Rating: 
Summary: Big Disappointment!
Review: There is no "power" to this concert. It's like drinking decaf coffee, it feels like coffee but something is missing. That something is GB's slick guitar work and the free flow spirit of jazz as manifested in improvisation. in fact GB hardly played his guitar in this concert and when he did, his performance was lack lustre, almost amateurish let alone having any improvisation . GB sang a lot but hardly at the same standard as his "Live in Hollywood" LP in the early 80s. Even his band members' performance was lacking. There was a string and brass orchestra to enhance the presentation but no effort was made to integrate their music with the electric band. at one point, it feels like the string orchestra was playing in another hall while the electric band was jamming. the worst part of the show was the fat chicks from the audience at the front of the stage. come on, if you want to show the audience having a good time, get some pretty young girls. regrettably in the middle of the concert, a bunch of fat chicks swang their fat around.... aweful scene. i already seen enough fat around in my daily suburbia life, no need to see it on DVD. very disappointing DVD throughout. i learned one thing from this DVD though, there are lots of fat chicks in belfast Ireland. the irish diet did it to them.
Rating:
Summary: Big Disappointment!
Review: There is no "power" to this concert. It's like drinking decaf coffee, it feels like coffee but something is missing. That something is GB's slick guitar work and the free flow spirit of jazz as manifested in improvisation. in fact GB hardly played his guitar in this concert and when he did, his performance was lack lustre, almost amateurish let alone having any improvisation . GB sang a lot but hardly at the same standard as his "Live in Hollywood" LP in the early 80s. Even his band members' performance was lacking. There was a string and brass orchestra to enhance the presentation but no effort was made to integrate their music with the electric band. at one point, it feels like the string orchestra was playing in another hall while the electric band was jamming. the worst part of the show was the fat chicks from the audience at the front of the stage. come on, if you want to show the audience having a good time, get some pretty young girls. regrettably in the middle of the concert, a bunch of fat chicks swang their fat around.... aweful scene. i already seen enough fat around in my daily suburbia life, no need to see it on DVD. very disappointing DVD throughout. i learned one thing from this DVD though, there are lots of fat chicks in belfast Ireland. the irish diet did it to them.
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome
Review: This dvd is simply awesome. I wasn't really interested in the big band stuff on the dvd. But Benson's performances with Joe Sample are great. If you are a Benson fan, this DVD is a must for your collection.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: This dvd is simply awesome. I wasn't really interested in the big band stuff on the dvd. But Benson's performances with Joe Sample are great. If you are a Benson fan, this DVD is a must for your collection.
Rating: 
Summary: It's no Weekend In LA, but does provide some soulful moments
Review: This is a project that should have been done when GB was in top form, conquering the world: the 70's. Unfortunately, it wasn't, resulting in nil 70's video output and this too-late show from 2000. It's not bad at all, and often very enjoyable, but if you're old enough to remember how this guy used to absolutely tear up the stage with his guitar pyrotechnics and incredibly soulful, soaring voice, this show might disappoint you. Age and a lot of touring/singing has taken its toll on his voice, but not to an intolerable degree. He tends to scream or slur off tough notes instead of hitting them melodiously like he used to, and his voice is raspy and harsh occasionally. He's had these tendencies as far back as the 80's though. The parts that are hardest to deal with are those on which he attempts to scat without his guitar - he just can't do it very well anymore. He needs the guitar in unison with his voice to keep him from getting silly. GB does have a quirky sense of humor, and you'll see it in this show (particularly when an older woman hops onstage and dances with him - his look of alarm is priceless!), but it doesn't serve him well when singing or scatting - it's at these moments when he seems to be just parodying himself.For this show, he was trying very hard to please, and it shows. He sometimes tries to do a little more vocally than he's capable of, but he can still do ANYTHING he wants to on guitar. The highlight in this respect is "Danny Boy", a solo instrumental in which he emulates the sound of bagpipes on guitar. It's an amazing, virtuoso performance, reminiscent of his early days. When GB has a guitar in his hands, he's still a very dangerous man. But he spends half of the show guitar-free, as usual, which is mystifying considering his obsession with pleasing people. The biggest downer with the first half of show are the bland, lifeless arrangements