Concert  

If you are a fan of Sheryl Crow, you will love this release. The band that she has performing with her on this tour is superb and really drives the music and worth the price of admission. However, as much as she tries, Sheryl Crow’s voice is just not strong enough to get out in front of the music and drive it forward. Nor is her stage presence all that strong. I found her to be just too laid back, despite the excellent work of the band, which is the real star of this performance.

The concert was filmed in November 2010 at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles. While I have never been there, it sure looks like a real gem of a theater and a real art deco treasure dating back to 1930. Next time I am in LA, I will have to check it out. The Blu-ray release features 18 total tracks in order of appearance: Our Love is Fading, A Change Would Do You Good, 100 MIles From Memphis, Can’t Cry Anymore, Strong Enough, Summer Day, My Favorite Mistake, Redemption Day, Long Road Home, Every Day Is A Winding Road, Sideways, Roses And Moonlight, If It Makes You Happy, Soak Up The Sun, Peaceful Feeling, All I Wanna Do/Got To Give It Up, I Want You Back and I Shall Believe. The set is heavy on an R & B flavor that I had not associated with her music before and which I found to be really infectious, especially given how well the material was performed by this nine piece band.

If you are a fan, you will really enjoy this release. I know that I did,even with my misgivings noted above as well as below.

Video  

The video on this release is superb and some of the best I have yet seen on a Blu-ray concert release. The image is at all times razor sharp and loaded with fine details, from skin textures, the tassels on Sheryl Crow’s shirt, to the smudges on the face of the guitars, it is all visible on this release. I have seen other releases that are just as sharp at times as this release is, but with camera shots that can get a bit soft at times, especially crowd shots and distant shots. Not here. The image throughout the entire release is razor sharp. Colors are very natural looking as well and nicely saturated. All in all, this is a great looking release and one that should be a thrill for her fans.

Audio  

With one misgiving, I found the audio on this release to be superb. The audio was well mixed with deep bass and pin point imaging. Instrument placement across the front soundstage was superb. Imaging and transparency were both excellent with the result being a sound field of excellent depth, both from front to back and side to side. Overall fidelity was very good as well. The surrounds were used often and aggressively to create a nice immersive sound field, placing you in the Pantages Theater during the concert, although I did feel that a bit too much of the music was bleeding its way into the surrounds for my taste.

The main issue I had with the release and the reason I had to knock the overall score down a peg, was the mixing of Sheryl Crow’s vocal, which was too buried in the mix for my taste, so much so that it was almost lost in the mix at times. I know that this is not the result of the recording as the vocal in the two channel LCPM track included with the release had a much more pronounced vocal smack dab in the center of the mix and more out in front of the music. But for a better job mixing the center channel, the audio on this release, at least the 5.1 mix, would have garnered a higher score. While I greatly preferred the DTS HD Master Audio track, I also switched to the 2 channel mix, which I found to be a bit too bright and lacking the soundstaging, dynamics and bass response of the lossless multichannel mix, which is the real winner here and how this concert recording should be experienced in my opinion.

Special Features 

The only extra included with this release is a behind the scenes look at the filming of the concert and features rehearsal versions of two songs, Eye To Eye and Stop which were not included in the concert tracks. The behind the scenes featurette is presented in high definition.

Final Thoughts  

While not a huge fan of Sheryl Crow, I nonetheless enjoyed this concert release due in large measure to her wonderful supporting cast and feel that fans will be more than pleased with this release. Recommended for fans only.

While there are quite a few with truly superb sound, most are far from ideal, as they fail to utterly transport you to the venue, to enable you to experience the concert, as if you were there live. Well, the release that is the subject of this review succeeds in doing just that, taking you right into the concert venue to experience the show in all of its you are there splendor, in this case, the intimate Iridium Jazz Club In New York.

Concert 

Simply put, this concert and all aspects of this release are simply superb. On June 9, 2010, a concert was held to pay tribute to Les Paul, one of the founding fathers of not only Rock ‘N” Roll, but of the electric guitar itself, as well as multi-track recording, the use of echo and reverb and quite a few other firsts. The concert was held at New York’s Iridium Jazz Club, a cozy 200 seat venue in the basement beneath a diner where Les Paul held court once a week for years.

The concert was put together by Jeff Beck, whom many rank as the world’s greatest guitarist who was a close friend of the late Les Paul who passed away in 2009 at the age of 95. The show features a great band, a great horn section, guest appearances by Gary U.S. Bonds, Trombone Shorty and Brian Setzer. As good as Jeff Beck and the rest of the band and quests were, the highlight of the show for me was the singing of Imelda May, who I had never heard of before viewing this disc. She is simply superb with a great voice and even better vocal styling. Man, can she sing and is capable of singing every style of music you can imagine, from Blues to Rock to Rockabilly, R & B and Jazz, all of which she covers here.

All in all, there are a total of 27 songs presented on this release. The track list is as follows: Baby Let’s Play House, Double Talkin’ Baby, Cruisin, Train Kept A Rollin’, Poor Boy, Cry Me A River, My Baby Left Me, How High The Moon, Sitting On Top Of The World, Bye, Bye Blues, The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise, Vaya Con Dios, Mockin’ Bird Hill, I’m A Fool To Care, Tiger Rag, Peter Gunn, Rocking Is Our Business, Apache, Sleep Walk, New Orleans, Walking In The Sand, Please Mr. Jailer, Casting My Spell On You, Twenty Flight Rock, The Girl Can’t Help It, Rock Around The Clock and Shake, Rattle & Roll. This is quite a set list and was put together by Jeff Beck to honor his long time friend and the music he helped inspire. The set list is one great tune after another and all performed superbly, and each designed the bring the house down.

