Lou Reed: Transformer & Live At Montreux 2000 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Lou Reed: Transformer & Live At Montreux 2000 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 28, 2014

While the Velvet Underground never really attained much popular success, their impact on the music world was much more significant. By the time Lou Reed matriculated to his solo career, he was already something of a legend in the music business, and Reed actually managed to evade the oft mentioned “sophomore slump” with Transformer, his second outing as a solo artist which is notable for having been co-produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson. This interesting Classic Albums documentary includes contemporary (meaning circa 2001) interviews and performances by Lou combined with a lot of archival footage, along with occasionally frankly pretentious analyses by Rolling Stones’ David Fricke.

The second half of this double features captures Lou and the band in concert in Montreux in 2000 in support of the release of Ecstasy. This is a high energy show, with Lou sounding great. The band plays with a lot of vigor, and while the bulk of the concert concentrates on the (then) newest releases, there are some covers of previous material as well. Lou's set list includes:

1. Paranoia Key of E

2. Turn to Me

3. Modern Dance

4. Ecstasy

5. Small Town

6. Future Farmers of America

7. Turning Time Around

8. Romeo Had Juliette

9. Riptide

10. Rock Minuet

11. Mystic Child

12. Tatters

13. Twilight

14. Dirty Blvd.

15. Dime Store Mystery

16. Perfect Day

Lou Reed: Transformer & Live At Montreux 2000 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Lou Reed Transformer and Lou Reed Live at Montreux 2000 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Vision (an imprint of Eagle Rock) with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.78 (the Transformer documentary) and 1.33 (the Montreux concert). This is another of Eagle Rock's so-called SD Blu-rays, upscaled versions of native standard definition content, and they look about as good as could be hoped. Transformer actually looks decently sharp with regard to the contemporary performance and interview segments, though there are noticeable upscaling issues like stair stepping on what should be straight lines (look at the bottom of Lou's music stand in his performances). The concert footage is decent looking, nothing more or less, with middling contrast (not helped by the concert's overall dark ambience) and a fairly fuzzy overall appearance.

Lou Reed: Transformer & Live At Montreux 2000 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Transformer contains an LPCM 2.0 track and the Montreux concert features LPCM 2.0 and HD-Master Audio 5.1 options. Unlike the recent Joni Mitchell SD Blu-ray double feature, there's no attendant phasing in the 5.1 mix, and in fact there is a huge difference between the surround track and the stereo track on the concert section, with noticeably more forceful amplitude and (especially) midrange and low end. The Transformer documentary suffices perfectly well with the LPCM 2.0 track, one which delivers the interviews and performances with excellent fidelity.

Lou Reed: Transformer & Live At Montreux 2000 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No supplements are offered on this Blu-ray disc.

Lou Reed: Transformer & Live At Montreux 2000 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Lou's getting a little Blu-ray love in the wake of his sad passing a few months ago. Universal has released an audio Blu-ray of The Velvet Underground: White Light/White Heat, and now Eagle Rock follows suit with this appealing double feature of Reed-centric offerings. While the video quality here leaves something (maybe a lot) to be desired, the audio quality is surprisingly good. Recommended.