "a brilliantly realised and completely absorbing ride from the downtrodden boozers of East London to the heady heights of a Number One album and massive world tours" and the concerts as "magnificently rendered to DVD," overall deeming the release "Awesome and unmissable."

Disc one
Live at the Rainbow (21 December 1980)

1. "The Ides of March"
2. "Wrathchild"
3. "Killers"
4. "Remember Tomorrow"
5. "Transylvania"
6. "Phantom of the Opera"
7. "Iron Maiden"

Beast over Hammersmith (20 March 1982)

1. "Murders in the Rue Morgue"
2. "Run to the Hills"
3. "Children of the Damned"
4. "The Number of the Beast"
5. "22 Acacia Avenue"
6. "Total Eclipse"
7. "The Prisoner"
8. "Hallowed Be Thy Name"
9. "Iron Maiden"

Live in Dortmund (18 December 1983)

1. "Sanctuary"
2. "The Trooper"
3. "Revelations"
4. "Flight of Icarus"
5. "22 Acacia Avenue"
6. "The Number of the Beast"
7. "Run to the Hills"

Disc two
The History of Iron Maiden - Part. 1: The Early Days
(90 minutes)

• Feature-length documentary.

20th Century Box[edit]
(20 minutes)

• Rare TV documentary from 1981

Live at the Ruskin Arms (1980)
(45 minutes)

1. "Sanctuary"
2. "Wrathchild"
3. "Prowler"
4. "Remember Tomorrow"
5. "Running Free"
6. "Transylvania"
7. "Another Life"
8. "Phantom of the Opera"
9. "Charlotte the Harlot"

Extras
(40 minutes)

1. "Running Free" (Live on Top of the Pops, 22 February 1980)
2. "Women in Uniform" (Live on Top of the Pops, 13 November 1980)
3. "Running Free" (Live on Rock and Pop, Germany, 1980)

Promo Videos

1. "Women in Uniform"
2. "Run to the Hills"
3. "The Number of the Beast"
4. "Flight of Icarus"
5. "The Trooper"

• In addition, the DVD set includes a photo gallery featuring more than 150 pictures, images and artwork, full tour listings, discography and tour programmes.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This release is really a must have for the keen Iron Maiden fan, and may be of value to the interested passer by.

The meat and potatoes of this 2 dvd set is the 90 minute documentary which starts disc 2.
The kudos from critics isn't overstated. It is a really well presented documentary that in it's relatively short 90 minutes really does cover the history of the bands early years quite comprehensively.
It is informative and entertaining and it is the main reason I repurchased this when I got settled in the USA.
It shows a band from its conception to its rise to the top of its genre really very well. With both feet planted in reality, and also an excellent chance to get to know the people behind the band and what they bring/brought to the table.
It is probably one of my favourite band documentaries due to the reasons stated above.

There is no surround sound and these discs, but in context with what we are looking at I really don't find that to be an issue

Aside from the excellent documentary we also have lots of archival material from the era being discussed ... as listed above int the wiki info, which is actually pretty spot on in this instance.

Live At The Rainbow

This was the bands first attempt at a home music video concert.
It is shot well, and is a very straight forward concert movie.
We have original recorded singer Paul DiAnno and original recorded drummer Clive Burr.
The video quality is very good. It is dvd quality, and aside from some of those volume lines occasionally I can't see anything anyone could complain about.
The audio is balanced and clear, and worth hearing... it is not some awful sounding auto volume cassette recording or anything.
The bands performance is excellent.
This is great footage of the original band covering a great set from the Killers tour.
Well worth checking out.

Beast Over Hammersmith

This has been reconstructed from previously unseen footage, and captures the band just after their star exploded onto the international music world after the release of Number of the Beast.
We have the first tour of acclaimed frontman Bruce Dickinson. We still have Burr on the kit.
The video quality is ever so slightly grainy. This is like very good vhs and very slightly lesser dvd quality.
Again the audio is very good stereo quality.
This is the band still full of youth and vigour (even though they still kick ass now).
It is essentially a great introduction to the band, and is a perfect companion to the Live After Death dvd.
It is a great document of the era and well worth having.

Live In Dortmund

This is taken from Pop Rock in Concert.
Taken from the Piece of Mind tour (World Piece Tour) and is the debut tour for Nicko Mcbrain.
Again the footage is filmed well and clear.
A sharper image than the Beast show, but all these are good.
Again the audio is clear and enjoyable....
I had actually forgotten how good these were.
This is another wonderful addition to the Maiden live concert video legacy

The Doco

It starts by talking about the Dortmund show with the band headlining over Ozzy, Priest, Leppard, Schenker and all the big names of 83.
It is a short introduction to where they arrived as the big guns of the scene, and then we go back to Steve Harris running through the history from 1975.
Early on we are looking at the things that drove Steve Harris, his writing and how he played in Smiler, but the band weren't able to play his songs, so he went and formed Iron Maiden, and Doug Samson joined him.
Pretty much all the guys that were in the band at the time being talked about add little anecdotes and it is very inclusive.
This really is an excellent documentary and pretty much essential for any Maiden fan.
It moves along fairly quickly and the way it is edited together keeps the interest level up.