If you can keep you feet from tapping away during this concert, to quote from an old Louis Jordan song, “Jack you dead”. Each and every musician was on the top of their game this night and clearly loved what they were doing. The fact that the audience was filled with many rock and roll legends tells you that this was going to be one special night and that it was. The disc is entitled a Rock ‘N’ Roll Party. A Party is sure was. A great one. Extremely highly recommended.

Video 

The concert was shot using high definition video and it looks superb. Given the size of the venue, it is amazing that they could cram all the cameras used on this shoot into the room. The picture is bright with plenty of bright colors and deep blacks. The overall image is sharp and detailed with an excellent level of detail and good overall depth The only quibble I would have is a bit of noise. That and the fact that I have seen a couple of slightly more detailed concert videos leads me to give it a score a notch below a perfect 5 out of 5. Otherwise, the video presentation is superb.

Audio 

While I had some very minor issues with the video and I mean really minor, the audio presentation here is perfect. The best way I can think of to describe the audio is that it is as if they patched the mixing broad right into your home theater system. The concert was held in a very small venue of no more than 200 seats and the musicians were crammed into a very tight stage.

The audio matches the video in this regard perfectly. Even though the musicians are crammed together, each and very instrument is clearly delineated in the sound stage. It sounds just as though Jeff Beck plugged his guitar into an amp and brought in into your room. His guitar solos have a stunning degree of realism. All of the slap echo and reverb on his instrument and Imelda May’s voice are as clear as a bell.

The bass is rock solid as are the drums. When the horn section roars into action and I do mean roars, you are nearly knocked off your seat. This is a stellar audio presentation and some of the best I have yet heard on Blu-ray. If you are looking to experience a live concert in your home, this is the release for you. All this and stellar music and performances to boot. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Special Features 

For a concert release, there are more extras included here than I would have thought. The extras include an interview with Jeff Beck where he discusses his relationship with Les Paul as well as some aspects of his own career. This interview was shot in HD and looks great as well.

Also included is a featurette which is a behind the scenes look at the concert venue, with interviews with the gathering crowd outside, a look at the equipment being set up as well as interviews with some of the celebrity attendees of the concert thereafter, such as Paul Schaeffer, Meatloaf and Steve Van Zandt. One of the featurettes is an interview with Jeff Beck at his home where he shows off his guitar collection with brief glimpses of how some of the guitars sound and how he acquired them.

We also get two performances with Les Paul and Jeff Beck together in the 1980′s with Billy Squier along with another brief performance with Les Paul alone where he plays How HIgh The Moon while demonstrating the black box that invented and attached to his guitar that enabled him to record tracks on his guitar that he could run while playing the guitar live, creating quite in impressive layering effect. All in all, I found the extras to be rather informative and well worth a look.

Final Thoughts 

With all the junk that passes for pop music these days, it is great to have a release that features truly great musicians, great songs and performances along with stellar video and audio presentations. if you are a music fan, Jeff Beck Rock ‘N’ Roll Party Honoring Les Paul is a must buy and is extremely highly recommended.

Film

Yes, I have given this show 5 stars out of 5. Yes I know that Broadway musicals are not everyone’s cup of tea. However, this show is so good that it is worth the attention of all music lovers. The show was filmed in March 2010 at Avery Fisher Hall in New York and is a celebration of the works of Stephen Sondheim, one of the great composers of music for the stage, who turned 80 this year. The show is hosted by David Hyde Pierce of Fraser fame and features the New York Philharmonic conducted by Sondheim’s long time collaborator, Paul Gemignani.

As one would expect with a tribute, especially someone of Stephen Sondheim’s stature and importance, the show is filled with performances by some of Broadway’s biggest stars, including Laura Benanti, Matt Cavenaugh, Michael Cervers, Victoria Clark, Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, Audra McDonald, Joanna Gleason and Nathan Gunn. The show features 24 musical performances that graced such Sondheim works as West Side Story, Follies, Sweeney Todd, Hot Spot, Into The Woods, Merrily We Role Along, Sunday In The Park With George, the film Reds, Saturday Night, Company and A Little Night Music. The New York Philharmonic as well as each and every performer are in top form. The show is one performance after another with little in the way of speeches and the 1 hour and 55 minute show just flies by.

Accolades are not really necessary. The music speaks for itself. If you are fan of Broadway, this is a must have release. If you are not or not that familiar with the works of Stephen Sondheim, but love music, you really owe it to yourself to check out this release. I can give it my highest of recommendations.

Video 

Simply put, the video presentation on this release is super and features some of the best HD video footage of a live performance I have ever seen. The picture is essentially flawless. It is crystal clear with excellent level of detail. Tight and distant shows are all razor sharp. The only visible video noise is present in fleeting shots of Stephen Sondheim in the audience, which is to be expected given that they are shooting video into a darkened space. The video features some of the most natural looking skin tones that I have seen on video with deep and inky blacks. There is not even a hint of black crush. Just take a look at the detail in the men’s tuxes. The video presentation on this release should be at the top of anyone’s list and it’s of reference quality. It really doesn’t get any better than this.

