Smokey Joe’s Cafe – The Songs Of Leiber &
Stoller (Umbrella
Entertainment/PAL Region 4/Four/DTS DVD Import)
Picture: B-
Sound: B Extras: D Concert: B
PLEASE
NOTE: This DVD set can only be operated on machines capable of playing back
DVDs that can handle Region Four/4 PAL format software and can be ordered from
our friends at Umbrella Entertainment at the website address provided at the
end of the review.
Jerry
Leiber and Mike Stoller are one of the greatest songwriting teams of all
time. From Rock and Soul classics to standards,
their music is some of the most important American Music of all time. In 1995, 40 of their songs were brought
together and made into a Broadway stage musical named after one of their many
classics. The result was a huge hit
called Smokey Joe’s Cafe – The Songs Of
Leiber & Stoller, now on DVD with the original cast. This was their last performance before the
show folded in its original run.
The great
songs featured include:
I’m A Woman
Hound Dog
Kansas City
Charlie Brown
Yakety Yak
Poison Ivy
Hound Dog
There Goes My Baby
Jailhouse Rock
Love Potion No. 9
Spanish Harlem
I (Who Have Nothing)
There are
more, but you should discover those for yourself by seeing this superior DTS
DVD release. My only complaint in something
that cannot be avoided is that the Rock edge is sometimes compromised at times
to make a given song fit into the Broadway Musical mode. But the duo were geniuses and this show
reminds us about how important their music was, is and will always be.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image was shot in High Definition video
(likely 1080i) and looks pretty good and colorful throughout with limited
aliasing errors, staircasing or minor errors.
Being in PAL and not U.S. NTSC helps, but I can imagine this would look
even better on Blu-ray. The DTS 5.1 mix
is a pleasant surprise with only a few moments where the video is not
optimal. The combination is very
watchable and enjoyable. There are no
extras.
As noted
above, you can order this PAL DVD import exclusively from Umbrella at:
http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/
-
Nicholas Sheffo
