Pat Metheny Group: The Way Up – Live (DTS)
Picture:
B- Sound: B+ Extras: C Concert: B
In all
this time, it is surprising that we never covered the celebrated Pat Metheny
Group, a Jazz band with an unusual energy that is so good that you sometimes do
not know where the prepared playing begins and any improv or spontaneousness
begins. Eagle Eye has issued a 2004
performance of their from Seoul, South Korea and The Way Up – Live is a most impressive set that runs well over an
hour.
To prove
my point, the tracklisting is as simple as follows:
- Opening
- Part One
- Part Two
- Part Three
It’s that
kind of content labeling that drove critics of Chicago, Yes and Emerson, Lake
& Palmer crazy, but I liked them to, so maybe this is not so bad and shows
some profound sense of humor to boot.
The album this concert is named after was a great success and the
results here totally demonstrate what all the excitement is about. Steve Rodby directed this and after hundreds
of such concerts already on DVD, does come up with some interesting camera
angles that sometimes distinguish this.
Overall, a good concert, but that is not all.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image was nicely shot in digital High
Definition and translates well here, so well in fact that this is one of the
best such HD-to-DVD transfers we have seen to date. Bet they issue this in an HD format. Then there is the sound, which is in strong
PCM 2.0 24bit/48kHz Stereo, better-than-usual Dolby Digital 5.1 and amazing DTS
5.1 that is a top rate recording that audiophiles will be impressed with and
home theater fans will be stunned by.
Like Eagle’s Chick Corea & Gary Burton – Live At Montreux
1997 reviewed on this site, The Way Up
is a new high watermark for concert audio in any format and especially for
DVD. This is very exciting sonically,
with every instrument clean, clear, precise and part of a soundfield that will
impress the most hardcore music fan.
Even if you do not like their genre of music, the sonics on this Metheny
disc are undeniable.
The only
extra is Metheny being interviewed about this concert and the band’s status,
but this is just remarkable and should be a home theater favorite for a long
time to come and make new fans for the group.
- Nicholas Sheffo
