Rating: 
Summary: Concert with Class! Made for the Medium
Review: This is what concert DVDs should be about! I've viewed this repeatedly since purchasing it. The digital video is absolutely exceptional, giving the viewer the best seat in the house. The variety of camera angles and the flawless editing make this a true concert experience. This show flows as though you were there in person. Thank goodness it was NOT done "mtv-style" with so so many split second camera changes that the viewer doesn't even have time to focus.I was especially impressed with how well the camera showcased the stage setting, which must have been quite breathtaking in person. It's a simple and elegantly decorated stage, relying on fabric and lighting techniques. Nick Sholem's lighting design paints the stage like an artist does a canvas. The stage setting enhances the musical performance, rather than detract from it. There's no need for lasers, elevated stages and other mechanical devices that so many entertainers have put in their shows. This concert really is about the music. And great music it is. I've never thought that Sting had an exceptional singing voice, but there's something about the soulful delivery of his songs that make him such a magnetic and charismatic performer. The viewer/listener can really appreciate that Sting just loves *music* - and that he doesn't stick to one genre or style. This concert gives us pop, rock, rap, jazz, soul, country - and it is all pure Sting. And even though Sting is the front man and vocalist, the concert is a team effort of all the musicians and singers. The guest appearances by Stevie Wonder and Cheb Mami add to the enjoyment of the performance. The dolby digital sounds great on my system - it's better than having a front row seat. Part of my attraction to DVD are the 'extras' that are included. This one has some behind-the-scenes backstage footage which I found quite enjoyable. I delayed purchasing this DVD mainly because of what other reviewers posted here. I'm glad that I finally bought it because it is one of the best concert DVDs in my growing collection. I wonder if some faulty copies made their way into the marketplace because technically - video and sound - you can't beat this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable but poor use of the DVD medium
Review: My wife and I certainly enjoyed watching this concert from the DVD. With a newborn and a 3 year old we had to miss Sting's Boston 3-night stand. I was very VERY dissapointed in the audio and video quality of the this DVD. The audio volume level changes during playback and I found myself having to reach for the voulme control 2-3 times to try and maintain a stable volume level. Also, the 5.1 sound was extremely disapointing. Poor bass response and a bit flat sounding overall. The video quality was both disasterous and stunning depending upon the camera angle. Close-ups of Sting were crystal clear, while mid/distance shots were completely blury - almost as if the camera was too far away and the editors digitally zoomed in at the expense of the video's clarity. Every zoomed out shot has this problem - I'm guessing that the editors were left with only one or two good camera angles where the video was clear and then had to force alternative camera footage to work (for fear that only 2 camera angles wouldn't cut it). If you can get beyond the sometimes poor video quality and the less than perfect audio quality it's an entertaining DVD and I'd recommend it. ...
Rating: 
Summary: horrible sound
Review: The camera always fixes sting even when his musicians play solos.The sound makes it the worst of my concert dvds.Like mono, no atmosphere,only stings voice in the front.I had to check my surround system,because first I thought it`s broken. Save your money!!!
Rating:
Summary: Better With Age
Review: Sting`s musical style together with his Jazz roots before The Police show how truly amazing he has grown as an artist.A true superstar in our generation. A fantastic concert, great camera angles and a great DVD to have on even while cleaning the house!
Rating:
Summary: Sting still rocks
Review: I can't believe all the whining about this disc from the previous reviews. I saw Sting live at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney in Novmeber 2000 and the show I saw was identical to the one on the disc (except for the guest appearances and the three backing vocalists.) I thought the mix was great, and the even though Sting *is* a bass player, his instrument is exactly where it's supposed to be in the mix. It sounds great on my system. Just remember it's LIVE. There are no overdubs on this disc. Sting hits flat notes every now and then, as do his BV's. I think it's great that in today's post production environment with Pro Tools and Auto Tune etc, that Sting has the honesty to say "this is the show, just as it happened". If you want album quality, listen to the cd. This is Sting live and it's bloody brilliant.