and GB's need to get warmed up. The BBC Orchestra plays without any big band fire at all. I was really disappointed for a while; the songs seemed very slow in comparison to the album versions, and everyone seemed to be just going through the motions - zero inspiration. "Beyond The Sea", for example, was pathetic, with GB's lousy vocal and the band playing as if they were in molasses. GB just doesn't work as a lead singer for a big band - he doesn't have the vocal firepower anymore. Then Joe Sample comes out for a few passionless songs from "Absolute Benson". Those tunes (except for The Ghetto, which is good) are reminiscent of his "Collaboration" album; weak, aimless melodies in the Earl Klugh fashion, with the obligatory, bland solo spots. Same overproduced junk he's been doing since the 80's. Up to this point, halfway through, with the weak performances and frequent, weird costume changes (why does he feel the need to wear a hot, snazzy suit all the time?), it looked like hope was lost. However, GB finally turned up the heat by returning to his glory days: "This Masquerade", "Breezin" (with a great arrangement that he obviously likes to improvise to), and many of his other hits are marvelously performed. This is where the crowd gets really pumped up and comes alive, as do GB, the band, and the viewer. He sings these songs more passionately than the rest. Again, when he picks up his guitar (and stops the silly dancing and mugging), his inspiration level increases and the music sometimes catches fire. Although, I wish he'd have gotten the old group back together for this gig: Ronnie Foster, Ralph MacDonald, Harvey Mason, Phil Upchurch. With those guys, he could actually improvise, instead of just being the "star of the show" and playing the hits with a generic backing group. His group was a major key to his greatest music, and the guys playing with him at this show are okay, but seem afraid to do anything but play the chord changes. These isn't much interaction between them and GB. At least the great Stanley Banks is still with him. The DVD quality is fine. The 5.1 sound is excellent and a blast to hear, although I thought the keyboards were mixed too low. George is WAY out front, but has sound great. The picture is good, high res, but a widescreen format for something like this puzzles me. I think it's safe to say GB's most creative musical days, and best singing, are behind him. But it's okay; people get older. His guitar skills are unaffected. This DVD is a good show, but sort of like hearing Sinatra in his later years. He's not what he used to be, and it takes a hell of a lot of effort to get back to (or near) that level on a song-per-song basis. I think GB can do better, but this is what was released, so I'll take what I'm given.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Performance
Review: This is an awesome concert performance - don't listen to some of the negative reviews! While George starts the concert with three vocal performances in front of the BBC Big Band, which may initially disappoint some viewers (like me) who crave his guitar playing, he soon dons the guitar in front of an electric band that includes Joe Sample. His versions of "This Masquerade" and "Breezin" are particularly powerful. I'm afraid I can't agree with some of the other reviewers that criticize his "diminished" vocal range - George's voice appears to me to be just as strong and expressive as it did when I saw him live in the 1970's. We jazz guitar lovers are very lucky - three of the five arguably best guitar players of all time (George, Pat Metheny and Lee Ritenour) are currently active and thanks to video and DVD, performances such as these can be kept forever.
Rating: 
Summary: Completely different
Review: Yeah, this was something completely different from my expectations!! I am a huge admirer of his opus, but this item put some questions in front of me:
1-Why this concert was picked, among hundreds of others to be eternaly saved on DVD, if its purpose is to present GB at his best? What about the eighties when he was in the orbit, with superb performances and fantastic musicians?
2-Where is the spirit of the Live-feeling here, the audience is around age of 50, preferably standing than dancing, which also reflects the choice of songs, not so many in the groove, the icon of GB. The band looks floppy on the scene, it is almost jammed with big orchestra, and such an ensemble only disperses the energy, especially the rhythm. Why Ireland, where GB is not at domestic mood, instead of USA, Waterfront Hall is more suitable for classic concerts than jazz-pop-soul performances?
3-The band should have two or three female back-vocals, was it such a hurry or conception that,I don't know, all I know is that males didn't do the job properly, listen Give me the night. The girls would give better image and voice on the scene, the producers could have engaged them for Such concert.
4-I can only summerize that there is no more edge in the music of GB in this concert, his zenith passed, which is understendable, but I think that this presentation will disappoint many who like Mr. Benson.
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