Brilliant thread! As for Garbriel’s secret world; imo the blu ray looks quite a lot better than the dvd. The original source is 16mm, so it can benefit when the film is in good shape
One More Time with Feeling Theatrical-release poster Directed by Andrew Dominik Produced by Dulcie Kellett James Wilson Starring Nick Cave Warren Ellis Susie Bick Music by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Cinematography Benoît Debie Alwin H. Küchler Edited by Shane Reid Production company Iconoclast JW Films Pulse Films Distributed by Trafalgar Releasing Release date 5 September 2016 (Venice Film Festival) 8 September 2016 (Worldwide) Running time 112 minutes Country United Kingdom Language English Box office $1.7 million One More Time with Feeling is a 2016 British documentary film directed by Andrew Dominik. It documents the recording of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' sixteenth studio album, Skeleton Tree, in the aftermath of the death of Nick Cave's 15-year-old son Arthur. Nick Cave's 15-year-old son Arthur died after an accidental cliff fall at the Ovingdean Gap in Brighton, England in July 2015.[1] At the time of Arthur's death, Cave was partway through recording sessions for Skeleton Tree, the sixteenth studio album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.[2] One More Time with Feeling documents the final production process of Skeleton Tree, in the aftermath of the death of Nick Cave's son Arthur. The film includes 35 minutes of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds performing at Air Studios in London in early 2016 during the final recording sessions for the album, as well as director Andrew Dominik's interviews with Cave, band member Warren Ellis and Cave's wife Susie Bick.[3] The film also features "intermittent narration and improvised rumination" from Cave throughout.[4] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a quite remarkable documentary. We have a somewhat fly on the wall scenario here, with Nick, his band and his wife Susie. The documentary, as noted up top, digs deep into the emotional, with it being filmed during the making of the Skeleton Tree. The album had predominantly been written prior to Arthur's death, but needed to be recorded and finished off. In this documentary we go into Nick and Susie's house, and we are in the studio with Nick and the Bad Seeds, with most of the songs off the album getting a live in the studio recording, and it is mixed to 5.1. So we essentially have a variation on the album in 5.1 spread between the documentary sections. The documentary is very interesting, particularly if you're a Cave fan. Cave comes across as very thoughtful and human. The interplay between the documentary makers and the people being interviewed is interesting, and we, on occasion, have sort of documentary snippets about the making of the documentary. For example Nick stirring them up because they can't get the 3d camera to work and such. We are in the house, the car and the studio, and each has it's own atmosphere and purpose. I wasn't aware of the tragedy involving Nick's son, prior to hearing the album, and personally I loved the album straight off the bat. The documentary and knowledge of the events solidified my love for the album though. In the studio we have Nick at the piano playing a song, but not quite getting it. A voice over from Nick tells us he can't remember the chords, and then, says it's an improvised song, so should he even remember them. This is the style of the documentary, it is thoughtful and steady like Nick himself. Jesus Alone kicks in and Nick does the vocal overdub. We also see Warren Ellis conducting the strings. The 5.1 is very good and when the strings come in, it is very effective. Also the whistling synth moves around somewhat. We definitely have sub response also. It ends up being very effective, and if you allow yourself, effecting. While other things are going on we get a voice over from Nick reflecting, in poem, and random thoughts. It feels like a very honest portrayal of the man and the circumstances. Although the movie is not fast moving, it has a certain intensity. With the studio musicians rehearsing parts and voice over Nick reciting a poem, there is an ever present intensity. The pacing between themes is very good, and there is a nice continuity even though the parts are quite disparate. The space between the songs works well. We get rehearsal, conversations, side topics, voice overs, and the we get a song, and it works and flows well for me. I'm not sure that this doco is for everyone, but it is a very good piece of work. I like it, but it isn't one to watch every day, but certainly one to watch.
Iron Maiden: Flight 666 Directed by Scot McFadyen Sam Dunn Produced by Scot McFadyen Sam Dunn Written by Scot McFadyen Sam Dunn Starring Iron Maiden Music by Iron Maiden Cinematography Martin Hawkes Edited by Lisa Grootenboer Wendy Hallam Martin Mike Munn Production company Banger Films[1] Phantom Music Management[1] EMI[1] Distributed by Arts Alliance Media EMI D&E Entertainment (US) Release date 21 April 2009 Running time 113 minutes[2] Country United Kingdom Canada Language English Box office £84,276 (UK)[3] US$74,134 (Australia)[4] US$35,173 (Russia CIS)[4] Iron Maiden: Flight 666 is a concert documentary film featuring the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The film follows the band on the first leg of their Somewhere Back in Time World Tour between February and March 2008, during which they travelled on their own customised Boeing 757, Ed Force One, which used the call-sign "666". Flight 666 is co-produced by Toronto-based Banger Films, known for their documentaries Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, Global Metal and Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage. The film was shot in high-definition video with accompanying 5.1 surround sound produced by Kevin Shirley (who has worked with the band since their 2000 album Brave New World). It was distributed by Arts Alliance Media and EMI (except in the US, where it was sub-distributed by D&E Entertainment) in select digital theatres on 21 April 2009. Iron Maiden Bruce Dickinson – lead vocals Dave Murray – guitars Adrian Smith – guitars, backing vocals Janick Gers – guitars Steve Harris – bass, backing vocals, co-producer (concert audio) Nicko McBrain – drums Additional musicians Michael Kenney – keyboards Film production Scot McFadyen – producer, writer, director Sam Dunn – producer, writer, director, narrator Rod Smallwood – executive producer, band manager Stefan Demetriou – executive producer Andy Taylor – executive producer, band manager Victoria Hirst – co-producer Martin Hawkes – director of photography Lisa Grooten Boer – editor Wendy Hallum Martin – editor Mike Munn – editor Concert audio production Kevin Shirley – producer, mixing Jared Kvitka – assistant Ryan Smith – mastering Dave Pattenden – live audio recording Ian Walsh – assistant Johnny Burke – assistant Tony Newton – assistant Additional personnel Peacock – art direction, design John McMurtrie – photography Hangman – stage design Arabia Arabian Music DVD Charts[34] 1 Australia ARIA Charts[34] 1 Austria Ö3 Austria Top 10 DVD[35] 1 Belgium (Flanders) Ultratop[36][37] 1 Belgium (Wallonia) 3 Canada Canadian Music DVD Charts[34] 1 Czech Republic IFPI ČR[38] 1 Denmark Tracklisten[39] 1 Finland The Official Finnish Charts[40] 1 France SNEP[41] 3 Germany Media Control Charts[42] 7 Hungary Mahasz[43] 3 India Indian Music DVD Charts[34] 1 Indian DVD Charts[34] 6 Ireland IRMA[34] 1 Italy FIMI[34] 1 Mexico AMPROFON[34] 1 Netherlands MegaCharts[44] 3 New Zealand RIANZ[34] 1 Norway VG-lista[45] 1 Poland Polish Music Charts[34] 1 Portugal AFP[34] 2 Spain PROMUSICAE[46] 2 Sweden Sverigetopplistan[47] 1 Switzerland Swiss Hitparade[48] 1 United Kingdom UK Blu-ray Chart[49] 7 UK Music Video Charts[32] 1 United States Billboard charts[50] 1 1. "Churchill's Speech" (1 February 2008) 0:43 2. "Aces High" (1 February 2008) Steve Harris 1984 ~ Powerslave 4:49 3. "2 Minutes to Midnight" (7 February 2008) Adrian Smith, Bruce Dickinson 1984 ~ Powerslave 5:57 4. "Revelations" (9 February 2008) Dickinson 1983 ~ Piece of Mind 6:28 5. "The Trooper" (16 February 2008) Harris 1983 ~ Piece of Mind 4:01 6. "Wasted Years" (22 February 2008) Smith 1986 ~ Somewhere in Time 5:07 7. "The Number of the Beast" (19 February 2008) Harris 1982 ~ The Number of the Beast 5:07 8. "Can I Play With Madness" (24 February 2008) Smith, Dickinson, Harris 1988 ~ Seventh Son of a Seventh Son 3:36 9. "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (14 March 2008) Harris 1984 ~ Powerslave 13:41 10. "Powerslave" (26 February 2008) Dickinson 1984 ~ Powerslave 7:28 11. "Heaven Can Wait" (2 March 2008) Harris 1986 ~ Somewhere in Time 7:35 12. "Run to the Hills" (28 February 2008) Harris 1982 ~ The Number of the Beast 3:59 13. "Fear of the Dark" (7 March 2008) Harris 1992 ~ Fear of the Dark 7:32 14. "Iron Maiden" (9 March 2008) Harris 1980 ~ Iron Maiden 5:26 15. "Moonchild" (12 March 2008) Smith, Dickinson 1988 ~ Seventh Son of a Seventh Son 7:29 16. "The Clairvoyant" (4 March 2008) Harris 1988 ~ Seventh Son of a Seventh Son 4:38 17. "Hallowed Be Thy Name" (16 March 2008) Harris 1982 ~ The Number of the Beast 7:52 Total length: 101:28 ----------------------------------------------------- Look I'm not into the whole 666 joke, but the guys put on a great concert, and I have been a fan since I was a wee pup. This is an excellent bluray and functions as a documentary with concert footage, and also a concert. The concert is only slightly broken up with links, but they don't interfere with the songs, which is the main thing. This was shot on the Somewhere Back In Time tour, and takes the songs from different venues along the way. We start in Mumbai, through Australia, Japan, the US, South America, the US and