What music DVD are you currently enjoying

[bigburner]

Steve Miller Band - "Live From Chicago" (2008 )

This is a very classy DVD. It's mainstream enough to keep the women interested and edgy enough to keep the blokes there. Good musicianship and lots of familiar songs.

The PQ is very good. The SQ is EXCELLENT - well the 2-channel LPCM track that I listened to certainly is. It is very carefully mixed and mastered. It will sound sweet on any system.

This DVD is relatively expensive, but worth it. A lot of effort has gone into it. The SQ is reference standard.

Nigel.

[Carl V]

Does anyone have a recommendation for some Jazz, Blues, or Big Band SACD or DVD-A that has some prominent trombone in it? I really love brassy bands or even sax heavy bands.

Not exactly what you asked for but quite good none the less.

Chris Botti live in Boston. It's got everything from Sting to YoYo Ma.

[bigburner]

Think the Eric Clapton/Steve Winwood Madison Square Garden DVD is due out later this month (May 19th?-ish). Looking forward to that since they're appearing here in Az. in June and I have tickets in hand...it'll be a nice preview.

Gump, my copy arrived today. I plan to watch it on Sunday afternoon with a friend who travelled from New Zealand to go to the concert.

Nigel.

[Gump]

Gump, my copy arrived today. I plan to watch it on Sunday afternoon with a friend who travelled from New Zealand to go to the concert.

Nigel.

That's great, Nigel! I look forward to your comments after you watch it.
I decided to wait (impatiently) until June 2nd and get the BluRay version when it is released.

Hope you enjoy it!

[bigburner]

Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood – “Live from Madison Square Garden” (2009)

This DVD captures former Blind Faith bandmates Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood on stage in New York for three nights in February 2008 for their first full concerts together in nearly 40 years.

I know Clapton from numerous CDs and DVDs, in particular the Cream reunion DVD “Royal Albert Hall - London May 2-3-5-6 2005” which is the DVD by which all other music DVDs are measured.

I know Clapton and Winwood together from their performance on the Blind Faith album, the “London Hyde Park 1969” DVD and the more recent “Crossroads Guitar Festival 2007” DVD.

This DVD is therefore up against it for the top prize as the Albert Hall and Crossroads DVDs are so good that they’re very hard acts to follow.

Anyway, onto the review…

The first thing I noticed was that Clapton and Winwood are clearly comfortable in each other’s company. The smiles are genuine. They actually like each other and this concert is important to both of them.

Their interplay on lead guitar solos was excellent. Clapton is the better guitarist but Winwood is pretty close, which is amazing since he’s known for his keyboard skills.

Their interplay on vocals was excellent. Winwood has the superior voice but Clapton has worked really hard on his singing over the years and is now more than competent.

Winwood plays wonderful keyboards. Unfortunately his playing is so good that we barely get to see the other keyboard player in the group – Clapton’s oldest and most faithful servant Chris Stainton – who tinkles the ivories very nicely. I’ve provided a photo of him below because you would barely know him from watching the DVD.

Willie Weeks (bass) and Ian Thomas (drums) lay down a very solid rhythm section. Fortunately they both get more camera time than Chris Stainton.

Their 16 minute version of the Jimi Hendrix song “Voodoo Chile” is simply stunning.

To my surprise Winwood performed a cover of the wonderful Ray Charles song “Georgia On My Mind”.

Clapton played a song that I didn’t know – something he recorded years ago called “Forever Man”. It just reminded me of how little I know.

Their “Dear Mr. Fantasy” was very, very good but it didn’t give me the shock and awe that the same song gave me on the Crossroads DVD.

I do have a little criticism of the production values on this DVD. It was filmed over three nights and every song has bits of all three nights in it. You can tell because although the band members all wore the same clothes each night Clapton had his sleeves down one night, half rolled up another night and fully rolled up on the other night. On every song Eric’s sleeves go up and down as the camera shots change. I found it annoying and a little bit musically dishonest. In contrast the Albert Hall DVD has songs from different nights but they are the complete song from each night. The production values on the Albert Hall DVD are unsurpassed in my humble opinion. Having said that, the PQ, SQ and camerawork are all very good on this DVD. I listened to the stereo LPCM track.

I should make it clear that the sleeves issue is a small criticism of an otherwise excellent DVD. You don’t find quality like this too often. But did I get tingles up my spine? Was I astonished at any time? Sadly no, but I had gone to bed at 3am earlier that day so my spine was probably a bit numb. I’m sure I’ll watch this DVD on other occasions and my spine will still be receptive I promise.

