Rating: Summary: Amazing power Review: I've been waiting for this concert to come out on DVD for several years, now, and now that it has arrived, I am certainly not disappointed. The joy, feeling, and power are evident in all of Gabriel's performances on the disc. Truly amazing disc for the Gabriel, Genesis, or general music fan.
Rating: Summary: Didn't experience technical problems Review: I own a Toshiba player, and when I played this DVD, I experienced no "blotches" nor "blobs." As far as the sound, I didn't notice any major phasing problems between visual/audio. The vocals, yes, are (i believe)perhaps overly-processed, but I find equal enjoyment in the theatrics and setup of this particular concert. I'm a relatively new Peter Gabriel fan, and I have never, until I purchased the DVD, been able to see this show. It was a convenient purchase, and I'll take what I can get.
Rating: Summary: A Major Disappointment Review: I'm very careful about the DVD's I buy, but I wish to god I could return this one. A total waste of money. I've long felt that Peter Gabriel's albums are so overproduced that they lose any sense of real musicianship, but his live albums reveal just how good his musicians are without all the studio tricks. Characteristically, though, his "live" recordings are still prone to what he calls "cheating," meaning lots of overdubs. I have my doubts that any of the vocals on this DVD were actually performed live in any concert setting. It's not unusual for concert films to be culled from several performances, but you have to really search for evidence of it in Talking Heads' amazing Stop Making Sense. Here, there seems to be no concern for what makes live performance lifelike. The fact that at one point all the musicians leave the stage and the music keeps playing pretty much says it all. Why does he even bother bringing them along? The visuals in this concert are artful and well mounted and, in most cases, smartly filmed. There is one sequence (Digging In The Dirt) which is most obviously not a live performance, but in some ways it's the most honest part of this film. This is not a record of anything that ever existed in real time--it's a poorly refined addendum to what must have been an extraordinary event. I've owned the audio cd of this show for several years. It's wonderfully produced, allowing for studio overdubs, but the mix on this DVD is apalling and completely unprofessional. I've listened to it in both 2.0 and 5.0 and find it totally mystifying. The volume keeps shifting, usually dropping out every time the vocals come in, meaning there's a continuous volume differentiation that is maddening. My tenuous respect for Peter Gabriel has fallen by the wayside. Rent this falsified document if you must, but don't bother adding it to your library.
Rating: Summary: Sorry they have NO EXCUSES Review: No excuses. I own a video facilities company and we made DVD as well. This DVD for reasons I can't understand is the worst quality I ever saw. It's simply too compressed. It's not only "little graininess here and there", it's not a"television set's fault". It's the trasfer that is not done properly. Incredible from a production like this and an artist like him. Save your money and wait for the DVD of the new tour shooted in Milan this May....and let's hope they choose another company for the dvd compression..........
Rating: Summary: It's awesome to me! Review: Well, first, I am a huge Peter Gabriel fan. I have been watching the Secret World on VHS for about 9 years and think it is the most amazing rock concert one could hope to see. Saw Gabriel live last November and I like this video better. Now, I have been blessed with the DVD. Second, I am not a videophile or audiophile. Still, I enjoy a good picture and good sound. I played this on the DTS audio track on my Yamaha home amp and JVC flat screen TV. I thought the picture was great and the audio track was awesome. I often heard very strong bass coming from Tony Levin and do not have a subwoofer. I commented at the outset that the sync was very good and noticed how often the lips and vocals seemed together. Now, maybe there are a few places where this is not the case. But, third, I don't watch a video to see how many mistakes I can find. Sitback, relax....watch and listen. This is amazing music from a man who has been and is one of the most creative musical minds around. When I have a lot of time on my hands, I might do a side by side comparison with the VHS, but not for now. If you like Peter Gabriel more than a little bit, then get this.
Rating: Summary: Great show - bad transfer to DVD Review: I have owned the VHS of this show for several years. It is one of the best shows that I have ever seen. The DVD on the other hand is pretty bad. The picture quality is no better than the VHS, is sometimes even compromised (watch MK's drum fills on "Come Talk To Me" - they cut off the bottom of the picture - you can't see his stick work on the snare drum anymore). My biggest gripe is the sound. What happened ? The sound is out of sync with the picture - it is terribly remixed. The vocals and drums have been mixed higher (and possibly added to ??) and the bass is GONE !! T.Levin's playing is great on the tape - but he is only there to watch on the DVD. Too bad. Maybe it will sound better on a 5.1 instead of a stereo - but that still won't put it in sync.
