Ray Charles: Live at Montreux 1997 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

Ray Charles: Live at Montreux 1997 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 14, 2008

The latest addition to Eagle Rock Entertainment’s catalog of music releases is “Ray Charles – Live at Montreux” recorded in the summer of 1997. It offers a total of 16 songs plus 3 bonus performances by The Ray Charles Orchestra.

I Can't Stop Loving You

Born in Albany, Georgia on September 23, 1930 Ray Charles is widely considered as one of the greatest American musicians of our time. He redefined the manner in which rhythm and blues, jazz, and soul music were performed, played by the radio stations, and perceived by mainstream America. Overseas he also helped popularize rhythm and blues to an extent comparable only to the work of the great B.B. King. Not surprisingly, in 2004 Rolling Stone Magazine ranked the blind pianist at number 10 on their 100 Greatest Artists of All Time list. Ray Charles passed away on June 10, 2004.

Recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1997, Ray Charles’ last appearance there, the show runs at approximately 88 minutes. It shows the legendary pianists in top form and willing to please his audience with an impressive roster of diverse songs. From timeless classics such as “Georgia On My Mind” and “I Can't Stop Loving you” to my favorite “Angelina” the concert certainly reaffirmed what we all knew – Ray Charles was a living legend.

I have seen a number of Ray Charles concerts during the years and one thing that never seized to amaze me was the amount of energy he would spend while stroking the piano keys. Whether it was an energetic jazzy tune or a heartfelt ballad his voice always touched people’s hearts in a very special way. Not surprisingly, the Montreux show reveals a familiar Ray Charles, one that knows how to make his audience feel sad or joyful in an instant.

What is also obvious watching this show is that nostalgia was definitely a key element of the musician's style. His unique blending of country music with rhythm and blues, jazz with gospel, infused his music with a unique flavor, one you could only taste in the Deep South, which few modern rhythm and blues musicians that I could think of have been capable of producing. And here, during his last show at Montreux, the flavor was very, very strong (listen to “I Can’t Stop Loving You” with a marvelous choir entry).

Above all, however, for me the music of Ray Charles has always been about passion. There is no denying that when he sang about loving a woman he always poured his heart out. His music was simple but, o, so very genius and moving. As were his texts. He spoke with simple words and plenty of passion. And as far as I am concerned people loved him because he was always real.

Track list:

1. I Don’t Know
2. Ray Charles Opener
3. I’ll Be Home (Sadie’s Tune)
4. Busted
5. Georgia On My Mind
6. Mississippi Mud
7. Just For A Thrill
8. You Made Me Love You
9. Angelina
10. Scotia Blues (Blues For Big Scotia)
11. Song For You
12. Watch Them Dogs
13. Shadows Of My Mind
14. Smack Dab In The Middle
15. I Can’t Stop Loving You
16. What’d I Say

Bonus tracks performed by the Ray Charles Orchestra:

1. Just Friends
2. Beatrice
3. Passeone Blues

Ray Charles: Live at Montreux 1997 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC, and granted a 1080i transfer Ray Charles – Live at Montreux arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Rock Entertainment.

The Blu-ray disc I hold in my hands boasts a very pleasing HD transfer of Ray Charles' last performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Excellent clarity and detail, top-notch contrast, and edge-enhancement-free presentation is what we have here. The color scheme is also solid. Blacks are deep and lush (even the far corners of the stage are incredibly well defined and convincing) as are the marquee blue-purple lights that lit up the stage. I looked closely to see whether or not I could detect any specific video deteriorations, specifically jaggies, but to be honest with you I could not spot anything worthy of discussing here. In fact, I am very impressed by the strong transfer Eagle Rock Entertainment have provided. During selected performances you could literally see every small detail from the glasses Ray Charles has on, the sweat coming down his face, etc. I did not detect any harsh macro-blocking patterns either. The picture quality appears consistent throughout the entire show and frankly I was not distracted by any detrimental side effects. This being said, the actual transfer is absolutely flawless – you will not spot any debris, specks, etc. To sum it all up this may not be a reference quality presentation but it is certainly a fine and deserving account of a memorable show. (Note: This is Blu-ray disc is Region-Free and therefore you will be able to play it in your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

Ray Charles: Live at Montreux 1997 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Three audio tracks are available on this Blu-ray release: DTS-HD Master 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1, and LPCM. There really isn't much of a contest here as to what the best option is. I watched the entire show with the DTS-HD Master mix on and suffice to say I am simply thrilled with it. I know that by now you've probably read so many reviews where every other track is tagged reference quality and you surely are getting tired of hearing the same tune over and over again, but, take my words for granted, for a live show the audio treatment heard via the DTS-HD Master mix is indeed very pleasing. This being said, while watching the show pay close attention to how the producers have managed to capture the variety of different colors revealed by the brass section. I would not say that the balance between Ray Charles and his band is perfect but, again, for a live recording there are plenty of nuances here that will surely impress the knowledgeable audiophiles amongst you. A great example in support of the above statement is "Angelina" (which also happens to be one of my favorite songs). The DTS-HD Master mix does a spectacular job of capturing the low saxes (listen to those raspy yet gentle tunes the baritone produces) complimenting Ray Charles' emotional singing. For this song along Live at Montreux is worth every penny the distributors are asking. Finally, I certainly did not detect any drop-outs, hissing, or cracks. Everything appears to have been handled with the proper dose of attention and as far as I am concerned the final result is exactly what one wants to hear from a live show – balanced and convincing sound reproduction. I would like to quickly comment on the LPCM track as well as I have been paying very close attention to how stereo sound is utilized on music releases (I tend to believe that a perfectly mastered stereo mix has a lot to offer, especially to perfectionists). Unfortunately, there is little to benefit from with this specific track as the brass section is nowhere near as potent sounding as heard on the DTS-HD Master mix. The fidelity of sound in "Angelina" is also obviously inferior to that heard on the DTS-HD Master mix. The rich overtones are much harder to detect with color being far less impressive.

Ray Charles: Live at Montreux 1997 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There is a small insert provided with this release which offers a good overview of Ray Charles' history at the Montreux Jazz Festival courtesy of Dennis Turner. This being said, in contrast with most other Blu-ray releases I have seen from Eagle Rocket Entertainment, this disc does offer a small bonus: there are three performances by Ray Charles' band – "Just Friends", "Beatrice", and "Passeone Blues".

Ray Charles: Live at Montreux 1997 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

When it comes to Blu-ray and music I can't think of a single title I would not want to have in my library. And though my passion is classical music, opera and ballet to be exact, I am always excited to see a new music title showing at my door. This time around it is Ray Charles – Live at Montreux, a terrific show which, unfortunately, reminds us what an enormous talent we lost in 2004. Sadly, American soul and jazz music will never be the same. A man who touched the hearts of so many is now gone. This very well produced Blu-ray release, however, captures a lot of what the blind pianist was capable of – moving his audiences with fantastic, truly heartfelt, performances. Highly Recommended.