Live From Abbey Road – Best Of Season One (Blu-ray + DVD-Video set/BCI Eclipse)

 

Picture: B/C+     Sound: A-/B     Extras: C+     Concert Compilation: B

 

 

Because of The Beatles and George Martin, Abbey Road remains one of the most famous, popular, legendary and beloved studios of all time, with an almost magical association with great music and artistic integrity.  It is also one of those legendary studios that remain in tact and now, a new concert TV series is being produced there with terrific results, featuring a wide range of acts (genres, age, etc.) and BCI Eclipse has issued a fine new compilation called Live From Abbey Road – Best Of Season One on both Blu-ray and DVD.  The result is one of the best music releases of the year in any format.

 

The line-up speaks for itself, with brief interview pieces placed before the performance, a fine move in the following tracks:

 

1)     John Mayer – Ventures

2)     Corinne Bailey Rae – Put Your Record On

3)     Dr. John – I Ain’t No Johnny Mercer

4)     Craig David – Hypnotic

5)     Damien Rice – 9 Crimes

6)     LeAnn Rimes – Can’t Fight The Moonlight

7)     Josh Grobin – February Song

8)     Natasha Bedingfield – I Wanna Have Your Babies

9)     Wynton Marsalis – You & Me

10)  Nerina Pallot – Idaho

11)  Jamiroquai – Love Foolosophy

12)  Ray LaMontagne – Trouble

13)  Gipsy Kings – Bamboleo

14)  Norah Jones – Thinking About You

15)  David Gilmour – On An Island

16)  The Good, The Bad & The Queen – Nature Springs

17)  The Kooks – Naοve

18)  Gnarls Barkley – Smiley Faces

19)  The Goo Goo Dolls – Iris

20)  Iron Maiden – Hallowed Be Thy Name

21)  Kasabian – Shoot The Runner

22)  Primal Scream – Rocks

23)  The Zutons – Valerie

24)  Dave Matthews – American Baby

25)  Amos Lee – The Truth

 

 

The 1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image is pretty good on the Blu-ray with some motion blur, but a rich image for HD and consistent color and depth throughout.  The studio looks so good too.  The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on the DVD is weaker as expected, with detail issues and lesser Video Black, but is still clean and watchable.  I like the way the show is shot, as the people making it love the artists and the studio, which shows over and over again.

 

The DTS HD Master Audio (MA) lossless 5.1 and Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mixes are incredible in their range and depth, making one wish they were 7.1, but these are among the best music mixes on Blu-ray (or anywhere else) to date, especially considering this is live recording.  I give a slight edge to the DTS MA, but the sound is about as state-of-the-art as you can get and the TrueHD is one of the better such mixes there too.   The DVD has really good DTS 5.1 that is full, but no match for the Blu-ray sound mixes.  There is also standard Dolby Digital 5.1 on the DVD, but it sounds weak by comparison to the rest.  Extras in both formats include a behind the scenes look at the show and extended interviews with Matthews, Kasabian, Gilmour, Rae, John, Jay Kay, Mayer and LaMontagne.

 

The DVD version is a solid set, while the Blu-ray is able to fit everything and then some in what is one of the best demo music titles in Blu-ray to date and in performance, a new high for the underrated BCI Eclipse Company.  You’ll enjoy your favorite artists and the ones you don’t know are worth your time, giving their best in every case here.  Jamiroquai, David Gilmour, Corinne Bailey Rae, Josh Grobin and John Mayer have some particularly great moments, with Gilmour sounding better here than he did on his own recent Blu-ray set.

 

Soon to be a music, videophile and audiophile favorite, I hope BCI is able to release entire seasons in Blu-ray.  Live From Abbey Road – Best Of Season One is a must-own for any serious music and home theater collection.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo