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Category:    Home > Reviews > Concert > Jazz > Pop > Soul > Standards > Chris Botti In Boston (Live with The Boston Pops/Sony Music Blu-ray)

Chris Botti In Boston (Live with The Boston Pops/Sony Music Blu-ray)

 

Picture: B     Sound: B+     Extras: C+     Concert: B

 

 

Chris Botti is becoming so commercially successful on his own terms, the sales and critical acclaim of Chris Botti Live with Orchestra & Special Guests from December 2005 has led to a newer concert that is even that much better.  For those unfamiliar with the first, here is the link to our coverage of the Blu-ray edition:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5898/Chris+Botti+Live+with+Orchestra

 

 

The new concert seems to have more energy and is just more consistent throughout.  I also liked more of the songs from this event taped September 18th & 19th, 2008, including:

 

1)     Ave Maria

2)     When I Fall in Love

3)     Caruso

4)     Seven Days (with Sting and Dominic Miller)

5)     Broken Vow (with Josh Grobin)

6)     Flamenco Sketches

7)     Hallelujah

8)     I’ve Got You Under My Skin (with Katharine McPhee)

9)     Cinema Paradiso (with Yo-Yo Ma)

10)  The Look Of Love (with Sy Smith)

11)  Emanuel (with Lucia Micarelli)

12)  Glad To Be Unhappy (with John Mayer)

13)  Cryin’ (with Steven Tyler)

14)  Smile (with Steven Tyler)

15)  Indian Summer

16)  Shape Of My Heart (with Sting, Josh Grobin and Dominic Miller)

17)  If I Ever Loose My Faith In You (with Sting and Dominic Miller)

18)  Time To Say Goodbye

 

 

I cannot remember the last time so many stars showed up, including music talents so grossly underexposed it is not funny and shows how badly the music labels are handling such things.  I hope because of this show, the unknowns find sudden boosts in their careers and not a moment too soon.  There was more Steven Tyler and Sting than I would have liked, but Yo-Yo Ma, Katharine McPhee, Sy Smith, Lucia Micarelli and John Mayer really deliver and the concert is one of the best on Blu-ray to date.

 

While I was not happy with the image quality on the previous Botti Blu-ray, the 1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image is much improved here, though still with some reservations.  Audience shots look like The Carol Burnett Show in their noise, while orchestra shots can look odd in an all-blue color that looks blobby.  But the shots of the performers on stage work and the editing is good.  I just wished we had a multi-angle feature in the extras because so much good is going on, you are always missing something.

 

The sound is also impressive, inline with the previous Blu-ray.  This time, we get a Dolby TrueHD 96/24 7.1 mix that is not bad, but has some limits.  The last release was PCM 96/24 5.1, but the two new tracks are not so stunning that it makes this a reference audio disc, but it is still solid.  The PCM 48/24 2.0 mix is not bad either for those not into surrounds (for whatever reason) and a much weaker that the other two Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is also included for grandfathered systems, but is very weak.  Extras include a behind the scenes featurette, a performance of Fragile with Sting, Yo-Yo Ma and Dominic Miller and a booklet inside the Blu-ray case.

 

This is bound to be a concert demo Blu-ray for years to come, so don’t miss it!

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


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