finish in Canada. With the documentary we travel through the countries, with glimpses and thoughts on the countries and the set ups, expectations etc. There are fan comments, interviews with the band and all that stuff. I have watched the doco once, and enjoyed it. I have watched the concert... probably about a dozen times. I was actually at the Perth concert for this tour, and it was excellent. They didn't film there though. The Concert - which for me is what it is all about. We start with the classic Winston Churchill speech, and move into the classic opener Aces High. Obviously you get crowd noise in the rears, but we have Dave Murray left, Adrian Smith centre and Janick Gers on the right. Drums are solid across the front, and bass and vocals centre. Two Minutes to midnight (Melbourne) confirms the mix stays solid, with the same set up, giving it a nice continuity. The video quality is excellent. Shot in HD, and reproduced in very high quality. I sometimes wonder about Kevin Shirley, but this comes over pretty well. The bass guitar could be higher in the mix. The performances are brilliant, and the band show they clearly still have it. Obviously there could be some "fixing", but it certainly isn't obvious if there is. Revelations in Sydney, the Trooper in Tokyo. When the guitars move into the harmony sections it sounds great. Wasted Years in Monterey, where before the song we're met with "ole ole ole ole Maiden, Maiden". No matter what music critics and music elitists may think, the band's fans are ravenous about the music and band, and it is always an event. The band are obviously having fun as well, and it enhances the show again. Number of the Beast drops in at the LA Forum. Often I have read people complain about the rapid fire video editing that Steve Harris likes to use, but this isn't too bad at all. There's a smoothness to the transitions, even though they may be fairly rapid still. We Play With Madness in Mexico City, with Bruce in a big sombrero . The whole idea of this tour was to bring the eighties classics to the new generation that picked up on the band during their post 2000 renaissance. We move to the Izod centre New Jersey for Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Bruce puts on his Mariner ragged coat. He's a very underrated singer and frontman I reckon. Performing the songs, not just singing them, with a ton of energy, and always solid vocals. A classic rock/metal songs performed brilliantly. We get one of the quiet moments in the set, as we move through the atmospheric section, with the creaking boat sfx, and the voice over recital of line from Colleridge's poem.... obviously with tons of dry ice/smoke machines ... whatever they use these days. A true epic, excellent. Power slave takes us to Costa Rica. Here we have Bruce in a goofy mask. Heaven can Wait in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It's always a better song than I think it is. In Bogota, Columbia we Run To The Hills, and it was this song the launched the band into my ears space, and i still love it. Fear Of The Dark comes across us in Beunos Aires, Argentina. We start with another more mellow section, and lots of audience participation on vocals, as all Maiden fans would know. I always love hearing the crowd sing the guitar melodies. Santiago, Chile brings us, probably, and I know it's some form of sacrilege, my least favourite Maiden song, but this brings on the Eddie in his Somewhere In Time, robocop type get up. Standing 10-12 feet tall, it's a nice stunt. The crowd is absolutely feral ... just check the beginning out. Moonchild comes to us from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and we get an acoustic guitar for the "seven" intro, and it bounces into a great power chord and riff combo. Also a great chorus riff. We move back to Brazil, in Curitiba to visit the Clairvoyant and Harris launches us with his very easily recognisable bass riff. Then we get those great melodic guitars. It seems to be a great unsung hero of a song. For Hallowed Be Thy Name, we're in Toronto Canada. Ending the show with a classic Maiden track. This really is a top class piece of work all round, and I highly recommend it to folks that like the band and/or the genre.
I remember seeing this on VHS and loving it, but never bought the DVD (I have the live CD though) because, as I recall, there were a lot of complaints when it was released. Anyone remember what the problem was? Maybe there was a problem syncing the audio with the video? That might’ve been it. This was over 20 years ago, I think, so I don’t recall. Just that it was enough to convince me to not buy it. I remember the complaints were widespread. Any issues with the Blu-Ray you have? I’d guess not, or you’d have said something. Incredible concert, certainly. One of the best concert films ever.
I never had any issues with the dvd ... ? To be honest, I'm not entirely certain I have watched the bluray yet, the listening schedule has been packed solid.
Fair enough. Maybe I’ll snag the BR (Honestly never knew it was issued on BR). Perhaps any problems I remember reading about were fixed and the DVD reissued? Sounds like the BR should be fine, at least.