Audio 

As good as the video is, the audio may even be better. If I had only one word to describe the audio, it would be sublime. The New York Philharmonic sounds superb, with silky smooth strings and deep and tight bass. The level of depth in the sound field is astonishing. The vocal tracks are captured with a stunning sense of realism. The surround speakers are engaged throughout the performance, providing an incredible sense of the acoustical environment in Avery Fisher Hall. The sound provided is truly that of a live orchestra in a very real space. If you are as passionate about music and recorded sound as I am, this release is a must have.

Special Features 

There are no extras provided with this release, Zip, none, nada. The performances are so good, it doesn’t really matter.

Final Thoughts 

To say that I was impressed with this release would be an understatement. The performances, the video and the audio are all fantastic. I give this release my very highest of recommendations.

I am now going through a similar battle with one of my teenage sons who is heavily into the music of today, particularly Lady Gaga, who I just don’t get. While different generations may have their own musical tastes, just about everyone loves the music of Motown. My father was a musician and had his own band. Whenever I would get out to see them play (and carry around the instruments and amps up flights of stairs), everyone always got up and danced to Motown, young, old and middle aged. Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Little Stevie Wonder and The Jackson 5. How could anyone not love this music? When I saw that the folks at Eagle Rock were releasing a recent live performance of Phil Collins featuring Motown classics, I asked for a copy. Given Phil Collins’ prior success covering some of these tunes, I knew we would be in for a great night of music. I was not disappointed.

Film 

Phil Collins: Going Back Live at Roseland Ballroom, NYC is sort of a companion to a studio album of much of the same material covered here released in September. Phil is backed by a stellar 18 piece band including bassist Bob Babbitt and guitarists Eddie Willis and Ray Monette of Motown’s original backing band, The Funk Brothers. Also backing Phil are two members of Genesis’ live band, drummer Chester Thompson and guitarist Darryl Stuermer, as well as a killer horn section and a great group of background singers. The entire band is in fine form and turns in one incredible performance. While not exactly a great vocalist, Phil Collins more than holds his own with each of the tunes.

It is hard not to want to get up and dance when you hear most of these tunes. If you foot ain’t a tappin’, to quote an old tune form the 40′s “Jack, you dead!” All in all, 26 tunes are covered in order of appearance: the intro Signed, Sealed, Delivered, Ain’t Too Proud to Beg, Girl (Why You Wanna To Make Me Blue), Dancing In The Street, (Love Is LIke A) Heatwave, Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone, Never Dreamed You’d leave In Summer, Jimmy Mack, You’ve Been Cheating, Do I Love You, Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever, Going To A Go-Go, Blame It On The Sun, Ain’t That Peculiar, Too Many Fish In The Sea, You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me, Something About You, The Tears Of A Clown, Nowhere To Run, In My Lonely Room, Take Me In Your Arms, Rock Me A Little While, Going Back, Talking About My Baby, You Can’t Hurry Love and My Girl. If you are a fan of Motown, or just a Phil Collins fan, you will love this release. It is very highly recommended for music lovers of all ages.

Video 

Recorded with HD cameras, the video on this release is for the most part very good. As one would have guessed for a live concert recorded in a rather small hall, the video presentation features bright and bold colors with particular emphasis on bright red curtains behind the stage and the band and singers dressed in clothing of varying shades of purple. The stage is well lit, although a large part of the audience is still visible throughout the show. Blacks are deep and stable throughout the concert. The images for the most part are clear and sharp with excellent levels of detail. I say for the most part, because some of the distance shots are a bit soft and lacking in detail. As one would expect, the tighter the shots, the better the clarity and detail.

The only real quibble I would have with the video is a bit of video noise in the darker portions of the image. Whether you will even notice this depends on the size of your screen and how far away you sit from your screen. It was noticeable on my 60″ screen from my normal viewing distance. Other than the issue with the video noise, this is a fine looking release and fully worthy of a 4 star rating.

Audio 

Simply put, I Love the audio on this release. It is superb. Three audio options are presented, LPCM Stereo and two lossless tracks, DTS HD Master Audio and Dolby True HD. I did most of my listening with the DTS HD Master Audio track engaged. I compared all three and the two best were the lossless multichannel tracks, although the stereo track is no slouch. Having two lossless tracks available, you can compare one versus the other. The main difference between the two is the DTS track sounding much louder. Once the levels are matched, they pretty much sound the same, although I feel that the DTS track had a tiny bit more air in the sound, giving a tad better sense of space than the Dolby True HD track. However, they were close, very close.

The sound, whatever option you chose, features incredible fidelity. Listen to the growl of the baritone sax and the kick of the bass drum. All three of the guitarists are audio at all times. All of the instruments are spread out before you in the sound field. Nothing gets lost in the sound mix. The surrounds are used aggressively through the entire concert, placing you at the venue. It is rare that a concert video captures the live sound of a concert so realistically but that is the case here. I found myself transported to the Roseland Ballroom in New York, just like I was experiencing the concert in person. It is that good and that captivating and a joy to experience even at rather high volume levels. Did I say that I loved this audio? Enough said.

