Live in Boston DVD disappointment - Page 3

MacMan · #31 06-15-2004, 04:41 PM

Well I ordered the 2 pack from HDReady for the documentary only.. I knew I'd go out and buy the dvd today anyway.. which I did. Went home for lunch from work and took a peak at it... I love it!!

I bought the digipack version. I'm assuming the longbox is what is coming from HDReady... But we'll see. My brother was going to buy it as well, but I told him to hang on I'll buy both versions and give you the one I don't want.. which he's fine with.

But I still haven't received mine from the order yet... But there was a reason. I called yesterday to see why my C/C hadn't been charged yet... Seems there computers were having a problem getting an approval from Canada... So I confirmed all the particulars with them... hung up.. called my bank - asked them to accept the damn thing as it was legit... and I called back to HDReady - which by the time I called back, she had received authorization on my card and she said because of the problems she would send it priority... which is fine if they do... doesn't matter much if they don't as long as I know it's on the way....

So the Digipack is like the size of the cd... but twice as think. It splits in half, then splits in half again.. so there are 4 parts to it, or 4 sides. On the outter flip outs, one side pocket has the cd... the other side pocket has the booklet. The dvd's are in the trays that normally hold dvds or cds (if that makes sense)

I actually think it's pretty nicely put together. Sure the pics are from the tour book, but alot of people that didn't get to see the shows and buy a tour book will be seeing them for the first time.

From the quick spin through that I took.. the sound is pretty great - Eyes Of The World sticks out as sounding really really great. It's nice to hear instruments on it you normally don't at the shows or on the bootlegs that I've got.

And there are a lot of great closeups too... And they don't look touched up either. Crap there are closeups so close you can practically see up stevies nose...

Anyway, I'm sure once I watch the whole thing I'll have a better opinion.

worldturning75 · #32 06-15-2004, 05:05 PM

While I generally like this concert footage better than The Dance (it actually looks and feels like a concert), I am somewhat disappointed with the sound mix. The Dolby Digital mix does sound better than the PCM/Pro Logic mix.

First, Mick's drums and John's bass are buried too far into the mix on certain songs. Sometimes the punch and force is missing from the Mac rhythm section. I'm watching Come as I type this and some of the force is missing from Mick's drums, especially in the regular PCM mix but a little better in the Dolby Digital mix. Overall, the PCM mix seems a little "bright" too (again, better in the Dolby digital mix). My subwoofer is barely moving any air. Also, there's some kind of over compression going on with Lindsey's vocals on Eyes of the World. They should of let Lindsey mix this instead of Ed Cherney and Mark Needham or at least the ones who mixed Led Zeppelin's How the West Was Won.

Otherwise, this is another great performance by the Mac.

I do have to say that Stevie looks incredibly sexy singing Rhiannon. Also, the Stevie leg pic on the inside cover was a pleasant surprise.

sodascouts · #33 06-15-2004, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by worldturning75

I do have to say that Stevie looks incredibly sexy singing Rhiannon. Also, the Stevie leg pic on the inside cover was a pleasant surprise.

Yes, she does. Bustin' out the cleavage. You go girl!! Work it!!!!

GretaRhiannon · #34 06-15-2004, 10:42 PM

I havent watched it yet...kinda scared now lol, mixed reviews lol...

MacMan · #35 06-15-2004, 10:45 PM

You know what... Everyone has their opinion and they seem extreme.. Some say they love it some are disappointed... But if you are a Fleetwood Mac fan you will totally enjoy this.. Even casual fans will enjoy this.. so don't be afraid. Take what people say as their opinion only and reserve judgement UNTIL you yourself have seen it.

ShangriLaTroubl · #36 06-15-2004, 10:50 PM

I must say after watching it a second time, I noticed some things that really caught my eye about it..and I really enjoyed it much more this time around...

Say Goodbye is irreplacable here on this DVD, this is the best version I have heard of it ANYWHERE...it totally just captivates me...

Beautiful Child is very touching...she sings it with such passion

Goodbye Baby is very cool...we get some NICE NICE closeups of Stevie during this number...which is nice...and the vocal as always is great...

Come sounded excellent...the guitar work sounds much better and less like mush than in concert...I love the heavy guitar...

I'm So Afraid - Great to see Lindsey playing guitar here WITHOUT the background guitar players...and Stevie sounds great "black as night!!"

Another thing I noticed, but hadn't noticed throughout the tour for some reason was the background guitar players are also gone on Rhiannon, Brett is the only one left , and he plays Keyboards..and Lindsey really put some heavy guitar licks in the ending of Rhiannon on this one...

So I do enjoy it MUCH better after re-watching it...

Chris

rezamatic · #37 06-15-2004, 11:06 PM

So far I've only caught certain songs, but it definitely seems like a few things are off...

1 - The crowd seems VERY inactive during some songs, except for the few in the spotlight right in front of the stage. It's like they cut in inserts of people clapping when they got desperate.

