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Category:    Home > Reviews > Concert > Rock > Jazz > Pop > Van Morrison – Live At Montreux 1980/1974 (DVD Concert Set)

Van Morrison – Live At Montreux 1980/1974 (DVD Concert Set)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: B-     Extras: C-     Concerts: B-

 

 

Two classic concerts by Rock/Jazz icon Van Morrison have arrived on DVD as a double set from Eagle Eye’s Live At Montreux series, one from 1980, another from 1974.  His big hit singles ended by 1971, but his fans and FM vinyl record album radio picked up the slack, allowing his run of hit albums to last until 1978.  Touring and becoming more and more of a fan favorite by being authentic, never selling out and possibly because of the lack of commercial success, he made it to Montreux on a few occasions.  Two of them are now here.  The tracklisting for both shows are as follows:

Disc One - July 10, 1980


1. Wavelength

2. Kingdom Hall

3. It Stoned Me

4. Troubadours

5. Spirit

6. Joyous Sound

7. Satisfied

8. Ballerina

9. Summertime in England

10.  Moondance

11.  Haunts of Ancient Peace

12.  Wild Night

13.  Listen to the Lion

14.  Tupelo Honey

15.  Angeliou

 

 

Disc Two - June 30, 1974


1. (It's Not The) Twilight Zone

2. I Like It Like That

3. Foggy Mountain Top

4. Bulbs

5. Boffyflow & Spike

6. Heathrow Shuffle

7. Naked in the Jungle

8. Street Choir

9. Harmonica Boogie

10.  Since I Fell For You

 

 

Unlike the not-necessarily-kind satire of Morrison in recent years like on Saturday Night Live with former “I can’t stop laughing while I perform because I am so damn funny” cast member Jimmy Fallon, who may have never enjoyed Morrison or any other good music to boot, here is the real man at his prime.  Morrison is a showman, artist and class act.  If you like a pair of good concert and especially like Morrison, you get over 140 minutes of solid music.  Only so much has been issued on DVD of Morrison, but this should more than help to make up for that gap.

 

Moondance and Wild Night are not just retreads form the vinyl, but mediations on the songs without dragging them out to the point of satire.  The musicians for both shows, noted at the end of each concert, are also very good.  He even took a break from recording for a few years before the ’80 concert and it seems to have re-energized him.  The 1980 show is also at the tail-end of the singer-songwriter era just surviving Disco before New Wave arrive ed on the Pop charts and MTV on cable. 

 

The 1.33 x 1 image was shot on analog color videotape, likely NTSC, and looks fairly good for its age.  The 1980 looks a little clearer than the 1974 footage, but not by much.  The older audio is here in PCM 2.0 16bit/48khz Stereo and DTS 5.1, the latter of which is a little harsh unavoidably.  The combination works fine in either case, though purists might go for the PCM.  Except for a paper pullout with a brief essay, there are no extras.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


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