Devi/ation 1970 Video Collection by Pink Floyd Released: 2017 Recorded 1970 Genre Psychedelic Rock, Prog Rock Length > 120 minutes Label Pink Floyd Records Devi/ation 1970 is a disc set released in book format. Furthermore, it is part of the larger Early years set. It includes a quad mix of Atom Heart Mother that Mark has already reviewed. It also includes other recordings made around the same time, many of which have accompanying video. Those will be the subject of this review. I started out with a quick scan and determined that all of the material is in a 4:3 screen format with not especially good video quality. That I expected. But I didn’t anticipate that all of it would be in mono. However, this is my first foray into box/book set dredging, and I’m not going to let that deter me. Just need the center channel for this one: An Hour With Pink Floyd: KQED, San Francisco, USA, 30 April 1970 Atom Heart Mother Written By – David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Richard Wright, Roger Waters, Ron Geesin 16:37 After some percussion and credits, starts out with sound of motor, presumably from small airplane and we’re flying over barely legible landscape. I suppose this was pretty awesome at the time, but with film deterioration and a hires screen, it’s not. After at least five minutes, cuts to band playing studio; picture quality is better. Cymbaline Written By – Roger Waters 8:38 - a Pink Floyd song from the soundtrack from the Film More All footage in studio. Grantchester Meadows Written By – Roger Waters 7:37 – from Ummagumma Starts in fuzzy woods with birds singing. Music starts and then cuts to Gilmour and Waters on stage. Back to the woods at the end. Green Is The Colour Written-By – Roger Waters 3:31 - also from More Clouds for starters, cuts to double image of Gilmour tinged with a green hue. Seems that must be on purpose rather than bad film, but I’m not sure. Careful With That Axe, Eugene Written-By – David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Richard Wright, Roger Waters 9:09 – from Ummagumma More clouds, double images and hues. Definitely on purpose – quite psychedelic. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun Written-By – Roger Waters 12:37 – From A Saucerful of Secrets Starts with Waters on gong played with timpani mallets. All in the studio with more double imaging and RGB tomfoolery. Let’s spend the video here: Pop Deux Festival de St. Tropez, France, 8 August 1970 The next six tracks collectively have most of the same material as the KQED set. In fact, it has “Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun” twice. Starts with Floyd outdoors practicing in their underwear in the sun. The next five tracks are from a live concert played at night. Still mono, the video quality seems a tad better than the KQED set. You also get to see a lot more of Mason. Occasionally cuts away from concert to daytime footage, which shows the outdoor venue that can’t be seen at all during the actual concert. Since it’s the one track with something different: Embryo Written-By – Roger Waters 11:23 This is a song that doesn’t appear on any album. However, parts of it sounds like passages found on “Echoes”. Show Roland Petit, Paris, France, 5 December 1970 Instrumental Improvisations 1/2/3 (Live In The Studio) 3:28 They do a bit here that sounds like Animals Grooving With a Pict (from Ummagumma) that is pretty awesome. Embryo (Live In The Studio) Abbreviated version of what is in to Pop Deux Blackhill's Garden Party, Hyde Park, London, UK, 18 July 1970 Atom Heart Mother (With The Philip Jones Brass Ensemble / John Alldis Choir) This is shot in black and white. Video and audio quality are both awful – which is a damn shame. ______ Both “Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun” and “Atom Heart Mother” are early Floyd classics. You get to see both of those multiple times. I found the videography on the KQED annoying at first, but once I figured out it was done on purpose I came to like it. I believe the material on the bluray is available on YouTube, and the audio and video there are just as good. So, there really isn’t much reason to buy the set for anything other than the Atom Heart Mother Quad. The KQED footage is the best part. If I ever watch this again, I will just stick to that. There’s more of that online than what is included in the set. Music -2 Sound quality – 1 Video presentation – 2 Video quality – 1 Surround – 0 (If stereo is a 1, mono must be zero)
Forgot to link to Mark's Atom Heart Mother Review. Also, I will do an index after we get to double digits.
No Direction Home Directed by Martin Scorsese Starring Bob Dylan Original language(s) English Production Producer(s) Susan Lacy Jeff Rosen Martin Scorsese Nigel Sinclair Anthony Wall Cinematography Mustapha Barat Editor(s) David Tedeschi Running time 208 minutes Distributor Paramount Pictures Release Original release July 21, 2005 No Direction Home: Bob Dylan is a 2005 documentary film by Martin Scorsese that traces the life of Bob Dylan, and his impact on 20th-century American popular music and culture. The film focuses on the period between Dylan's arrival in New York in January 1961 and his "retirement" from touring following his motorcycle accident in July 1966. This period encapsulates Dylan's rise to fame as a folk singer and songwriter, and the controversy surrounding his move to a rock style of music. The title is taken from Dylan's 1965 single "Like a Rolling Stone". ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is an in depth and loving look at Bob Dylan in his formative years, up to his motorcycle accident. It covers his youth, and travels, all the early folk/protest era on through the electric period. There is some fantastic clips, musical and non musical, and I assume that Scorsese had full cooperation from Dylan and or his affair handlers, because a lot of this stuff had never seen the light of day prior. It was initially shown on PBS in the US as part of their American Masters series, and it also got shown on the BBC via a show called Arena. Since then it has become available on bluray, in a two disc set and I reckon it is essential to every Dylan fan. This is quite a brilliant piece of work and I am not going to dive into too much detail, but essentially it is one of the best music documentaries I have ever seen. It rarely gets caught up in any fantasies, if at all. It gives all the information that you know and more particularly, possibly, don't know. It ties the man to the times, and the history to the reality and it does it in such a way as to be just about the perfect representation of the late fifties, early sixties folk revival. The burden placed on Dylan, The ever present figure of Woody Guthrie in Dylan's life and mind. Through the explosion of Dylan's early songs as banners for people to march behind. The devastating effect that his moving away from the folk movement had on those involved. His launch into the electric world, and the controversy surrounding it. We get wonderful narration, fantastic film footage, and a professional, thoughtful, and ultimately heartfelt look into the life and times of Bob Dylan. I must add that it is basically narrated by Dylan, and that narration is excellent. It gives insight into where Dylan was at any given time, and he is very clear. We hear snippets of his earliest recordings. We hear about some girls he had crushes on. We hear about how music came into his life and the context of it. Straight from the horses mouth. Interspersed with great performances. I don't think the audio is really highest on the agenda here in terms of a surround mix, but all the A/V stuff is great. I can't speak highly enough of this documentary, and recommend it for anyone who was ever a fan of Dylan's.