2 - "Tusk" - OBVIOUS "Dance" dubs. Christine's "TUSK!" is clear as day. One time they add it when Lindsey's nowhere near the mic!! Come on, how sloppy! And okay--I can understand if you want to loop in the USC band to add some power to the melody (cuz when you take out the mesh arena-sound and hear the actual keyboards, I think it really sounds funky). But the problem is that you hear the end of one of Lindsey's groans (from the Dance) EVERY TIME it loops! Listen for it and when you spot it it becomes the most annoying thing and just seems so sloppy and lazy that they didn't catch/do anything about it.

3 - So far I've only seen a few tracks. But John's bass seems WAY too soft in the mix. Even when he's on screen taking the spotlight for a few seconds, you can barely pick up the bass.

4 - Mick is hilarious. I've always realized how insane he looks behind drums. But even when he's playing "NGBA" he has this look on his face like 'WOAH did I just do that? ...sound pretty cool! WOO how about that!" It's like his a kid with a chemistry set or something.

Well so far it's worthwhile. Nice having a copy of the show that's not jittery and shaky and taped from all the way across the arena. I've got to rotate watching that and the Simpsons season 4! What a dilemma!

ShangriLaTroubl · #38 06-15-2004, 11:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rezamatic

2 - "Tusk" - OBVIOUS "Dance" dubs. Christine's "TUSK!" is clear as day. One time they add it when Lindsey's nowhere near the mic!! Come on, how sloppy! And okay--I can understand if you want to loop in the USC band to add some power to the melody (cuz when you take out the mesh arena-sound and hear the actual keyboards, I think it really sounds funky). But the problem is that you hear the end of one of Lindsey's groans (from the Dance) EVERY TIME it loops! Listen for it and when you spot it it becomes the most annoying thing and just seems so sloppy and lazy that they didn't catch/do anything about it.

I dont hear it as directly taken from the Dance...throughout the entire tour they have sampled in the USC stuff during Tusk, and at shows sometimes you will hear "TUSK!!" even when hes not at the mic, because of the 5 background vocalists they have.....but I will need to relisten to see if I hear Christine in there...one weird thing about Tusk is in the end when he goes "uhhhhhhhhhhh..a.ahhh" and does his groan thing at the end of the song like he does or whatever at the mic, the first time they play it his head is facing the floor, and hes not even at the mic...lol

Chris

MacMan · #39 06-15-2004, 11:35 PM

Quote:

2 - "Tusk" - OBVIOUS "Dance" dubs. Christine's "TUSK!" is clear as day. One time they add it when Lindsey's nowhere near the mic!! Come on, how sloppy! And okay--I can understand if you want to loop in the USC band to add some power to the melody (cuz when you take out the mesh arena-sound and hear the actual keyboards, I think it really sounds funky). But the problem is that you hear the end of one of Lindsey's groans (from the Dance) EVERY TIME it loops! Listen for it and when you spot it it becomes the most annoying thing and just seems so sloppy and lazy that they didn't catch/do anything about it.

All I have to say is read Brett Tuggles Q & A and you will see that through out the whole show there are dubs added in to enhance the sound which he plays from his keyboards. And to quote him... "To make it sound more like the album". So it wouldn't surprise me to hear dubs from albums (if they worked the first time, why not again). You can clearly hear on bootlegs of certain shows where they dub in enhanced vocals during the chorus of Say You Will to fill it out... And on Peacekeeper as well, more vocals are added. I see nothing wrong with that.

skcin · #40 06-16-2004, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacMan

You know what... Everyone has their opinion and they seem extreme.. Some say they love it some are disappointed... But if you are a Fleetwood Mac fan you will totally enjoy this.. Even casual fans will enjoy this.. so don't be afraid. Take what people say as their opinion only and reserve judgement UNTIL you yourself have seen it.

I watched Disc one this am & I really like it. The Landslide deication was beautiful - I'm not a weepy person at Mac shows, but the whole "he taught me to play guitar" got me teary-eyed. And I thought Rhiannon was amazing.

Disc 2 tonight!

Paula

strandinthewind · #41 06-16-2004, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skcin

I watched Disc one this am & I really like it. The Landslide deication was beautiful - I'm not a weepy person at Mac shows, but the whole "he taught me to play guitar" got me teary-eyed. And I thought Rhiannon was amazing.

Disc 2 tonight!

Paula

I loved Stevie's crazy and zany expression in EOTW. I also love how they show Stevie in those close ups - she has pain on her face when she sings.

JamieSPC · #42 06-16-2004, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rezamatic

Well so far it's worthwhile. Nice having a copy of the show that's not jittery and shaky and taped from all the way across the arena. I've got to rotate watching that and the Simpsons season 4! What a dilemma!