Rating:
Summary: Not the pristine audio adventure you might expect
Review: first.. just to get this off of my chest.. between this disc and having seen Sting live several times it just reenforces what a lazy performer he is Two amazing banks of songs to draw on (The Police and his own) and you are lucky to get just over 90 min out of this guy, and that's with the one encore he begrudgingly affords Shame, really his stuff is great As to this disc.. in my view (and I do have a very acceptable dts audio setup) the audio mix is not very good, especially the low end, which at least on my system, is far too dominate in the mix, also pondersome and muddy. The identical setup and settings play Steely Dan's 2 Against Nature dvd (rich powerful audio) and Eagle's Hell Freezes Over (possibly the most stunning sounding dvd to date) flawlessly, not to mention several other dts audio cds, so I don't think it's the gear If you are a Sting fan, or at least want to see what a show might be like, I guess the setlist is acceptable, but hardly a wishlist so to speak. If your purpose in considering this selection is to hear Sting via enhanced audio, try the dts remix of Tales instead You'll be much happier
Rating: 
Summary: Poor Audio Quality!!
Review: When playing this DVD I seriously thought there was something wrong with my system! The audio comes and goes in waves when played in Dolby 5.1 and is not much better when played in stereo. I wish I could have returned it for a full refund.
Rating:
Summary: Poor sound
Review: I agree with some of the reviews here. This DVD does not provide the dynamic sound to give the viewer a "LIVE" feel. It does not give the kick people look for at a concert. Certainly not as enjoyable as "THE CORRS: LIVE AT LANSDOWNE ROAD DVD", despite Sting's good vocal performance (can't hear his bass guitar clearly though).
Rating:
Summary: Excellent concert, but the audio compression is quite poor!
Review: Let me preface this by letting you know that I have both seen Sting live during the "Mercury Falling" tour and I have spent over 10 years performing live and recording, so I am a bit more heavy on the scrutiny than most. [....] Let me tell you, if you want a concert that replicates the CD, then you should be buying the CD, not the concert DVD. Concerts are not necessarily supposed to be "perfect" in the sense that everything in an 18-song set is identical to a performance that takes months of studio recording to perfect (and even then it's NEVER perfect). Concerts are supposed to be a bit of an experience that brings the audience closer to the artist. I feel that the DVD does this successfully, and I find that the concert itself is rather enjoyable, including an excellent trumpet player (Chris Botti, who was remarkable!), Stevie Wonder, and Cheb Mami (on Desert Rose). While I personally miss Kenny Kirkland and Vinnie Colaiuta, Manu Katche (whom I remember from "Nothing Like The Sun") does very well behind the drums and out front for a couple of songs. Sting tries several things during the course of the concert to deviate a bit from the norm. He roughs it up a bit for "Moon Over Bourbon Street", which caught me a bit by surprise (and completely annoyed my wife!), and Manu Katche coming out front to rap in French was quite refreshing. The quality of the visual end of the DVD was very good, but the real reason for the three-star rating was the poor sound compression. While the sound itself was not bad, the compression used while mixing down the live audio to the DVD was HORRIBLE!!! It can't be put any other way. I read [that someone] was checking his 5.1 system and components. I laughed when I read that, because I did exactly the same thing. There are times where the mix is BRILLIANT and the clarity is what you expect from the very best of DVD audio. Then immediately, the music drops quite low, only to accentuate vocals, and then it tries to correct itself over a 10-15 second time period. It just gets ugly at times and puts a HUGE black eye on what I consider to be a DVD for any Sting fan. It is just really difficult to look past this blight. [....] Then I can maybe pull out this DVD after he releases something else with a better audio track. Of course, I find Sting to be an incredible artist and may watch it again in the near future, since my Ten Summoner's Tales video is going bad from my frequent viewing habits...
Rating:
Summary: Mediocre at best
Review: There are several problems with this DVD. First, Sting does not appear to be at the top of his game- missing some notes, unable to hold others. Second, the band is not tight- poor coordination between bass and drums esp. Third, the sound quality is poor. I have a set of five identical full range speakers with a good set of components all chosen with music concerts in mind. My first reaction listening to this DVD was panic that one of my components had failed. Changing to 2 channel helped a little but overall the sound was dry, excessively bright and uninvolving. Bass notes were bloated in many cases and wispy in others. There are some good songs on this DVD- enough to merit purchase by Sting devotees. But not, unfortunately, enough to delight those of us who aply a broader set of criteria.
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