Rosebud vs. Midnight Special

David · #1 09-29-2002, 12:08 PM

VH1 Classic is part of my digital cable lineup. I saw a bit of it the other day -- lucked out & saw the "Rhiannon" from Rosebud (which they erroneously identified onscreen as being from the Mirage In Concert video).

I figured that what I was seeing was as cleaned up as Rosebud is ever going to get (unless someone goes at it with digital restoration techniques, which would be very unlikely). Even so, I was still struck by how shadowy the film is; it's so dark that you almost think it's underexposed. The five players aren't lighted very effectively (their faces look oily) & the camera is often in the wrong place at the wrong time. The editing (the cutting & connecting of shots) is bad, & the soundtrack has probably lost some of its dynamic range -- or it wasn't recorded all that well to begin with. The instruments don't have much separation, & the playback is muddy. Overall, it's nothing more than just some rough footage good for marketing snippets, which is essentially how it was used.

I grabbed my VH1 broadcast of "Rhiannon" & "World Turning" off the Midnight Special repeats a couple of years ago because I was curious about which of the two programs was inferior technically. I have to say it was Rosebud by a long shot. There's just no decent comparison. The Midnight Special footage was so much better preserved, or something --- the lighting was brighter & sharper, the camera work was more solid & more professional (except for those occasional attempts at psychedelia) & the sound was definitely better: more presence, more definition, better stereo effects, more dynamic range.

If I were responsible for releasing either the Rosebud footage or the Midnight Special footage to DVD with a minor cleanup, I'd release the Midnight Special. The Rosebud footage would be wasted on a digital transfer; there's practically nothing there to work with technologically. But the Midnight Special footage would really benefit; the results would be amazing.

The only other consideration would be the actual performance. I guess fans are split: some fans, like Brian@msn, consider the Midnight Special "Rhiannon" the best ever filmed & others swear up & down by Rosebud. I think they're both about equally good.

Gypsy-Rhiannon · #2 09-29-2002, 12:33 PM

Is the Rosebud Rhiannon the one with the moon and tree thing in the background??? I have seen this if it is...haven't seen the midnight special one tho

Pip

tommer · #3 09-29-2002, 01:11 PM

to pip,
it's very confusing, because BOTH videos have this tree in the background, but they are different, the one they play on vh1 classic is the (bad) rosebud video,
if you wanna see the midnight special one (and you can download a 84mb video file) just beep me. i have it if you want.
and adam is right, her hairdresser on the midnight special was probably way too creative that day.

Johnny Stew · #4 09-29-2002, 02:20 PM

Put me in the category with the folks who prefer the Rosebud version.

I agree with David on every point he made about the differences in both sound and picture quality, but for me at least, there's just an energy that runs thru the Rosebud version that I respond to every time.
For some reason, the Midnight Special performance doesn't incite the same reaction from me... even though it is markedly superior on a technical level.

Pip, here's a screen-capture from Rosebud (borrowed from FMLegacy). This should help you differentiate between the two.

Johnny Stew

Travis · #5 09-29-2002, 03:48 PM

Well, I wasn't sure which live performances were Rosebud and Midnight Special. From the clip that Johnny Stew posted, then it must be the Rosebud performances that I have seen. In fact, back in the 80's, VH-1 used to play the older songs and they used the Rosebud footage as "videos" for the songs. I too remember thinking how dark the clips looked. However, does anyone remember the Fleetwood Mac special that aired on the Disney Channel back in either late 92 or early 93? I remember they played part of the Rhiannon clip from Rosebud and it was redone. The color was much brighter and the audio sounded liked it was remixed. In fact, I know it was, it was that evident. But they only played part of the song though. Damn, it's time to release this concert eh guys?

Travis

greatdarkwing · #6 09-29-2002, 04:55 PM

It is called 'Coming Home'...I have that one, and it is pretty good....As far as Rosebud vs. Midnihgt Special, I have a very nice version of the entire Rosebud film just before my 1977 Backstage footage....Its kinda dark, but I love Rosebud. I have two Midnight Specials...One with Rhiannon and World Turning, and in my other bootleg I have the "left overs"...Over My Head, and like 2 other ones. The quality isn't great, but 'World Turning' on Rosebud is spectacular!!! I like the shot where they show the three band members simultaneously. Just my two cents....

~Alex

Sorcerer386 · #7 09-30-2002, 06:57 PM

Picture quality wise, I definitely have to go with Midnight Special, and even sound quality, but the PERFORMANCE of Rhiannon I have to take the Rosebud side. The way Rhiannon rocked out in the end those days called for a kind of unpolished, note converging sound rather than a polished sound where each note is distinct from each other. Plus, I just like Stevie's screaming better in this one. But I know what you mean about the Rosebud show. Honestly, when I picture anything from the Rosebud show in my head, it always ends up looking black and white to me, with the exception of Lindsey's bright red sweater on I'm So Afraid. The band tended to always look "oily" during the early days imo. It wasn't really until '81 that they started to not look like that.