Heaven 17 – Live At Scalia 2005/London (MVD Visual DVD) + Just Dusty – The Real Dusty Springfield (2009/Umbrella PAL DVD Import) + Marillion – Live From Cadogan Hall 2009 (Eagle DVD Set) + Sunspot – Major Arcana (Metebelis Three DVD) + Teddy Pendergrass – Live In ’82 (Shout! Factory DVD)

 

Picture: C+/C+/C+/C/C     Sound: C+/C+/B-/C/C+     Extras: C/C+/D/C-/C     Concerts/Main Program: B-/B/B-/C/B-

 

 

PLEASE NOTE: The Dusty DVD set can only be operated on machines capable of playing back DVDs that can handle Region Zero/0/Free PAL format software and can be ordered from our friends at Umbrella Entertainment at the website address provided at the end of the review.

 

 

Are search for good music programming on DVD continues with the following five releases.

 

It is nice to finally catch up to anything by Heaven 17 and this Live At Scalia 2005 program taped in London and showing the band back in action in a very good concert that shows the band holds much of their appeal, energy and deliver a fine concert that includes classics like (We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thing, Temptation and Come Live With Me.  A New Wave/Synthpop band, they never totally had the commercial success in the U.S. they deserved (no Top 40 pop hits!) and they never sold out.

 

Most reunion shows from artists of the time tend to be lame, but this one is impressive and worth your time.  Extras include At The Gig soundcheck and At The Studio interview.

 

Every once in a while, we get a new Dusty Springfield DVD and each one shows just what an amazing talent she was.  Just Dusty – The Real Dusty Springfield (2009) is a remarkable documentary about both her career and private life, offering sides of her not seen in the previous three DVDs we covered on her work, which you can read more about at these links:

 

British Invasion Box Set

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/9732/The+British+Invasion+5+DVD+Box+Se

 

Live At The BBC

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6980/Dusty+Springfield+%E2%80%93+Live

 

Live At The Royal Albert Hall 1979 (DTS DVD)

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3886/Dusty+Springfield+%E2%80%93+Live

 

 

This is the most realized documentary program yet with new interviews with her friends (including Burt Bacharach, Jerry Wexler & Arif Mardin) and family who never spoke, more footage we have never seen and her comeback before her horrible death to cancer. 

 

 

Marillion – Live From Cadogan Hall 2009 is the second release from the artsy progressive rock band, but this time, it has a DTS 96/24 track and Eagle has released this concert as a DVD Set.  We previously reviewed one of their concerts that was very enjoyable at this link:

 

Marbles On The Road

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/2219/Marillion+-+Marbles+On+The+Road

 

This new show is pretty good, but this one is longer and just not as consistent or intense.  They are a good band, but I was a bit disappointed in this case.  Still a good set, it is at least of the same quality as the last set.  There are no extras.

 

 

Sunspot – Major Arcana shows us a band that might be interesting, but for all the space this DVD offers, we get an 80 minutes long concert that is uneven and not as well recorded as it could have been.  They also try to be funny, but that is awkward.  I felt it was very mixed and then we get three bonus tracks, but they are too busy joking about drinking (AA will want to skip this one) to get serious about their music.  If they are trying to be a party band, no one is having much fun yet.  Not very memorable, but someone might like this.

 

 

Teddy Pendergrass – Live In ’82 is our second Pendergrass concert.  We previously reviewed a taping form a few years before at this link:

 

Teddy! Live In 79

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3622/Teddy!++Live+in+%2779+(Teddy+Pen

 

This newer show is good, but not as good, yet the man is still in his prime belting out the hits and performing to an enthusiastic audience.  Love T.K.O., Lady and Only You are among the hits and he is in good form, but it just was not as strong.

 

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on Heaven, Dusty and Marillion are the best performers here, though all have softness and detail issues, though only Dusty (which has the best definition being a PAL DVD) has an excuse as the older footage is usually not as good as the new HD-recorded interviews, which look the best of any of the footage of these releases.  We’ll see if any of them make Blu-ray.  The 1.33 X 1 image on Sunspot is sloppy, low def digital and not always recorded well, while Teddy is an older NTSC professional taping with old analog video effects that have not aged well and the general transfer is a little softer than expected, even when the color is good.

 

As for sound, all have Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, but Marillion has PCM 2.0 Stereo and DTS 96/24, though the case only suggests its standard DTS.  It is the best sounding discs here, but still is a bit compressed and could sound better.  Sunspot has the worst audio and the music concert is miked too far away and has a lack of soundstage.

 

 

As noted above, you can order the Dusty PAL DVD import exclusively from Umbrella at:

 

http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo