7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.8 |
A visually exciting original concert special that captures the band in the midst of its biggest world tour yet, in support of the hit albumMylo Xyloto.
Starring: Coldplay, Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion, Guy BerrymanMusic | 100% |
Documentary | 36% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080i
Aspect ratio: 2.36:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 CD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Coldplay Live 2012 isn’t just a live concert video, as it features several so-called “Intermissions” where we get various musings by the band about all sorts of things from what it means to be rich and famous to what it means to be incredibly handsome (one assumes that last is said somewhat in self-mocking jest). But there’s one salient question that is never answered by Coldplay’s front man Chris Martin, a burning query which I’m sure is at the forefront of many fans’ minds: Why did you name your daughter ‘Apple’? Of course that’s a joke, but Martin reveals himself to be a fairly cogent comedian himself, as well as a philosopher of sorts, and the rest of the band also offers some interesting, if at times pat, commentary about their lives in what has become one of the most successful bands of the past decade and a half or so. Coldplay Live 2012 is a fairly energetic reboot of the basic concert video genre, with lots of post production tweaking which sees all sorts of effects added, including everything from grained up imagery to words and graphics being superimposed over the images of Chris Martin, Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, and Will Champion jumping around various humongous stages in various even more humongous stadiums and arenas in several world metropolises. While the concert portions may well be the drawing card for most fans, the confessionals may well be the most memorable sequences of this offering, especially since the concert portions are marred by some strange mixing choices that often leave Martin’s voice completely buried in the wash of instrumental backing and overarching crowd noises.
Coldplay Live 2012 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Capitol Records with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 2.36:1. This is another hyperkinetic outing which features nonstop quick cutting in the concert sequences, with barely any shot lasting more than a couple of seconds. If you can tolerate that aspect, which is only heightened (or exacerbated, depending on your point of view) by the "whiz bang" effects that have been added in post, the high definition presentation here pops quite well most of the time. Some of the effects added include increased "grain" and smearing, not to mention tons of superimposed text and graphics, which makes critiquing the "naturalness" of the image kind of moot. Colors are generally good (though, again, they've been considerably color graded at times), and fine detail is quite good in close-ups. The concert portions are somewhat hobbled by the dual aspects of huge arenas, which are dark save for the glowstick bracelets of the fans, and the aggressive lighting in back of the players, which at times leads to some slight banding, mico- blocking and other brief anomalies. Some of the effects give the indication of video noise, but that is no doubt intentional.
Perhaps after we've gotten our long sought after answer to the burning question surrounding Apple's moniker, then someone can move on to explaining the somewhat maddening mixes on Coldplay Live 2012. Both the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix as well as the LPCM 2.0 stereo fold down offer superior fidelity, with precise recreation of the massed midrange that Coldplay loves to evoke, but why, oh why, did they mix Martin's voice so far down? Sometimes this tends to happen in 5.1 mixes, especially in stadiums and arenas like the ones Coldplay plays, where the ambient environmental noise and huge "geography" of the venue simply swallows up the singing, but typically those issues disappear once one choosed the 2.0 mix, in whatever form it's delivered on any given Blu-ray. While things are moderately better on the LPCM mix, there are still vast swaths of the concert footage where Martin simply more or less disappears in the mass of instrumental sound and overwhelming audience noise. By contrast, he is completely audible in the accompanying CD, so this is definitely a mix issue, not one of the source elements being shoddily recorded. Still, even with this niggling concern, Coldplay Live 2012 offers some fantastic sounding music, with nicely detailed channelization in the 5.1 mix. Dynamic range basically boils down to an "on/off" switch: it's loud during the concert portions and quiet during the interstitial confessionals.
Mylo Xyloto kind of split critics and even longtime fans of Coldplay. Some evidently don't really cotton to this "Brian Eno era" with the band, though there's no denying the evocative walls of sound the producer is able to cull from the players, something that's very much on display throughout this concert, even in some of their older, pre-Eno, material. The band is very energetic and appealing throughout these performances, and the confessional sequences find them to be rather thoughtful, even meditative, types who haven't completely been bowled over by their status as Rock Gods. This Blu- ray offers good video but the two lossless mixes may frustrate some who want to hear more of Martin. Still, overall Coldplay Live 2012 comes Recommended.
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