Loose In L.A. (Blu-ray)

Bill Gibron, DVD Verdict --Taken from a 2003 performance at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles, The Pretenders: Loose in LA represents the band touring on the tail of a new album (2002's Loose Screw) and a good percentage of the set list is made up of tracks from this release. Fair warning for those of you looking for more material from Pretenders II (only "Message of Love" and "Talk of the Town" are represented) or favorites like "Show Me," "2000 Miles," "The Wait," or "Hymn to Her." While still representing an amazing two hours and twenty minutes of music, we still miss the supposed smash "hits." Also missing is a sense of urgency. For all their troubles, The Pretenders have earned the right to relax in their advancing middle age. But this doesn't necessarily make for fiery onstage antics. Hynde plays passionately, as does guitarist Adam Seymour and keyboardist Zeben Jameson. Yet it's bassist Andy Hobson who seems to be channeling the overall internal vibe. He's so laidback and uninvolved that you'd swear he was doing the sound check, not the actual show.

In fact, most of Loose in LA comes across as far too calm. Perhaps it's the mix, or Hynde's battle with voice issues (she complains at one point of taking one--in this case, a cortisone shot to the butt--for the team), but the overall feeling is one of toned down defiance. This is no "pushed to eleven" event. This is The Pretenders doing the right thing and delivering what they think the crowd wants. There is no denying the quality of the material--Hynde rights great, almost instantly memorable songs--and the musicianship is stellar. But we expect to have our asses kicked by something like The Pretenders, not to sit back and watch as they work through a couple hours of rehearsal. We want fire. We want brimstone. We want the Hynde that preyed on the paternalistic nature of the music business like a mantis on a mate. Instead, we are satisfied if not fully sated. Considering their caliber as rock originals, The Pretenders deserve some slack. However, this show may be a bit too lax for those who helped the band find their initial fanbase footing.

As for the quality of the Blu-ray, Eagle Vision does its typical stellar job. The MPEG-4 AVC encode gives the 1.78:1/1080i image a lot of punch. Colors are crisp and the amount of detail is excellent. You can even see how ageless Hynde is most of the time (the woman looks amazing for her early 50s). Thankfully, the direction by Brian Lockwood avoids the rapid cut ridiculousness of the MTV-style concert presentation. On the sound side of things, there are three different mixes to enjoy. The best, naturally, is the DTS HD Master Audio which provides excellent separation between the musicians and lots of audience ambience. The 5.1 and PCM Stereo set-ups are rather unimpressive, however. They come across as flat and directionless. Finally, the added content is a bit lame. There's a full length video for the new song "You Know Who Your Friends Are," a brief bit of backstage commentary from the band, and a concert montage. That's it. When you include the booklet that comes with the set, that's an insignificant amount of bonus features.

-Full review at dvdverdict.com

This blu-ray is a must for Pretenders fans. I'm giving it five stars because of the quality of the band's performance and of the video and sound. I could ding it for the lack of extras, but that wouldn't be fair to the band.

Buoyed by an appreciative audience, Chrissie Hynde seems to really be enjoying herself and it shows in her performance. She runs a tight ship. They sound at least as good as they did in the 80's and maybe even better. As one reviewer pointed out, they do seem a little lax (actually he said a little too lax), but that's not necessarily a bad thing. They are older, after all. I'd rather see them being who they are than trying to be something they aren't.

Pluses:
* Video quality: Great! I put this one in just to remind me how good my high definition t.v. can look when given something
great to show.
* Sound quality: Sounds great through my Yamaha 673 receiver.
* Track list: Pretty sharp. Standout tracks include You Know Who Your Friends Are, Message Of Love, Talk of the
Town, Precious, I'll Stand By You, and a blazing rendition of My City Was Gone.
* The blu-ray menu: This sounds trivial, but when you put this blu-ray in, it's ready to go. Great menu access, no
copyright warnings, it drops you right in. On their other blu-ray Pretenders: Live In London, whenever I turn it off and
back on, there's two copyright warnings and the disc menu is kind of clunky.

Minuses:
* A few key Pretenders songs are missing such as Rosalee, I Go To Sleep, Break Up the Concrete, Boots of Chinese Plastic, and Stop Your Sobbing (one of my personal favorites). But that's o.k, because you can get those on the also-excellent blu-ray Pretenders: Live In London.
* The cameraman gives a lot of attention to the lead singer and lead guitarist, but not enough to the drummer. That's a shame, because he happens to be one of the best in the business.
* Bonus features: There's not much in the bonus features. This is also true for Pretenders: Live In London.
* Language: A minor amount of the banter between songs contains some unnecessary profanity. It crops up only a few times during the concert, but if you've got someone in your family you don't want learning the "f" word, be prepared to hit the mute button during "My City Was Gone". It's a shame, too, because it actually detracts from an otherwise great performance.
* More switching from camera to camera than "Live In London". Guess I'm getting old, but I like it when the camera lingers a little for some longer shots. A minor gripe, though, for an otherwise excellent production.

Speaking of Pretenders: Live In London, what's the difference between it and Loose In L.A. and which should you buy? If you can, buy both. They are very complimentary of one another and help make a more "complete" picture of the Pretenders' song catalog. There are, however, major differences in the performance. Live In London is much "rougher", from outfits to the lead guitarist and bassist, to the way the songs are played. It has a much less polished feel to it. Live In London does a better job filming the drummer on the song "Middle of the Road". Both blu-rays are well-worth the money.

I've been a fan of the Pretenders for years.I love everything about this DVD.The music and the picture are both high quality.