Justin Hayward: Spirits... Live - Live at the Buckhead Theatre Atlanta Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Justin Hayward: Spirits... Live - Live at the Buckhead Theatre Atlanta Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 24, 2014

Fans of shows like MTV’s Unplugged and the Moody Blues should be overjoyed by this new Blu-ray featuring Moody Blues’ vocalist and guitarist Justin Hayward in a largely acoustic set that emphasizes songcraft and intimacy over bells, whistles (and dry ice driven fog) of arena rock shows. With not much more than two acoustic guitars and a couple of keyboards, Hayward, still generally facile at 67, offers a really enjoyable tour through both some of his biggest hits as well as songs that probably only true aficionados will recognize. His guitar playing has occasional slight fumbles with highly filigreed accompaniments, but Hayward’s voice is still surprisingly strong in all registers, though he has an odd habit throughout this concert of separating syllables (or even one syllable) in a kind of country and western “yodel” that makes it sound like his voice is cracking even when it really isn’t. There’s not much traditional “flash” in this concert, but there’s fine musicianship and the chance to enjoy an often underappreciated Rock God in an unadorned fashion.

Hayward, joined by Alan Hewitt (keys, vocals), Julie Ragins (keys, percussion, vocals) and Mike Dawes (guitars), performs the following songs on this 2013 concert:

• Captivated By You
• Tuesday Afternoon
• It's Up to You - Lovely to See You
• In Your Blue Eyes
• The Western Sky
• Land of Make Believe
• New Horizons
• In the Beginning
• One Day Someday
• The Eastern Sun
• It's Cold Outside of Your Heart
• Your Wildest Dreams
• Forever Autumn
• Question
• Nights in White Satin
• I Know You're Out There Somewhere
• Captivated By You (Reprise)

Justin Hayward: Spirits... Live - Live at the Buckhead Theatre Atlanta Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Justin Hayward Live at the Buckhead Theatre Atlanta - Spirits. . .Live is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Vision (an imprint of Eagle Rock Entertainment) with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Much like the concert itself, the video presentation here is rather simple, but that actually works toward the benefit of the presentation. Without aggressive stage lighting changes and with such an open, uncrowded stage, this concert video looks fantastic on Blu-ray, with good, accurate and nicely saturated colors, and admirable sharpness and clarity. The progressive presentation has eliminated many of the traditional bugaboos that often accompany these types of releases, and there are no image stability, combing or posterizing issues to worry about.

Justin Hayward: Spirits... Live - Live at the Buckhead Theatre Atlanta Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Both the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 tracks included on this Blu-ray provide superior fidelity and clarity. It might seem counter-intuitive that a surround mix would add much to such a stripped down sonic affair like this, but there's incredible separation and breathing room in the 5.1 iteration that is much narrower in the stereo offering. Everything is well prioritized and both instrumentation and vocals come through perfectly clearly, with no issues of any kind to report.

Justin Hayward: Spirits... Live - Live at the Buckhead Theatre Atlanta Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• On the Road to Love Documentary (1080p; 59:03) is a great piece documenting Hayward's 2013 tour. There's a ton of great candid and behind the scenes footage here that should whet most any fan's appetite.

Justin Hayward: Spirits... Live - Live at the Buckhead Theatre Atlanta Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

For a musician with such a storied past and with so many hit songs to his name, Justin Hayward has frequently never really gotten his due (ask a smattering of your Classic Rock fans who Hayward is, and you might be surprised at how many can't tell you). This concert is intentionally small scaled and intimate, but that only serves to highlight what a superb performer Hayward still is, even as he pushes the 70 year mark. Technical merits here are very strong and Justin Hayward Live at the Buckhead Theatre, Atlanta - Spirits. . .Live comes Highly recommended.