Incognito In Concert (Ohne Filter)
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: C+ Concert: B
It was taped on June 27th 1995 and lasts only
about an hour, but the Incognito installment/appearance on German TV’s music
series Ohne Filter is a stunning performance as good as any the series
has produced to date. The configuration
of the band at the time featured 11 members, including five on vocals, and more
than one lead vocalist to boot. The
band goes back to 1981, when it was more of an Alan Parsons Project type of
group, lead by Jean-Paul Maunick and producer Paul “Tubbs” Williams. It rose out of the group Light Of The World,
as the biography text section explains further.
The result here is like Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire
combined, with all the strength and richness of true R&B that is in
desperate need of revival. The tracks
here are:
1) Good
Love
2) One
Hundred & Rising
3) Everyday
4) Spellbound
& Speechless
5) Don’t
You Worry ‘bout A Thing
6) Harvest
For The World
7) Colibri
8) Still A
Friend Of Mine
9) Always
There
It is a strong set that makes the most of its time, but
the true test is the cover of the Stevie Winder classic Don’t You Worry
‘bout A Thing from his masterwork Innervisions. The vocals are terrific all around and the
musicianship is top rate, something that seems these days to be the
exception. With that said, the energy
and fun never stops until the end of the disc and it could have run for four
hours. They certainly had the energy!
The full
frame PAL image is not bad and relatively recently in its taping, so it does
not bleed like older analog PAL (or NTSC) and is from a clean source. The two soundtracks offered are PCM Stereo
and a slightly more dynamic Dolby Digital 5.1 AC-3 mix. This is one of the best sound mixes in the
series to date, and though no DTS is here, the series is releasing SACDs and
this is prime must-release material.
The extras are the usual biography of the music act, as is on all Ohne
Filter DVDs, as well as the same engineer interview, web link, producer
interview, and guide to many other Ohne Filter concerts on DVD. Incognito In Concert – Ohne Filter is
easily one of the best R&B DVDs issued to date and will be tough to match,
so be sure to pick it up, especially if you have a home theater system.
- Nicholas Sheffo