Special Features 

Concert videos are usually not long on extras and this release is no exception. There are two extras presented, a rather brief interview with Phil Collins about the studio CD release of the music featured as well as footage of the rehearsal for the Roseland ballroom show that occurred in Gland, Switzerland. The rehearsal footage is narrated by Phil Collins, where he talks about the musicians, the selection of songs, the arrangements and the keys selected.

Final Thoughts

If you are a fan of Motown or just Phil Collins, you will love this release. Check it out. Very highly recommended.

Concert 

I have seen a few Michael McDonald TV and video performances and this release is by far the best. Filmed in Chicago for the PBS Soundstage series, the concert features Mr. McDonald backed by a bad consisting of the usual drums bass and guitar as well as a horn section, backup vocals, keyboards and on a few tracks, a full sting section or a string ensemble.

The concert features a total of 18 songs including a few Christmas favorites and some from his solo career as well as The Doobie Brothers, all delivered with plenty of energy and top notch musicianship. The tracks include It Keeps You Runnin’, I Keep Forgettin’, Sweet Freedom, Every Time Christmas Comes Around, On This Night, This Christmas, Come, O Come Emanuel, Wexford Carol, Christmas On The Bayou, I’ll Be Home For Christmas, That’s What Christmas Means To Me, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, Peace, White Christmas/Winter Wonderland, Minute By Minute, What a Fool Believes and Taken It To The Streets. Also included as the lone extra is Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah.

Those of you that are familiar with Michael McDonald’s music will know the hits and they are delivered beautifully with that soulful and unique voice he is so famous for. While I would have preferred a few more of the hits, three of the Christmas songs really stood out for me, a rocking White Christmas/Winter Wonderland, a very soulful Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas with Michel McDonald on guitar and accompanied by an upright bass and string ensemble and very original New Orleans flavored I’ll Be Home For Christmas with Michael McDonald on banjo, which for me, was the highlight of the set.

If you are looking for Michael McDonald at his soulful best with a little Christmas cheer thrown in, this is the release for you. Recommended.

Video 

I found the video here to be a bit of a mixed bag.On the positive side, the closeups, especially of Michael McDonald look great, with a high level of facial detail and overall clarity. However, the rest of the presentation lacks the same level of detail and clarity, especially the more distant shots which look much softer and for want of a better word, grainier. Other than the issue of overall clarity, the other issue I have with the look of the video is the very mediocre blacks. This may have been the result of the show’s lighting but the blacks just don’t stand out looking a bit washed out which robs the image of the contrast necessary to provide that pop and depth that are the hallmarks of the best looking high def video presentations.

Audio 

While I had some minor quibbles with the video, I have no issues at all with the audio which sounds fantastic. This is one disc that should be cranked up as the audio presentation really shines at more realistic sound levels. At low levels, the sound isn’t as scintillating but cranked up a bit, comes alive. Overall dynamics are excellent with deep tight and rock solid bass. The drums in particular are beautifully miked with some real snap crackle and pop, especially the bass drum. Vocals are well recorded and always rock solid in the middle of the sound mix as long as Mr. McDonald doesn’t move his face away from the mike which he does quite often as he moves with the music, resulting in a dropping out of the vocals.

The sound features excellent fidelity, openness and transparency and an excellent sense of depth. Placement of the various instruments and vocalists in the sound field are pin point and always match the images on screen. The sound has that live, you are in the venue sound, that is so often lacking at home, even on Blu-ray. The surrounds are used mostly for hall ambiance although the music does bleed a bit into the surrounds, but never in an obtrusive way.

All in all, this is how concerts should be presented in the home environment. I wish they were all this good. While I did most of my listening in DTS HD Master Audio, there are two other audio options presented, LCPM stere and Dolby Digital Of these two, the Dolby Digital track, multichannel though it may be is the weakest of the two. The LCPM stereo track is very good but the whole sound field collapses in comparison to the DTS HD Master Audio track, which is really the only way to experience this release.

Special Features 

There is only one extra presented here and that is a stirring rendition of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. Why this couldn’t have been added into the concert itself is beyond me. The track is presented in HD and DTS HD Master Audio.

Final Thoughts 

If you are a fan of Michael McDonald, you will no doubt love this release. While I would have preferred a few more of the hits and a bit less of the Christmas stuff, it is after all, a Christmas concert. The audio of this release is so good that it is worth a look on that basis alone. Recommended.

Concert 

Frankly, on the four nights that the concert featured in this release were recorded, yes they were. The band here is in top form, showing a tightness and discipline that the band all too infrequently showed in their live performances, which were at times sloppy to say the least. If you want to get a glimpse of the band at their best, this is the release for you. The band features Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, Mick Taylor and Charlie Watts together with JIm Price on horns, Bobby Keys on sax and Nicky Hopkins on piano.

This release features a total of 15 tracks where were pieced together from four concerts held in Texas over four nights in 1972. No effort was made to coordinate the footage as the band’s clothing changes from song to song, depending on what night a given track was pulled from. The tracks include the following: Brown Sugar, Bitch, Gimme Shelter, Dead FLowers, Happy, Tumbling Dice, Love in Vain, Sweet Virginia, You Can’t Always Get What You Want, All Down the Line, Midnight Rambler, Bye, Bye Johnny, Rip This Joint, Jumpin’ Jack Flash and Street Fighting Man.