Nigel.

[bigburner]

"I Am Trying to Break Your Heart - A Film About Wilco" (2003)

I watched this DVD earlier today on a cold and gray Sunday afternoon. One of the major themes of the film is Jay Bennett leaving Wilco, or more accurately, being asked to leave by Jeff Tweedy. Jay died in his sleep a couple of weeks ago aged 45.

The other major theme of the film is the band being dumped by their recording company Reprise and subsequently signing up with Nonesuch Records. Reprise made a major blunder doing this as Wilco had just completed their brilliant album "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" which sold very well.

Without speaking ill of the dead Wilco were better off without Jay and much better off without Reprise.

I watched this DVD as the warm-up for the new Wilco DVD "Ashes of American Flags" which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Nigel.

[bigburner]

Joe Satriani - Satriani Live! (2006)

Hmmm, Joe's a pretty sharp guitarist, but it would be nice to see the other musicians shine a bit too. This DVD is just a little one-dimensional for me.

Nigel.

[Blindamood]

My dad showed up the other day with Jeff Beck - Live at Ronnie Scott's on Bluray. I hadn't bought the DVD yet but was very glad to see this. It's DTS Master Audio, at least it says that on the Bluray box.

Since I don't have surround sound, I set my bluyray disc player to down mix to Rt/Lt (right/left) instead of stereo. It sounded much better this way, I thought. Maybe that preserves the high resolution sound? I agree with Nigel's comments on this disc - very nice, excellect sound quality too.

Edit: Okay, upon further review, I need rephrase comments. It's not "very nice" it's Totally Freaking Awesome!
:T

I was just about to report on this one (on blu-ray), but see others have beat me to it! An excellent performance, for sure. Well capture in high-def, and sounds amazing in DTS HD Master Audio.

I do have surround, but there isn't really too much going on in the rear channels, other than a bit of 'ambiance'. This is fine, though, as I'd rather focus on the individual performers. The small, intimate setting in which this was recorded provides a real treat, and crystal clear sound from each instrument.

BTW, the blu-ray version includes additional material over the DVD. There is a "7 Track Rockabilly set with the Big Town Playboys". I haven't gotten to that part yet, so I cannot comment.

(One thing that surprised me was upon turning on my system today (after watching the first half yesterday), is that my Sony BDP-S550 actually remembered where I had left off...I don't remember being able to do this before.)

[Chris D]

Watched this last night. INCREDIBLE! Let me say that again. INCREDIBLE! If you like fine audio, and/or good music, you OWE it to yourself to buy this one. I watched/listened to the whole thing the whole way through, watched the extras, then started it over and played it all over again, straight through.

Simply awesome. 7.1 TruHD. Botti plays with Yo-Yo Ma, Steven Tyler (Aerosmith), the Boston Pops, Sting, Josh Groban, John Mayer, and others, all in a single concert. Amazing music. I had never really heard Botti before, but his sound is stunning. I'm a trumpet player myself, and I don't know if I have ever heard such a pure tone from a trumpet. I have a hard time picking which one is the best sone on the album, but Steven Tyler singing a COMPLETELY out-of-character love ballad to his dad sitting in the audience is quite the heart-string puller. Absolutely :5:, a reference disc, a must-buy for anyone, and will get multiple play in my system.

I'm going shopping for more Chris Botti music, too.

[Johnloudb]

Chris, I'll definitely be getting that. I can highly recommend "Chris Botti - Night Sessions." I have it on SACD which I just posted Here . I'm not sure if that's still available, but the CD version is.

[Gump]

Gump, my copy arrived today. I plan to watch it on Sunday afternoon with a friend who travelled from New Zealand to go to the concert.

Nigel.

Nigel,

I heartily agree with your review of the Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood Live fron Madison Square Garden DVD. I thought it was indeed a very good video. However, I was hoping for something more in the "spectacularly great" realm. Perhaps my expectations were a bit too high.

Right off the bat I had a bit of a bad taste in my mouth when I bought the Blu Ray DVD. I was perplexed when I realized that the audio was only in stereo or regular DTS. I had assumed that it would offer either the DTS-HD Master Audio or Dolby True HD formats which are common with most recent Blu Ray releases. When I had checked the previews for the Blu Ray version it said the sound format was "TBA" (to be announced) which should have raised my suspicions right then. Now, the sound certainly was very good in just DTS, but paying the extra money for the Blu Ray kinda left me feeling that I had been snookered a little bit. In hindsight, I would have just bought the standard version had I known.

