8.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.4 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Peter Gabriel's extraordinary 1993 live show filmed in Modena, Italy. The setlist contains many of Gabriel's best-loved songs, including 'Solsbury Hill', 'Sledgehammer', 'In Your Eyes', 'San Jacinto' and 'Don't Give Up'.
Starring: Peter Gabriel, Tony LevinMusic | 100% |
Documentary | 36% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080i
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
1993 probably doesn’t seem like that long ago (at least for those of us who have spent at least as much time before that year as after). But aside from the easily calculable numerical passage of nineteen years, Peter Gabriel Secret World Live, which was recorded in 1993, bears testament to at least one charming relic of how much times have changed in these relatively few years: the audience here shows its appreciation by lighting little butane cigarette lighters! It’s almost quaint in a way, at least for those who are more accustomed to seeing thousands of cellphones lit up in the darkness of an oversized arena, either taking movies of their favorite star or flashing appreciative lights in a high tech version of what used to cause occasional singed fingers in days of yore. But Peter Gabriel Secret World Live is quaint for any number of reasons. We’ve become so used to these over the top, gargantuan, slickly produced rock star concerts that the decidedly lo-fi charms of this tour (as “high tech” as it was in its day) can actually provoke mild amusement, if not outright laughter. Now don’t get me wrong: I love Peter Gabriel’s music with a passion, but even I couldn’t help but snicker just a little during Secret World Live’s opener, a version of “Come Talk To Me” that sees Peter emerge from one of those, well, quaint red British phone booths and then attempt to pull the phone cord out to reach Paula Cole, Gabriel’s main back up singer for the concert. It’s actually kind of funny to see Gabriel “struggling” to get to Cole (even if it is a manufactured “struggle”), and that’s just the first of several weirdly old fashioned yet undeniably charming moments that dot this concert, which was filmed over two nights in November 1993 in Modena, Italy.
Peter Gabriel Secret World Live is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Vision (a division of Eagle Rock Entertainment) with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.78:1. The liner notes for this release contain the following information:
Peter Gabriel Secret World Live features both a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround mix as well as an uncompressed LPCM 2.0 stereo fold down. While fidelity is exceptional on both of these offerings, what may strike some listeners as at least a little surprising is how sparse, even spacious, these arrangements are. Much like the general performance ethos here, there's nothing that assaults the listener, no huge effects, no massed instruments, just carefully layered lines and (especially) percussion, aspects that would come to define Gabriel's increasing importance in World Music. The 5.1 mix nicely separates the players and keeps the crowd noises anchored to the rear channels, where they hardly ever intrude to the point of distraction. The mix itself is very well handled, with Gabriel's slightly raspy vocals out front, followed by Cole's ethereal contributions and then backed up by the stellar instrumentalists.
Peter Gabriel Secret World Live is a little bit like a video time machine back to a relatively recent but nonetheless distant age. It's amazing how much live concerts have changed in the less than two decades since the Secret World Live Tour occurred, and younger audiences may actually laugh out loud at this fairly simple production. The music itself is wonderful, a nice overview of what were then some of Gabriel's biggest hits as well as a smattering of other tunes, and Gabriel's all-star back up band is unbeatable. The Blu-ray is a hit or miss proposition. Though the original 16mm negative was evidently used as the source element for this restoration, there's only so much that could be done with it, and anyone who has never seen an older concert video may be shocked at just how soft and non-detailed this is. Luckily the lossless soundtracks help to make up for that, and there are some decent supplementary features on hand here as well. Recommended.
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