Analog Kid
07-01-2002, 20:38
Eurythmics - Peacetour
Introduction
For those of you over the age of about 16 the Eurythmics should need no introduction. Over a period of eight or nine years Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox produced eight albums and numerous singles and in the process became one of the most successful bands of the eighties. Then in the early nineties it was all over, Dave and Annie went their separate ways and both produced solo material before reforming in 1999 and releasing a new album 'Peace' which was naturally accompanied by a tour. This DVD captures the closing night of that tour at London's Docklands Arena.
The Concert
Having seen a couple of previous Eurythmics concerts televised in the past, both of which were good but not great, this one comes as a welcome surprise in terms of it's content. It contains a good number of the 'old favourites' as well as some of the new material and even one of Ms. Lennox's solo numbers 'Walking on broken glass'. The band is lively and there are some energetic renditions of some of the crowd pleasers as well as one or two numbers which Dave & Annie perform as acoustic numbers on their own. The director makes good use of a large number of camera angles and for the most part the angle changes fit nicely with the music. There are also two tracks which make use of the multi-angle feature and allow you to select from the main edit, 'right camera' or 'left camera' but these don't add significantly to the experience.
http://freespace.virgin.net/michael.kirby/dvdpics/eurythmics1.JPG
Video
The concert is presented in anamorphic widescreen. The picture is clear throughout except for the brief introduction which is filmed in black and white and is subsequently slightly grainy. There are no jagged edges that I could pick out which is good considering the number of bright lights on show. The colours are rich and vivid and add to the lively concert atmosphere without becoming too overpowering. The documentary section of the disc is presented in non-anamorphic widescreen and is clear enough but not outstanding.
http://freespace.virgin.net/michael.kirby/dvdpics/eurythmics2.JPG
Audio
The concert section of the disc is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 which is used to great effect to create a spacious and open soundstage which really conveys the concert atmosphere and probably does more to recreate the experience than the video. The front is well utilised with the vocals being confined to the centre and a good stereo image completing the musical side of things. The subwoofer is used extensively for bass and drums and the surrounds are mostly used for ambient effects such as echos and crowd responses and as such tend to be pretty quiet during the music and louder during the gaps between songs. The documentary section of the disc is presented in stereo. One oddity is that there is a stereo track included for the concert which sounds muffled and is surely completely redundant.
http://freespace.virgin.net/michael.kirby/dvdpics/eurythmics3.JPG
Extras
The main extra is the 'Peacetalk' documentary which covers the genesis of the album and tour as well as looking at the writing methods of the band. It's interesting enough and adds nicely to the package as well as including some alternate takes on some of the tracks. In addition to this we get a photo gallery which contains ten photos from the photoshoot that produced most of the images on the album cover, a complete list of lyrics for the concert and direct access to the two multi-angle tracks. There is also a discography of the band covering their studio albums. The animated menus manage to create a coherant theme and are easy to navigate, don't get in the way and actually add to the overall atmosphere which makes a refreshing change from some of the other music DVD's I have seen.
http://freespace.virgin.net/michael.kirby/dvdpics/eurythmics4.JPG
Overall
In summary, this is a great release which will appeal to all fans of the Eurythmics. The quality of the video and especially the audio goes a long way to recreating the feeling of a live concert. If Abbey Road Interactive/BMG produce all of their live concert output to this standard then we have a lot to look forward to.
Video - 8
Audio - 9
Content - 8
Overall - 8
Introduction
For those of you over the age of about 16 the Eurythmics should need no introduction. Over a period of eight or nine years Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox produced eight albums and numerous singles and in the process became one of the most successful bands of the eighties. Then in the early nineties it was all over, Dave and Annie went their separate ways and both produced solo material before reforming in 1999 and releasing a new album 'Peace' which was naturally accompanied by a tour. This DVD captures the closing night of that tour at London's Docklands Arena.
The Concert
Having seen a couple of previous Eurythmics concerts televised in the past, both of which were good but not great, this one comes as a welcome surprise in terms of it's content. It contains a good number of the 'old favourites' as well as some of the new material and even one of Ms. Lennox's solo numbers 'Walking on broken glass'. The band is lively and there are some energetic renditions of some of the crowd pleasers as well as one or two numbers which Dave & Annie perform as acoustic numbers on their own. The director makes good use of a large number of camera angles and for the most part the angle changes fit nicely with the music. There are also two tracks which make use of the multi-angle feature and allow you to select from the main edit, 'right camera' or 'left camera' but these don't add significantly to the experience.
http://freespace.virgin.net/michael.kirby/dvdpics/eurythmics1.JPG
Video
The concert is presented in anamorphic widescreen. The picture is clear throughout except for the brief introduction which is filmed in black and white and is subsequently slightly grainy. There are no jagged edges that I could pick out which is good considering the number of bright lights on show. The colours are rich and vivid and add to the lively concert atmosphere without becoming too overpowering. The documentary section of the disc is presented in non-anamorphic widescreen and is clear enough but not outstanding.
http://freespace.virgin.net/michael.kirby/dvdpics/eurythmics2.JPG
Audio
The concert section of the disc is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 which is used to great effect to create a spacious and open soundstage which really conveys the concert atmosphere and probably does more to recreate the experience than the video. The front is well utilised with the vocals being confined to the centre and a good stereo image completing the musical side of things. The subwoofer is used extensively for bass and drums and the surrounds are mostly used for ambient effects such as echos and crowd responses and as such tend to be pretty quiet during the music and louder during the gaps between songs. The documentary section of the disc is presented in stereo. One oddity is that there is a stereo track included for the concert which sounds muffled and is surely completely redundant.
http://freespace.virgin.net/michael.kirby/dvdpics/eurythmics3.JPG
Extras
The main extra is the 'Peacetalk' documentary which covers the genesis of the album and tour as well as looking at the writing methods of the band. It's interesting enough and adds nicely to the package as well as including some alternate takes on some of the tracks. In addition to this we get a photo gallery which contains ten photos from the photoshoot that produced most of the images on the album cover, a complete list of lyrics for the concert and direct access to the two multi-angle tracks. There is also a discography of the band covering their studio albums. The animated menus manage to create a coherant theme and are easy to navigate, don't get in the way and actually add to the overall atmosphere which makes a refreshing change from some of the other music DVD's I have seen.
http://freespace.virgin.net/michael.kirby/dvdpics/eurythmics4.JPG
Overall
In summary, this is a great release which will appeal to all fans of the Eurythmics. The quality of the video and especially the audio goes a long way to recreating the feeling of a live concert. If Abbey Road Interactive/BMG produce all of their live concert output to this standard then we have a lot to look forward to.
Video - 8
Audio - 9
Content - 8
Overall - 8