Adele - Live At The Royal Albert Hall (Blu-Ray + CD)

 

 

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VIDEO:

This Adele concert arrives at blu ray with MPEG-4 AVC 1080i 2.35:1 codec. This was filmed on September 22, 2011 at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Concert footage is usually filmed in 1.78:1. I am pleasantly surprised to find this a 2.35:1 encode, where the video filled up my entire 12 foot wide screen (using anamorphic lens). Fine details are present on close-up. Colours are generally excellent, with bold and bright saturation, and black levels are above average. But, the overall transfer is only ordinary. (4/5)

AUDIO:

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless track is much better when compared to the video presentation. Adele's voice is captured in all of its singularity, and the balance between the singer and the band is very well mixed. Fidelity is superb on the DTS track, with ample low end and great dynamic range. (4.5/5)

CONCERT:

This excellent concert finds Adele in fine form, both vocally and in her unabashedly hilarious monologues in between the songs. In the featurette included on the blu-ray disc, Adele talks, perhaps ingenuously, about how "shy" she is and how she doesn't really understand why she becomes such a chatterbox on stage. Be mindful of the occasional F-bomb dropping onto the audience. She's incredibly sweet, good natured and self deprecating in her comments. All the songs are beautifully performed. She was very comfortable singing bare-footed. Her song Someone Like You is so moving that it brought tears to Adele's and the audience's eyes, and so did mine. Rolling In The Deep is the #1 song of 2011 on Billboard Hot 100, and to have the entire audience sing along with you was another moving experience. The entire concert was 100 minutes, containing all the hits from her two albums: 19 and 21.

The album 21 has so far sold 2.5 million copies, and will be the No. 1 album of 2011. In it, Rolling In The Deep was the No. 1 download (5.56 million) of 2011, No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 for 7 weeks and No. 1 on Adult Contemporary Chart for 19 weeks. Someone Like You was No. 1 in UK and US (5 weeks) with 2.96 million download so far, and also hit No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary Chart. Of course, her first album 19 was also No. 1 in UK. (5/5)

SONG LISTING:

Hometown Glory (from 19)
I'll Be Waiting (from 21)
Don't You Remember (from 21)
Turning Tables (from 21)
Set Fire To The Rain (from 21)
If It Hadn't Been For Love (from 21 bonus track)
My Same (from 19)
Take It All (from 21)
Rumour Has It (from 21)
Right As Rain (from 19)
One And Only (from 21)
Lovesong (from 21)
Chasing Pavements (from 19)
I Can't Make You Love Me (i tune festival 2011)
Make You Feel My Love (from 19)
Someone Like You (from 21)
Rolling In The Deep (from 21)

Along with the blu ray disc comes a CD of the concert plus a lovely booklet with many pictures, including one with her in curlers. From the Live CD, the song Set Fire To The Rain has just reached #1 on Billboard Hot 100. Adele 21 CD which I reviewed separately thus creates chart history as being the CD with three Number 1 songs (Rolling In The Deep, Someone Like You and Set Fire To The Rain) when the parent set still reigned on the Billboard 200. Amazing feat!

It was really unfortunate that Adele suffered from bleeding of her vocal cord, resulting in cancellation of her many concerts in 2011. She has surgery performed successfully to correct the problem, and currently recuperating from her illness. Adele is the Artist Of The Year 2011 according to Billboard Year End Chart Review, with her album 21 the No. 1 album of 2011, and Rolling Of The Deep, the No. 1 single on Billboard Hot 100. With so many awards, I hope she will appear on the Billboard Year-End Award Show. She may not be ready to sing again yet, but seeing her to accept so many awards is gratifying. In the meantime, this blu ray concert is the only way to see her "live" for now...and what a great concert. Highly recommended.

Great News!!!

Adele will be making her first public singing in the Grammy Award show since her surgery...don't you all miss it!!!