20th Century Box

This is a London Weekend Television special focusing on the band back in the day.
It opens with some pub footage of the DiAnno line up. Lots of archival footage of fans talking about the band in street interviews outside gigs and such, mixed with live footage of the band at the time.
Interviews with the band at the time which is very cool.
There is a bit of talking about terminologies eg hard rock, heavy metal, high energy rock etc etc. It is quite interesting and puts paid to a lot of the modern mentality towards the terminologies.
We look at the thoughts towards the punk scene etc.
We get a well known DJ and magazine editor for Sounds, all putting their thoughts of the day in here
This is a lesser doco in some ways but full of fascinating information that does Flesh out the story as a whole.
An excellent addition to this set.

Also in the extras section that contains the LWT doco we get extras of Women In Uniform and Running Free from Top of the Pops 1980 and Running Free from Rock Pop 1980.
Under this we have the promo videos from 1980-83, as listed above.

Then under the heading Eddie's lock up we have the Ruskin Arms gig.
Steve's diary from 1975, which is a photo click through of entries in Steve's actual diary.
It also has Steve's scrapbook which is another photo click through of ticket stubs, newspaper ads and that kind of thing.

Live At The Ruskin

This is an amateur shot video of the band playing at the Ruskin Arms hotel, and it is surprisingly good for an amateur shot pub gig.
The video obviously isn't sharp or steady, but it is representative and you can see the band. It is quite good.
The audio is clear and actually very good for what it is. There is no auto volume control, the mix is good and it represents the band in the pub really very well. This is something many folks will watch over again, particularly fans of the DiAnno era.
For what it is, it's excellent.

We have the discography, which is essentially just a click through with the album covers and tracklists for the first four albums.

Then there is On The Road which is photos and all other types of stuff to look through. Programmes, tshirts, tour dates, etc.

This is an extremely well thought out and put together coverage of the early years of the band, and for what it may perhaps lack in HD quality, and surround sound, it more than makes up for in content.
The concerts videos are all worth watching. The documentaries are both well put together and informative.

For any Iron Maiden fan I think this is absolutely essential. For anyone that was ever interested in the early years of the band, I think they would find this enjoyable.
A lot of my dvd's sit in the cupboard stacked on top of each other, because of space reasons, this still sits on the shelf with the top dvd concerts that I have, because I regard it that highly.

This is The Beast Over Hammersmith concert video, which is probably from a video quality perspective the lesser of the three main concert features
Please note this youtube video is out of sync, but the dvd is certainly not.

 

This is The Ruskin show, just in case I failed to capture the idea well in text. The dvd is a little more clear than the youtube version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bj3itGFGRU

 

The Closing of Winterland



Live Performance by Grateful Dead
Released December 16, 2003
Recorded December 31, 1978
Genre Folk rock, jam
Length 250:12
Label Rhino Records
Producer Jeffrey Norman, David Lemieux

The Closing of Winterland is a four-CD live album by the Grateful Dead. It contains the complete concert performed on December 31, 1978. The concert was also released as a two-disc DVD.[4] The title derives from the fact that it was the last concert in San Francisco's Winterland Arena, which was shut down shortly thereafter. The Dead celebrated the closing as an approximately five-hour-long party (complete with breakfast with the audience at dawn) and invited some guests including guitarist John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service and Ken Kesey as well as actor Dan Aykroyd who provided the midnight countdown.

Personnel
Grateful Dead
Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals
Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
Phil Lesh – electric bass, vocals
Donna Godchaux – vocals
Keith Godchaux – piano
Mickey Hart – drums, percussion
Bill Kreutzmann – drums, percussion

Additional musicians
Bill Graham – master of ceremonies
Dan Aykroyd – midnight countdown
John Cipollina – guitar
Ken Kesey – thunder machine
Matthew Kelly – harmonica
Lee Oskar – harmonica
Greg Errico – drums

Track Listing
Set 1 on DVD 1
1. Sugar Magnolia
2. Scarlet Begonias
3. Fire On The Mountain
4. Me And My Uncle
5. Big River
6. Friend Of The Devil
7. It's All Over Now
8. Stagger Lee
9. From The Heart Of Me
10. Sunshine Daydream

Set 2 on DVD 1
11. Samson And Delilah
12. Ramble On Rose
13. I Need A Miracle
14. Terrapin Station
15. Playing In The Band
16. Rhythm Devils
17. Not Fade Away
18. Around And Around

Set 3 on DVD 2:
19. Dark Star
20. The Other One
21. Dark Star
22. Wharf Rat
23. St. Stephen
24. Good Lovin'

Encores on DVD 2
25. Casey Jones
26. Johnny B. Goode
27. We Bid You Goodnight

Version Control
An unofficial release on LP entitled Farewell to Winterland came on LP in 1979. The Closing of Winterland was released on both CD and DVD in 2003. It’s out of print, but I picked up a near mint copy for about $20 shipped. Discogs.

