Michael Franti &
Spearhead – Live In Sydney
(DualDisc)
Picture: C
Sound: B- Extras: C- Concert: B-
Michael Franti & Spearhead are a
Reggae group that also uses Rap and Hip Hop more extensively than their
predecessors. Live In Sydney is
a new concert disc in the DualDisc format that ruins about an hour on the CD
side and more like 70 minutes on the DVD-Video side. The concert is not bad, but too short and does not offer as much
new and interesting twists on genre as expected. However, they have some talent and energy, delivering the
following songs:
1) What I
Be
2) Pray For
Peace
3) Every
Single Soul
4) Stay
Human
5) Feelin’
Free
6) Everyone
Deserves Music
7) Rock The
Nation
8) Sometimes
9) Taxi
Radio
10) Never Too Late
It should be noted that the songs are of the “extended
jam” variety, which should give you an idea of what to expect from
playback. The DVD’s letterboxed 1.78 X
1 image has some serious problems with definition and a digital strobe effect
that ads vertical lines on Franti often, especially when he moves. The sound is Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo on the
concert and first bonus clip, while it is slightly better PCM 2.0 16Bit/48kHz
Stereo on the latter two clips. The CD
side is PCM 2.0 16Bit/44.1kHz Stereo.
None have surrounds of any kind and the three bonus performances are
more like extras stage clips than Music Videos, but are the only bonus. Know that the DualDisc format does not
always play well on all DVD or CD players, so expect some delays for your
machine to adjust to it. If it does not
pick up after a certain point, DO NOT endanger your player. Take the disc out and try it on another
machine.
- Nicholas Sheffo
