Thoughts on the Last Waltz...
Supposedly, they had to edit out a big blob of white powdery stuff off of
Neil's nose!
The other thing that sucks about it is that Dylan and his manager (probably mostly the manager) didn't want his segment to be filmed, and it was confusing up until the last minute as to which songs they could film and which ones they couldn't, so you don't see him being introduced. He just shows up all of a sudden. Apparently, the guys on the film crew said "you can kill us if you have to, but we're recording this" and Dylan's handlers were bodily removed to prevent them from messing things up any further. Great DVD, no doubt. It really captured a moment. The CD set is excellent as well.
Here are some other good ones, along with my overall rating which includes the performance as well as the video/production quality. Depending on your tastes, there should be something that catches your eye in here:
Run out and get them if you have an HT of any kind:
The Last Waltz - 10. Outstanding in every way. My kind of music too, and that helps considerably. The behind the scenes stuff was nice and not at all overdone.
Bela Fleck & the Flecktones - Live at the Quick - 10. Really cool, really, really, cool.
Fourplay - An Evening at Fourplay, Vol 1 & 2 - 10. Well, this is jazz, so I'm going out on a limb to rate it a 10. It might not be for everyone, but both the music quality and the video quality/production are wonderful. They do some nice things with fading in and out. This video is to die for if you're in the mood to chill.
The Doors (movie) - 10. Ok, so it's not a concert video, and Oliver Stone was criticized for synthesizing too much (i.e., making stuff up by combining characters... several of Jim's "girlfriends" were rolled into one character, for instance). But you want to talk about MUSIC!!! My goodness, this is one wonderful film from a musiccal perspective. It really gets me every time, and my system loves it! The last time I watched it was with the Pioneer SE-DIR800C 5.1 surround sound headphones in the middle of the night, and it put me in trance. Must have for even the most casual Doors fans!
Well above average, but not without faults:
Calle 54 - 9. This is latin jazz semi-documentary. I'm not sure exactly what they're talking about because the dialogue in between musical sessions is all in Spanish. They more or less follow the musicians around and then you end up in the next scene rather quickly. So other than the mini story line going on that I couldn't follow, the music is wonderful, and quite diverse!!! Lots of great muscians, from Cachao to Bebo Valdea, to Jerry Gonzolez, and even my man Tito Puente! What talent these guys have. It will make you want to got out and buy CD's from the musicians you like the best on the video.
Buena Vista Social Club - 9. A lot like Calle 54, and it would be hard to pick just one for latin jazz lovers.
Diana Krall - Live at Paris - 9. Nice production, but the performance gets a little flat at times, and there is a lot of "sameness". Still, quite good if you're in a relaxed mood. Not at the same level as the Fourplay video in terms of production, but not bad either and Diana has such a lovely voice and a true kindness with her band and audience. I wish I was in Elvis Costello's shoes, err... bed!!! She's got the complete package, and she can play a wicked piano too!
Fleetwood Mac - The Dance - 9. Later day Mac, with the girls, post Tusk. Pleasant, but not remarkable. They all seemed to be getting along, which surprised me.
Steely Dan - Two Against Nature - 9. Gotta love the 'Dan, and this video does a nice job at showing how Donald Fagen and Walter Becker interact and play off of each other on the creative side. They still get along fabulously after 30+ years of working together! Nothing like success.
Electric Light Orchestra - Zoom - 9. Again, I guess I'm an ELO fan at heart, but a most casual one at that. Watching this video for the first time was an eye opener. I didn't realize that ELO was all about Jeff Lynne. He wrote, sang and produced almost everything ELO ever put out, and this video does a nice job at giving him props without overblowing it. The performance is excellent as well, but not one that you would play over and over unless you're a big fan. Brilliant staging.
Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense - 9. Wierd start, but hey... it's the Talking Heads, what would you expect? Love the music, decent performance all around, but it could have been more creative from a video perspective. Get tired of the same shots and angles over and over... but this is a common problem with full length concert videos.
U2 - Live From Boston - 9. Speaking of getting tired of the same camera angles over and over. That's about my only complaint with this one. Never would I have thought I'd enjoy a U2 concert, but I didn't know much about their music until watching this and am glad that I did. They're actually quite a talented group, and Bono can really get a crowd involved! Not quite at the Springsteen level, but close. It's an awesome video to check out your subwoofer's capabilities, and my Talon Roc passed the test with flying colors!!!
Eagles - Hell Freezes Over - 9. A big surprise here. It took a miracle to get these guys back together, but they really put on a wonderful show, and were actually all in voice! I'll have to watch this one again soon, when my HT gets it's facelift later this summer. I wish they would have let Joe Walsh do more singing, but he didn't really sing the lead on that many Eagles songs, come to think of it.
Blue Man Group - Complex Rock Tour Live - 9. Cool stuff on the technical end, but not as involving as I would have liked it to be musically. I'm not a Blue Man nut (like some people I know), but it was worth getting. It's another one to pull out about once every year or two so I can say, "Oh, that's how they made that goofy sound on the CD..."