The Concert
It’s widescreen with good but not great DVD quality. The audio has DTS 5.1 as an option, so let’s go with that. The surround mix doesn’t make much use of the center channel, but Weir’s guitar on the left and Garcia’s guitar in the right both spill into the rear speakers (it’s not just reverb) - definitely good for a point.

The concert starts out with a semi-Santa riding in a doobie sleigh suspended from the ceiling. Dan Ackroyd counts down to the new year of 1979 – so the concert starts just after midnight. Balloons drop and the band starts off playing on a stage covered with them. Weir, Donna Godchaux, Garcia, and Lesh are lined up in front on the main stage. Keith Godchaux is seated in front of Lesh, and the two drummers are in the back. There’s a screen way up above the stage that you rarely get to see, but the psychedelic imagery from it is sometimes shown with double imaging.

This is a five hour concert, so I will review it by set with a few comments on individual songs. That said, there actually aren’t that many songs (27) – it’s just that they average over 10 minutes a song.

Set 1
The Grateful Dead discography is a little weird – they had about as many live albums as studio albums and there were many songs that were mainly played live. I downloaded the full set of 13 studio albums from HDTracks, but the live album I have is Live/Dead.

Anyway, the first set is dominated by tracks from studio albums. It starts off with “Sugar Magnolia” from American Beauty and then “Scarlet Begonias” from From the Mars Hotel. After they have already basically played the second song, there’s an extended jam with some pretty weak vocals from Donna. That goes straight into “Fire On The Mountain” from their most recent album Shakedown Street, which also gets the extended jam treatment. Unlike The Grateful Dead Movie, Garcia is in the center and gets the most camera love. We then get “Me And My Uncle” from their live repertoire, which first appeared on Grateful Dead 1971 that features Weir and then “Big River” which first appeared on Steal Your Face. Then we’re back into studio songs with a slow extended version of “Friend Of The Devil” from American Beauty, a cover of “It's All Over Now”, and then back to “Stagger Lee” and “From The Heart Of Me” from Shakedown Street. The latter has Donna on lead vocals. They finish with “Sunshine Daydream”, which is part of their live repertoire and features Weir and Donna as co-lead vocalists.

Set 2
Seems like the Dead need to get tuned or synced up before many of the songs, that’s what they do for almost a minute before starting of the second set with “Samson And Delilah” from the album before last Terrapin Station, with Weir on lead vocals, Donna backing. Garcia with really nice guitar work.



The set continues with the live standard “Ramble On Rose” that appeared previously on Europe ’72, Garcia with lead vocals. Next up are the studio tracks “I Need A Miracle” from Shakedown Street and title track from Terrapin Station. “Miracle” has Weir with lead vocals and features Matthew Kelly as harmonic player – it’s extended way beyond its under four minute studio length. OTOH, “Terrapin Station” which features Garcia was a 16 minute song to begin with. It’s a return to live standards after that with the jam “Playing In The Band” previously from Grateful Dead 1971 and then a long drum duet from Kreutzmann and Hart (aka The Rhythm Devils). The rest of the band comes back for a very long (almost 20 minutes) spacey cover of “Not Fade Away” with Kelly and Lee Oskar on harmonica, Greg Errico as a third drummer and John Cipollina as a third guitar player. All three guitarists get a chance to solo, and Weir, Donna, and Garcia are colead vocalists. The guest musicians all hang around for “Around And Around” previously found on Steal Your Face, which features Weir on lead vocals.

Set 3
There is a sign hanging the rafters saying 1572 days (or something like that) since “Dark Star” was last played in SF. Well, the countdown ends here at what must be around three in the morning. This is the live jam I’m most familiar with since it first appeared on Live/Dead. There’s a short rendition of “The Other One” (first appeared on Grateful Dead 1971) embedded in the middle of it. By now it must be about four in the morning, and we get “Wharf Rat” (also on Grateful Dead 1971) and then “St. Stephen”, which started out as a studio track on Aoxomoxoa and morphed onto a live jam on Live/Dead. Donna’s vocals are a very nice addition on that one. The set ends with an eleven minute cover “Good Lovin'” that is perhaps intended to wake the audience up for breakfast.

Encores
The encores play after the credits roll, which is weird. In order to make sure the audience is awake, the encores are all relatively short rock songs. The first is “Casey Jones” from Workingman's Dead, then a cover of “Johnny B. Goode” and finally “We Bid You Goodnight” that appeared on Live/Dead. Since it’s morning by now, the last song seems a little inappropriate.
______

Except for the fact that it is two or three times longer than normal, this a far more of a typical concert video than The Grateful Dead Movie. There’s no embedded documentary (there is some included as in extra), the camera angles are all from the front instead of the sides of the stage, and there’s no focus on the audience at all. The track list is similar, but this one spends some time covering Shakedown Street and Terrapin Station. It unfortunately only has one song from From the Mars Hotel and none from Blues for Allah, which are my favorite Dead albums.

Music – 2
Sound quality – 3
Video presentation – 2
Video quality – 2
Surround – 2