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Category:    Home > Reviews > Concert > Rock > Soul > Live At The Rock ‘N’ Roll Palace – Volume One + The Platters & The Coasters (1980s/Quantum Leap)

Live At The Rock ‘N’ Roll Palace – Volume One + The Platters & The Coasters (1980s/Quantum Leap)

 

Picture: C     Sound: C     Extras: C-     Concert/Compilation: C/D

 

 

If Classic Rock was killed by being played out, oldies since the 1970s have been badly affected by alternate versions or outright re-recordings of the original hits and especially bands showing up with some or almost all of their original members missing.  Sometimes this is because of death, ill health, a fallout with management or just the misfortune not to be able to afford to be part of the revival.  Two new DVDs from the Quantum Leap label are sad examples of the latter.

 

The boldly titled The Platters & The Coasters claims to be the original bands from the 1950s, but the former has one member left, while the latter has one missing.  The Platters has two-dozen hits from 1955 – 1967 and this new version is a mess, butchering classics like The Great Pretender, Only You, Sixteen Tons (which is not even their song!!!) and Twilight Time, aptly titled because they should have put this version of the group to bed before it ever hit stage.  As for The Coasters, they had 10 big hits from 1957 – 1961 and they try to re-perform them.  Though you can hear it is original members, though more than one with original members was touring at the time!

 

This version (members, like year of taping, unidentified) offers hits like Charlie Brown, Poison Ivy, Yakety Yak and Little Egypt.  Either this version just does not have it to carry these songs off or it was a very, very bad night.  Two of those songs show up on Live At The Rock ‘N’ Roll Palace – Volume One, one of three volumes (so far?) compiling tapings from the same 1950s jukebox-styled stage all this material was performed on.  Ten acts have two songs a piece including a rough Tommy Sands, forgettable Diamonds, bad version of The Dixie Cups with only one of the three original members (the other two look like they are out of high school, which might explain The Pointer Sister knock-off outfits), passable Jive Five, mixed Tokens, fairly goods Del Shannon and surprisingly in tact Bryan Hyland.

 

Unfortunately, it makes you want to get other materials, especially the original hits, from the original artists.

 

The 1.33 X 1 image is in color, but is incredibly soft and looks like second or third generation NTSC or PAL analog video with a harsh look all around.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 is barely stereo, compressed and somewhat distorted throughout.  Extras include previews for other Quantum Leap titles and text on the acts.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


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