The Moody Blues – Live At Montreux 1991
Picture: C+
Sound: B Extras: C- Concert: B
Still in good form decades later, The Moody Blues surfaced
at Montreux in July of 1991, their only appearance their to date. The Moody Blues – Live At Montreux 1991
is available in a basic DVD with some high performance audio that shows off the
band in a set of songs that does a fine job of covering highlights of their
career. The tracks featured are:
1) Lovely
To See You
2) Gemini
Dream
3) Tuesday
Afternoon (Forever Afternoon)
4) Bless
The Wings (That Bring You Back)
5) Lean On
Me Tonight
6) Say It
With Love
7) The
Story In Your Eyes
8) Your
Wildest Dreams
9) Isn’t
Life Strange
10) The Other Side Of Life
11) I’m Just A Singer (In A Rock N Roll Band)
12) Nights In White Satin
13) Legend Of A Mind
14) Question
15) Ride My See-Saw
Unlike some other bands of the time who have played
themselves into health troubles (Emerson, Lake & Palmer), or have had
various member changes and still kept things together usually (Yes), The Moodys
have retained their key members over the decades, including the distinct,
memorable voices of lead singers Justin Hayward and John Lodge. Here, they are still in remarkably good
shape, with little strain in either of their performances throughout. Gemini Dream still sounds like the
band picking up where Electric Light Orchestra left off, if only for one song,
while Tuesday Afternoon remains an Art Rock classic and this performance
is very faithful to the original studio hit recording. There are tracks from their then-new Keys
To The Kingdom album, but you also get greats like Question and Isn’t
Life Strange that makes you remember why they have survived so long. The Moody Blues are one of the most
important British Invasion bands of the 1960s and that they never run out of
ideas is remarkable. This is a concert
all home theater owners will want to spin at least once and fans now have a
sixth DVD to get.
The 16 X 9 image is not anamorphically enhanced, but looks
good for its age, being shot on videotape and all. We suspect PAL format.
The sound is also very good for its age, but while the PCM 2.0
16Bit/48kHz Stereo is a disappointment, the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is not bad,
but the DTS 5.1 is really impressive for the age of the recording and is the
preferred playback mode if you have the capacity. That makes for a nice combination. The disc has no extras, but this is such a nicely concert
performance disc in context and sound fidelity, that you will forget that. The DVD case does contain a nice foldout
with color stills, an essay by Michael Heatley and a page on more great Eagle
Eye/Montreux releases. You’ll find many
of them reviewed elsewhere on this site.
- Nicholas Sheffo
