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The Moody Blues Hall of Fame - Live From the Royal Albert Hall

The Moody Blues Hall of Fame - Live From the Royal Albert Hall

List Price: $24.99
Your Price: $22.49
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Must have for Moody fans!
Review: This DVD is second in sound quality only to Steely Dan's "Two Against Nature". The picture quality is awesome. Don't get me wrong. The DTS sound is truly great and the performance is excellent.The orchestra behind the Moody's reproduces their older hits flawlessly. They have a beautiful "full" sound. The video is some of the best I've seen since Yes's "Live from the house of blues". I would have liked to have seen a little more from the female back-up singers. Their presence was not as obvious sonically as (again I must use the Steely Dan DVD) 2 Against Nature but overall the concert is truly a must have and will demonstrate your home theatre system beautifully! Go get it!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: It Could've Been So Much Better
Review: For the casual fan of the Moody Blues, this DVD (and the accompanying CD release) is just fine. It shows you where the Moodies are on the Threshold of a New Millenium.

But for a long time (33 years) fan such as myself, the DVD is a disappointment. Technically, the DVD is fine; sound and audio are great. The band looks great, and sounds wonderful.

Having seen the band on tour in '99 and 2000 in support of the Strange Times CD, I am too keenly aware of what was LEFT OFF the DVD: 1. Graeme Edge's spoken word coda to the orchestral overture. This has been a staple of the Moodies' concerts over the last decade, and to eliminate it was a bad artistic decision. 2. Graeme's moving song from Strange Times, "Nothing Changes." In many ways this song is the summation of the Moody Blues from 1967 to 2000 and should've been included. 3. The exclusion of "For My Lady," which is the only other song Ray Thomas does in concert anymore. The other song gets discussed... 4. ...now. As an earlier reviewer noted, how and why in the world was the instrumental break from "Legend of a Mind" edited out? This amazing exchange between Ray and keyboard whiz Paul Bliss is often the musical highlight of a Moodies show. It's unthinkable that this would be cut from the video.

As noted by another reviewer, the DVD is only 80 minutes long. Since we know that one side of a DVD can hold nearly 3 hours of material, it makes no sense to this fan why these cuts were made.

Strange Times, indeed.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Music and Production
Review: The Moody Blues put on a great concert. The song selections have a nice flow. If you like their music, having this in your collection will be a plus.

My three year old is always asking for the Blues to be played. I have not gotten tired of listening and watching this show. And if you know anything about three year olds, you have an idea of how much I have played this concert.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Excellent concert - but who chose the songs?
Review: I love the Moody Blues! I almost love this DVD except it is quite short, and the tracklist is puzzling. With so many fantastic Moody songs, why did the band choose some of the inferior tracks for the concert?

Still, definitely worth owning because the sound quality is outstanding (DTS 5.0 no subwooferr), plus the picture quality is very clear. It's not widescreen though, but this can be overlooked when you get caught up in the magic.

Particular highlights included "Isn't Life Strange" and "Nights in White Satin". Just a shame about the fillers which should have been gems like "Forever Autumn" or "For My Lady". Tss.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: GREAT BUT MISSED SOME KEY SONGS
Review: I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A HUGE MOODY BLUES FAN. I RATE THIS 4 STARS FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS. FIRST THE GOOD. JUSTIN HAYWARD/JOHN LODGE/RAY THOMAS ARE ALL VERY TALENTED ARTISTS AND WILL GO DOWN AS A GROUP THAT WAS WAY AHEAD OF THERE TIME MUCH LIKE THE EARLY YEARS OF "GENESIS". THE DVD QUALITY IN TERMS OF VIDEO AND AUDIO WERE EXCELLANT ALONG WITH HAVING THE FULL ORCHESTRA IN THE BACKGROUND WHICH IS HOW IT SHOULD BE AT ROYAL HALL UNLIKE ELP WHEN THEY HAD THEIR DVD CONCERT THERE. HERES MY FAVORITES.. "STORY IN YOUR EYES","ROCK AND ROLL BAND" WITH THE BEST SONG REPRODUCED BEING RAY THOMAS DOING "LEGEND OF MIND" THAT IS THE GENERATION OF SONGS THAT MADE THE MOODY BLUES. "TUESDAY AFTERNOON" WHICH IS A GREAT SONG BUT NOT REPRODUCED IN MY OPINION WITH THE PASSION ON THE ORIGINAL CD VERSION. TOO MANY OF THEIR LATER SONGS I COULD DO WITHOUT IE. "ENGLISH SUNSET" AND "WORDS YOU SAY". FROM TRACK NINE TO THE END THE DVD REALLY STARTS TO GET YOUR ATTENTION. IF YOU LOVE THE MOODY BLUES YOU CANNOT GO WRONG WITH THIS BUY

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: They¿re Baaaaccck....
Review: First, let's get the bad out of the way:

This is a very short concert, and to be honest, it may have been better if they would have cut it shorter. Huh? Let me explain. The Moody Blues have a wealth of great material (32 years worth) that they could have brought to this concert. Their choice of songs (maybe more correctly, what they didn't choose) left me scratching my head. Their newest CD, "Strange Times" has enough "A" material to add another 20 minutes to the concert's length alone! And the highlight of this DVD, indeed the band's crowning glory "Nights in White Satin" should have ended the show (excluding any encores).