Pop Shop Live 1972 Studio Performance By Genesis Performance: 1972 Release: 2020 Restoration and Remastering: Bruno Samppa Time for a midweek quickie. This is a newly remastered video that was originally shot for a Belgian half hour TV spot. It's on YouTube, so can watch it yourself . There's a thread on this here, which is how I discovered it. I'll still give a brief overview and rate it: Fountain of Salamcis 7:34 Song from Nursery Cryme. The band is introduced. Who knew these guys were ever that young. Twilight Alehouse 5:50 This song doesn't appear on any of the original albums, but it can be found on the extra archive disc in the 70-75 box set. There are some audio problems here. There are some unnecessary cuts to still photographs which perhaps replace missing video segments Musical Box 9:43 My favorite song from Nursery Cryme. I never realized how much Collins sings on this. Lots of audio snags here, but the video quality is great as is the Gabriel acting performance. Return of the Giant Hogweed 5:50 Abbreviated version of Nursery Cryme song. The video is amazingly good for something from the 70's. The audio is not so amazing, plus it's mono. But seeing these guys play Musical Box when it was a new song is a real treat. Music - 3 Sound quality – 1 Video presentation – 3 (+1 for historical significance) Video quality – 2 Surround – 0
Townsend, Devin - Ocean Machine: Live at the Ancient Roman Theatre Plovdiv. This is my introduction to Devin. I've heard his name around here often enough to think that I should check him out. Besides that, I'm a sucker for a rock concert with a backing orchestra; the Plovdiv Orchestra also appears on an Anathema concert disc that I will get around to reviewing one of these days. Even though he is actually Canadian, Townsend seems like a European Prog Metal guy - which is a good thing. His vocals on the first set are a bit on the growly side, which I could do without - but the orchestra on the first set more than makes up for that. The second set has more harmony per growl, but there's no orchestra either. The picture quality is quite decent, but you can tell that it is a mere DVD. The monochromatic lighting often used either hides the lack of clarity or adds to it - it's hard to tell. Dolby Digital is also definitely second rate for a modern recording - it always sounds a little thin. The band doesn't really put on much of a show - they mostly just play. But they are playing in a Roman theater - that's worth a point. The surround mix is pretty passive most of the time, but it does light up for some of the guitar solos. So, 2's all around: Music - 2 Sound quality – 2 Video presentation – 2 Video quality – 2 Surround – 2 As another picky point, the liner notes are pretty skimpy. There's no track listing at all. Looking forward to Empath in surround.
What did you get? The bluray has the full setlist on the back. Dts hd master audio, picture is clear as a bell, has a detailed 22 page booklet.... ???
No, I got a freaking DVD with Dolby Digital - but yes I missed the track list on the back cover. I guess your version gets an extra 2 points.
Stop Making Sense Live Performance by Talking Heads Directed by Jonathan Demme Produced by Gary Goetzman Written by Talking Heads, Jonathan Demme Starring Talking Heads Music by Talking Heads Cinematography Jordan Cronenweth Edited by Lisa Day Production Arnold Stiefel Company Distributed by Cinecom Pictures Palm Pictures Release date April 24, 1984, October 18, 1984 (United States) Running time 88 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $1.2 million Box office $5.1 million Stop Making Sense is a 1984 American concert film featuring a live performance by American rock band Talking Heads. Directed by Jonathan Demme, it was shot over the course of four nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December 1983, as the group was touring to promote their new album Speaking in Tongues. The film is the first made entirely using digital audio techniques. The band raised the budget of $1.2 million themselves. The filming of Stop Making Sense spanned four live shows at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles. It pioneered the use of 24-track digital sound recording which resulted in a particularly clear soundtrack. Demme has stated that one night of shooting was dedicated almost entirely to wide shots from a distance, to minimize the intrusion of cameras on stage. Demme had considered additional shooting on a soundstage made to recreate the Pantages Theater, but the band declined to do this, as they thought the lack of audience response would have hindered the energy of their performance. This concert film is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of the genre. Leonard Maltin rated the film four stars out of four, describing it as "brilliantly conceived, shot, edited and performed" and "one of the greatest rock movies ever made." Roger Ebert gave the film a three-and-a-half star rating, writing that "the overwhelming impression throughout Stop Making Sense is of enormous energy, of life being lived at a joyous high...It's a live show with elements of Metropolis...But the film's peak moments come through Byrne's simple physical presence. He jogs in place with his sidemen; he runs around the stage; he seems so happy to be alive and making music...He serves as a reminder of how sour and weary and strung-out many rock bands have become." Danny Peary described Stop Making Sense as "Riveting...What takes place on stage will make even the most skeptical into Talking Heads converts...