I also felt that the "sleeves up, sleeves down, sleeves halfway up/down" all during the same song was distracting too. A couple of times the volume seemed to increase on its own also which I'm sure was related to the apparent "blending" of the three seperate concerts.

I was not totally content with the sound engineering either. To me there are three stars in this show: Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, and Eric Clapton's guitar. On a lot of Clapton's guitar solo's it seemed like the rest of the band was too loud and almost competing with him rather than complementing him. As talented as Steve Winwood is playing the keyboards I found the loudness of the organ to be almost annoying when I was trying to hear Clapton play a solo. A good comparison would be Chris Stainton or Billy Preston (Sessions for Robert J). They are (were in Billy's case) both talented and support Clapton's guitar perfectly. When they played together before and it was their turn to shine, Eric would step back and let them go. Now, I realize that Steve Winwood is "co-starring" in this show and obviously should be equally sharing the spotlight, but I found it a little distracting when the organ sound was drowning out Clapton's guitar. But then, I prefer a good guitar solo to the sound of an organ any day of the week. Just my opinion of course.

Am I glad I got this DVD? Absolutely yes! There are several outstanding songs ( Forever Man, Voodoo Chile, etc.) that are excellent. And it is true that both Clapton and Winwood seem to be sincerely enjoying themselves. The rendition of "Mr. Fantasy" is good, but not AS good as the performance from Crossroads. Winwood is a great singer, but his voice seemed a bit strained in a few of the songs including "Mr. Fantasy". But, both he and Clapton are consummate professionals and their talent speaks for itself. Their performance was topnotch as usual.

So, yes it is a very good DVD, but your right Nigel---no tingles up the spine.

I'll be watching them live and in person this coming Friday at Glendale's Jobing.com arena....I AM anticipating some tingles that night :T .

[bigburner]

Hi Gump,

I have watched the Clapton / Winwood DVD four times now and the little things that annoyed me at first don't worry me now. I have only listened to the stereo PCM track and have not noticed the low level of Eric's guitar or the variations in volume that you mentioned. Perhaps they are peculiar to the DTS track only?

After watching Clapton / Winwood for the third time I put the Crossroads 2007 DVD on and watched the Clapton / Winwood / Trucks / DB2 set. For me there was far more electricity in that set than in the MSG concert. For example, "Dear Mr Fantasy" on the Crossroads DVD made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It happens every time I watch it. It's a very intense concert. MSG is almost laid back in comparison. That won't stop me watching it again though.

Nigel.

[Gump]

Eric Clapton - "Nothing But The Blues"

A masterpiece!

In late November 1994, movie director and blues music fan Martin Scorcese filmed a documentary on guitarist Eric Clapton, who was touring the United States with his “Nothing but the blues” show. Scorcese recorded interviews with the musician on why the blues genre had influenced him so much, as well as two complete shows from the tour at The Fillmore in San Francisco.

The results of Scorcese’s work were aired once on PBS television stations in the United States, but have never been seen since, until this DVD. The video for the DVD is taken from a rare Warner Music promotional video and the audio has been re-mastered from the original master tapes. This film provides a lasting chronicle of one of Clapton’s most critically-acclaimed tours.

My rating – Video 4/10; Audio 7/10; Content 9.5/10. I have never heard Clapton play better (apart from the "Sessions for Robert J" DVD and there may be others but my memory is failing slightly...).

Sadly you can’t buy this one folks, which is a shame because masterpieces are rare.

Nigel.

OK, now THIS is what I'm talking about! Mr. E.C. at his absolute best.

I don't have this DVD but there are clips from it posted on You Tube and even in that format you can sense how special this performance is. Clapton was in top form. I've made no secret that I believe one of EC's best performances is the 1996 Live In Hyde Park concert. He was on fire that night and the guitar solo's on that DVD are some of the best I've ever heard.

As I watched the "Nothing But the Blues" clips on YouTube it struck me that this was recorded during the same time period (1994) as the Hyde Park video. It's obvious that this was generally part of the same tour. It's difficult to tell exactly on the you tube video, but the whole band (bass player, brass section, harmonica player, etc.) seem to be the same as Hyde Park. What a talented group this was and how amazing they were in complementing Clapton's guitar and singing. He must have been very comfortable with this ensemble because he played with amazing confidence and assertiveness. In other concerts I have seen the polite EC kind of step back and take a support role with some of his co-bandmembers and stars. Not in either one of these performances. He's in charge and the star of the show and leaves no doubt. Bluntly, he's in the zone.