The footage in this release was originally released to theaters in 1974 and has not seen the light of day until this release. The film stock clearly deteriorated sitting in the can all these years and it really shows as noted further along in this review despite restoration efforts. However, despite all its flaws visually, it does provide an interesting glimpse into one of the most acclaimed bands in the history of rock and is well worth adding to the collection of any serious Stones fan. Rated as for fans only due to the poor video quality.

Video 

To say that I was disappointed with the video quality on this release. To say that the film deteriorated significantly over the years since its initial release in 1974 would be an understatement. While the film underwent an extensive restoration for this release, you can only do so much. The extent of the deterioration is clearly visible at the outer edges of the frame which are marred by frequent discoloration. The concert was shot without the aid of any special lighting, just using the existing lighting in the venue. As a result, the film is very dark and gloomy looking. No detail is visible in the shadows so that when a band member walks out of the lighting, they disappear completely.

In addition to the overall darkness noted above, the image can also be described as soft, muddy, hazy, grainy, murky, soft and soft. Did I say soft enough? Quite frankly, the recorded image here is hardly high def at all and looks almost of VHS quality. There is virtually no detail visible in any of the shots with even the close ups showing very little facial detail. IT would have been great to have seen this film new and in pristine quality. However, due to the ravages of age, this is the best the film will likely ever look and that is a shame as the actual concert itself is a real keeper.

Audio 

Thankfully, the sound elements on the film were not as damaged as the visual elements and the sound is all in all, not bad for the time period. The film was recorded in stereo and mixed into 5.1 for this release. In addition to a LCPM stereo track, the audio is also presented in DTS HD Master Audio 51 and Dolby Digital 5.1. I did all of my listening using the DTS HD Master Audio track as it was the best of the bunch, having a degree of dynamics and tonal quality missing from the Dolby Digital track and a sense of spaciousness and hall ambiance missing from the stereo track. The dynamics here is just average with bass being a bit underwhelming. The vocal track is also a bit buried in the sound field. However, often times Mick Jagger is noted for mumbling the lyrics so one has to take that into consideration when judging how well the 5.1 mix was done.

The main issue I had with the audio was that sounded congested, lacking much in the way of transparency or openness. The instruments are too bunched together in the sound field in front of you, making it difficult to follow the individual guitar lines. The sound lakes much in the way of depth either front to back or side to side. In order to really hear what the band is doing, you really have to crank up the volume, which may be the whole point of a live Stones experience anyway. Given the age of the recording and the sate of the origin film and sound elements, I can’t say that I was all that disappointed in the audio, even with the rather meager score.

Special Features 

The extras include three tunes shot during rehearsal for the tour filmed in Montreux plus two interviews with Mick Jagger, one from a 1972 appearance on the British TV show The Old Gray Whistle that appeared on BBC2 as well as a new interview prepared for this release in high definition. The two must sees here are the interviews, just to see the changes that nearly 30 years have brought to Mick Jagger. The release is not BD-Live enabled and does not include a digital copy.

Final Thoughts 

While this release contains rather poor visuals and a mediocre at best audio presentation, the concert performance itself is of top notch quality, offering a glimpse of the Stones at their best in a live concert venue. As such, it is a must have for any serious Stones fan, notwithstanding the technical issues. Rated for fans only.

Film

I always associated BBC programming with quality; with their nature documentaries that have some of the most impressive cinematography in any genre and some of their original programming to be hilarious or intriguing. Their production of Hamlet is definitely up to par.

Originally David Tennant, of Doctor Who fame, and Patrick “Captain Piccard” Stewart starred in recent rendition of the stage play, which was praised by critics and Patrick Stewart won a Olivier award, which is Britain`s highest stage honour. Thus BBC decided to pick it up and make a medium budget film adaptation. The film is a modern telling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet that is shot on location, rather than on stages and it definitely adds to the production value, adding an authentic quality to the film.

In comparison to the other screen adaptations of Hamlet, this version pales slightly in comparison to some of the other screen adaptations, but this one does get by with Patrick Stewart’s performance and it’s outside of the box approach. Hamlet was always a favourite Shakespeare play and I do enjoy when it’s done different, this modern retelling brings some middle ground between Gibson’s portrayal and Hawke’s portrayal.

When dealing with a Hamlet adaptation, a good leading man is required, I found that David Tennant was very passionate in his role, but at times it felt like he was overacting. There were times when I was left thinking about previous adaptations and thinking to myself, “I should be watch that instead of this”, however those thoughts were few and far between.

Hamlet has been done hundreds of times in different mediums and while this version may not be the best, it definitely has merit. It’s contemplative and bleak, which suits the story and while bringing Hamlet into a more modern time, we’re given an interesting take on the classic play.

Video

Hamlet’s video is displayed in 1.78:1 aspect ratio using the MPEG-4 AVC codec, but unfortunately we have yet another BBC Blu-ray release with 1080i resolution… Due the fact that most of the recent BBC Blu-rays with this resolution that have been released are all films and documentaries that were meant for television, thus 1080i is a reasonable alternative.

However, when you hear that the resolution is 1080i, that may put you off of the Blu-ray, but BBC has always delivered great looking blu-rays even with the limitations of the resolution. This film was actually shot on the RED one camera which to those who are familiar with it know that we’re dealing with one of the best cameras around.

It’s a very clean print and transfer, with little to no grain and absolutely no artefacting at all. There’s some interlacing lines that pop up once in a while, but nothing that takes away from the video quality looking anything but flawless.