[The] performances are invariably exciting, Byrne's lyrics are intriguing. Byrne, his head moving rhythmically as if he had just had shock treatments, is spellbinding - what a talent!...Byrne is known for his belief that music should be performed in an interesting, visual manner, and this should make him proud." Robert Christgau noted the "sinuous, almost elegant clarity" of Demme's direction, while writing that the film had pushed the "limits to how great a rock concert movie can be ... as far as they were liable to go." Christgau described it as "the finest concert film" while Pauline Kael of The New Yorker described it as "close to perfection". Personnel The following are in order of appearance. David Byrne - lead vocals, guitar Tina Weymouth - bass, keyboard bass, guitar, lead vocals in Tom Tom Club Chris Frantz - drums, vocals in Tom Tom Club Jerry Harrison - guitar, keyboards, backing vocals Steve Scales - percussion, backing vocals Lynn Mabry - backing vocals Ednah Holt - backing vocals Alex Weir - guitar, backing vocals Bernie Worrell – keyboards Tracklist All songs in the film are written by David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth, except where noted: 1. "Psycho Killer" (Byrne, Frantz, Weymouth) 2. "Heaven" (Byrne, Harrison) 3. "Thank You for Sending Me an Angel" (Byrne) 4. "Found a Job" (Byrne) 5. "Slippery People" 6. "Burning Down the House" 7. "Life During Wartime" 8. "Making Flippy Floppy" 9. "Swamp" 10. "What a Day That Was" (Byrne) 11. "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" 12. "Once in a Lifetime" (Byrne, Brian Eno, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth) 13. "Genius of Love" (as Tom Tom Club) (Weymouth, Frantz, Adrian Belew, Steven Stanley) 14. "Girlfriend Is Better" 15. "Take Me to the River" (Al Green, Mabon "Teenie" Hodges) 16. "Crosseyed and Painless" (Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth) There are many versions of this classic. I think I had it on laser disc. I replaced that with a DVD. I also identified this title as one that might be worth replacing with a bluray. There are several versions – a 2009 release, a 30th anniversary release in 2015, and a new 35th anniversary release that came out last month. Because it was significantly cheaper, I opted for a UK version of the 2015 release. You can also stream it from Amazon Prime Video – free with a Prime subscription. I started out by doing some A/B comparisons of the DVD and the bluray; I have two players so I put the DVD in one and the bluray in the other. Although the video seems identical, the audio on the bluray plays at a slightly higher volume level and with a smidge more clarity. Next, I wanted to compare two 5.1 mixes that come on both discs: The original “film” mix and a second “studio” mix. It was here that I discovered a defect in the bluray: The audio selection menu does not work. It plays the film mix no matter what. The studio mix is on there – I ripped both the stereo and 5.1 versions of the studio mix to my hard drive to play sans video. So, I had to use the DVD for the mix comparison. The bottom line is clear – the studio mix is much more surroundy than the film mix. The latter mainly just has audience noise in the back channels. For example, on “Psychokiller” the film mix has the drum machine and Byrne both mixed in stereo. The studio mix has Byrne in the center and the drum machine in surround. The only track where the film mix has anything but audience noice ion the back is on “Heaven”, which has background vocals (from vocalists who aren’t on stage) in the back. But for the rest of this review, I’ll stick to the studio mix with my old DVD. _____ Here we go: "Psycho Killer" -from Talking Heads ‘77 Lead singer David Byrne walks on to a bare stage with a portable cassette tape player and an acoustic guitar. He introduces the song by saying he wants to play a tape, but in reality a Roland TR-808 drum machine starts playing from the mixing board – in surround. Byrne is in the center channel. Byrne stumbles in rhythm. "Heaven" – from Fear of Music Tina Weymouth joins Byrne on the stage. Bass in front, Byrne vocals in center, guitar in back (unlike film mix). Background vocals from invisible singers in back too. No theatrics on this one. Drum set is pushed onto the stage "Thank You for Sending Me an Angel" – from More Songs About Buildings and Food Chris Frantz joins Byrne and Weymouth, and Chris is the main show on this one. Everything is in front except for Chris’ cymbals which reverberate from the back. "Found a Job" – from More Songs About Buildings and Food Harrison joins the rest of the band with a guitar, and the Talking Heads are complete. This is the only song that has all four band members and no one else. Only cymbals in the back until a Harrison solo at the end. Byrne is animated, but no one else is. More equipment is rolled out onto the stage. "Slippery People" – from Speaking in Tongues Scales (a percussionist), Mabry and Holt (background vocals) come out. Harrison trades the guitar in for keyboards. Cymbals, background vocals, and Harrison’s keyboards are mixed to the back. When Mabry and Holt aren’t singing, they are dancing – they raise the energy level up about three notches. "Burning Down the House" – from Speaking in Tongues Weir and Worrell come out, and we are up to nine musicians on stage. Worell takes over on one set of keyboards, Weymour drops back for a bass synthesizer, while Harrison, Byrne, and Weir all have guitars. This is a good place to spend the video Lots of instruments mixed in back, but vocals all in front. "Life During Wartime" – from Fear of Music Byrne in center, organ in surround. The whole front starts jogging in place, plus Byrne takes a lap around the stage for good measure. "Making Flippy Floppy" – from Speaking in Tongues There are now screens at the back of the stage flashing words. The girls take a break and