The Who at the isle of wight, 2 am great performance and great sound

Even though over twenty years old, I still have been waiting for a release of the 1982 "Speak of the Devil" concert (Ozzy doing Sabbath tunes). The live album was absolutely great and I am thinking that it must have been filmed as well as audio recorded. Has anyone ever run across such a release (not the 1982 "Diary of a madman" tour that was released under the speak of the devil title in Japan.

Blondie Live in New York in 1999 for thier reunion kickoff. Phenomenal. Clem Burke on drums was amazing... one of the best drumming performances I've ever seen.

Here is a letter sent to Daniel Barenboim following the release of the second part of the Ring Cycle, for those who might wish to eventually take a dive into this faboulous 15 hours Wagner Ring Cycle.

===

A good friend and I were awaiting almost anxiously, since many years, the DVD release of the famous Unitel NHK recording of the Kupfer's staging of the 1992 Bayreuth Barenboim's Ring.

A year or two ago, I wrote to you about this potential release and your secretary told me honestly that you didn't have any control over it. I understood it, and now I am very thankful to MSM Studios GmbH, in Munchem, for this very meticulous remastering of the Unitel's original High Definition tapes (analog 1250 lines) to bring and restore them into the modern High Definition format (1080 lines.). And now Warner Classics bring them to us in DVD (http://www.warnerclassics.com/release.php?release=4570). Wow!!!

So, according to what we read in Le Guide des Opéras de Wagner (Pazdro, Fayard) (http://www.editions-fayard.fr/FrCatalogue.asp?Ouvrage=3578481), we were expecting a kind of Post Tchernobylian Ring, bringing us, through a science fiction landscape, in the world of the falling gods... Well, the Kupfer’s staging surely does that, and the Barenboim directing adds much to it. So, what kind of experience could we improvise to put in perspective the Barenboim Kupfer’s partnership? We decided, yesterday evening, to make a walk trough in 4 different versions of the same act and the same scenes.

So we began with So nimst du von Siegmund den Sieg? (Act 2, Scene 2, 28), where Wotan loses temper and declares the end of the Gods era by assertively banging with his spear on the ground, followed by this cataclysmic drop of a big chunk of the land behind him, leaving a huge crater, while the orchestra sustains us, frightened spectators of this event, in one of the most dramatic climax of the Ring. And we ended with Siegmund! Sieh auf mich (Act 3, Scene 4, 34) where Brünnhilde appears from the crater to Siegmund and Sieglind and were impressed by the fact that even if Siegmund acknowledge the beauty of Brünnhilde he doesn't need to look directly at her, since an appearance of a divine creature would first occur in the mind, not needing to go trough the eyes. We were amazed by this very dramatic staging, sustained by an unequaled and subtle orchestral work...

After taking a breath, we decided to dive into the Bayreuth Boulez Chérau's version (http://www.wagneroperas.com/index1976ring.html) to experience the same sequence. We were wondering, because I didn't remember exactly the sequence, how would Wotan mark this event... We were surprised to see him grasping the string of a big pendulum to stop it, marking the end of the oscillating time... the end of the History. The context of the story telling is the same, but no such drama as in Kupfer's staging and Barenboim's direction, of course. The interactions between the singers are by no means also the same, and guess if Brünnhilde will get a look from Siegmund?

Well, the score at that time was definitely for Barenboim Kupfer. So, for the third run, why not return to Kupfer that time and enjoy another end of the gods with the Liceu's De Billy Kupfer Version (http://www.opusarte.com/pages/ViewProduct.asp?ProductID=104)? What would happen at this crucial moment? We recognized immediately the Kupfer staging and then plunged again in an updated Schavernoch set, mainly keeping the spirit of the former Kupfer Barenboim set. The singers are without any doubt more glued to their dramatic situation, the interactions between them bring us almost to the level of the first reenactment of this dramatic moment we saw an hour before and then, we have to decide again which one leads us to the better overall performance. We anxiously wait for the climax and then, in an incredible moment falls on the scene, which such a dramatic and almost incredible bang, the world ash tree, sustained again by a music which, in contrast to Barenboim, clearly puts in relief the wind instruments in a less dramatic approach. So far, so good, we already have here enough information to vote for Barenboim Kupfer as being the most compelling, dramatic and mind bending version. The ring is a story leading us to the end of the Gods, and I begin to see how important this story become the more I get to know it.

But there was a final contender: the Staatsoper Stuttgart 2003 (http://www.tdk-music.com/frame_content.php?did=3~13&showme=everything&from_id=313) staging, which already gets some harsh criticism (http://www.operaonline.us/stuttgartring_001.htm), despite the fact that the richness of the Ring opens the way to so many interpretations by an international community of different artists (stage directors, set designers or orchestra conductors). Well, we were trying to keep an open mind in this fourth segment viewing and found some interesting clues about the nature of the problems shared by the human and the gods. According to the liner notes, we have here a kind of a psychoanalytic reading of the Ring, but it would not be the ring for beginners. And not the one to taste a really dramatic story line happening in a post modern or event post Tchernobylian world.