I'm also working in some Simpsons here and there. My wife and I got our HDReady package on Monday, so that helped. Last night we watched the entire first disc of the Simpsons set. Even though we haven't gotten to the monorail episode yet (my all time favorite and on the DVD it has a CONAN O'BRIEN COMMENTARY!!!), I can unequivocally say (as Comic Book Guy): "Best ... DVD ... ever."

As for FM: I'm disappointed with the quality of the DVD -- the video quality and the packaging, for the most part. But NOT with the performance. Here are my highlights:

1. "Eyes of the World" -- Just a great performance by the band. So much fun. I will listen to this one a lot.

2. "Rhiannon" -- Very intense and just as I remembered it from the show I saw.

3. "Come" -- That solo at the end is terrific. Wow.

4. "Landslide" dedication -- Very touching.

5. "Say Goodbye" -- The highlight of the disc for me. I think this is Lindsey's best song since his stuff from "Tusk," including all his solo stuff. Here the 6/8 is almost arrhythmic, yet they're right together on the harmonies. I liked this song when I heard it on the GOS demos, liked it even more on SYW, and this live version is absolutely incredible and one of the most moving moments I've seen from this band, right up there with "Silver Springs" from "The Dance."

6. "Stand Back" -- Um, you go girl. Also love the cuts of Lindsey mouthing "STAND BACK!"

~Jamie

CarneVaca · #43 06-16-2004, 09:09 AM

My highlights:

Say Goodbye: Brilliant move to slow this song down and attack it with those dramatic highs and lows. Both voices sound positively gorgeous and the interaction between the two singers is priceless.

Come: What can I say? This song comes alive in concert. As over the top as the solo is, I don't think I'll get bored. Same commentary here that I made on the audio CD: the initial riff sounds like a timid cat here, whereas when I saw the band live, it leaped at you like a tiger and grabbed you by the throat.

Stand Back: Stevie takes over, does her thing, and Lindsey provides a very entertaining and amusing sideshow. Taku's intro is tremendous.

Beautiful Child: Damn, damn, damn. Here's a song I never cared much for, but live, it is simply gorgeous.

Eyes of the World: I love the growl of the rhythm guitar in this song. Makes me wish the studio version, as much as I like it, would be a little grittier. Mick's cavalcade adds a lot to this song.

Second-Hand News: I have grown weary of this song, but I must admit this is a hell of a rendition.

HejiraNYC · #44 06-16-2004, 09:57 AM

After the Boston tapings last September, the reviews posted to this board were raving how they really stepped it up a notch for the film crews and really put on an extraordinary show. Stevie was supposedly wearing all kinds of wonderful outfits and hitting all kinds of stratospheric notes, etc. Well, with the exception of a couple of higher notes in "Gypsy," and Stevie wearing boots on occasion, it turned out to be a standard issue "Say You Will" tour show after all. This is definitely a compliment, since this has been a great tour. But the point is that this is pretty much what I have seen at all of the six shows I have attended so far. Well... except that Lindsey's vocals were greatly enhanced in post-production!

I think what is more striking than anything is the sound mix. As others have observed, I also think the mix is a bit lacking at the bottom end and it just sounds "muddy" compared to the pristine "Dance" recording. Perhaps this is inherent with recording in truly live situations in arenas that were primarily built for sporting events. But on the plus side, these mixes really downplayed or eliminated the "cheesy" sounding synth elements that you can hear all over the bootleg recordings from this tour, primarily the Buffalo soundboard show. This is startlingly evident on "Say Goodbye," which totally eliminates the synthesized background "ooohs" and turns it into a very spare, emotional and intimate "unplugged" performance. And the synth horns on "Tusk" which have sounded cheesy live in concert are now nicely buried into the back.

Visually I couldn't help but notice that Stevie was shot in profile about 90% of the time! What's up with that?? And the close-ups are indeed pretty scary... and this is on a tiny 20" old TV... I can imagine what this looks like on a huge widescreen HDTV monitor! I also found that the camera cuts were too quick and the transitions between performances were anything but smooth... within the same song you can see Stevie's hair alternate between being parted in the middle, parted on the side, toussled, neatly coiffed, etc.

And finally, I hate to admit this, but this version of "Silver Springs" is a pale shadow of the "Dance" version, or, for that matter, other versions I have seen/heard on this tour. It definitely did not merit inclusion on the audio CD. Same with Rhiannon... perhaps they should have dubbed her vocal from the Greenville show (where she nails the high notes at the end) onto this ;-).

AliceLover · #45 06-16-2004, 10:44 AM

PERFORMANCE: A+

EDITING: F

Christ whoever mixed and edited this show should be fired. Look on eyes of the world on Micks little solo in the beginning, when he hits the snare it doesn't even match the sound of the drum beat. IDIOTS! How could they not see this? Look on goodbye baby also. One minute the clip to her shawl is clipped together and another minute it isn't. I also didnt enjoy seeing the camera men all the time. That always bothers me for some strange reason. Also does it seem more dark to you. Everything just seems too dark.

Jimmy