Audio

Hamlet’s audio comes at us using the PCM 2.0 codec, which is a real bummer. Like I mentioned in the video section, the recent BBC releases are of movies and documentaries that were meant to be on TV and so quality standards are lower, thus we get PCM 2.0 codecs being used. However, unlike other companies that go back and remaster the films using higher resolution and remix their audio to include surrounds, we’re given the inferior quality.

Clearly the mix is front heavy, I had my receiver set to emulate surround using the 2.0 mix, so having the faux surround feel helped slightly, but overall the audio is very plain. Being dialogue heavy the centre channel works the hardest trying to separate all the elements, and the result is underwhelming.

It’s definitely disappointing to see a stereo mix on this film, for it had potential, especially with all the big rooms and set-pieces that the actors perform in. Surrounds could’ve been used to add atmospheric qualities, but instead we’re left with a fairly flat mix, not to mention muffled dialogue.

Special Features

The special features of Hamlet include a audio commentary by the director, producer and director of photography and a behind-the-scenes featurette. I found the commentary covers similar ground as the behind-the-scenes feature of the making of the movie. The featurette includes great interviews with the director, cast, art department, set designers, etc; I actually found that it was one of the more insightful featurettes I’ve seen. It covered recreating this new vision of the story and giving its own unique character; definitely a worthwhile watch.

Final Thoughts

If you’re a Shakespeare guy then this right up your alley, although it may not be the best representation of the source material, how many times can you watch the Kenneth Branagh version? If you’re a student who wants to try and get a leg up on the material, this may be a good way to do so, this is a fresh take on the play and it may help your understanding. I feel comfortable saying this a solid rental or a purchase to Shakespeare fans.

Of course Lionsgate wouldn’t think twice about making the artwork for the re-release closer to what tweens would look for in a vampire movie, however once they rent it expecting something similar to the Twilight saga and they get this dark, western, biker vampire film… well then I think the words “False advertising” would come up. Here’s why…

Film

Originally planned to be a western movie, Kathryn Bigelow needed to spice up the idea to make it more marketable. Originally, Bigelow wanted to take a different route and revitalize the western genre, meaning Near Dark was in a position to redefine too genres; the vampire film and the western. With its grungy and dark subject matter, cartoony and graphic violence and a hell of a cast, it really did stand out amongst vampire films.

After revisiting the film, I was reminded that my current tastes are not the same from ten years ago, but this film is just quirky enough to stay interesting. I may not run out and buy the movie, but this would be a solid rental.

I’m a fan of Kathryn Bigelow, she’s made some great action films over her career including; Point Break, Strange Days and the most recently, The Hurt Locker. I remember watching Near Dark and thinking it was this great clash between being scary and action-packed… it was one of those films you wanted to hide your eyes from, but at the same time, you wanted to see what was going to happen next.

With great performances from an interested slew of actors such as Lance Henriksen, one of my favourite B-horror movie actors, the film doesn’t feel campy or any less as exciting. There’s one performance that I always loved and it was Bill Paxton’s portrayal as a hot-headed, fast-talking lunatic that always had great lines and funny antics… It was the one performance I remembered from all those years ago and it’s still as hilarious now.

The film also had Bigelow behind the camera, which doesn’t hurt when the action starts, for as my aforementioned statement is proved… Kathryn Bigelow makes a great action film.

Video

Brought to us in 1.85:1 aspect ratio and using the 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 codec, Near Dark has all the specs to please our eyes. However throughout the opening, I found the video overall was quite dark. I could still see what was going on and perhaps I’m being a bit nit-picky, but at times it was hard to keep up. The quality gets better as it goes on, but the overall brightness of the film (or lack thereof) during the nighttime shots was really off-putting.

The video quality, albeit dark, balances well between being both crisp and smooth (that sounds like contrasting ideas, but hear me out). The details were both clear and sharp, yet it wasn’t overdone… the great Gaussian-esque blur created by the lens’s depth of field maintained that great smoothness… The movie remains sharp, but maintains that diffused softness that really adds to the romantic subplot of the movie… I don’t really notice the soft focus as much when vampires are being shot at and running amok.

Audio

The audio for Near Dark comes at us in English 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio or 2.0 PCM Audio, there’s also English and Spanish subtitles. Although I only speak English, I’m always disappointed when there’s limited language in regards to audio tracks and especially subtitles.

Overall the foley and dialogue come through in spades like most of Lionsgate’s transfers and it’s always great to hear some Tangerine Dream score blasting at us. (When is ‘Legend’ coming out on Blu-ray?!)

Special Features

As far as special features goes, Near Dark almost covers the bases for the basic line-up. We have an audio commentary by Kathryn Bigelow, “Living in Darkness” a making-of documentary, a deleted scene (with optional commentary by Bigelow) and some theatrical trailers.

The theatrical trailers for the film are very dated, one of which is more like a music video you’d see on YouTube that some had made using a song and clips from the movie. I spent most the time laughing.

The commentary and documentary are both very insightful. I feel I use that term a lot, but in regards to the commentary, I use it to determine whether or not it’s worth the time, especially if the movie itself doesn’t weigh in favor of a re-watch vote. This movie happens to be quirky enough to make the second viewing pleasant, and the commentary is full of behind -the-scenes information (some of it repeating the documentary) and some interesting back-story on the movie’s production.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for a movie to tide you over until Twilight 3 comes out, I’d suggest staying away from this film. If you’re looking for a silly action film that can be a great experience if you don’t take it too seriously? Definitely rent it!