Harrison is back in front with a guitar. Byrne vocals and some Harrison guitar in center channel, percussion in back. "Swamp" – from Speaking in Tongues Weymouth and Weir move to back, leaving just Harrrison and Byrne in front, who march in place. Byrne vocals in center, some ambient guitar and cymbals in back. "What a Day That Was" – from Byrne solo album The Catherine Wheel Stage goes mostly dark, with lighting from floor only, which makes Byrne seem even odder than he otherwise would. The girls are back, and they get the odd lighting treatment too. Byrne vocals in center, background vocals mixed to back. "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" – from Speaking in Tongues Bookshelves on the screen in back, with a floor lamp on stage that Byrne, Weymouth, Weir, Mabry and Holt crowd around. Bookshelves give way to slide show. Organ and Byrne vocals in center. Background vocals in surround. Very cool organ in surround at end while Byrne dances with lamp. "Once in a Lifetime" – from Remain in Light Byrne has a large get of glass rims, which enhance the nerd look he has anyway. Sings as if we were lecturing from a podium. Percussion and background vocals in surround. "Genius of Love" – from Tom Tom Club s/t Byrne leaves the stage, and the rest of the band becomes the Tom Tom Club. Weymouth, Weir, Mabry, and Holt are in front. Frantz and Weymouth are lead vocalists – they get the center channel. Organ and guitar in surround. "Girlfriend Is Better" – from Speaking in Tongues Byrne comes back in his big suit, and takes over the center channel again. Guitar and organ in surround. "Take Me to the River" – from More Songs About Buildings and Food Blue lighting. Byrne in center channel, Weir gets a turn too. Organ in surround. Byrne loses the big suit jacket, but still has stuffed pants. Byrne introduces band members. "Crosseyed and Painless" – from Remain in Light Byrne picks up a guitar again. He plays lead and sings in center, organ background vocals and rhythm guitar in surround. Background vocals switch to center towards the end. ______ It’s a magnificent performance from a great band when it was at its peak. Stop Making Sense deserves its reputation. The video, well it is from a 35 year old low budget movie– and the bluray doesn’t help. The sound quality is just fine as long as you get the bluray version (I think that is what is on Amazon too). As for surround, the regular film version is basically a stereo recording with audience noise in the back. However, the studio mix makes extensive use of the center channel and makes regular use of the rear channels for ambience. That doesn’t put it in the same league as the excellent Talking Heads studio album 5.1 mixes (e.g. Speaking in Tongues), but it still makes a fine addition to the collection. After editing out the minute and a half of silence on the first track, it’s on my hard drive. However, if you want to watch the show and listen to the studio mix at the same time, don’t get the bluray I got. Music -3 Sound quality – 2 (DVD) or 3 (Bluray) Video presentation – 3 Video quality – 2 (DVD or Bluray) Surround – 1 (film) or 2 (studio)
One of the great concert films. DO NOT get the dvd folks. it is very average, and also has syncing issues. The Bluray is a corker, get it today.
It is excellent. The clips are incredible (I’d love a full release of the “Judas” show assuming the whole thing was filmed). Every Dylan fan should have this. Sure makes me wish they hadn’t f***ed around with creating an elaborate fictional story for the recent Rolling Thunder Revue film, but that’s a topic belonging in its own thread.
Yessongs Live Performance by Yes Directed by Peter Neal Produced by Brian Lane, David Speechley Cinematography Brian Grainger, Ian McMillan, Richard Stanley, Anthony Stern Edited by Philip Howe, Misha Norland Production AIOK Pictures Release date 14 March 1975 Running time 76 minutes Yessongs is a 1975 concert film produced by David Speechley and directed by Peter Neal. It features the English progressive rock band Yes performing during their Close to the Edge Tour in December 1972. The film contains live performances of nine songs, including tracks from Close to the Edge, the album supported by the tour. Yessongs depicts a Yes concert at the Rainbow Theatre in London during the band's Close to the Edge Tour on 15 December 1972. "Close to the Edge" and "Würm" are the same performances as heard on the Yessongs album. The film premiered on 14 March 1975 at the Aplha Fine Arts Theatre in Cincinnati, Ohio, with quadraphonic sound. Personnel Jon Anderson - Vocals Chris Squire – Bass Steve Howe – Guitars Rick Wakeman – Keyboards Alan White - Drums Tracklist All titles written by Yes. "Excerpts from The Six Wives of Henry VIII" contains excerpts of "Jingle Bells" and "Hallelujah Chorus" from Messiah. "Overture" "I've Seen All Good People" Clap "And You and I" "Close to the Edge" "Excerpts from The Six Wives of Henry VIII" "Roundabout" "Yours Is No Disgrace" Closing credits - "Würm" (Excerpt from "Starship Trooper") There are DVD and Bluray versions of this that both sell for about $15 new. I have the DVD. The Bluray undoubtedly has a better cover: The DVD has 4:3 video formatting, and entirely respectable LPCM stereo. Here we go: _______ "Overture" Let’s get this out of the way: The video and audio quality of this release are both terrible. The video is VHS quality, if that. The audio is either stereo or mono, but it doesn’t really matter – the fidelity is terrible. The overture starts with some Roger Dean artwork and band performance snippets, and an excerpt from Close to the Edge "I've Seen All Good People" – from The Yes Album The video consists entirely of the band performing on stage. Steve