Jeff Beck: Live in Tokyo Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

Jeff Beck: Live in Tokyo Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 26, 2014

The combination of the immense Tokyo Dome City Hall and Jeff Beck might seem to scream “arena rock,” but rather unexpectedly Jeff Beck: Live in Tokyo turns out to be an intimate, almost an unplugged, concert. While there’s propulsive material aplenty in Jeff’s set, there’s an appealing small scale approach to many of the arrangements. One of the highlights of this performance is the fantastic supporting work of Jeff’s new band, including fabulous Swiss guitarist Nicolas Meier and impressive bassist Rhonda Smith. Jonathan Joseph contributes some nuanced but forceful drumming.

Jeff's setlist is:

1) Loaded
2) Little Wing
3) You Know You Know
4) Hammerhead
5) Angel (Footsteps)
6) Stratus
7) Yemin
8) Where Were You
9) The Pump
10) Medley: Goodbye Pork Pie Hat / Brush With The Blues
11) You Never Know
12) Danny Boy
13) Blue Wind
14) Led Boots
15) Corpus Christi
16) Big Block
17) A Day In The Life
18) Rollin’ And Tumblin’
19) Cause We Ended As Lovers
20) Why Give It Away

Jeff Beck: Live in Tokyo Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Jeff Beck: Live in Tokyo is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Vision (an imprint of Eagle Rock Entertainment) with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in the somewhat unusual aspect ratio of 2.07:1. While the progressive presentation eliminates elements like combing artifacts, it can't aid in what is a minor problem here, namely the fact that the concert is so minimal that huge swaths of it play out on a starkly black stage with very little lighting around the players. The good news is the blacks here are true and deep, but the bad news is in midrange and wide shots there's little detail, especially if someone gets out of a light pool. Close-ups fare much better, with excellent clarity and detail.

Jeff Beck: Live in Tokyo Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Jeff Beck: Live in Tokyo features crisp and clear sounding LPCM 2.0 and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mixes. The surround mix is the way to go if possible, providing a much fuller mid to low range, and elevating some of the spaciousness between the guitars, with clearly defined directionality but a still pleasant blend. Clarity is exceptional as Beck (and Meier) coax a variety of sounds out of their axes. A couple of Smith's solos add significant punch to the low end, as does Joseph's drumming.

Jeff Beck: Live in Tokyo Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Setlist Commentary (1080p; 15:24) offers the various musicians talking about the tunes.


• Band on Band (1080p; 5:05) offers the various musicians talking about each other.

Jeff Beck: Live in Tokyo Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jeff Beck: Live in Tokyo provides some really interesting new arrangements of Beck evergreens as well as an unexpected entry or two. Beck and his new band are in fine form, evidently having already achieved a fine level of repartee with each other. Technical merits are generally first rate, and Jeff Beck: Live in Tokyo comes Recommended.