Concert

Montreux is more than just jazz as the festival has hosted many pop, rock and blues performers over the years. One night in 2004, Carlos Santana was given the opportunity to present as well as play with three of his favorite blues artists, Bobby Parker, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown and Buddy Guy.

The blues presented here runs the gamut from raw early blues to Chicago blues to shuffle beat blue such as one of may all time blues numbers “Further On Up the Road.” If this tune doesn’t make you want to get up and dance, you don’t have a pulse. All three featured performers are presented in three separate sets, starting with Bobby Parker and ending with Buddy Guy. All three sets are excellent although I must say that I enjoyed the Buddy Guy set the best. Carlos Santana comes out to jam with the bands near the end of their sets as does Buddy GUy on Clarence Brown’s set and Bobby Parker on Buddy’s Guy’s set . All three sets are packed with at least 10 numbers, with the song lists as follows:

Bobby Parker: Straight Up No Chaser, Break it Up, Breaking Up Somebody’s Home, Nothing But The Blues, So Glad I Found You, I Ain’t Superstitious, It’s Unfair, Going Down Slow, and three featuring Carlos Santana, Chill Out, Mellow Down Easy and Watch Your Step.

Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown: Bits And Pieces, Strange Things Happen, I’m Beginning To See The Light, Sunrise Cajun Style, Honey Boy, Further On Up The Road, I’ve Got My Mojo Working (with Buddy Guy and Carlos Santana), Drifter (with Carlos Santana), Grape Jelly (with Carlos Santana) and Okie Dokie Stomp (with Carlos Santana and Niles Rodgers).

Buddy Guy: Good Morning Little Schoolgirl, Louise McGhee, Gone Got Old, Hoochie Choocie Man, Fever, Drowning On Dry Land, Stormy Monday (with Carlos Santana), Jam Session I with Carlos Santana and Bobby Parker, So Many Roads So Many Trains (with Carlos Santana and Bobby Parker) and Jam Session II with Carlos Santana, Nile Rodgers and Bobby Parker.

If you are a fan of the blues, you will love this release. Recommended.

Video

It is often said that the best HD is like looking out of a window at a live event. The video on this release fits this description perfectly. This is a great looking release, with exceptional clarity and detail and without even a hint of video noise. Colors are rich and bright and very natural. Blacks are deep and solid. Detail is exceptional, with every skin pore, skin blemish visible as well as each scratch, dent and smudge on the various musical instruments. Clarity is excellent, with the front of your screen transformed into a highly polished piece of glass and the only thing separating you from the concert venue. Excellent stuff!

Audio

With the one exception noted below, this is an exceptional audio presentation. What struck me most about the audio here is the sound design and in particular, the use of the surrounds. The surrounds are used only for room acoustics and the audience, rather than for instrument placement. All the music comes from the front three speakers with the surrounds filling your room with crowd noise as well as room reflections and reverb. In the opinion of this writer, this is how live concerts should be presented in the multichannel format as it more accurately recreates the live concert experience. I don’t know about you, but when I attend a concert, the musicians are on the stage, not behind you and as such, should be presented this way at home.

The other thing that struck me immediately about this release is the incredible levels of transparency and imaging. All of the instruments are placed perfectly before you, in the identical positions as they appear on screen. Depth of the soundstage is excellent as well. Vocal reproduction is tremendous. Just listen to the opening numbers on Buddy Guy’s set with just him on acoustic guitar and vocals. Both his voice as well as the guitar sound as if they are in the room with you.

The only real issue I had with the sound is in the level of bass response which is a bit lower than I would have liked. As a result, the deep throbbing bass that is the hallmark of a live blues concert in missing, along with the roar of the Hammond B-3 organ, which sounds a bit more like a whimper than a roar. With a bit more bass, this would have been a 5 star audio presentation for sure. As it is, 4.5 stars will have to do. I only listened to the full concert using the multichannel audio option. A 2 channel mix is provided as well whoich has the same sonic attributes as the 5.1 audio mix. Both are excellent.

Special Features

Zero extras equals zero stars. Pretty simple. The disc is packed with so much music, 238 minutes to be exact, that I can’t say that I was longing for any extras.

Final Thoughts

If you are a fan of the blues, you will love this release. The fact that the video is outstanding is an added bonus. Recommended for fans only.

Concert

As one would have expected, the music at this concert spans the entire Quincy Jones musical catalog, from jazz to pop to R&B and the blues. The music is played by a stellar band consisting of what has been described as the Montreux House band, consisting of Greg Phillinganes and David Delhomme on keyboards, Paul Jackson, Jr. on guitar, Nathan East on bass, John Robinson on drums and percussionist Paulinho da Costa. In addition, the band is backed by an incredible horn section, the Swiss Army Big band.

