AC/DC: Let There Be Rock: Limited Edition Blu-ray
Tin (1980/Warner w/DVD) + Glenn Tilbrook & The Fluffers: Live In
New York City (2011/MVD Visual DVD) + Primal
Scream – Screamadelica Live (Eagle Blu-ray w/Classic Albums) + Radiohead
– Arms & Legs (MVD Visual DVDs)
Picture: C+
& C/C+/B-/C+ Sound: B- (5.1)
& C+/C+/B-/B- Extras: B-/C-/B-/C Main Programs: C+/C+/B-/B
Our
latest block of music releases for your consideration…
We start
with AC/DC: Let There Be Rock: Limited
Edition Blu-ray Tin (1980), the third Blu-ray from the band that has been
smart in how they have handled their catalog and took care of their fans. This is a theatrical feature film that was
expected to be another Song Remains The
Same (reviewed elsewhere on this site) but never quite achieved that
status. At the time, the band was at the
same record label (Atlantic) as Led Zeppelin
(at the end of their being together) and Warner Still owned both a movie studio
and their record label with all of its subdivisions.
Eric
Dionysius and Eric Mistler (who often worked with the band) co-directed what is
essentially a concert film with some interview pieces. There are no fans interviews or surreal
segments, but there are not enough of the band members off stage to make this
really work and be a more balanced presentation. Still, it is a record of the band at their
early peak, even if it is uneven and you can imagine as interesting as ever as
a curio. Non-fans will get bored
quickly.
The 1080p
1.33 X 1 digital High Definition image and 1.33 X 1 DVD are both from the same
source that looks clean and has consistent color, but something is wrong with
the final transfer that makes no sense.
The film was supposedly shot in 35mm film, but you would think this was
a 16mm print often with very problematic detail, troubling depth and a slight
cloudiness that shows someone did not handle the digital part of this transfer
well at all. And the DVD is weaker than
the Blu-ray, which is harder to watch in low def. Originally a Dolby A-type analog theatrical
film release, we do not get a lossless sound on the Blu-ray, but lossy Dolby
Digital 2.0 Stereo in both format releases on the film with the odd option of
hearing only the concert footage in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound which only produces
so much of a soundfield, so guess it was not up to lossless standards? Hard to believe the non-music audio was
considered so limited.
Extras
include the Blu-ray exclusive Playlist option, but we also get 11 segments on
the disc (all in HD) including 6 brief Pod sections, Loud, Locked & Loaded: The Rites Of Rock, AC/DC: The Bedrock Of Riff, Angus
Young: A True Guitar Monster, Bon
Scott: The Pirate Of Rock 'n' Roll and the only long piece at about 25 minutes:
AC/DC: A Rock Solid Legacy. The tin is shaped to look like a shelf
speaker and inside the tin besides the Blu-ray and DVD are an envelope with 10
mini-stills, tie-in guitar pick on a collectible card and illustrated
mini-booklet on the band by Anthony Bozza, a scholar on the band. That makes up with the flaws on the discs
somewhat.
For more
AC/DC, try these links:
Back In Black – Under Review DVD
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4276/AC/DC+%E2%80%93+Back+In+Black
Live In Donington Blu-ray
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6172/AC/DC:+Live+in+Donington+(Blu-ray
No Bull: Director’s Cut Blu-ray
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7610/AC/DC+%E2%80%93+No+Bull:+Direct
Squeeze
was considered a great British band and the duo of Chris Difford and Glenn
Tilbrook were being hailed as another Lennon/McCartney, but that never stuck
and eventually the band imploded. Glenn Tilbrook & The Fluffers: Live In New York City (2011)
has Tilbrook with a new band delivering a mixed concert of songs, including
taking on Paul Carrick’s classic vocal on the Squeeze hit Tempted and not quite pulling it off. Nine songs are from Squeeze, seven others
from Tilbrook’s solo efforts and it is a concert with some energy, a good
audience and some chemistry, but still comes across as uneven and inconsistent. Still, he is talented and fans will like more
of this than not.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is a little weak with flat Video Black
and motion blur, but color can be good, though some other flaws get in the
way. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is not
much better than the Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track here, so only expect so
much of a soundfield. The only extra
lasts 5.5 minutes and it is a making of piece.
Primal Scream – Screamadelica Live is a live performance of the
band’s third album and the one that put them in enough of the spotlight to be
the survivors they are today, now here on Blu-ray. The performance is not bad, but I was not as
enthralled as I hoped I would be versus some of the music I have heard from
them before. Still, it is a good concert
and shows their distinctive performance approach, but it may not be the best
introduction to the band, even with the bonus concert added. Still, the audience for their Olympia in London
and this is the first time they performed the album live in its entirety. The best introduction here is the one big
extra, the Classics Albums program
on Screamadelica with 30 minutes of
additional footage here in 1080i High Definition (with plenty of analog video
clips) and you might want to see it before watching the concert.
The only
mistake is that the cover does not note this great extra from that great
series, only in PCM 2.0 Stereo.
The 1080i
1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image is good, but not great as there are more
than a few cases of motion blur and other image anomalies that hold back the
overall performance, while DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 mixes and PCM 2.0
Stereo mixes that are not bad, but the main Screamadelica concert adds a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that is fair,
but not as good as the other options and that sadly confirms the limits of the
soundmaster’s soundfield.
Finally
comes a double DVD set from MVD Visual called Radiohead – Arms & Legs, which pairs a great look at their
incredible O.K. Computer album with
a much older program called At A Better
Place which talks about the band’s rise but has no licensed music. We previously reviewed the O.K. Computer – Under Review DVD a
while ago at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5613/Radiohead+%E2%80%93+%E2%80%9
That
leaves the At A Better Place DVD
which shows its age, is much softer and has older Dolby Digital 2.0 audio that
is barely stereo and yes, it is a 1.33 X 1 presentation. Somewhat weak and cheesy as it may seem, it
at least has some rare interviews, facts and interesting observations on the
band that makes sense to include it here as a second DVD, but it is no match
for the other, newer show. As a fan of
the band who never saw it before, I found it entertaining and interesting
enough to make it worth a look.
- Nicholas Sheffo
