|
Customer Reviews:
- Best of sessions west 54th vol. 1: A very good live dvd with a couple of artists at their top, live. Because I am a big fan of Jane Siberry this dvd came to my attention. Not only Jane Siberry is very good, but there other good performances of different artists like Daniel Lanois, Sinead O'Connor, Patti Smith etc. 17 different performances in total, different kinds of music from singer/songwriters such as Suzanne Vega, country Emmylou, wave Patti Smith to jazz with lovely music by an excellent Wynton Marsalis. The dvd is from the same quality as the live performances by the late show by Jools Holland. The dvd is also a good item to get known with lesser known artists, such as Nil Lara, Keb'Mo'. A dvd I can really give a high recommandation to every person who loves music and still wants to explore new kinds of music. Henk Coppoolse, Vlissingen, Netherlands
- Good but also disappointing...: I was a big fan of this show and have fond memories of watching great artist perform great sets. When I saw the line up for this DVD I jumped at the chance to watch these performances again. When the DVD arrived I was very disappointed to find out that it's only one song from each artist. I was expecting and hoping to see full sets from each artist. Why they didn't/don't have the whole show for sale (that I am aware of) I have no idea.
- AMAZING!: Love the whole DVD but my favorite has to be Sinead O'Connor's "Last Day Of Our Acquaitance". Well worth the money!
- Fine production; so-so curating.: The video direction is good for the most part. As a musician, I found it frustrating to have to sit through a close-up of Richard Thompson's face while the pyrotechnics ensue on the fretboard, below and out of view.
The audio quality is good, but errs on the side of aseptic cleanliness. For some reason, the engineers favor pickups over microphones in recording acoustic guitars, so every acoustic guitar sounds utterly horrible. Since most artists represented on this collection feature acoustic guitar, this is a serious shortcoming. Highlights include Emmylou Harris, Ricki Lee Jones, Patti Smith, and Richard Thompson. Also of interest is a Yo-Yo Ma performance of a tango, featuring a spectacular performance by an uncredited concertina player. Sinead O'Connor gives an impassioned performance of a repetitive and boring song. The Ben Folds Five are charming and talented, but the songwriting just doesn't quite hold up. But the endless march of acoustic guitar singer/songwriters becomes oppresive. If you are a *huge* fan of any of the above-mentioned artists, then it may be worth your while. - Great DVD, But Why the Cuts?: Recorded live (with a studio audience) at Sony's New York digs, the sound of this series (originally aired on PBS) is absolutely exceptional in the fully digital format. But why did they cut so much (and some of the best performances - i.e. David Bryne bouncin' and rippin' it up in a flame suit, Zap Mamma gettin' down acapella, etc) from the broadcast version of this best of? It originally aired in two one-hour parts, here we just get 70 minutes.
Also, why the heck are so few of the individual performances available? It's a crime to keep these from the pubic! (They are currently airing the series on cable's TRIO channel, but on my cable system the sound and video quality bites. I don't know if that's because they are using poor quality masters or because my cable company isn't devoting sufficient bandwidth for the channel.) If anyone knows who should be peppered with letters or email at Sony to get the DVD's flowing, please share the info here.
|
