Rod Stewart - Live at Royal Albert Hall

Rating:
Summary: FAbulous and uplifting
Review: An absolute must for any Rod Stewart fan. It is one of the best concerts I've seen. Sound is great. Camera work is great.
The venue is absolutely perfect. The crowd is in to this concert 100 percent. I've never written a revue before, but I noticed there were no customer reviews and I just have to tell everyone that they won't be sorry for purchasing this concert. It's worth every penny. Even people who aren't Rod Stewart fans will love this.

Rating:
Summary: Rod In High Def
Review: First lemme answer the question the last guy asked - no they are not on here. There was a lot of false advertising for this, including a supposed 25 song set list. There are 17 songs on here, what is listed above on Amazon's details about the disc.
Now my review - first the negatives - only 17 songs out of a 25 song show. Inexcusable (SP?). And some of the songs (including Rod and Ronnie Wood together for the first time on DVD singing Stay With Me) have been cut short, with verses cut out. Why??? Also the bonus material is about 15 minutes. While interesting to watch once, not something you'll watch over and over.
Now the pros - where to begin. First I believe I read somewhere that this show was shot in High Def, and watching it on my high def TV it shows! Also was shot in widescreen and fits 16x9 TV's. I have a 57" Hitachi widescreen high def TV and let me tell you - this DVD looks AWESOME!!!!!!! The sound rocks too - sounds great on my surround sound. The colors are bright, almost jump out at you. And listen to the bass solo in Hot Legs - sounds like the guy is playing in my family room. Also a plus - the guest stars. Now usually when I buy a live show, I could care less about the guests. You're paying to see the artist, right? Well first, Ronnie should be perminately teamed up with Rod and leave the Stones anyways. So he fits in nice here. His guitar work on Stay With Me is nothing short of amazing, and he is clearly having a blast on that song and Maggie May/Gasoline Alley. Chrissie Hynde'd duet on As Time Goes By is a very nice touch. But the best part of the show, for me, was a young girl named Amy Belle Rod supposedly found singing on the street for $ a week before and he asked her to join him on I Don't Want To Talk About It. She has a strong voice, and can hold her own on stage with Rod while looking innocent, scared, awed, etc all at the same time. She is fantastic, and this is my favorite song of the DVD.
The bottom line, buy it! If you'r a casual Rod fan, there are enough greatest hits like Some Guys, Hot Legs, and Maggie to please you. PLus 2 of his Songbook 3 selections are widely know also - Blue Moon (another fantastic job) and What A Wonderful World.
If you're a hardcore Rod fan - well until/unless Warner Bros or J-Records gives the fans what they actually want instead of these quick money makers before Christmas (Why not a full concert guys?? Or what about the Hollywood Bowl 2004 show w/Woody AND Mac, almost a Faces reunion!!! that is why I only gave it 4 stars) this is probably the best we're gonna get and it's definately worth the price. Probably the best quality Rod DVD out there, and a worthy addition to the collection.


Rating:
Summary: Questions
Review: I haven' bought the dvd yet. There's a question about guest artists. In Rod's web page, talking about this dvd, it says that E. Clapton, Steve Wonder, Cher, appear in it, but they are not mentioned in these reviews. Where is the truth?
I just rated it because i had too, so I could send this question.

Rating:
Summary: "ROD STEWART" ON ICE
Review: There is a moment in this DVD, during "Reason to Believe" when Rod Stewart takes the mic and growls "Knowing that you lied--straight faced while I cried!" What make it special is that the singer uses that great death howl that you can feel right in your very soul. It is what has made Rod Stewart a huge star and one of many things that has made him a tremendously exciting live performer. The problem is, that after his throat surgery four years ago, that growl is rarely heard in concert anymore. Ever since the surgery, Rod sings all uptempo numbers from Maggie to Hot Legs as if he's afraid to cut loose, like he may do further damage to the pipes. He still has it --you can hear it on certain numbers but more often than not, Stewart has adopted a "wimpy" style of singing that disappoints those of us who remember the pre-surgery live Rod. One does not notice it on the ballads as much (though some of them sound weak as well when he wimps out.) so he can still get away with the Great American Songbook.

However, that major complaint aside, those of us who have made ROD STEWART a second religon, are willing to forgive the old boy almost anything--after all, he's entertained us so long and so well, how could we not?-- and the Stewart charm is so prevelant throughout this concert, that it's STILL enjoyable. It's almost like ROD STEWART ON ICE--A CELEBRATION of a career, not quite a rock concert in the sense of what Rod could do just five or six years ago, but still a rock-like spectacle produced by a lovable rogue who has survived so much that I would imagine anyone willing to give Rod the benefit of the doubt, will give into the irrepressible wit and charisma and enjoy this show. ALSO--Rod has once again, as he has for the past 20 years or so, surrounded himself with fantastic musicians--and all of them are showcased here. They are not the Faces of course, but they aren't meant to be. (Plus you get to see his current way-too-young-for-him blonde--Penny Lancaster--prance around in a Scottish plaid mini skirt, threatening to play the bagpipes. At 6'1 and drop dead gorgeous, it's worth the price of the DVD alone. wink wink.)

SO--Rod fans will love it, it is currently the best Rod live DVD available (much better than the bloodless, joyless Songbook DVD and more complete than the great Storytellers show) but this will not gain Rod any new converts. For that we will need a multi-disc set that chronicles Rod Stewart at his peak as a live performer, from his days with the Faces in the early 70s to 1998's great "New Boys" tour.

Rating:
Summary: Best Rod Stewart DVD ever!!
Review: This is absolutely the best Rod Stewart DVD so far.The mix of his classic material and material from his "American Songbook" series is great; 12 classic Rod songs & 5 "American Songbook" songs.
The video is stunning and the audio is crystal clear. You have a choice of 2.0 stereo or 5.1 surround. Both are great.
Special guests on this extravaganza are Ronnie Wood, Chrissie Hynde, and a Scottish busker named Amy Belle (a future star?).Rod's girlfriend also appears in a stunning role on one of the songs.
Overall, a fantastic show with rousing audience participation to boot.
I highly recommend this DVD.