Loved it in many ways, but not always spot on:
Pete Townshend - Music From Lifehouse - 8. Pete is, well, Pete. If you like Pete, you'll like this. If you don't, you won't. He does his thing, but doesn't get much real support. I'd have to watch it again to really comment effectively. It's been a while.
Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band - Live in New York City - 8. Not more than an 8 out of 10, and I grew up with Bruce as my #1 favorites muscian. I saw him at Notre Dame in his 'Born to Run' tour back in '76, and was caught by his words, his music, his energy, his sincerity. Years passed, and he's actually just now starting to come into his own again (in my opinion) as a 'serious' artist who (again) has something to say. What can I say about this video? Well, to me, it caught him in the 'in between' stage of his career, and it was rather unconvincing in places. It seemed, at times, as though what he was doing wasn't 'real' in the emotional sense but he was straining ever so hard to make it look as though it was. I didn't see the heart that I saw in South Bend way back when, and at several Bruce concerts that I attended over the years since then. But it could just be me. Others who have watched this video at my place, loved it. I'd go with a 9 for music and 7 for performance, thus 8 overall. Nice sound and decent video quality.
The Concert for New York City - 8. Worth it because of the variety. Frustrating and even boring at times because of the variety. Typical of these types of big events. Make your own decision on this one. When I watch it again, I'll just bounce around to my favorite sceens, so it's nice to have. Nearly 5 hours, so the fatigue factor sets in after a while.
Music for Montserrat - 8. Better, in some ways, than the Concert for New York. I really liked Paul McCartney's songs (Hey Jude and Kansas City were awesome, and YES!!! the man can still sing!!!), as well as Sting's songs and antics. Some Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Phil Collins, Elton John, even one song with Jimmy Buffett and one by Carl Perkins. Overall very well done, and nicely focused on the "cause" at hand which the viewer quickly comes to appreciate.
The Who - Live at Royal Albert Hall - 8. The Who in 2000. Hmmmm, worth it if you're a long time fan and want to see what they could still do, which was considerable, even inspired (looking) at times. Not 100% believeable, much like the Springsteen one. But it's solid.
Ok, we're starting to get into the average stuff:
George Thorogood & the Destroyers - Live in '99 - 7. I'm a marginal fan, have got a couple of his CD's, and generally like his music if I'm in the mood to rock out. But they could have done much better with the production. Not so much the audio quality, or even the video quality, just the overall sense of putting together an interesting side package to bring the viewer into the mind of the man. But then, I guess there really isn't that much to know. He's just a simple guy who feels lucky to have made a living doing what he loves. And it rocks! I've recently listened with my UE10-Pro's using them along with the "brains" of the Pioneer SE-DIR800C system. It was late at night, and this was a great idea because the low sensitivity of the UE's allows for MUCH more volume!!!
Styx -Return to Paradise - 7. Kind of flat in many ways, but I've always liked their music. I'd recommend it only to 'serious' fans, if there are any more of those at this point. It's Ok, but unlike the ELO, Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, and U2 concerts, this one didn't "surprise" me in the good ways I had hoped it would.
Peter Frampton - Live in Detroit - 7. Why is everyone recording in Detroit? I'm pretty sure the Thorogood disc was made there as well. In any case, he is another quasi-washed-up kind of guy who still has a little creativity left in him. I'd watch it again, but not repeatedly. "Frampton Comes Alive!", now there was live albulm if ever there was one! This doesn't come close, but I really didn't expect it to.
John Mayer - Any Given Thursday - 7. I can never decide whether I'm a fan or not. Again, the music kind of left me flat, but the crowd was definitely into it. It you like him, you'll like this. A lot of people would rate it a 9 or 10. I'm just not one of them.
Sarah McLaughlin - Mirrorball - 7. To be honest, I've not been able to get through this one yet. Same problem as John Mayer for me. I'm not sure if I'm really a fan, or even if I think she's cute. Is she? Well, kind of, but kind of not. At least I know that much with John Mayer, defintely not! Nothing 'wrong' with the production, but maybe it's not the kind of music that lends itself to the video format.
Stay away, buyer beware!
Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Rust Never Sleeps - 4. Never in my widest dreams would I even think about rating anything Neil has ever touched as a 4, and the only thing that saves it is the music, which is more like an 8. The video quality and production are a 0 or 1 at best! This is basically a mid-70's performance caught on a video camera, then transferred to the DVD format with no thought at all about what the viewers would get. It is so stamped and dated, it's not even funny! Shame, shame! Such awesome music. Get the Rust Never Sleeps CD instead, which is one of his best ones ever. This is why the video was such a letdown.
Monterey Jazz Festival - 2. It's more of a story about the festival itself, and I guess the musical segments are supposed to move the documentary story line along, but it totally sucks eggs. With this title, I was expecting some kind of 'greatest performances caught on tape for posterity' kind of thing. Wrong. It was a major disappointment, and not really a music video at all, more like a history video, and not even very good at that. I could care less about who the organizers were, and what all of their personal conflicts involved. Yuk!
Hope you all enjoyed this marathon post... those of you who made it through it all, that is!