What music DVD are you currently enjoying

[Ovation]

I bought this DVD at the Harry Connick Jr concert The Wife & I attended on his tour which all proceeds benefitted Katrina victims.

I have loaned it out a few times to great reviews but have not played it for far too long. This highly improvised session puts the talents of both musicians at the forefront of their craft. Maybe a bit on the 'free' end of the Jazz spectrum for some, but for those who appreciate the genre, well worth the time taken to experience.

I'm a big fan of Branford Marsalis, so I will definitely keep an eye (and ear) out for this one.

[Chris D]

FWIW, I found it on Netflix and added it to my queue.

[wkhanna]

IIRC, that queue is up to around 500+ by now. :W

[Chris D]

Oh yes. For every movie I watch and cross of the list, I find at least one more to add. I'll never run out of movies to watch, even if I quit and watched them as a full-time job.

[wkhanna]

Maybe some day we will all have time to do all things we wish we could :W

[bigburner]

3 good music documentaries

I watch a lot more concerts than documentaries but the latter are a valuable addition to the musical journey. The three most highly recommended films I have watched recently are the following:

Searching for Sugar Man (2012)
This is the story of the 1970s musician Rodriguez who lived in obscurity in America but became a phenomenal success in South Africa, only to return to obscurity in America. It’s an interesting and moving film that has achieved universal acclaim as you will see if you read the reviews in Rotten Tomatoes and Amazon.

Crossfire Hurricane (2012)
This is the story of The Rolling Stones from the start of their careers until they were into their mid-thirties. There’s lots of excellent video and the music inserted into the documentary is of excellent quality. A note of advice: pay attention at the start of the film when you see the members of the band talking because it helps to remember their voices. The interview content throughout is very informative so it pays to make the effort.

Stories of Me (2012)
This is a portrait of Paul Kelly who is a legendary Australian singer songwriter. It covers his life and music from his late teens to the present day (he’s 58 now). I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t know much about Paul Kelly even though he comes from my part of the world. I now know a lot more about him and his music and it was all very interesting. This is perhaps the most highly recommended film of the three I have described here.

Nigel.

[Chris D]

Thanks--added the first to Netflix!

[bigburner]

Joe Bonamassa – An Acoustic Evening at the Vienna Opera House (Blu-ray) (2013)

This is basically an unplugged concert, or alternatively you could describe it as acoustic guitar porn. I counted 11 guitars all played by Joe Bonamassa during the 1 hour 50 minute performance.

Joe is joined by 4 other musicians on stage: Gerry O'Connor on Irish banjo and fiddle; Mats Webster on nyckelharra and mandola; Arlan Schierbaum on harmonium, accordion, baby piano and glockenspiel; and Lenny Castro on percussion (including pebbles in a plastic drink bottle). It’s the most amazing range of sounds. The band got together only 3 days before the concert. They sounded tight to me.

The band plays many of Bonamassa’s well known songs but gives them new arrangements. Some of the arrangements are so different that it took me a while to identify the songs.

There are 3 audio tracks on the disc:

#1: LPCM 2.0 48 kHz, 2304 kbps, 24-bit
#2: AC3 5.1 48 kHz, 640 kbps, 16-bit
#3: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 48 kHz, 24-bit

I listened to the LPCM 2.0 (stereo) track. It is absolutely superb. The mix is perfect, with all the instruments including Bonamassa's voice coming through with separation and clarity. The dynamic range is excellent, which is essential because there are some quiet passages. As a musician on the disc commented “the absence of a bass guitar allows so much space”, and he was absolutely right.

The video is as stellar as the audio. The stage lighting is subdued so there is very little interference from extraneous light. This results in the colours being realistic and the blacks being jet black. My Panasonic plasma renders blacks well so this Blu-ray really excelled.

The camerawork is professional and sympathetic to the soloists.

I can strongly recommend this Blu-ray to music lovers and video / audiophiles alike.

Nigel.

If you are wondering what a nyckelharra is then have a look here: http://www.last.fm/group/Nyckelharpa

[wkhanna]

I know Joe is one of your favorites....

V glad to hear he is putting such high quality product & music.

