Bob Marley – Spiritual
Journey (DVD/CD set)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ (B- for CD) Extras:
C- Main Program: B- CD: B
Several DVDs on Bob Marley have already been issued and
covered on this site, but the recent Bob Marley – Spiritual Journey DVD
adds a CD of music and is a nicely packaged title to boot. The main program lasts only 55 minutes, made
for British television, but that is barely enough tome to cover the life of the
man. Of course, this leaves barely any
time to cover the music, though we hear enough of it in the program. With the extra room on the DVD, it is too
bad there was not more on his albums and reggae for music fans, but this is a
biographical piece and offers enough for all to take a look.
The full frame 1.33 X 1 image was shot on analog NTSC
video, with older video and film footage added throughout. This is not bad, but has the usual limits,
with the quality of the older materials varying. Though originally intended to feature Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1
mixes, the DVD only offers Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo with no surrounds of any
kind. The sound is clean and the music
is not bad, but the CD is even more impressive, offering the following tracks
on a disc entitled The Lion Of Reggae:
1) Lively
Up Yourself
2) Soul
Rebel
3) Treat Yourself
Right
4) Rebel’s
Hop
5) Soul
Almighty
6) Kaya
7) Trenchtown
Rock
8) Soul
Shakedown Party
9) Natural
Mystic
10) Fussing & Fighting
11) African Tribesman
12) Keep On Moving
13) Go Tell It To The Mountain
14) How Many Times
In this case, the PCM 2.0 Stereo has some harmonic
distortion and slight warping at times, but is pretty nice when it sounds at
its best. Some of the songs are not
bad, while others really work well.
This was recorded in stereo and is impressive for its time. The only extra on the DVD include a picture
gallery that runs the frames on its own timetable and then there is also a
32-page booklet inside the DVD case, which has some fine illustrations and
text. An audio interview with Marley,
like the DTS, is not available, though the interview is listed on the back of
the DVD case. All in all, this is still
the best Bob Marley DVD to date and it will be interesting to see what could
top this.
- Nicholas Sheffo
