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Category:    Home > Reviews > Concert > Pop > Rock > Hard Rock > Alternative > Jazz > Documentary > Dance > Hip Hop > Bad Company – Live At Wembley (Eagle Blu-ray)/Deep Purple – Phoenix Rising (Eagle Blu-ray)/Doobie Brothers – Live At the Greek Theater 1982: Farewell Tour (Eagle DVD)/Kate Bush – A Life Of Surprises (

Bad Company – Live At Wembley (Eagle Blu-ray)/Deep Purple – Phoenix Rising (Eagle Blu-ray)/Doobie Brothers – Live At the Greek Theater 1982: Farewell Tour (Eagle DVD)/Kate Bush – A Life Of Surprises (MVD DVD Set)/Miles Davis: Live At Montreux Highlights (Eagle DVD)/You Got Served – Beat The World (2011/Sony Blu-ray)

 

Picture: B-/B-/C/C+/C/B-     Sound: B- (Company: B)     Extras: C/B-/C+/C+/C/D     Main Programs: B-/C+/B-/B+/B/D

 

 

And now for more music titles…

 

 

Bad Company – Live At Wembley (Eagle Blu-ray) is an August 2010 concert that is the second on Blu-ray for the band following this Hard Rock Café release:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/9918/Bad+Company+%E2%80%93+Hard+R

 

It is on par with the last release with original lead singer Paul Rodgers still able to deliver the classics.  The 16 songs include Can’t Get Enough, Feel Like Makin’ Love, Bad Company and Gone, Gone, Gone and has a bonus feature of Band Interviews.  Fans will like it and the rest will find it a pretty good show.  An illustrated booklet with essay is also included in the Blu-ray case.

 

 

With yet another title on home video, Deep Purple – Phoenix Rising (Eagle Blu-ray) offers a half-hour 1975 show shot on film from Japan, presented here in High Definition that is as good as any of the concerts we have seen to date.  You can see the many Deep Purple releases (including imports) we have covered to date at this general link:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/new/viewer.cgi?search=DEEP+purple

 

You can also see this Live At Montreux 2006 DVD, a newer and strong reunion concert, at this link:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5519/Deep+Purple

 

 

David Coverdale is singing lead at this point and it is the band in good shape with five of their now classic songs that stand out from the many home video releases we have covered over the years.  We get even more extras here with an illustrated booklet with essay is also included in the case, while the Blu-ray includes an hour-long documentary Gettin’ Tighter, eight audio-only live tracks, Come Taste The Band electronic press kit (EPK) and Jakarta, December 1975 – Interview with Jon Lord & Glenn Hughes.

 

The Doobie Brothers – Live At the Greek Theater 1982: Farewell Tour (Eagle DVD) has an analog videotaping of what would be the last show of the original band before they decided to end while they were on top.  For those unfamiliar with the band, here is the link to a Doobie Brothers CD hits set:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5145/The+Very+Best+Of+The+Doobie+Brot

 

 

This is a good show and the band is in good form going out on top, but Michael McDonald was already enjoying his first big solo hit (I Keep Forgettin’) which makes for an odd moment as the audience is much more quiet, seeming disappointed he left as if he broke the band up.  Wonder what they thought of his later pop duets that did not work or his abuse of recorded Motown classics?

 

The show offers 16 hits, the DVD adds five bonus performances and extras include an illustrated booklet with essay included in the DVD case and band interviews at the time on the DVD.

 

 

The double DVD set Kate Bush – A Life Of Surprises (MVD) actually combines two strong single Kate Bush DVDs we previously covered at these links:

 

Under Review

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3837/Kate+Bush+-+Under+Review

 

Hounds Of Love Under Review

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8397/Kate+Bush+%E2%80%93+Hounds+Of

 

This release offers both in a space-saving package and are as good as any of the releases on this list.

 

 

Miles Davis – Live At Montreux Highlights (Eagle DVD) is what it says with footage from 1973 – 1991 (ten performances in all) showing the Jazz innovator at his best.  We have only previously covered Davis a while ago with this simpler DVD:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/2222/Miles+Davis+-+Stars+Of+Jazz+(TV/He

 

 

I liked this even more and it reminds me that Davis is long overdue for rediscovery and he was so innovative and possibly even subversive (an able-bodied and extremely talented African American Male) icon might be the reason we are not seeing enough of him.  I liked this set and it shows that he is still ahead of his time.  Extras include an illustrated booklet with an essay included in the DVD case and the DVD itself has a Carlos Santana Interview.

 

Finally we get to the remarkably poor You Got Served – Beat The World (2011), a horrid, highly belated sequel to highly overrated 2004 film seven years late can only set same story (in the usual sign of desperation) in a varied competition that wants to be new and looks so old and tired, lands up being even more boring in the process.  The new dancing looks more like stunt work, showing how thin and desperate this has all become.  However, you have to consider as to whether this was just a generic film that had the You Got Served name added at the last minute to get more people to see it.

 

Either way, it is penned by the writer of the overrated Stomp The Yard and it is so boring I could barely stay awake until more loud, lame music kicks in.  Wow is this a dud and the mix of cliché and formula is embarrassing.  Extras include BD Live interactivity, a dance featurette and making of featurette.

 

 

The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image on World should be the best of the six releases here, but its motion blur and pseudo-urban stylizing makes it look lamer than the 1080p 1.33 X 1 filmed image on Purple, which may be soft and show its age, yet looks really good for its age.  The 1080i 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image on Company is not that much further away either with motion blur and color better than World and on par with Purple.  The two Bush DVDs still look good for the format, but the 1.33 taped image on Brothers and 1.78 X 1 on Davis are softer than I would have liked.

 

The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix on Company is easily the best of the releases sonically here (lesser, lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM 2.0 Stereo options are also included), as World has location recording issues and Purple has an audio source that has limits (a DTS-MA 2.0 Stereo option is also included) and shows its age.  The two Bush DVDs still sound good so they are no problem and have all their original music in tact.  That leaves standard DTS 5.1 mixes (joined by lesser, lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo mixes) on Brothers and Davis do their best to make the older audio sources sound good, but compression and age are issues.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


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