Neil Sedaka: The Show Goes On - Live at the Royal Albert Hall Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Neil Sedaka: The Show Goes On - Live at the Royal Albert Hall Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 14, 2013

Neil Sedaka’s surname is a variant of the Hebrew word for “charity”, and Sedaka has indeed been a very charitable force in popular music for well over a half century now, bestowing innumerable classics on an adoring public, and becoming one of the first (and at a point, one of the few) Brill Building songwriters to actually become a star performing his own material. While Sedaka and his frequent lyricist collaborator Howard Greenfield crafted a string of hits for such pop sensations as Connie Francis, Sedaka was one of the founders of The Tokens (who became part of American music history with “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, recorded after Sedaka had left the group), and then moved on to a solo career, which erupted in a relatively brief but fruitful series of big chart hits for a couple of years in the early sixties. Sedaka’s performing career wasn’t able to withstand the onslaught of The British Invasion, and it seemed for many years that he would be a notable but perhaps minor footnote in terms of early sixties’ hit makers. Sedaka defied the odds, however, and returned with a vengeance in the 1970s for one of the rare incredibly successful second acts in the music industry, one sparked by both his songwriting talents (“Solitaire”, a big hit for both Andy Williams and the Carpenters, and “Love Will Keep Us Together”, a smash for Captain and Tennille), as well as an interpreter of his own material (“Laughter in the Rain”).

Sedaka is incredibly charming and in great voice in this concert, which finds the singer-songwriter moving through a long career of hits in what amounts to a solo performance (he uses a Yamaha Disclavier, and so sings with some "pre-recorded" elements as well as plays duets with himself, and there are a couple of "surprise" appearances that won't be spoiled here). The music is honest, stripped down, but incredibly melodic, and Sedaka's interstitial commentary is often quite funny and at times self- deprecating. He even aims a few comments directly at the cameras as a supposed "aside" that the Royal Albert Hall audience isn't privy to. Fans will know that Sedaka started as a classical pianist at Juilliard, and he gives a spirited performance of Chopin's Fantasy Impromptu here.

Neil Sedaka: The Show Goes On - Live at the Royal Albert Hall Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Show Goes On: Neil Sedaka Live at the Royal Albert Hall is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Vision (an imprint of Eagle Rock Entertainment) with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.78:1. This is a reasonably crisp looking presentation that benefits from normal stage lighting and a complete absence of the typical bells and whistles that accompany concerts. There's simply Sedaka in his bright red jacket onstage either at the piano or traipsing around in front of it, with a curtain that is lit in various colors in the background, and while the variety of angles here is perhaps somewhat more limited than other live concert Blu-rays, the close-ups reveal abundant fine detail.

Neil Sedaka: The Show Goes On - Live at the Royal Albert Hall Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Show Goes On: Neil Sedaka Live at the Royal Albert Hall features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.0 and LPCM 2.0 audio options. This is one of those rare instances where really not that much is gained through the surround mix, since Sedaka is for the most part simply performing solo at the piano. The 5.0 mix does slightly open things up and certainly gives a more realistic account of the hall ambience, but the 2.0 option here will more than adequately suffice for those who don't have a surround sound setup.

Neil Sedaka: The Show Goes On - Live at the Royal Albert Hall Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Paul Gambaccini Interviews Neil Sedaka (1080i; 31:20)

Neil Sedaka: The Show Goes On - Live at the Royal Albert Hall Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sedaka is in remarkably good voice on this outing, is charming and affable in the talking sequences, and performs a songlist that is like a time capsule of Top 40 material from the late fifties on through at least the late seventies. Recommended.