Eddie Vedder: Water on the Road Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.5

Eddie Vedder: Water on the Road Blu-ray Movie Review

In a sea of dreadful commercial music, Eddie Vedder’s songs stick out. When he sings, you could feel the passion in his voice, the genuine desire to say something meaningful. The melodies are simple but effective, the lyrics come straight from the heart.

Vedder’s new album, Ukulele Songs, is the creation of a man who has found peace. Tiny bits of the anger and frustration he used to infuse into his songs are still there, but now there is calmness around them, and the message is different.

Filmed on August 16th and 17th, 2008, at the Warner Theater in Washington, DC, Water on the Road, is Vedder’s first solo concert film (also featuring Liam Finn and EJ Barnes). It is directed by Brandon Canty of the hardcore-punk band Fugazi and Christoph Green.

Water on the Road contains a total of twenty four songs (including an intro, outro, and a short ukulele interlude) – a mix of new material from Ukulele Songs, rare Pearl Jam songs, covers, and songs from Vedder’s soundtrack to the film Into the Wild. In addition, the film also contains a small amount of footage in which Vedder is seen greeting and talking to some of his fans.

The film feels like a taped intimate recital in which Vedder sings for a group of close friends. The stage is small and the lighting incredibly simple. Vedder is casually dressed and sitting on a chair close to a rather large microphone and a Corona Extra case.

The music is beautiful, full of passion that cannot be imitated - which is why it is incredibly difficult to pick a favorite song. The cover of Bob Dylan’s "Girl from the North Country", however, is pure perfection, while "Guaranteed", from the Into the Wild soundtrack, is arguably the most touching song in the entire film. "You’re True" is also a great new tune from "Ukulele Songs" (though I wish Vedder would have also sung the sublime "Can’t Keep"), while the inspired performance of "Hard Sun" is in fact better than the studio version of the song.

Forever Young

Eddie Vedder: Water on the Road Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with VC-1 and granted a 720p transfer, Eddie Vedder: Water on the Road arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Monkeywrench Records/Universal Music Distribution.

The presentation is near flawless. Eddie Vedder is in the middle of an extremely simple but elegant stage and most of the time the camera is glued to his face. There are no fancy overhead shots or rapid zooming. As mentioned elsewhere, the entire film feels like a taped intimate recital. Additionally, there are absolutely no shadow issues. Motion-judder is also not an issue of concern. The light noise that occasionally creeps into various live concerts that have made it to Blu-ray is also nowhere to be seen (only during the backstage footage, which was obviously not shot in HD, there is some inherited noise and artifacts). Finally, there are no purely transfer related anomalies to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

Eddie Vedder: Water on the Road Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Monkeywrench Records have not provided any optional subtitles for the main feature.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is outstanding. In fact, I would argue that it is the best audio track I've heard on a music release this year. It captures the richness of Eddie Vedder's beautiful voice exceptionally well, while the guitars and ukelele sound simply superb. The crispness and depth of the audio during "Guaranteed" and "Forever Young", for instance, will surely put a smile on the faces of many audiophiles. This is Blu-ray audio quality at its best, folks! For the record, the crowd noise is definitely felt but it is never overwhelming.

Though really quite strong, the LPCM 2.0 track cannot match the fluidity and depth of the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. With the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track it literally feels as if one is at the Warner Theater, listening to Eddie Vedder perform. There is a sense of space and openness that is simply missing from the LPCM 2.0 track. For the record, there are absolutely no audio dropouts or other similar anomalies.

Live audio: John Burton
Mix: Brendan Canty
5.1 Mix: Eli Janney

Eddie Vedder: Water on the Road Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Bonus - there are two tracks that have been included as extras: All Along the Watchtower and Blackbird.

Eddie Vedder: Water on the Road Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If I had to use one word to describe the music in Eddie Vedder's Water on the Road, the word would be pure. One has to have a heart of stone not to be moved by the rocker's singing. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of Monkeywrench Records, looks and sounds terrific. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.