Customer Reviews

Live at Montreux (2003) [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

VIDEO:

Simply Red: Live at Montreux 2003 arrives at blu ray with MPEG-4 AVC 1080i 1.78:1 encode. It should be noted that there are actually two concerts: 18 songs from the 2003 concert and 7 songs that did not appear in 2003 from the 2010 concert. The video for the 2003 concert is much less stellar than the 2010 concert, with much less detail. The picture is softer with the 2003 concert segment. In the 2010 concert segment, a lot of the close-ups look considerably better, with decent fine detail. The difference in video quality is fairly noticeable. (3.5/5)

AUDIO:

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless track is simply outstanding. with excellent fidelity and clear reproduction of all frequency ranges. Mick Hucknail's voice is front and centre. The different instruments are clearly defined. The brass and wind players sound great. There's virtually no chit chat during this concert, with Mick and the band simply segueing effortlessly from tune to tune. A very enjoyable audio. (4/5)

CONCERT:

Mick Hucknail, born in Denton, Manchester, England, a "blue-eyed soul" singer, nicknamed "Red" because of his red hair. Simply Red has been around since 1985, with 39 charted hits in the UK Top 75 chart. His only #1 hit in UK was Fairground in 1995, while in US, Simply Red has two chart-toppers: Holding Back The Years in 1986 and If You Don't Know Me By Now in 1989, which also won a Grammy for R&B song. Eagle Rock has done an excellent job in bringing the entire 2003 concert, plus seven songs from 2010 concert. From a video point of view, I would have preferred the entire 2010 concert, with bonus tracks from 2003. The contents are excellent with a total of 25 tracks, lasting 124 minutes. The song listing with their chart positions and source is as follows:

2003 concert:
01 Sad Old Red (from album Picture Book 1985)
01 Enough (from the album A New Flame 1989)
02 Lost Weekend (from album Home 2003)
03 A New Flame (UK 17/1989)
04 Night Nurse (UK 13/1997)
05 Something For You (from album Home 2003)
06 You Make Me Feel Brand New (UK 7/2003)
07 Home Loan Blues (from album Home 2003)
08 Stars (Billboard #44/1992)
09 Fake (UK 21/2003)
10 Come To My Aid (UK 66/1985)
11 Thrill Me (UK 33/1992)
12 The Right Thing (Billboard #27/1987)
13 Something Got Me Started (Billboard #23/1991)
14 Holding Back The Years (Billboard #1/1986)
15 Money's Too Tight To Mention (Billboard #28/1986)
16 Fairground (Billboard #114/1995)
17 Sunrise (Billboard #122/2003)

2010 concert:
01 Out On The Range (from album Life 1995)
02 To Be With You (from album A New Flame 1989)
03 Your Mirror (UK 17/1992)
04 Heaven (from album The Best Of Simply Red 2003)
05 For Your Babies (UK 9/1992)
06 Ain't That A Lot Of Love (UK 14/1999)
07 If You Don't Know Me By Now (Billboard #1/1989)

I was very happy with the contents. (5/5)

FINAL THOUGHT:

Eagle Rock has done an excellent job in bringing The Best Of Simply Red Live to high definition. Eagle Rock should also be given credit for including those 7 additional tracks from 2010 concert. Although the video is average, the audio is outstanding, especially Mick Hucknail's clear voice, back-up by his band. The result is Simply Really great! The above disc is highly recommended for all music lovers.

Lastly, I would like to share a tip with all of you about how to get the cheapest price for purchase of a CD or blu ray disc on Amazon.ca. The secret is to know what items that you want are being released. Browse through Amazon.ca website frequently to check when the item is officially available for pre-order. The secret is to pre-order as soon as it is announced. Usually, this is the lowest price. For example: I bought the above disc at $10.49 when it was first announced, and now the price is $14.99. Similarly, the price for Sade: Bring Me Home Live 2011 (blu ray)(my review elsewhere) that I paid at the time of announcement was $13.99, and now the price is $20.00. The key is to pre-order early.

I hope the above review and tips in saving are helpful to you.