Some groups pay particular attention to what songs are played and precisely where they are placed, in order to build emotional impact. Pink Floyd's "PULSE" concert was engineered to perfection...a constant building, including the entire "Dark Side of the Moon" album, until the glorious grand-finale (a 3-song encore)...a full 2 1/2 hour, mindblowing concert. The Moody Blues need to pay more attention to this aspect and arrangement.

The editing in this set was often abrupt and very noticeable, and took away from the "live" feel. I understand that applause can be boring, but that's part of the concert experience. One moment I see this band at the end of the stage, and the next they are in front of their respective microphones. This happens frequently and it's very disconcerting. Why the rush? Did someone forget to put money in the parking meter?

Now on to the good:

And there is a lot of good! There are some truly great performances in here, folks, even on material I consider mediocre. I've never heard "Isn't Life Strange", a quirky little number to say the least, sound as good as it did here. I was amazed! "Tuesday Afternoon" is a great opening song, and it was done to perfection. "English Sunset", one of my all time favorites (yeah, I know it's brand new), sounded better (actually MUCH better) in this live performance than on their studio CD release. I didn't think that could be possible.

The group was having fun out there, and their performances showed it. All three (Hayward, Lodge, and Thomas) were in excellent voice, but the Moody Blues calling card is their harmony and blending, and we see it best in this concert -- each giving his part making the whole that much richer and more rewarding. It's like saying, "Attention! Real artists on board."

And finally, "Nights in White Satin". I literally had goosebumps. Tell me another piece so packed with musical emotion and luscious string arrangements. You can't. If the Moody Blues never made anything but "Nights in White Satin", their mark on history would still be etched in stone.

Two other items I cannot leave out, and that was the orchestra and the engineer(s) who mixed the music. They were exceptional, and they made all the difference in the world (again, how could "English Sunset" be that much better live?). Believe me, their efforts are a high-water mark throughout this concert.

So how do I rate "Hall of Fame"? Good question, and I've been giving it much thought. To say that this was a 5-star DVD would be WAY over zealous, considering all that I didn't like about it. And a 3-star rating (average) wouldn't do justice to the sterling performances. So, I guess I'll cop out and give this a marginal 7 out of 10 and a 4-star ranking. Make no mistake, for just the performances of "Nights" and "English" alone, this is well worth the money, and I'm very happy that I have it. The Moody Blues are back, and they are back in a big, big way!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Moody Goody
Review: When the credits started rolling I was asking "Is that all?" The Moody's always leave me wanting more..(sigh). "Legend of a mind" is worth the price alone. "Nights in white satin" will leave you breathless. Justin Hayward seems to pour every ounce of sorrow felt into his signature song. People will always say, "Well, I just like the "Old"Moody Blues." Fair enough. Their original songs were the ultimate in progressive rock (to me) but their new songs keep them around and their fans young and old still buying those CD's.

If you've loved the moody's from the beginning or are just coming aboard this is a good investment. In between my being able to attend a live concert, sometimes it may be years, I like to pop this one into the player and enjoy a private viewing. It's like being on the front row. Hold on for an amazing journey.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Could Have Been Longer
Review: Somewhere in the nineties the Moody Blues decided they would turn from large outdoor venues to classical indoor music halls. It was a grand idea and works well for anyone who has seen them in a smaller arena. What better place than the Royal Albert Hall?

There are some great moments, mostly from the older songs, "Nights In White Satin" and "Question" with the great string arrangements. However, "Haunted" and "Words You Say" just don't scream Moody Blues like the classics. It's a nice grouping of songs from all stages, but the set is far too limited for a large scale DVD collection. The group has done some very long sets ("Moody Blues At Red Rocks") and although the setting is far more intimate, there just isn't enough.

The sound quality is very good, but not great and they do strive terribly hard to reach those notes, but are easily forgiven. They've been at this for over forty years. They have given the world a nice concert, but 'nice' just doesn't seem to be enough anymore. I really wanted to see and hear more with this great event. Sorry - no extras on this DVD, unfortunately.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent !!
Review: This was much better than I expected. A full orchestra added significant value. 30+ years of their music captured here. This one is a keeper.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Great Sound, But Mostly an Eyesore
Review: Like other reviewers, I am a bit mystified by the selection of songs for this concert.

What keeps me from giving it five stars is this: The video director is apparently on speed. He won't let the camera rest on anything for more than a couple of seconds (except for slower songs).

I saw this kind of video "enhancement" on Riverdance Live from New York, and it is apalling. In each case, the director seems to think that the live performance of a world-class act, riveting as it is, is not "good enough" and he feels a need to enhance it. The result is an eyesore--video hash of the most offensive type. I bought this DVD to see the Moody Blues, not see how fast some director can push buttons on a video switch.

The Moodies themselves seem to be in good voice, the miking and lighting are spot on, and the clarity of the video is good. I just have trouble watching it....


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