Howe plays a lot of guitars. When Alan White is shown, there is often a cymbal obscuring his head. Maybe they were hiding the fact that he is not Bill Bruford, who left the band after the studio recording of Close to the Edge. “Clap” – from The Yes Album Solo performance with just Steve Howe. You know how some guitarists make playing the guitar look easy? Steve Howe is not one of those guitarists – he looks like he is working hard. "And You and I" – from Close to the Edge All stage performance. "Close to the Edge" – from Close to the Edge Stage performance interrupted with biology lessons. Let’s put the video clip here: "Excerpts from The Six Wives of Henry VIII" - from Wakeman solo album After Jon gives a vocal introduction of sorts, a solo performance by Rick Wakeman. He plays a lot of keyboards, and his cape glitters. He plays in front of a mirror, which makes it easier to see his hands. "Roundabout" – from Fragile All stage performance. "Yours Is No Disgrace" " – from The Yes Album All stage performance. Great showing from Chris Squire. ________ The three album LP of the same name is largely responsible for turning me into a Yes fan forty-five years ago. This video is from the same concerts, but the audio source is obviously different – the LP was fantastic, this is not. I doubt this was even made from the original film – it’s as if someone with a VHS camera taped the film while it was showing. Wouldn’t it be cool if they found the original quad soundtrack? Since it is the exact same performance, it should be possible to replace the audio for “Close to the Edge” with the audio from Yessongs CD, which is much better. Why couldn’t they at least do that? Anyway, since the video and audio on the DVD aren’t even up to usual DVD standards, I don’t suppose the bluray is any better. The main reason to watch this is for historical interest – you get to see the band play in their heyday. Music -3 Sound quality – 1 Video presentation – 2 (+1 for historical interest) Video quality – 1 Surround – 0 This is the first time I’ve actually done one of these reviews on Saturday. I’ve been mucking around with Stop Making Sense all week. This is not one worth spending a lot of time on.
Nice review. I've never listened to the studio mix carefully, as I find the feature film mix far superior (not in terms of surround, but it works great with the video, and it gives you that 'live' feeling). I'll give it another go. I only disagree with you on audio quality. I consider this release as one of the best-sounding concerts in my collection. If I remember correctly, the band invested an incredible amount of money in recording the entire concert digitally. +1 for the blu-ray. You need to be careful though, because there are a few different releases out there, and I would not recommend the German blu ray from 2014. Post here: Talking Heads Stop Making Sense remaster sound quality
The sound quality on the bluray is excellent (a 3 is as high as I go). The DVD isn't bad either, but the bluray is noticeably better. If hadn't done an A/B comparison, I might not have picked on it. Except for Heaven, the film mix does have unadulterated crowd noise in the back. I'd agree it does a better job of preserving the sound stage - if that's what you want. However, the studio mix is the one I want in my surround collection.
I'll have to give it another listen. I don't care much about the crowd noise, for me it's more about the balance between instruments and reverb that make one mix more 'live' than the other. It's hard to explain. Perhaps I'm just used to it! Is there a song in which the surround mix is particularly 'wow' on the studio mix?
I have given another listen to the Studio Mix in 5.1. First, it's accessible from the blu-ray menu, so I can confirm that my release (UK 2015) doesn't have that glitch. Second, I don't hear any surround element apart from reverb. Just to be sure, I've also ripped the studio mix in 5.1, and have listened to that, focussing on what you are describing above as discrete instruments in surround. Nothing. We must have different versions and different mixes. I do have a studio mix that is different from the feature film mix, but they are both quasi stereo mixes. That's what I am hearing.
I'll have a listen to mine today if I get a chance. I remember the dvd said it had the "studio mix" but it only had the one mix, that I assume was the concert mix.
I wouldn't say either mix commands a "wow" for surround. I only did a careful comparison of the first six tracks or so. The most stark contrast is on the first track "Psychokiller". In the process of creating audio-only flac files for my surround collection, I wanted to delete it the 95 seconds of silence at the beginning. So I opened both versions up in audacity, which lets you see the waveform for all six surround tracks. The film version looks like it is mixed in stereo - just about all the activity is in the left and right front channels. OTOH, the studio mix has most of the sound coming from the center channel, with a little bit of sound that appears to be identical in the other four channels. Listening to it, while the film version has both Byrne and the drum track in stereo, the studio mix has Byrne in the center and the drum track in surround. The second track, "Heaven" isn't that much different - both versions have background vocals in the rear. However, that is an exception for the film mix and normal for the studio mix.
My DVD has the film mix in stereo, and both the film and studio mixes in 5.1. The bluray also has a "studio" stereo mix that I ripped but haven't listened to yet, I can only access the 5.1 film mix from the bluray interface because the audio menu doesn't work - bad disc authoring I suppose.