This set, consisting of a total of 26 tracks, is graced by numerous solo performers including the likes of Herbie Hancock, Patti Austin, Stevie Woods, James Moody, Freda Payne, Joe Sample, Mick Hucknall, Ledisi, Al Jarreau, Larry Williams, Petula Clark and Toots Thielemans, just to name a few. The set consists of the following songs in order of their appearance on the disc with the featured soloists in parens: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (Herbie Hancock, Patti Austin and Stevie Woods), Let the Good Times Roll (Rahsaan Patterson and Patti Austin), Makin’ Whoopee (Patti Austin), Moody’s Song ( James Moody and Patti Austin), The Television Song (James Moody and John Robinson), Honeysuckle Rose (Joe Sample and Freda Payne), Shiny Stockings (Joe Sample and Freda Payne), I’m Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town/In the Heart of the Night (Mick Hucknall), If I Ever Lose This Heaven (Ledisi), Midnight Sun (Al Jarreau and Larry Williams), One Mint Julip (Petula Clark), Goin’ To Chicago Blues (Petula Clark and Paolo Nutini), My Ship/Summertime (Franco Ambrosetti), Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (Nana Mouskouri and James Morrison), Almost Like Being in Love (Nana Mouskouri and James Morrison), Miss Celie’s Blues (Sister) (Chaka Khan, Patti Austin and Greg Phillinganes), What’s Goin’ On (Ledisi, James Morrison, Rahsaan Patterson, Tobias Preisig, Patrice Rushen and Toots Thielemans, Eyes of Love (Toots Thielemans), Walking in Space (Chala Khan and Lee Ritenour), Strawberry Letter 23 (Paolo Nutini and Lee Ritenour), How Do You Keep The Music Playing (Patti Austin), The Dude (Al Jarreau), Billie Jean (Naturally 7), Wall of Sound (Naturally 7), Mama Aifambeni (Angelique Kidjo), State of Independence (Angeliique Kidjo and Larry Williams), Everything Must Change (Curtis Stigers), Killer Joe (Herbie Hancock), Ai No Corrida (Patti Austin, Gabi Gioldberg, Dorothea Lorene, Stevie Woods, Kent Stetler & BIlly Cobham) and Stuff Like That with what seemed to be a cast of thousands.

There is a ton of great music here and some thrilling performances. The arrangements are spectacular even if the singing doesn’t always do justice to the music. The highlights for me are the Montreux House Band and the Swiss Army Big Band which are spectacular. Other highlights are any songs sung by Patti Austin who is heads and heels above any other singer on the set and by a wide margin. This woman clearly knows how to sing. While I loved all the arrangements, my favorites include What’s Goin’ On (featuring some excellent keyboard work by Patrice Rushen), Makin’ Whoopee, The Dude and Ai No Corrida along with a moving solo by Toots Thielemans on Eyes of Love.

While there is some really great performances, there are several low lights, including the singing of Petula Clark and Freda Payne (Freda, you just can’t scat sing, why bother even trying), who seem both to be over the hill, as well as Nana Mouskouri, who just can’t sing this type of material. I also didn’t care for Paolo Nutini who was also nearly impossible to understand mumbling though each song and simply had no feel for the material. I really enjoyed this concert despite the several low lights noted above. If you are a fan of Quincy Jones and great music from many musical genres, I am sure you will feel likewise.

Video

Quite simply, there is nothing to quibble with about the video presentation on this release. In fact, it is the finest looking concert video I have yet seen on Blu-ray. Clarity, image detail, color reproduction, color saturation and black levels are all excellent. The resulting image has incredible depth and three dimensionality. I was not able to detect any video noise, even in the darker sections of the video, such as shots of the audience. Detail is simply amazing, from the skin textures to the texture of the clothing (take a look at all the fine detail in James Moody’s black shirt as well as the engravings on his sax). In addition to the look of the video, the overall stage production was outstanding, with excellent lighting and staging which really contributed to the overall quality of the image. Clearly, great care went into the production of this concert. I wish all concert videos looked this good. Simply outstanding!

Audio

As good as the video was, the audio was even better. While the release contains an excellent sounding stereo track, the real star here is the DTS HD Master Audio track which is simply stunning. The sound of the full orchestra and horn section is simply amazing, which each instrument rendered beautifully within the sound stage and giving you a real sense of the breath and power of a big band from yesterday. There is a lot going on sonically in each track and the transparency and imaging are top notch, rendering a sound of excellent depth and three dimensionality with pinpoint placement of the various instruments within the soundstage. The sound of the full band simply fills your room with incredible audio reproduction, with the surrounds used aggressively throughout, providing an totally immersive sound experience and capturing the acoustics of the venue beautifully. Dynamics and bass response were excellent as well, as was the vocal track which was placed right out in front of the music. While I have heard a lot of great sounding concert videos on Blu-ray recently, this is the best sounding so far, a real feast for the ears. Well done.

Special Features

There is only one extra included with this release and it is entitled Thank Q. Thank Q takes you to Montreux of the date of the recording, showing the beautiful scenery of Montreux, Switzerland as well as a party for Quincy at Claude Nobbs Chalet, in the mountains high above Montreux. The video shows the various guests present at the party and contains statements by several of the guests (musicians and non musicians alike), voicing appreciation for Quincy Jones and his career accomplishments. The rest of Thank Q shows Quincy thanking many of the quests on stage at the conclusion of the concert. Thank Q is presented in high definition.

Final Thoughts

If you are a fan of Quincy Jones and are looking for a concert video with stunning audio and video reproduction, Quincy Jones: The 75th Birthday Celebration Live at Montreux is the release for you. Highly recommended.