Del Castillo: Live
June 2004 Reviewed by: Doug Schneider Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

Our software editor, Rad Bennett, assigned me to cover the Del Castillo: Live DVD and I confess I sat on it for a few weeks. In fact, I never really wanted to get it. And when I got it, I didn’t want to play it, mostly because of the disc’s cover -- I’d never heard the band before, or even heard of it, and the image on the front made the members look like some outdated heavy-metal outfit from the ‘80s. Did I really want to listen to that? Finally, with the deadline looming, I popped the disc in my DVD player. What a surprise, and what a misleading cover!

Far from a bunch of Mötley Crüe wannabes, Del Castillo is an accomplished Latin-flavored rock band with considerable talent. No wonder well-known filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (Once Upon a Time in Mexico) is so taken with the band. Rodriguez is credited with shooting the live-concert video footage that forms the core of this disc. And no wonder Rad wanted me to review it.

The disc is mainly Del Castillo playing live at a place called "The Steamboat" in Austin, Texas. There are no extras, the packaging is as basic as it comes, and the footage lasts just over 40 minutes. However, while this DVD release may be basic, Del Castillo: Live is one of the most enjoyable music videos I’ve seen in some time. After I played it the first time, I immediately played it again. But not being an expert on Latin-based music, I called my wife in for a time to help me evaluate it. She’s from Venezuela and well-versed in the music of many Latin countries. At first, though, she didn’t even want to see it. Like me, when she looked at the DVD cover she scowled. She’s not a big fan of rock, let alone metal. But then after I cued the disc up she looked up at the screen, listened for a time, and declared the players to be good -- then a few moments later declared them to be really good. Not being able to easily categorize Del Castillo’s brand of music, she described it as being "kind of like the Gipsy Kings with a bigger sound and a much harder edge." Sounds about right.

Between songs there are interviews with various members of the band, which serve as a good introduction to them and give a touch of insight into how they got started. Since I believe most people will, like me, not have heard of this band yet, these snippets serve as a good primer to Del Castillo. (I’ve since learned through Allmusic.com that Del Castillo has two CDs, Vida and Brothers of the Castle, both released in 2004.)

The DVD’s 5.1 mix definitely sounds better than the stereo one, but both are still lacking in important ways. In stereo, the sound is thin, bass-shy, and with hardly any soundstage. The 5.1 mix is definitely fuller and richer, and there is a more credible soundstage and a good sense of space; however, the bass is heavier and a little thuddy, and clarity is not all that good compared to the better-sounding music releases. Sonically, it’s a bit of a disappointment.

Visually, it’s somewhat better. With Robert Rodriguez shooting the concert footage, I wasn’t surprised to see well-framed images and inventive camera angles. He’s proven himself a great cinematographer with his films, and he’s equally adept at capturing a live band. Still, despite Rodriguez’s good work, the image quality ranges from good to just average. I was surprised to see a fair bit of digital-type distortion in the image at certain points. Therefore, high marks for the cinematography with an only average rating for image quality combine for a middle-of-the-road rating for overall picture quality.

Technically, Del Castillo: Live doesn’t rate very high, but musically it scores far better. If you like Latin-type music with an edge, pick up this disc despite the cover -- you’ll likely be as surprised as I was.

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