[bigburner]

The Eagles – History of The Eagles (2013)

I bought the DVD version, not the Blu-ray, because the latter was not available when I made my impulse purchase. Nevertheless I am very happy with my purchase.

“History of The Eagles” has 3 discs:

• Disc 1 is a documentary from the pre-Eagles days until their breakup in 1980. It runs for 2 hours. There’s lots of great footage of the band and other musicians, particularly from the Southern California music scene of the 1970s. It is highly recommended.

• Disc 2 is also a documentary. It is 1 hour long and it starts from their reunion in 1994 and runs to the present day. It is worthy but not a patch on Disc 1 (they’re older and have kids etc.).

• Disc 3 is 45 minutes of The Eagles performing live at the Capital Centre in Washington DC in March 1977. This disc is the real oil. Fantastic songs. Fantastic musicianship. Fantastic audio and amazing video for 1977. You folks out there know how good a CD can be. This DVD is up there with the best. Naturally I listened to the LPCM track.

I bought this DVD for Disc 3 and it’s worth every cent. The fact that Discs 1 and 2 were so interesting is a great bonus.

For those of you who don’t know who I’m talking about, The Eagles are one of the world’s best-selling bands having sold over 150 million records. They are the highest-selling American band in US history. No American band sold more records during the 1970s than The Eagles.

This DVD has reignited my interest in a band that probably didn’t get the respect they deserved from me before now.

Nigel.

[Ovation]

My wife's favourite band. Thanks for posting this (will make a good stocking stuffer for Christmas).

[wkhanna]

Nigel,

Your reports mirrors the others I have come across.
A premium product from a premium producer of music & memories.

It is so good to see you posting, too.
I was worried we may have lost touch with a valued comrade from our ranks.

Be well.

[bigburner]

Snowy White and Friends - After Paradise (DVD) (2012)

What a pleasant surprise this DVD was when I watched it earlier this evening. Slow, relaxing blues played by a bunch of men who obviously enjoy playing good music together rather than just chasing money. The LPCM 2-channel 48 KHz 2304 Kbps audio track sounded really nice too. Snowy is a British blues/rock guitarist who has been around since the early 70s when he played with musicians like Pink Floyd, Peter Green, and Thin Lizzy. The man has experience and it shows.

Nigel.

[Chris D]

I watch a lot more concerts than documentaries but the latter are a valuable addition to the musical journey. The three most highly recommended films I have watched recently are the following:

Searching for Sugar Man (2012)
This is the story of the 1970s musician Rodriguez who lived in obscurity in America but became a phenomenal success in South Africa, only to return to obscurity in America. It’s an interesting and moving film that has achieved universal acclaim as you will see if you read the reviews in Rotten Tomatoes and Amazon.



Nigel.

Nigel, this one finally came up in my Netflix queue. I REALLY enjoyed this one! What a story, what a person, and what interesting circumstances! Thanks for pointing out this gem. Now I'm interested in checking out this man's music. (not to mention South Africa's on my list of travel locations)

I hope you're safe with the recent earthquake too, man.

[wkhanna]

I hope you're safe with the recent earthquake too, man.

Jeez, Louise!
Have not they had enough over the past few years?
They are still trying to get things back to some semblance of normalcy after the first two!

Wellington is a fair piece from Christchurch, so hopefully dear Nigel, his family, friends & neighbors are all safe & well.

[bigburner]

I hope you're safe with the recent earthquake too, man.

Yes Chris, we're safe. In fact we didn't even feel it in Christchurch. My daughter is at university in Wellington and she definitely felt it. However she said it was nothing like the two biggest Christchurch earthquakes (Sept 2010 and Feb 2011). My wife and I are flying up to Wellington this coming weekend and I can tell you I'm not looking forward to the inevitable aftershocks.

Nigel.

[bigburner]

Wellington is a fair piece from Christchurch.

That's correct Bill, approximately 190 miles as the crow flies.

Nigel.

