Patti Smith Live at Montreux Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Patti Smith Live at Montreux Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 21, 2012

Can yesterday’s punk goddess provocateur become today’s folkie elder stateswoman? That might be the salient question some longtime fans have as they listen to Patti Smith in a “kinder, gentlre” mode in this Montreux Jazz Festival concert from 2005. Montreux might seem like an odd venue for the woman once lionized as the “Godmother of punk”, but festival founder Claude Nobs has shown himself completely open to booking all sorts of acts that have at best a tangential relationship to what is commonly thought of as jazz. Smith’s concert does have some nice flowing instrumental elements that at least touch on the improvisatory spirit of jazz, but this is perhaps surprisingly a relatively restrained outing that finds Smith working a kind of folk rock ambience with some nicely melodic songs with evocative lyrics.

Smith has come under some pretty withering assaults during her long career, including from some unlikely suspects like Mick Jagger, who rather ironically accused Smith of being a poseur (chalk that one up to “it takes one to know one”, at least in terms of a stage persona). This concert finds Smith less in your face than some might remember, essaying a kind of Bob Dylan-esque vocal approach (including what amounts to an actual Dylan impersonation on "Like a Rolling Stone") while fronting a band that has some stellar guitar, keyboards, bass and drum players. The concert proves that there may indeed be life after punk, when mellower instincts kick in and the self-confidence that comes with age allows for more music and less attitude.

Patti Smith Live at Montreux Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Patti Smith Live at Montreux 2005 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Eye Media (yet another imprint of Eagle Rock Entertainment) with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.78:1. Most of these Montreux Festival concert videos tend to look quite good on Blu-ray, and this outing is no exception. The stage lighting here tends to ping pong back and forth between a sort of pinkish red and a cooler blue tone, but it's never aggressive enough to create any posterizing issues, though it does give Smith a rather satanic appearance in the crimson sequences. Fine detail is sharp enough that the increasing perspiration dripping down Smith's face as the concert goes along is clearly visible, almost drop by drop.

Patti Smith Live at Montreux Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Patti Smith Live at Montreux 2005 features both a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track as well as an uncompressed LPCM 2.0 stereo fold down. Both of these tracks sound great, and may actually surprise some punk rockers of yesteryear with the melodic content that's on display. There's a very refreshing clarity to both of these tracks, despite Smith's penchant for massing midrange chord voicings in guitar and keys. Vocals are very well prioritized, and both tracks offer superior fidelity if not a wealth of dynamic range.

Patti Smith Live at Montreux Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No supplements of any kind are included on this Blu-ray disc.

Patti Smith Live at Montreux Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I have frankly never been much of a fan of the punk movement and never really paid that much attention to Patti Smith back in the day, so color me rather pleasantly surprised at how sweetly melodic so much of this concert really is. Yes, there are occasional flashes of artistic temperament (as well as a couple screechy moments of guitar feedback), but overall this concert fits rather snugly in a sort of folk rock genre. That may turn off some of Smith's older fans, but it may just as well invite a whole new generation in to enjoy her work. Recommended.