Then you surely guess here that Kupfer Barenboims gets our personal award of the most mind binding Ring ever made and we truly share with you this challenge you had to work with Kupfer then, in Bayreuth! And of course, we already placed an order for the upcoming Rheingold in February (http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000E1NWG4/qid=1137040837/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_17_1/701-8507018-9856322) and expect to continue traveling into the realm of the falling Gods in your company, in due respect to your lifelong commitment to Wagner and classical music.

We hope that you enjoy seeing your work's rebirth from the dusty archives of Unitel and we hope that the recording industry will always take care of the master's works. In a post Tchernobylian world, don't we need only to stay away from the radiations and witness the fall of the Gods, but we need to enclose ourselves in our cocoons and taste the music that put us away, sometimes, of a harsh planetary environment! And the Barenboim & Kupfer's Ring certainly does it pretty well!

I just picked up:

Phil Colins - Farewell Tour Live in Paris
Coldplay - Live 2003

Both have DTS 5.1, both shot in 16x9. Both are excellent and highly recommended. Phil Collins is very, very colorful visually, and looks amazing in 1080i during upconversion.

My favourites

Il Divo
The Last Waltz
Bee Gee's One night only

:D Simply the best concert DVD out there. something for all tastes ....ZZTop, BB King, Clapton, Steve Vai, Joe Walsh, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, Robert Randolph, Jimmy Vaughn, Hubert Summner, Eric Johnston...........

I just picked up Alice Cooper's "Good To See You Again"... the filmed concert footage of the 1973 Billion Dollar Babies Tour...

If you select the 'concert only' option under the menu options and remove the 'acting' filler, it is a treat for the 'shock rock' fans of the 70's. Alice still has that snarl in his voice.

Mine are:

Eagles - Hell Freezes Over
James Taylor Live at Beacon Theatre
Santana Supernatural
Chicago/Earth Wind & Fire

I just picked up Alice Cooper's "Good To See You Again"... the filmed concert footage of the 1973 Billion Dollar Babies Tour...

If you select the 'concert only' option under the menu options and remove the 'acting' filler, it is a treat for the 'shock rock' fans of the 70's. Alice still has that snarl in his voice.


I bought the welcome to my nightmare one. It was filmed in 1976. Pretty good also.

I will look for that one.

Has anyone seen this DVD of Joe Cocker's first US tour?

I see that it was finally released in October 2005. But I can't find any information about the aspect ratio. I'm hoping it is OAR, although I will likely still buy it if it is 1:1.33.

Yup, I picked it up during the Boxing Week sales.

It switches between full frame and letterboxed widescreen with 2 or 3 frames in it ( a' la Woodstock).

It looks better than I thought it might, but it doesn't appear that there's been much/any effort to remaster it.

I didn't get to see it in the theatres back in the 70's, but I recall when Muchmusic aired it back in the late 80's and it looks better now than what I recall.

On the case, there's no mention of any improvements save for it being now in dts, 5.1 and regular 2 channel, but there is a warning on the back of the case --->"This is a live recording. The audio quality may not be up to studio sound". - well, duh !

Anyway, it's a great (series of) show(s) and well worth the purchase.

ps - if you like this, you'll love Festival Express !

hope this helps

About Mad Dogs and Englishment

Yup, I picked it up during the Boxing Week sales.

It switches between full frame and letterboxed widescreen with 2 or 3 frames in it ( a' la Woodstock).


This is great news. That's the way I remember it from the theatres way back when.

just bought snow patrol 'mums and dads show your children patience' dvd, or something similar to that
dts sounds great, the band is mixed thru front speakers, 95% audience coming out the rears, good mix, hear the fans singing along and the cheering and stuff
havent watched it all yet but so far impressed
DD only on the videos, but the live show is in dts

also
underworld - everything, everything
new order - live in finsbury park

Motley Crue - Carnival of Sins

Motley Crue - Carnival of Sins

I have never been more disapointed in a concert video. I am a huge Crue fan, but could not even get throught the DVD. The filmmanship is Okay, but the sound si so mudded and mute it is un-listenable. A better Crue DVD is the earlier "leud, Crued and Tattoed"

Just bought....and enjoyed watching and listening to:

Peter Gabriel Growing Up:Live

and

Sting: Brand New Day Tour

Both have great 5.1 sound and the 16 x 9 video is superb.

Highly recommend both.

Does the Sting DVD have a DTS track?

Just bought....and enjoyed watching and listening to:

Peter Gabriel Growing Up:Live

and

Sting: Brand New Day Tour

Both have great 5.1 sound and the 16 x 9 video is superb.

Highly recommend both.

I received Peter Gabriel's Still Growing up :Live for Christmas. A great DVD.

The Sting DVD did not have DTS, however Peter Gabriel did.