[wkhanna]

Yes Chris, we're safe. In fact we didn't even feel it in Christchurch. My daughter is at university in Wellington and she definitely felt it. However she said it was nothing like the two biggest Christchurch earthquakes (Sept 2010 and Feb 2011). My wife and I are flying up to Wellington this coming weekend and I can tell you I'm not looking forward to the inevitable aftershocks.

Nigel.

So V happy to hear all are safe & sound!
Safe travels, dear friend.

[Chris D]

I watch a lot more concerts than documentaries but the latter are a valuable addition to the musical journey. The three most highly recommended films I have watched recently are the following:

Searching for Sugar Man (2012)
This is the story of the 1970s musician Rodriguez who lived in obscurity in America but became a phenomenal success in South Africa, only to return to obscurity in America. It’s an interesting and moving film that has achieved universal acclaim as you will see if you read the reviews in Rotten Tomatoes and Amazon.

For those who are interested and have the capability, this is being shown on "Starz" a couple times for the next week.

[bigburner]

The Supremes: Reflections – The Definitive Performances 1964-1969 (2006)

This is a fabulous DVD. I’ve watched it twice over the last 10 days and I can’t wait to watch it again.

If you don’t know the Supremes they were one of the most successful American groups in the 1960s. At one time they had five number one singles in a row.

Half the songs on this DVD are live and the other half are lip synched. I didn’t mind the lip synched ones because the songs are so good, the audio quality is so good and the video is so interesting.

I can thoroughly recommend this DVD to anyone who likes pop-soul / Motown music.

Nigel.

[bigburner]

Transatlantic Sessions 6 (2013)

This is wonderful music played by talented musicians. In summary American bluegrass musicians (mainly) travel to Scotland to play with British musicians. There are 22 musicians in total.

The roots of bluegrass can be found in Celtic and Gaelic music so it's fascinating when the two groups come together. This time the producer has rented a large facility on the shores of Loch Lomond, which is a very picturesque setting. I have a greater affinity for the American music but all of it is worthy.

The DVD has 2 discs providing a total of about 3 hours of music. LPCM stereo and DD stereo tracks are provided (no 5.1). I listened to the LPCM track and the quality is excellent.

I have discovered new musicians every time I've watched a Transatlantic Sessions DVD (this is the 6th as the title suggests). This time the standout was Aoife O'Donovan who is as talented as she is beautiful. Coincidentally she has just released her first CD "Fossils" which I currently have on order.

Nigel.

[Chris D]

Cool, Nigel. I've wanted to watch/buy some previous Transatlantic Sessions, but for whatever reasons, haven't been able to so far. Enjoy!

[bigburner]

Cool, Nigel. I've wanted to watch/buy some previous Transatlantic Sessions, but for whatever reasons, haven't been able to so far. Enjoy!

As much as I like them all I would go for 4 and 5 if you want to narrow the choices down.

Nigel.

[bigburner]

Frank Zappa - "A Token of His Extreme" (2013)

If you are a Frank Zappa fan you really should consider buying this DVD. It's probably the best Zappa DVD in my collection. It features footage from a concert in 1974. Frank is accompanied by 5 excellent musicians. All of them are in top form. The sound quality (LPCM stereo) is very good. The picture quality is more than acceptable. After watching it twice I have even forgiven Frank for the vomit inducing video editing (which fortunately occurs only occasionally) because I think the man is a creative genius and that's the presentation that he wanted.

Nigel.

[bigburner]

Another Day/Another Time: Celebrating the Music of "Inside Llewyn Davis" (2013)

What a marvellous music documentary this is. Actually it's 90% concert and only 10% documentary. The film was inspired by another film 'Inside Llewyn Davis,' which is set in the 1960s Greenwich Village folk music scene. It features wonderful live performances from a variety of musicians, mainly young ones. The music is best described as folk. Anyone who grew up in the 60s will recognise some of the songs.

This film is a download from Amazon or iTunes, so the audio and video quality are not exactly Blu-ray standard. Nevertheless the quality is more than acceptable.

Nigel.

[bigburner]

Eric Clapton - Planes, Trains and Eric (2014) [Blu-ray]

I watched this last night and thought it most worthy. Eric’s playing is still very good. I loved the way that he put a new slant on every old song. For three songs he played a custom made blue 6-string acoustic. Lovely tone.

