Rating: 
Summary: Set the standard for music DVDs..
Review: The soundstage setting suits the acoustic sound and harmonies to a tee, as well as some "behind the scenes" footage. A lot of people use this as a "demo" to show off their entertainment system, and the intimate setting-style comes across in your living room loud and clear. Drawbacks: If you've been to an Eagles concert, the dynamic is very different and the shows are far more energetic. The amount of material they do during the shows (post 1994) covers the solo and band era, which covered a lot of territory, and came to about 3 hours. I'm sure that as with Fleetwood Mac, there will be a DVD of the "Farewell I" tour. But the Hell Freezes Over video is about 100 minutes. Hopefully, they can put out a vintage era video collection that has some of the early 70s BBC and Don Kirshner footage as well as the more familiar footage from "Hotel California" and "The Long Run" promos they've shown on TV in the past.
Rating:
Summary: Best Music DVD Available Today
Review: Hell Freezes Over has to be the most realistic concert sound yet available on DVD. I have the DTS encoded six-speaker surround system with a 55" Widescreen HDTV, so the video is better than what I can see or hear at just about any motion picture theatre. I have found no other DVD that can match the production quality and sound, yet. Mostly due to the DTS encoding which is noticably superior to the Dolby Digital 5.1 surround on the home theater system. Above technical quality, the Eagles themselves perform their best yet. Comparing Hotel California on this DVD with their original is like comparing an old Chevy with a Rolls. The old Chevy is a great classic, and attractive, but the Rolls has the ride and the class. Don Felder and Joe Walsh perform better than I have ever before heard them, and playing the Alverez classical guitars on the Hotel California cut is hands-down, just the best version ever. Glenn Frey and Don Henley give impressive performances, and Timothy B. Schmidt also is at his best ever on bass and vocals. I watch it again and again. There is just no comparison to the sound of the DTS DVD and the CD of this same album. I have both and the CD is always a letdown after hearing the DVD. Well worth the price, and a DVD you will listen to again and again.
Rating:
Summary: Demo quality DTS
Review: While the 2.0 track is very good, the true star of this DVD is the soundtrack in DTS version. Make sure you have a killer subwoofer, turn it up, and close your eyes when the string intro to "Hotel California" kicks in and you'll think you're in the audience at the concert. Amazing sound quality, superb performances and very good choice of songs, from their old hits to their new stuff. The video quality isn't top notch, but this is basically a recording of a concert, and the music should be king -- and in "Hell Freezes Over" the music is indeed king. For the geeks out there, the average bit rate seemed to be ~7 or so. I only looked periodically, so I think that's right. What that amounts to is more space was devoted to high quality sound reproduction and so that means there's less space for "extras" -- well, there are virtually no extras on this disk. If you liked the Eagles, you'll LOVE this DVD. If you loved the Eagles, you'll be blown away. It's too bad that this DVD is still the standard by which all other concert DVDs are judged against, meaning that the studios haven't stepped up to produce more top quality concert DVDs.
Rating: 
Summary: Technically perfect but....
Review: I am a HUGE eagles fan, in fact I was turning my friends on to them when nobody ever heard of them, and I must say, if you are an Eagles fan...don't pass this DVD up! I am a big collector of live DVD concerts, and this technically, visually, and audibly, is as good as it gets...your ears will tingle! To me also...Don Felder is one of the most under-rated guitar players there is...he is absolutely brilliant here and makes it look effortless! His playing will blow you away! As good as Joe Walsh is, it is my impression that he is the sideman here to Don (sorry Joe, I love ya man, but I calls it as I sees it). But I totally agree with S.D.'s review...this would be a perfect DVD , if it were not for the obnoxious ego of Don Henley! Sure..the man has talent to spare, but on this DVD as well as on his "Inside Job" solo DVD, the man appears to have gotten so full of himself, it's almost sickening. It is rumoured that it was his self-engratiating ego which was the cause of the Eagles break-up to begin with. It apparently was Glen Frey who ,(also, who in my opinion, is a real class act...he's wonderful here on piano and singing Tequila Sunrise), finally got sick of Henley's ego, and wasn't afraid to say so, which led to the break-up, according to what I've heard and read. In Don Henley's own words, the real reason for this "Hell Freezes Over" tour was because,.."There's a hell of alot of money to be made.." , so not only is he an egotist,..he's a GREEDY egotist(at least he was honest about it), and his attitude shows through here. Hence,..my rating of four. That having been said, this group performance is tight and top-notch, and well worth the investment.
