Pretenders: Loose In L.A. Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Pretenders: Loose In L.A. Blu-ray Movie Review

I’d say if you were around during early 80s and had any interest in the music scene, then you more than likely bought at least one album by the Pretenders. There were plenty of big bands at the time that recorded good music but not all of them were universally liked. The Pretenders were.

Led by the enigmatic Chrissie Hynde, the Pretenders mixed rock, punk and new wave into what was anything but pretentious music. They also dressed really well - at least on the videos MTV-Europe played over and over again Chrissie always looked incredibly sexy. The only competition she had was Joan Jett, who had the hottest leather pants around.

As far as I am concerned, the band’s 80s hits remain their greatest – “Brass in Pocket”, the punkish “Tattooed Love Boys” and “Precious”, “Message of Love”, the new wave flavored “Show Me” and “My Baby”, and the energetic pop rock hit “Kid”. The band recorded some great songs during the 90s as well, including the big romantic ballad “I’ll Stand By You” and “Goodbye” (which appeared on the soundtrack for Ridley Scott’s “G.I. Jane”), but clearly Chrissie and the new guys she started working with had lost interest in punk and new wave. I don’t believe this surprised a lot of the band’s fans as Chrissie clearly wanted to leave all the drama from the 80s behind and move in a different direction.

Loose In L.A. is a 26-song concert which was shot at the Wiltern Theater in 2003 while the Pretenders were touring the country to support their Loose Screw album. For the show and during the tour, Chrissie was assisted by Adam Seymour (guitar and backing vocals), Andy Hobson (bass and backing vocals), Martin Chambers (drums and backing vocals), and Zeben Jameson (keyboards, percussion and backing vocals).

The band performs practically all of their big hits as well as several tracks from the Loose Screw album. Chrissie looks as charming as ever and sounds about as good as I expected. Rather predictably, the crowd is most enthusiastic when she sings the band’s early hits.

Technically, Loose In L.A. is far more impressive than The Pretenders: Live in London. The stage is smaller and more elegant, the camerawork better, and the sound more compact.

Back on the Chain Gang

Pretenders: Loose In L.A. Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080i "live" transfer, Loose In L.A. arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Rock Entertainment.

Shot in high-definition at the Wiltern Theater in 2003, Loose In L.A. looks very good on Blu-ray. I don't have the DVD release (which Eagle Rock Entertainment produced back in 2003) with me at the moment to run direct comparisons, but I would be surprised if the standard-definition presentation comes even remotely close in replicating the quality of the high-definition presentation. Detail is very good from start to finish, clarity is pleasing, and most importantly there are no serious artifacts popping up. Motion-judder is also not a serious issue of concern. The camerawork is very good and there are no image fluctuations to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

Pretenders: Loose In L.A. Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, LPCM 2.0. and Dolby Digital 5.1. For the record, I opted for the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and later on did a few random comparisons with the other two tracks for the purpose of this review.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track delivers the type of quality we have come to expect from Eagle Rock Entertainment's Blu-ray releases. The sound is lush and crisp, never boomy or even remotely flat. There is a good separation between Chrissie's vocals and the guitars, while the drums never feel distant. The individual guitar solos are not pushed up. There are no distortions in the high-frequencies either. The crowd is definitely felt but the crowd noise is never overwhelming. Finally, there are no purely technical anomalies to report this review (sync issues, audio dropouts, etc).

I tested two songs with the LPCM 2.0 track, "My City Was Gone" (because of the long guitar solo) and "I'll Stand By You". To make a long story short, I wasn't impressed with it at all. There have been a couple of Blu-ray releases in the past where I felt that the LPCM 2.0 tracks were more effective, but this one isn't. Predictably, the Dolby Digital 5.1 track sounded quite flat and dull.

Pretenders: Loose In L.A. Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Music Video - the music video for You Know Who Your Friends Are. (4 min, 1080i).

• Backstage Footage - behind the scenes tour footage with interesting comments from the band members. In English, with optional English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese subtitles. (11 min, 1080i).

• Concert Montage - raw footage from before, during and after the show. (4 min, 1080i).

• Leaflet - with a short article by Chris Roberts.

Pretenders: Loose In L.A. Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This concert is extremely easy to recommend. The Pretenders sound great live and the selection of songs on Loose In L.A. is excellent. As a fan of the band, I am extremely happy that Eagle Rock Entertainment decided to upgrade the old DVD release. The Blu-ray disc is also very attractively priced. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.