Eric selected his old friends Nathan East (bass), Steve Gadd (drums) and Chris Stainton (keyboards) for this tour and he clearly enjoys playing with them above all the others.

Eric’s love of Japan surprised me. At one point in the middle of the Budokan concert he said that playing there was the best place on Earth. That’s a big statement for a man who has played everywhere.

The interview segments were interesting. They are easy to bypass because the music starts bang on the start of a chapter change. That will be useful next time. The whole recording is 2 hours 25 minutes long so there’s lots of content.

The audio features a very bass-heavy mix, which is unusual for Eric’s DVDs and Blu-rays. For a while I thought I was at a rave. As the evening progressed I liked the mix more and more. Quite a lot of the Blu-ray concerts I’ve watched recently are a bit lean in the low frequency department.

Eric has announced that he will stop touring when he turns 70, which happens to be in March 2015. So is this his last tour? I hope not.

If you enjoy blues rock make sure this Blu-ray recording is in your Xmas stocking!

Nigel.

[bigburner]

Jeff Beck - Live in Tokyo (2014) [Blu-ray]

This concert captures Jeff Beck at his very best. The audio quality is superb. There are 2 audio tracks:

• LPCM 2.0 | 96 kHz | 4608 kbps | 24-bit
• DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 | 96 kHz | 8224 kbps | 24-bit

I listened to the LPCM stereo track.

The camerawork is excellent with no silly chopping and changing.

If Jeff Beck is your cup of tea then this Blu-ray is an ideal one to demonstrate how good your AV system looks and sounds.

Nigel.

[Hdale85]

Just built a sub recently, sealed 15" Dayton Ultimax in a sealed box stuffed to a qtc of .707. So been testing a lot of stuff and just threw my favorite Blu-ray on which is Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds live at radio city music Hall. Absolutely love this disc and haven't listened to it in quite a long while so thoroughly enjoying it.

[wkhanna]

Nice!
How about some pics of the new sub?

[Hdale85]

This is right after I finished putting it together, it's unfinished due to the weather. It's a 15" Dayton Ultimax in a 3 cu ft enclosure stuffed to a qtc of .707 running on a 500w plate amp. It's very clean and not boomy at all unless a movie calls for it. Very musical on SACD and BD-A.

[Chris D]

Gave this special edition a try last night. Trying out 3D. Was interesting, although not quite overwhelming.

[wkhanna]

This is right after I finished putting it together............

Nice, Dougie.

you gotta love a guy who keeps a drill on his coffee table!

[Ovation]

Just finished Supertramp Live in Paris 79 on Blu-ray. Excellent show from the top of their game. Sound quality is great. Will be revisiting this one on a regular basis.

[bigburner]

Just finished Supertramp Live in Paris 79 on Blu-ray. Excellent show from the top of their game. Sound quality is great. Will be revisiting this one on a regular basis.

The Blu-ray version of this excellent concert is definitely the way to go if you are a stereo buff. Consider the difference in quality compared to the DVD version:

Blu-ray: LPCM 2.0 / 96 kHz / 4608 kbps / 24-bit
DVD: AC3 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / 16-bit

Before I bought the Blu-ray version I used to listen to the DTS track on the DVD, which is far superior to the AC3 2.0 track:

DTS 3.2 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit

My suspicious mind makes me think they did this deliberately so that Supertramp enthusiasts would buy the concert twice.

Nigel.

[Ovation]

Well, I'm a big fan of MCH music mixes, so I listened to the DTS-HD MA audio, but I'll eventually play the disc in my 2CH rig in the living room, so I'll have the best of both audio worlds.

[madmac]

I've seen this disc but I'm afraid that the video quality would be 4:3 and somewhat crappy looking? Also, the audio could only be as good as was available at the time too no?? Am I wrong here?

[Ovation]

Totally wrong. The sound quality is great and the footage was shot on film, not video, so while a bit grainy in some shots (as expected with film), I've seen far worse footage from concerts at least a decade, if not more, recent. Any fan of Supertramp at the peak of their game should have this in their collection.