Rating:
Summary: What it means to be a professional musician
Review: Every time I hear the Dire Straits hit, "Money for Nothing" -- with the appliance salesman lamenting about how easy it is to play the guitar "on the MTV" -- I think about this DVD made by the Eagles. Hey, if you know a kid who wants to grow up and be a musician, play this DVD for that kid.
The performance is just awesome. The timing on everything is perfect, the notes are sounded perfectly -- it is thrilling ensemble playing which -- if you use your imagination -- will have you imagining the endless hours -- days -- months -- years which were spent practicing, practicing, and practicing some more. These guys make it look easy, and that's one of the meanings of being a pro.
Whether you like the Eagles or not -- whether you like rock or not -- this DVD contains a fantastic musical performance that is right up there with the likes of the Berlin Philharmonic. Absolutely superb music-making!!
Rating:
Summary: I'm not an eagles fan but WOW
Review: Anytime I want to show off my home theater equipment this is what I put on.As far as sound reproduction, there is no equal.The music is spot on,no mistakes, perfection or close to it. The talent level of this band is un-equaled. Any person with medium to high end equipment it is a MUST!!!!!!This is the dvd of choice for the smart salesman
Rating:
Summary: Don Henley Ruins An Otherwise Perfect DVD
Review: There is no arguing that the DTS sound on this DVD places it at or near the top of the best sound DVD has to offer.
Every song is exceptional in quality.
The extra "Seven Bridges Road" audio only track pushes the separation of speaker sound to the limit as each speaker has a different band member singing his part.
Unlike most DVD concerts, the rear speakers actually contain instruments and not just audience applause between songs.
I only have high marks to give for the concert portion of this DVD.
However, there is ONE item that I find disappointing.
The first few chapters of the disk contains footage of the Eagles working closely with orchestra members to fine-tune everything for the live show. When a trial run doesn't meet with Don Henley's approval, he makes it known, very sarcastically right there for all to see on the DVD, saying something like: "these guys are supposed to be professionals".
From what I've read about this concert, the Eagles were allowed to restart every time they had a mistake during the concert. But we don't get to see any of that on disk, DO we? Instead, we are "treated" to Mr. Henley speaking negatively about someone in the string section of the orchestra. I can't help but think that those who played in the orchestra on this DVD would more than likely want a copy of their own to show their friends and relatives. But think about what the poor guy who Henley was ridiculing must think every time he hears that?
If you're like me, you more than likely don't even play the DVD from the beginning anyway, but rather, go straight to the actual concert footage. So you seldom hear Henley's comment, if ever. I personally think that while Don had a right to say it, it should never have made it to the DVD. If they can hide Don's mistakes in the concert, why make something out of an "unknown orchestra member" and his or her slip up?
It's because of that incident that I give this DVD 4 stars instead of the 5 I think it truly would deserve otherwise.
Watch your mouth Don! You're not perfect yourself, you know!
Rating:
Summary: What A Reunion!
Review: This is a solid GREAT concert that lacks NOTHING! Others who reviewed this have mentioned the fact they played some unfamiliar songs. WELL DUH! In the interviews that are included on this DVD, the band told the viewer that they didn't think it would be a TRUE reunion without adding some new, fresh material (by the way, the new tunes are as good as anything The Eagles have ever done). I own the CD Hell Freezes Over, but it's so much better seeing them perform live and hearing them in surround sound. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT, you will too!
Rating:
Summary: Perfect Rock
Review: I have followed Rock & Roll from Buddy Knox to Buddy Holly to CCR to Silver Bullet to The Eagles. This is the best rock performance ever and the DTS track is perfect. Just in case: I bought two of them. I always seem to play it three times at a sitting. Perfect!
Rating:
Summary: Good demo of DTS but ...
Review: This particular capture of the HELL FREEZES OVER 1994 tour is not like you would expect (eg. in a stadium). Instead it is a concert specially created for televised purposes, even the audience were hand selected. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it does not reflect a true concert feeling. Everything seems so rehearsed, probably so they could get the surround sound recorded effectively.
The songlist is impressive, but will be largely unfamiliar to casual fans. The inclusion of many album tracks and solo recordings prevent it from being a greatest hits type concert. Fortunately the album tracks performed are the cream of the crop including "The Last Resort", and "Wasted Time".
Many have raved about the DTS mix, and I agree with this. No other music DVD comes close to this.
Overall, what lets this DVD down is the inclusion of inferior solo songs, 'newer' tracks, and a pseudo concert atmosphere. It just doesn't feel like a true concert. It almost feels like they were allowed to stop and start until they got it right because it was a TV concert.
What Eagles fans would really like is the 1976 Hotel California concert released on DVD. It has been shown before on TV. What's the hold-up on this?
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