Man, I have got to find a copy of this DVD!

[Chris D]

Chris, I'll definitely be getting that. I can highly recommend "Chris Botti - Night Sessions." I have it on SACD which I just posted Here . I'm not sure if that's still available, but the CD version is.

Yeah, based on your recommendation, I had already gone on Amazon to look that up on SACD. unfortunately, it looks like it's out of production, and sellers want something like $120 for it used. Yikes!

[bigburner]

Gump, you have a PM.

Nigel.

[Johnloudb]

Yeah, based on your recommendation, I had already gone on Amazon to look that up on SACD. unfortunately, it looks like it's out of production, and sellers want something like $120 for it used. Yikes!

:E Too bad about that, I kind of suspected it was out of print, since it's Sony which has apparently dumped it's own SACD format. Yet, they still produce SACD players, which is good - just, nothing makes sense in the music industry.

[bigburner]

Doyle Bramhall II – “Live at the Great Wall of China” (2008 )

Doyle Bramhall II’s lineage includes the Arc Angels, Sheryl Crow’s band, Roger Waters’ band (Roger was in Pink Floyd) and latterly Eric Clapton’s band.

Given all that history this DVD should be pretty good but it isn’t. I just don’t think that Doyle is comfortable as a lead vocalist and sole lead guitarist, which is the role that he plays in the three piece band on this DVD. He’s just not strong enough. In contrast on the Eric Clapton “Sessions for Robert J” DVD – where he is Eric’s backup man – he is fantastic. On this DVD he is ordinary.

Why did he choose to record this DVD on a cold night out in the middle of nowhere in China? Heaven knows. To be different perhaps? There appeared to be a few groovers in the audience but they probably didn’t want to groove too much with all those uniformed cops around.

There are quite a few interruptions on the DVD where Eric Clapton and Sheryl Crow say nice things about Doyle and he says nice things about them. God save me from that schmaltz.

There was also a technical problem with the audio on this DVD. Track 3 or 4 (I forget) sounded muddy and bass heavy. It came right but I expect more from a DVD that costs US$18 at Amazon. The DVD only provides one audio track – DD 5.1 – which is quite odd for a modern DVD. The picture quality and camera work are fine though.

The best feature of this DVD was J.J Johnson’s drumming, which was excellent, and the extras which included two songs from the “Sessions for Robert J” DVD.

Another track in the extras – in which Doyle plays the Stevie Ray Vaughan song “Pride and Joy” with Sheryl Crow – has such overdriven guitar that it is unlistenable in my opinion. You can tell by the look on Doyle’s face that he’s unhappy with the sound. Unfortunately he’s too far away from the knobs on his amp to do anything about it. “Gay” as my teenage son would say.

If there is a lesson to be learned from this DVD it is how good the “Sessions for Robert J” DVD is. I had forgotten. If you don’t own it then I recommend that you go and buy it soon.

Nigel.

[1oldguy]

Bigburner I have to agree...A friend lent me the DB DVD.........It was so bad I couldn't watch it all.Dolye seems very rigid when he plays.I like for music to flow smoothly and for me Dole just doesn't cut it,it's like he has rickets or something.

I picked up the new Clapton,Winwood Blue Ray concert.I wish that windwood had just stayed home.Hard to understand him sing,maybe i am getting old.The Camera angles weren't that good.It also felt like the Winwoods vocals were to high in the mix compard to Claptons(Hey I admit I may be a litte/lot Biased towards Clapton).
I was really looking forward to the song,"Forever Man".Well not sure what Eric was thinking but the tempo was like he was on speed which ruined the vibe of that song.
Would I buy it again,A Resounding YES.Though that seems like a contradiction,anything Clapton releases I want because the man is incredible even when things go off the beaten track like it did with this concert.

[Nolan B]

Yeah, based on your recommendation, I had already gone on Amazon to look that up on SACD. unfortunately, it looks like it's out of production, and sellers want something like $120 for it used. Yikes!

Its crazy what some SACDs and DVD As are going for now.

[1oldguy]

I agree...That's why I'm not even going there.

[Chris D]

Yeah, that's why I'm a little more inclined to buy the SACD's and DVD-A's that I want now, before they go out of production.

I think some of mine are pretty valuable now. I haven't checked, though, because I enjoy 'em and am going to keep 'em.

