Rating: Summary: An underrated pop craftsman of exquisite skill Review: I won't go into an overabundance of detail here because I'm sure most of you know about ELO and their history. Jeff Lynne is an extraordinary pop-rock composer who never ceases to amaze me with his transition through so many eras, yet he has a uniquely identifiable sound.The Zoom concert is pristine quality with a more intimate feel than the huge stage shows of the 70's and the broad range of material actually comes across as well in this setting. I do miss the presence of Bev Bevan and especially the harmony vocals of Kelly Groucutt in this latest incarnation. Those guys were so underrated to the sound in my opinion though Jeff could've been fooling us on all those albums. Great sound, excellent tight performances and the music shines above all even if I just can't reconcile a bunch of session musicians and a cocktail waitress playing along with Jeff. Richard Tandy shines as well with some incredible keyboard playing. He is a master. If you don't believe it, go back and listen to the "Time" cd. He is great here too from laying down the spacey textures to some straight-ahead southern rock boogie woogie lines. I completely recommend this DVD especially in light of what most people are passing off as music these days. Jeff Lynne is dedicated to craft and that is rare these days in a pop music genre.
Rating: Summary: A DVD that pulls all the right strings Review: In what can only be described as an amazing compensation gift for having their tour cancelled, ELO's DVD literally pulls all the right strings. Being a lifelong fan of ELO after first seeing them on The Midnight Special belting out "In the Hall of the Mountain King", I have followed them religiously and was lucky enough to see them live on 3 separate tours. I even bit the bullet and saw ELO 2 a couple of years ago. I have clung to the hope for the last 9 or 10 years that Jeff Lynne would put out some of his own music for a change and my dream was realized earlier this year with the release of the wonderful Zoom. Although the record was horribly marketed as well as the subsequent ill-fated tour, my enthusiasm for the new music was not abated. In what can be considered a gift from the rock gods, this DVD will surely be a prized possession for years to come. The great surprise of this DVD is that Jeff Lynne has only improved upon his immense talent with the passing of time. Not only does he look like he still in a 1970's timewarp with his trademark fro, goatee and shades, his voice and musicianship have never been better. His singing is unparalleled and he hits every note flawlessly. He even displays some real guitar chops on hits like Ma Ma Belle and Roll Over Beethoven. His singing on Moment in Paradise, Can't Get it Out of My Head, Telephone Line and the surprising addition of One Summer Dream literally left me teary-eyed and speechless. The new band's playing is superlative and in my opinion, come the closest to duplicating ELO's studio sound I have ever heard from any incarnation of the band. There's a generous serving of hits scattered throughout the set and a bunch of new songs from Zoom. My only complaint, would have been to jettison a few of the weak songs like Easy Money and State of Mind from Zoom and to have inserted a few other hits. I know, they didn't perform Fire on High or Getting to the Point but the addition of those 2 favorite songs of mine would have really put it over the top for me. After getting my big screen TV and home theater system last year, I have become quite enamored at collecting rock concert DVDs like Talking Heads "Stop Making Sense" and The Moody Blues "Hall of Fame". But, I always longed for a state of the art ELO DVD to complete the set. The Live at Wembley disc just doesn't cut it because of the antiquated recording technology used then which sounds so hollow compared to today's digital quality. To me this DVD is important because it captures Lynne at his zenith and I will always have this moment captured in time forever to watch while I become a decrepit old man. This is truly a great show and I hope Lynne continues to record and perhaps launch a more modest and carefully marketed tour in the near future.
Rating: Summary: Great performance by a music pro Review: Excelent concert, excelent DTS sound, Jeff Lynne in top form! Must have a good home theater system to really enjoy this concert as it was recorded.