Both the DVD and the CD are fabulous and a must-have for anyone even remotely interested in the blues. This girl has written some amazing songs and has the voice and the guts to put her pain and loss and hope out there for all to hear and feel. She's a true original and an enormous talent. Her plentiful "F-Bombs", oddly enough, added to her allure and I for one could not find fault with her sometimes salty commentary. The highlight was the audience participation in "Someone Like You"...very moving. I can't wait to see what beautiful music falls from her lips in the future. Well done! The only down points were some strident notes from her backup singers in a couple of songs and the occasional, slightly off notes by Adele herself...none of which lessened the quality of the vocals to any significant degree and are usually present in any live performance.

As an aside, the service on this order was fantastic...I received it in three days.

My brother loaned me this Blu Ray. I looked at the cover, read the titles of the songs and thought "not for me". But I respect my brother's taste and he dosen't think everything he likes I will. So I put on the Blu ray and watched the first song. I thought "what a great voice". So I looked down the set list and saw she did a Dylan cover (my tastes usually lean towards Neil Young, Bob Dylan, The Band or groups like Radiohead, Porcupine Tree) so being the Dylan Nut that I am I gave that song a shot. That song being "Make You Feel My Love". She does an incredible version of it. Didn't thrill me that she put the song down a bit during her show but to each their own. At least Amy Winehouse pointed out what a great song it was. She dedicates the song to her. Anyway, I watched the rest of it and was really impressed with not just her voice but her writing skills. A skill that most great singers today don't have. Her stories between songs go from funny to "get on with it" but it dosen't hurt the film. I have read a couple of reviews where people put her down for the language she uses. I say power to her. In this day and age it's refreshing to see someone say what is on their mind and not censor it. I also love the fact that in the 8 minute doc. (as a bonus). She starts off by being interviewed as she gets ready to go to the hall. No make up, curlers in her hair and in a bath robe. Could you see any north American pop tarts doing that.
Will I rush out and buy her CD's ? probably not (this also comes with a CD of the soundtrack) but I am really interested to see what type of career she will have ? I have to admit it is refreshing to see someone with talent and not just a good management company make it!

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5.0 out of 5 stars stunning visually and acoustically!
Just watched this blu-ray yesterday and was overwhelmed with awesome sound (DTS master audio which is not stated anywhere on the case or in the description)... Read more

Published 1 month ago by tanya

5.0 out of 5 stars Adele Live at Royal Albert
Well worth the purchase, odds are I won't see Adele live in person in the near future and this is the next best thing..........Adele in such a natural state................. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Mercan writes

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!
This is an incredible DVD! It feels like you are actually there in concert with ADELE! She is hysterical and incredible at the same time! Her singing is Amazing! Read more

Published 2 months ago by Gavin

5.0 out of 5 stars Adele
This is a must have for every Adele fan! Great music and a bit of insight into the music and how it came about.

Published 2 months ago by Ashaan R.

5.0 out of 5 stars A true talent
An intimate feeling and lovely sounding concert, well-shot from nice angles with simple backdrops. The focus is on the songs and Adele's huge perfectly pitched voice and endearing... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Dia's Papi

4.0 out of 5 stars Adele doesn't disappoint.
If you like Adele,then you will like this cd/dvd set. My only complaint is that it scratches too easily. Enjoy the music.

Published 2 months ago by Anthony Sakalauskas

5.0 out of 5 stars Adele - Live at Albert Hall
Could this girl be any better? This DVD is well worth watching, her vocals are awesome. I have leant this DVD out to several of my friends who will be purchasing it!

Published 2 months ago by FrannieG

2.0 out of 5 stars CD
The Artist is always great.The DVD works excellent the CD however is very poor only working on une cd player in our home. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Ivan

5.0 out of 5 stars Like you are there
Am a big fan of Adele and her performance at the Royal Albert Hall does not disappoint. Extras are very good - insight into her life and personality. Read more

Published 3 months ago by C.How

5.0 out of 5 stars Adele at Royal Albert
Adele's singing and songwriting is extraordinary! The most impressive part of this live concert though, is that you get to see a little bit more of Adele's personality. Read more

Published 3 months ago by kbraz

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