Rating: Summary: The best use of $15 I can imagine Review: A Peter Gabriel CD is a beautiful thing. You can count on him for fresh musical ideas and unusual lyrical subjects. PG is his own genre of music and thank God for him. If hearing PG is beautiful then seeing PG can be transcendent. Above and beyond the unparalleled theatrics of his live shows there is the technology that delivers unbelievable sound quality. But wait, there's more! The best part of a live PG show is in the personalities of the performers. David Rhodes skips about the stage tossing out off-the-cuff riffs and wearing a constant, genuine smile. The man loves what he does and his joy is infectious. Peter always finds a way to express the songs in a way that brings understanding to the audience. And he plays well off Paula Cole who, by the way, is beautiful in her flowing dress and Doc Martin boots! And she is the best co-singer PG has worked with live. You'll enjoy watching their interactions and duets. The performance captured on this DVD was graced by the best living drummer, Manu Katche, shaking two trees. Not since Jim Gordon has a drummer expressed so much with sticks and skins. Katche is an amazing drummer and he is the heart of PG's band. My one and only disappointment in the UP tour was that Katche was not on the tour. Unfortunately, Manu is also the heart of Sting's band and I guess Sting got to him first. But you will see and hear him in action on this CD and he is worth every cent you'll pay. If Katche is the heart of the band then the marvelous Tony Levin is the soul. How he can look happy and sinister at the same moment puzzles me. But it works and his stage presence is nearly overwhelming. When he's on scene with Peter I inevitably watch Tony. They say that Jimi Hendrix played his guitar as if he were making love to it. I won't go quite that far in describing Levin's playing style, but I will say that it is awe inspiring to watch him play the stand-up bass and see the way that his body channels and molds his bass line into the ether. Picture a druid priest channeling incense smoke to the Gods and you'll have the right image of Tony with his bass. Forget all that has been said about video quality. Disregard any complaints about lip-synching. You won't notice that unless you're watching for it, and why would you do that? This is music, wonderful music, not a revelation from God Himself. So plunk down the $15 for this DVD and I guarantee you will love it. Hey, if nothing else you can turn off the TV monitor and just play the DVD through your stereo. Think of it as a digital remaster of the CD.
Rating: Summary: Look, Listen & Learn...! Review: I have read most of all reviews preview purchasing it from Amazon.com and as I can see the common are critics on quality video and/or sound. I think we can divide this review in two aspects: First, the PG show, what is, in escence, quite excellent. When Peter came to present Secret World Tour in Argentina (1994) he didn't brought at that time all the scenography that he present in Italy. So, for all who didn't see the italian (or european) show this is a very good piece to have. Second, the media quality, meaning by this sound & video, depends on the DVD player you use. Video is enhanced for wide-screen so it seems a good idea playing the film in a big, wide and huge screen (or the bigger one you can access). Regarding the sound, it also depends on the sound capabilities of the system you use to play it. For instance, playing it on a computer looks quiet different than playing on supersonic multi-speaker home theater. Because of this, now I can understand why we have different comments regarding the quality of the picture and the sound. This is what I learn reading most of all reviews. Hope this can help others to make their own opinion.
Rating: Summary: Wonderful concert, horrible DVD Review: This is a great performance by a really exciting performer backed by a first-rate band. Unfortunately, this DVD contains the worst video transfer I've ever seen, with compression artifacts visible throughout. I'm not crazy about the audio mix, but don't hate it as much as some other reviews I've read. But I think a campaign needs to be started to demand a re-issue of this DVD with the problems fixed.
Rating: Summary: New PG fan!! Review: I was not a fan of PG, though, I'd heard some of his most popular material before. I rent this concert thru Netflix a month ago and was totally blown away! This is by far the best concert audio/mix that I'd heard before (I have over 50 concert/music DVDs). And the performance, I don't have words to describe how awesome it is. Needless to say, I went to Borders that same day and bought it. Yes, the video is a bit grainy, but film medium is naturally that way. Besides, even if the video quality is not good (which this is not the case) it still worth every penny.
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