[Nolan B]

Yeah, based on your recommendation, I had already gone on Amazon to look that up on SACD. unfortunately, it looks like it's out of production, and sellers want something like $120 for it used. Yikes!

Quick Chris....while its still there!

Sadly im in canada so I cant order it

$14.99 new

$4.99 used


In Stock!

http://www.fye.com/USED--Night-Sessions-Front-Page_stcVVproductId6740662VVcatId455366VVviewprod.htm

[Chris D]

Cool... but that looks like the redbook CD to me. Is that the SACD?

[Nolan B]

Cool... but that looks like the redbook CD to me. Is that the SACD?

look at the cover..


its says Super Audio CD right across it and has the SACD logo on the top left.

at that price its worth the risk they used the wrong picture.

[Johnloudb]

I took a look at that link to the Chris Botti CD and clicked on the buy new, button. The price changed from $14.00 to $29.00. Either that's an SACD or a very expensive CD.

[Nolan B]

I took a look at that link to the Chris Botti CD and clicked on the buy new, button. The price changed from $14.00 to $29.00. Either that's an SACD or a very expensive CD.

well i said hurry for a reason :P

[Nolan B]

If anyone from here trusts me ill order it and see...problem im from canada so it wont let me. have paypal?

ill transfer the funds (and some) if you can order it for me then forward it to me.

[Chris D]

Huh... I just placed an order, at $14.99 for that disc. Added in some other discs I've had on my wish list to bring it over $50 for 15% off and free shipping. Cross my fingers that the SACD shows up.

[Chris D]

Thanks so much for the tip, fellas! :T

[Johnloudb]

Okay, I'm an idiot!!! Each time I visit that link that website it updates the quantity. So the price keeps going up each time I visit. :thanku:

[Chris D]

Hey, I just checked, and this disc is still coming up at $14.99 for me new, $4.99 used. If anyone wants one, I can help out, but you'd pay shipping and such.

[Johnloudb]

Chris, yep, see my post above. ops:

[Nolan B]

If someone feels kind enough to buy an extra copy then send it up to me I would return the favor by sending a pair of silver .5 meter KingCats (value $185), or double the cost of the disc @14.99 (plus shipping).

[Johnloudb]

If someone feels kind enough to buy an extra copy then send it up to me I would return the favor by sending a pair of silver .5 meter KingCats (value $185), or double the cost of the disc @14.99 (plus shipping).

PM sent.

[Gump]

Hi Gump,

I have watched the Clapton / Winwood DVD four times now and the little things that annoyed me at first don't worry me now. I have only listened to the stereo PCM track and have not noticed the low level of Eric's guitar or the variations in volume that you mentioned. Perhaps they are peculiar to the DTS track only?

After watching Clapton / Winwood for the third time I put the Crossroads 2007 DVD on and watched the Clapton / Winwood / Trucks / DB2 set. For me there was far more electricity in that set than in the MSG concert. For example, "Dear Mr Fantasy" on the Crossroads DVD made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It happens every time I watch it. It's a very intense concert. MSG is almost laid back in comparison. That won't stop me watching it again though.

Nigel.

Went to see Mr. Clapton and Mr. Winwood live in concert lastnight in Glendale. Very close to the best concert I've ever seen/heard. They both brought their A games and played/sang to perfection.

They performed for a solid 2 hours and were phenomenal. A few of the songs were very,very good. Most were absolutely great. Many were spectacular.

If I had known this concert was going to be this outstanding I would have made the appropriate arrangements and flown to Las Vegas today and watched them again at the MGM Grand tonight. They were that good.

Hey Nigel,

You'll be happy to know that Chris Stainton took the spotlight on two different piano solos as well as an electric/synthesizer solo. Oh, and EC's sleeves stayed the same length throughout the concert as well :lol: .

[Johnloudb]

It certainly sounds great ... wish I could have been there.

[bigburner]

Gump, your experience with that concert is consistent with what most reviewers have been saying, namely that they are getting better and better the more concerts they play. I wish I could have been there too.

Nigel.

[bigburner]

Doobie Brothers - "Live at Wolf Trap" (2004)

I bought this DVD for my wife yesterday and we played it for friends last night.

The Doobie Brothers are a bit like the Eagles - not too extreme and therefore likely to appeal to a wide range of people. This is an important aspect to me when some of my guests are less prepared than I am to walk on the wild side musically speaking.

