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Barry
Manilow
Manilow
Live! |
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| Starring: Barry Manilow Directed by: Lawrence Jordan |
Original Broadcast Date: 2000
HD DVD Release: 2006
Released by: Image EntertainmentDolby
TrueHD 4.0, Dolby Digital Plus 4.0
Widescreen |
For its first HD DVD music releases,
Image trotted out the big guns, and there is none bigger than Barry Manilow. Though some
have called him kitsch, the fact is that he has a loyal audience of thousands upon
thousands of people. The audience members in Nashville, where this concert was filmed, are
on their feet cheering before Manilow even hits the stage. It is hard for him to start
"Could It Be Magic," the opening song, because the crowd is so enthusiastic just
to see him.
| More HD Music  So far, the audio configurations
for music on HD DVD run the gamut. There is no particular pattern, and you can find
everything from stereo to Dolby TrueHD 5.0. A Musicares Person of the Year
Tribute to James Taylor (Warner/Rhino 972710 ****) carries only PCM stereo
tracks. There’s no other choice, but the stereo sound is so clean and well-balanced
that you aren’t liable to mind too much. Pat Metheny’s The Way Up: Live (Eagle
Vision 33300-9 ****) offers quite a few choices: PCM stereo, Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 and
DTS HD 5.1. The DTS clearly wins, with bright and transparent sound on top, focused bass,
and good spread. Listen to the struck cymbals here; you can hear the strike and the
shimmer with equal clarity.
 The Eagles:
Farewell I Tour -- Live from Melbourne (Warner/Rhino ***1/2) offers PCM stereo and
regular DTS 5.1. First place goes to the clean, crisp PCM tracks. A combo performance by
Chicago and Earth, Wind, & Fire -- Live at the Greek Theater
(****1/2) might have the best sound of any, and its tracks are Dolby Digital Plus
5.1 and Dolby Digital Plus 2.0. Both are clean and crisp, but the 5.1 tracks are more
transparent and have really commanding, focused bass. Heart: Alive in Seattle
(Image Entertainment 8303 ****) has Dolby Digital plus 5.0 and 2.0 as well as Dolby TrueHD
5.1. The True tracks are only slightly better than the Dolby Digital Plus here, and when
the scoring is thin, the overall mix is good, but it’s muddy when the whole band
plays. No application of Dolby Digital Plus or TrueHD can help if the original master
isn’t good to begin with. I think that’s the case here.
The video on all these releases is puzzling. None of them
has the color pop and razor-sharp definition we expect from HD movies. The Metheny and the
Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire combo look the best. They both have HD pop on close-ups
and sometimes on other shots. The Heart disc dazzles occasionally. The others simply
don’t look that much better than upsampled SD.
As enjoyable as many of these releases are, and I suggest
you try a few of them to see and hear for yourself, we’re all still waiting for the
definitive HD music disc.
...Rad Bennett
radb@hometheatersound.com |
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He proceeds to tell the audience that since he
couldn’t decide which songs to sing, he will do them all. There are over 20 numbers
in this two-act show which cover most of Manilow’s long career. He’s on stage
all the time, and one is impressed by his professionalism and energy, which seems
boundless. He was 57 when this show was shot. Recently he’s had hip surgery and is
anxious to get back on the road again. He is smooth as silk on stage, segueing from one
number to another with absolute ease. He even does some comic bits that reminded me a
little of Danny Kaye, a number with an accordion, and a hell-for-leather version of
"Flight of the Bumblebee" which Manilow plays on the kazoo, accompanied by the
full orchestra. Not many singers could pull that off, but it works for him.
Some of Manilow’s stage business is irritating to me,
but then he sings, and I forgive him everything, because he is really a good singer and on
this particular night, he was in perfect voice. Slow ballads, upbeat Broadway-style songs,
and a tribute to Frank Sinatra are all performed to a perfection that is well-rehearsed
yet somehow still seems spontaneous. I especially liked his heartfelt rendition of
"Mandy" and the saucy, upbeat "Copacabana." The full orchestra,
complete with harp, backs him 100 percent, which he is kind enough to acknowledge on more
than one occasion.
My hopes for HD music titles with great sound were very
high when I received the first batch of releases. My expectations have been only partially
fulfilled. The video here is quite good, certainly an improvement on the SD, but it never
has that pop and snap that a good HD title possesses, those moments when you go "wow,
what a picture." Close-ups are very detailed and the color can’t be faulted, but
mid-distance and background images all too often seem muted. This is probably a function
of the focusing of the original camera operators. HD wasn’t in the pipeline back
then. Had they known they were shooting the concert for HD, the results might have been
quite a bit better.
Two sound options are offered, both in a 4.0 configuration.
The Dolby Digital Plus tracks are focused and clean, but the Dolby TrueHD tracks are even
better, offering more transparency and a more subtle high end. The bass on all tracks is
great. It’s focused and firm, but never exaggerated. The surround channels mostly
capture the audience applause but there is a bit of music ambience as well.
The only extra is a commentary track by Manilow, but it is
a good one. He shares anecdotal material in a genial and friendly way that’s not
totally devoid of ego, but is not as irritating as some of his stage patter can be. The
man is a great showman, but he is a better singer. For my money, he might say less between
numbers and just sing. |
