Colosseum
Live – Colosseum Lives – The Complete Reunion Concert – Cologne 1994
Picture: C
Sound: C+ Extras: B- Concert: B-
Imagine taking Blood, Sweat & Tears or the original
Chicago, then add more Classical influence, more Blues and make them very
British. Also consider taking Jethro
Tull and adding more Blues and Rock.
Either way, you would then begin to get the idea of Colosseum, which one
member may rightly claim is the first such band of its kind. Any inspiration by or influence either of or
on Van Morrison is a separate essay, but Colosseum Live – Colosseum Lives –
The Complete Reunion Concert – Cologne 1994 is a solid new DVD that gives a
fine overview of the band then and now.
The new concert runs 113 minutes and is constantly entertaining,
though I would not say this is the best music of its kind ever made, but it is
a cut above most. Even better, as
compared to vintage performances, they fare very well. This should particularly please fans, but
offers a great piece of history for the rest of admire, enjoy and appreciate.
The 1.33 X 1 image for the new concert is shot on analog
video and has some detail limits, especially with a bit of digititis. The documentary also originated on video and
has film footage a few generations down.
The concert is in Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0, and though the 5.1 is
better, it is not by much. The location
sound is limited and the 5.1 does not utilize the surrounds much at all. This is not to say the sound is pulled to
the center too much, but it is rarely up to what it could be. If you want to hear how good such music can
sound, the best example is the DVD-Audio of Chicago II (Sound: B+) with
its 5.1 MLP tracks. Extras include two
very brief text pages on the band followed by several lyrics sheets and the
documentary (88:50) as interesting as the concert itself.
- Nicholas Sheffo