This DVD exceeded my expectations. I have been out of touch with the Doobies' music since the late 1970s when I listened to them a lot. I think that the 2004 version of the band was as good as I ever remembered them. They obviously feel comfortable in their skins are are prepared to move outside of their greatest hits catalogue, even when some of the audience in the Wolf Trap (and my sitting room too) may have preferred greatest hits.

The standard of their musicianship was very high and their harmonies are as good as anything the Eagles have done. Tom Johnston still has an excellent voice, Pat Simmons (guitar) was as youthful as a man a third of his age, and Jeff McFee played a wide range of instruments with great skill.

They had a brass section for this concert too - which they never had back in the old days - and I thought it enabled them to breathe new life into old songs. The sax player was particularly good.

The PQ and SQ were both very good, and the camera work was OK although I would have preferred less jumping around. Why do the directors of music DVDs do this? It's a mystery to me.

Anyway, this is a good purchase that I would recommend to others.

Nigel.

[Chris D]

Hey, Nolan B, I just tried to reply to your PM, but your box is full.

[ShadowZA]

Diana Krall - "Live in Rio" (2009) Blu-ray

Besides Diana's vocals and amazing piano playing what grabs me are the passionate expressions of enjoyment etched on the faces of the musicians in addition to the interaction between them. I'd have bought this anyway even if it was only released on Std Defn DVD.

The band consists of:

Diana Krall: Vocals & Piano
John Clayton: Acoustic Bass
Jeff Hamilton: Drums
Anthony Wilson: Guitar
Paulinho DaCosta: Percussion




:T

[Chris D]

Ah, for all that were following along, I got my shipment from fye.com today, and the Chris Botti disc they sent is just the CD, not the SACD. Bummer. I'm going to keep it in the shinkwrap for now, and contact FYE in the small hope that they can do something about it.



On another note, I recently also ordered Botti's "When I Fall In Love" on Dual Disc from Amazon, and got it earlier this week. That's some sweet, sweet music right there.

[ShadowZA]

Watched this last night. INCREDIBLE! Let me say that again. INCREDIBLE! If you like fine audio, and/or good music, you OWE it to yourself to buy this one. I watched/listened to the whole thing the whole way through, watched the extras, then started it over and played it all over again, straight through.

Simply awesome. 7.1 TruHD. Botti plays with Yo-Yo Ma, Steven Tyler (Aerosmith), the Boston Pops, Sting, Josh Groban, John Mayer, and others, all in a single concert. Amazing music. I had never really heard Botti before, but his sound is stunning. I'm a trumpet player myself, and I don't know if I have ever heard such a pure tone from a trumpet. I have a hard time picking which one is the best sone on the album, but Steven Tyler singing a COMPLETELY out-of-character love ballad to his dad sitting in the audience is quite the heart-string puller. Absolutely :5:, a reference disc, a must-buy for anyone, and will get multiple play in my system.

I'm going shopping for more Chris Botti music, too.

Chris, I've just placed my order for this. Am looking forward.

[Johnloudb]

Ah, for all that were following along, I got my shipment from fye.com today, and the Chris Botti disc they sent is just the CD, not the SACD. Bummer. I'm going to keep it in the shinkwrap for now, and contact FYE in the small hope that they can do something about it.



On another note, I recently also ordered Botti's "When I Fall In Love" on Dual Disc from Amazon, and got it earlier this week. That's some sweet, sweet music right there.

Chris, if you keep the Night Sessions CD let us know how the sound quality is on that. What is the Dual Disc exactly, CD + DVD? or other?

[Chris D]

A Dual Disc is CD on one side, DVD-Audio on the other!

[Burke Strickland]

Fortunately, Leonard Bernstein's only public performance of his problematic masterpiece "Candide" was recorded on video a few months before his death and is available on DVD as a lasting tribute to his talents as both a composer and a conductor. Although I wish I could have been there in London for the live performance, in way we get a better view of Bernstein's joy and playfulness on the podium by watching the video, since we would have seen his back most of the time by sitting in the audience, but get to see many of his facial expressions and gestures on camera. However, I'm glad the sound stays firmly anchored from the audience's perspective.

Note -- this is a concert performance, not a theatrical staging of the play. There is no scenery, no props, and the main characters stand to sing their parts but do not move around the stage the way they would in a theatrical staging. It's all about the music this time around (with some asides from Bernstein regarding the book). I've seen several productions of "Candide" both live and on video and enjoyed them all, and found this one to be revelatory in its own way.

Very highly recommended.