K.D. Lang: Live in London with BBC Orchestra Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.5

K.D. Lang: Live in London with BBC Orchestra Blu-ray Movie Review

K.D. Lang brings her immense talent to Blu-ray

Reviewed by Sir Terrence February 23, 2009

Before sitting down to view K.D. Lang Live with the BBC Orchestra, I had never heard Ms. Lang's music, even though I saw her win two Grammy awards in 1990 and 2003 in the country music category. So, with great trepidation, I popped the disc in my player thinking I was in store for an hour’s worth of country music. Wow, was I wrong; I was captivated for the next eighty minutes by a beautiful, sultry and smooth voice, and a woman with a presence that can best be described as “earthy” and “natural”. Her voice reminds me of Karen Carpenter, but her style is definitely patterned after her biggest influence, Patsy Kline. Listening to Lang sing made me hungry to experience more of her material, and the further I got into the show, that hunger grew. Maybe it’s because her voice is as smooth as mashed potatoes and gravy, her performance on stage was as tasty as fried chicken, and her down to earth stage presence reminded me of mixed vegetables (being a vegetarian this statement ought to make her happy). As funny (and weird) as this sounds, this is how her concert hit me. Her choice of material fits her voice like a hand in a custom made glove. She covers such a wide range of musical genres; so wide I would have a difficult time tying her to any genre in terms of what she sings. I heard country, jazz, spiritual; individually and combined together, to create a truly unique sound. Another striking thing about her is that I found myself comforted and relaxed throughout the entire presentation. Nothing about her performance got my heart racing, or created tension. She is barefoot on stage, in comfortable clothes; her music was smooth and easy to listen to. You don’t get up and dance to her music; you sit and take it in. There were no swirling washes, no lasers, no flying gobo’s or video walls; all you get is this sweet mood lighting that sets the stage for the song that is presented. I found something else interesting about some of her songs. I hate the sound of slide guitar in country music (I am not that keen on country music in general). It so get’s on my nerves I just want it to stop. That wasn’t the case here, as it was so fitting to the music, so tastefully done in moderation, so well blended in; it didn’t stick out enough for me to notice it exclusively. K.D. Lang Live with the BBC Orchestra is a terrific evening of musical entertainment that fans and non fans will surely enjoy.

Grace without flash.

Featured Songs :

Constant Craving/ Upstream/ I Dream of Spring/ Helpless/ Coming Home/ Thread/ Wash Me Clean/ Western Stars/ Pay Dirt/ Jealous Dog/ Sunday/ Smoke Rings/ Don't Smoke in Bed/ Once In A While/ The Valley/ Flame Of The Uninspired/ Close Your Eyes/ Je Fais la Planche/ Shadow and the Frame/ Hallelujah.

Supported by her band and the BBC string ensemble, K.D. Lang smoothly sails through this series of songs with grace, class, and a level of professionalism that is not often found in the music industry. The title says she is accompanied by the BBC orchestra, but that might be a little misleading. The only elements of the BBC orchestra that back her up are a lush sounding string ensemble. There are no brass or woodwind instruments to be seen. Each arrangement is very well crafted, but seemingly played by the numbers; I could sense no improvisation in action. The standout song for me in this concert has to be "Hallelujah." She sings this classic hit with such devotion and conviction that it moved me deeply. As I alluded to earlier, most of these songs are slow simmering types of songs that can best be described as “easy listening."

K.D. Lang: Live in London with BBC Orchestra Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

K.D. Lang: Live with the BBC Orchestra smoothly slides onto the Blu-ray format in a 1080i/AVC encoding, framed in a full 1:78:1 aspect ratio. To these eyes it appears this concert was shot on film, as there is a very fine grain that is easily seen on some of the darker shots. Images also do not have that ultra sharp look of high definition video, but there is no lack of detail because of it. There are no pops, scratches or dirt on the source print; it is clean as a whistle. Black levels are lush and inky deep without hiding objects or people in darker areas. Contrast is spot on, with white shirts looking white, but not overly bleached. Colors are well saturated but never overly so, and are greatly enhanced by the mood lighting during the concert. Detail is excellent as you can clearly see the key signatures, time, and dynamic markings on the sheet music and the buttons and small details on Lang's vest, down to the names on the back of speakers, amps, and instruments with exceptional clarity. This is very fine video indeed.

K.D. Lang: Live in London with BBC Orchestra Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This concert features an excellent 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio lossless mix, encoded at a 16/48khz bit and sample rate. The best word I can use to describe it is "lavish". Her band along with the BBC string ensemble is perfectly and tastefully blended, to the point that no instrument sticks out of the mix. Leads and lead instruments are spotlighted within the mix, but not brought forward in a way that is jarring to the ears. Lang's voice soars over the entire group, and is never crushed by it. The string section is expertly captured, and sounds absolutely beautiful. The only issue I have with that capture is that the imaging is inconsistent. When a single section of the strings play, the 1st and 2nd violins for example, they are positioned in a half left position; when the other sections kick in, the 1st and 2nd violins become part of a huge string sound, and are no longer imaging from the half left position. This goes for the cellos, violas, and lower voiced strings as well. They become a big wash of sound with no distinctive imaging characteristics. That is a small peeve of mine; I like to see total consistency in mixes. Bass is tight and strong, but has most of its energy in the 50-80 Hz region. The high frequencies are airy and wide open, and the overall sound field is deep and wide in all directions. The surrounds are very well used for both the audience pickup, and the overall wrapping of the left and right front channels to that position. The front and rear sound stage is perfectly fused together, with absolutely no holes in the 360 degree sound field. This allows for one to hear the fantastic acoustics of the church the concert was held in. Aside from my small pet peeve, this recording is rich, lavish, and lush; no one will have a problem listening to it.

K.D. Lang: Live in London with BBC Orchestra Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The only extra content on this disc is an interview with K.D. Lang. The interview is informative, taking us from her childhood to adulthood, her musical influences, and how she came up with the concepts for her albums and this concert.

K.D. Lang: Live in London with BBC Orchestra Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

K.D. Lang is a true class act who puts on a remarkable show. It was like a night of listening to K-FOG while enjoying a glass of fine wine. Relaxed, laid back, and chilled is the best way I can describe my evening with Ms. Lang. This woman has an amazing set of pipes and is a joy to listen to. The songs she chooses fit her style well and her presentation of those songs keeps the audience fully engaged and entertained. With full confidence and quite a bit of enthusiasm, I highly recommend K.D. Lang Live with the BBC Orchestra.