Rating: Summary: ELO lives............... Review: I was an ELO fan from day one... always have been, always will be. OK... so Jeff and Richard Tandy (piano, keyboards) are the only original members of ELO to be found. I would defy anyone to distinguish this incarnate from the original ELO sound. Jeff Lynne is a genius and his genius shows through in ZOOM. To one who thinks Jeff has no stage presence, I say some performers are visual, i.e. Cher, Tina Turner, Rod Stewart. Some need only to be heard to be appreciated, i.e. Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne. When did you ever see Jeff animated and bouncing around on the stage? And to one who thinks the dts production to be poor, both the audio and video on my dvd are very near the quality of the Eagles, "Hell Freezes Over"...which we can all agree is THE standard. If you were never an ELO fan take a pass on this one. The ELO sound just doesn't capture today's audience, which is why the ZOOM tour failed (along with the worst marketing in the history of the world). If you are an ELO fan, this is as good as it will ever get...BUY IT
Rating: Summary: ABSOLUTE MUST FOR ELO FANS!!!! Review: This is the best concert video of the last 15 years! Almost perfect set list,great stage show and room atmosphere! Jeff Lynne Looks great, I always appreciate the way he keeps his 1970's image. Nothing is worse than seeing a rock star who used to look one way, cut his hair short and change their look (like Billy Joel , The Eagles, or Pink Floyd for example) Although I wish more of the original ELO members would have played on this, The new members do a fantastic job and I can't tell a difference soundwise. I just feel like pieces of the puzzle are missing. But that is the only complaint about this otherwise "GREAT" concert. This video also reminds me of the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Although it was recorded 3 months earlier that summer. I seen this concert for the first time on PBS television on the evening of September 10th 2001. Then I watched it over and over all night long, leading up to the morning of September 11th! Now songs like "Showdown, Turn to Stone, Evl Woman,and Mr. Blue Sky especially remind me of 9/11! It brings back an Ominous feeling of what was about to happen in history. It's like the calm before the storm! That makes this video/DVD even MORE emotionally powerful for me! I absolutely love this video and I'm so glad I seen it on PBS, otherwise I would not have known what I was missing. This is the best concert that I have seen/heard since "Queen" played Wembley stadium in 1986! SERIOUSLY...even if you are not a big ELO fan, you still do not want to miss this concert! The world missed out when the tour was cancelled.
Rating: Summary: defective discs out there....be careful Review: great cd but there are alot of defective ones out there. If u buy it , u will probably have to return it. Can't get pass trk 14, freezes up. GOOD LUCK
Rating: Summary: Where's the Cello's!!! Review: Ok, so this still deserves five stars, however it is in danger of falling to four. 'Why?' I hear you cry out at your computer screen. Because, I am very much a fan of the early years of ELO with Cello's gallor. On this DVD we have two rather attracive women gently playing their Cello's, barely being heard over the guitars etc. Yeah, so Mr Tandy tries to back the Cello's up but it's still pretty feeble. This is very noticable on two of my favourite tracks, 10538 Oveture and Roll Over Beethoven. On the former ther are no french horns, and virtually no Cello's, which were there by the dozens on the original. And what of the Violin and Cello solo's on the latter? Not even attempted! These are however little problems that I needed to get off my chest. In reality this is a very good DVD and a must for any ELO fan. I'm just to picky, that's my problem.
Rating: Summary: Hello....how are you? Have you been alright? Review: ELO was my favorite band for most of my high school years (late 70s). Then I discovered Pink Floyd, and still later Roxy Music, REM and many more "modern" rock bands. I basically left ELO behind as being some dinosaur band. Finally, in the late 90's I picked up a few of their better albums (now on CD, of course) and rediscovered them. Unfortunately, I never had the pleasure of seeing the band live, but this DVD almost makes up for it. Yes, it's really more "The Jeff Lynne Show" than ELO (I certainly don't recall three hot woman being in the band back in the 70s!). The show was beautifully filmed, Lynne's voice sounds as good as it ever did, and the songs.....well, if you're reading this I probably don't have to tell you about those magnificent songs. Instead, you're probably wondering whether or not you should bother spending the money on the DVD. The answer is "yes, you should." Hearing Lynne sing "One Summer Dream" again may just make you cry.
Rating: Summary: Outstanding - Excellent in every way. Review: Just get it. You will be delighted. It's my most watched concert DVD and I have about 100 concert DVDs.
Rating: Summary: E.L.O. ZOOM Tour Live Review: Well, like I said before, This is Jeff Lynne at his very best. And the band sounds fantastic. I have to admit, that I have it bad for Rosie Vela, she has never looked and sounded better. It only took me 5 DVD's to find one that played all the way to the end of the show...but it was well worth the trouble. I can't say enough about this show. Please Jeff, grab Rosie and the band and try it again, I bet you sell out every show. TWO THUMBS UP!!!
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