The footage was originally 1.85:1 but is presented in 1.78:1 (16x9). While I'm usually a stickler for original aspect ratios when 1.85 is cropped to 1.78, the change is small enough that I can live with it without complaint. On the other hand, I cannot abide cropping and zooming a 4:3 image to 16:9 and find a 4:3 stretched to fill a 16:9 screen even more abhorrent. I'm also very much against zooming a 2.35-2.40 or more to fill a 16x9 screen. It's why I'll never subscribe to "movie channels" to replace buying or renting movies. HBO, The Movie Network and other cable channels do that far too often.

Aspect ratio rant over.

[wkhanna]

My suspicious mind makes me think they did this deliberately so that Supertramp enthusiasts would buy the concert twice.

Oh Nigel........

At times you appear as the consummate paranoid ranting on about this or that conspiracy.

What would cause you such consternation?

Surely these big corporations have only our best interest as their primary raison d'etre.

[bigburner]

Totally wrong. The sound quality is great and the footage was shot on film, not video, so while a bit grainy in some shots (as expected with film), I've seen far worse footage from concerts at least a decade, if not more, recent. Any fan of Supertramp at the peak of their game should have this in their collection.

Agreed. The sound and picture quality are both great. The only graininess I noticed was the long distance shots of the stage filmed from the back of the venue.

Nigel.

[bigburner]

Surely these big corporations have only our best interest as their primary raison d'etre.

'Selfless' is the word that comes to mind Bill.

Nigel.

[madmac]

You've now convinced me to check this concert BD out!

I on the other hand absolutely HATE 4:3 aspect (In pillorbox) and have NO issues seeing it stretched to fill my screen. However, with old home videos, the ladies normally don't like it because they of course look more portly!! Hehehe!!

Going from 1.85:1 to 1.78:1 (16x9) is a joke and the loss of picture is totally marginal. Like you, I like to see my movies in their original aspect ratio. It bothered me a lot more when I had my 4:3 CRT TV but the letterbox issue is much more tolerable on my 60" 16X9 set.

[bigburner]

Albert Collins - Live At Montreux 1992 (DVD)

If you like the blues then you really should own music by black American guitarists BB King, Freddie King, Albert King and Albert Collins. There are plenty of BB King DVDs out there but very few of the other three men. I thought I owned every DVD by Albert Collins so I was pleasantly surprised when I spotted this one. I was even more pleasantly surprised when I heard the sound quality. It’s exceptionally good.

This is what you get on the DVD:

• PCM 24-bit 1536Kbps Stereo

• Dolby Digital 16-bit 448Kbps 5.1

• DTS 24-bit 756Kbps 5.1

I listened to the PCM stereo track.

The video quality is pretty good too, particularly as the concert is shot in a fairly dark hall.

Albert is in fine form for this concert and the normally restrained Montreux audience is very enthusiastic.

The bonus section of the DVD was another pleasant surprise with four songs from a 1979 performance. The sound quality is inferior to the 1992 concert but Albert’s guitar work is superb and he is in imposing physical shape.

Nigel.

[wkhanna]

I love Albert!

[bigburner]

Big Daddy Wilson & Doc Fozz - "...doin' it right" DVD (2007)

Big Daddy Wilson is touring New Zealand next month. I had never heard of him so I got this DVD to find out. I'm really pleased I did. It's a lovely blend of soul, gospel and blues - laid back music that you might listen to on Sunday night rather than Saturday night. Big Daddy has a beautiful baritone voice. There are nine musicians in the production, although they aren't all on stage at the same time except for the final song.

The audio quality is excellent. There's only a stereo track on the DVD but it's 24-bit 2304 Kbps. The video quality is OK, even if it's only 4:3.

Very nice.

Nigel.

[madmac]

I can handle 4:3 aspect ratio but the audio on these music DVD's has to be excellent for me to spin it. A lot of these earlier DVD's were recorded in 2ch stereo which is fine, but many incorporate a matrixed, poor Dolby Digital secondary track which in almost all cases, completely SUCKS !! I put little posty notes in my music DVD's indicating which method of playback produces the best audio results because I have many and sometimes forget.