Roy Orbison: Black & White Night 30 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Roy Orbison: Black & White Night 30 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 15, 2017

Recorded at the Ambassador Hotel's Coconut Grove nightclub in Los Angeles, Roy Orbison: Black & White Night is a marvelous concert celebrating one of the most popular music singers of the 20th century. Joined on stage by a number of well known musicians -- Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt, T Bone Burnett, J D Souther, James Burton, Tom Waits, Steven Soles, Jennifer Warnes, K.D. Lang, Jackson Browne, Jerry Scheff, Ron Tutt, Steven Soles, and Glen Hardin -- Roy Orbison performed seventeen of his greatest hits, including “Dream Baby”, Blu Bayou”, “Candyman”, “Go, Go, Go (Down The Line)” and “Oh Pretty Woman”.

Clocking in at a little over 60 minutes, the concert was filmed specifically for Cable TV (it was first broadcast on HBO on January 3rd, 1988). Directed by Tony Mitchell and edited by T Bone Burnett (also contributing as a musical director), this was also an event proving that Orbison was admired by everyone, from casual fans to fellow musicians and singers.

What really impresses in Roy Orbison: Black & White Night, however, are the fantastic improvisations courtesy of Orbison and his guests. Switching between blues, rock, and even country music, these remarkable musicians deliver once in a lifetime show where the atmosphere is simply impossible to describe with simple words (all you need to do is see how Kris Kristofferson and a few of the other spectators in the Coconut Grove react to the music to know exactly what I mean).

The concert is also beautifully filmed. Tony Mitchell’s camera provides a terrific view of the stage, the supporting musicians and singers as well as the enthusiastic audience constantly applauding Orbison and his guests. Finally, the concert also reveals an unusually stylish look that certainly enhances tremendously well the sense of nostalgia Orbison’s singing evokes.

*Please note that this new release of Roy Orbison: Black & White Night contains footage that is not available on the out-of-print release that Image Entertainment distributed a few years ago. Additionally, there is new bonus footage with alternative versions of various songs that can be viewed as part of the main concert. For a detailed description, please see the listings below.

Blue Angel

Tracklisting:

1. Intro
2. Only the Lonely
3. Leah
4. In Dreams
5. Crying
6. Uptown
7. The Comedians
8. Blue Angel
9. It s Over
10. Running Scared
11. Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)
12. Mean Woman Blues
13. Candy Man
14. Ooby Dooby
15. Blue Bayou
16. Go Go Go (Down the Line)
17. (All I Can Do Is) Dream You
18. Claudette
19. Oh, Pretty Woman (Alternative Version)*
20. Oh, Pretty Woman

The Secret Post Show (Alternative Versions):

20. (All I Can Do Is) Dream You*
21. Comedians*
22. Candy Man*
23. Claudette*
24. Uptown*

*Previously unreleased tracks. (Not included on the out-of-print release from Image Entertainment).

Roy Orbison: Black & White Night 30 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Roy Orbison: Black & White Night 30 arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Legacy Recordings/Sony Music Entertainment.

The release appears to have been sourced from the same master that Image Entertainment worked with when they prepared their release of this wonderful show in 2008. It is a good master, but I think that there is room for some meaningful improvements. For example, a new master should easily introduce finer grain, and it will almost certainly eliminate the light ringing that pops up from time to time. I believe that contrast levels can be rebalanced as well, though it is very clear that some of the harsher contrasts are in fact a byproduct of the chosen stylistic appearance. (I am not referring to the standard definition inserts where there is an obvious drop in detail and depth). The sporadic blurriness that could be seen on the previous release is again visible here, which proves my initial suspicion that it was inherited and not a byproduct of poor encoding (see screencapture #16). It is impossible to tell with absolute certainty if a new master would have completely removed it -- it is clear that at least some of these odd effects are part of the original photography -- but some of it probably could have been minimized. Finally, the same tiny specks that are visible on the previous release are again present here. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Roy Orbison: Black & White Night 30 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio track that are included on this release: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided.

I viewed the entire concert with the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track and as far as I can tell its basic characteristics are identical to those of the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that was included on the out-of-print release that Image Entertainment produced. I believe that the same master was used but the audio was encoded differently. Unsurprisingly, clarity, depth and balance are again quite impressive, and as noted in our previous review, the end result very much resembles a polished studio effort.

I quickly want to address the quality of the bonus footage as well. It is rather obvious that it was shot with the same equipment and quite possibly remixed at the time when the master was prepared. It sounds great and there are no serious source issues to report.

Roy Orbison: Black & White Night 30 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Bonus Rehearsal and Interview Footage - presented here is the only known surviving footage of the Black & White Night rehearsal. The footage also contains clips from archival interviews that were conducted at the same time. In English, not subtitled. (38 min).

• Photo Gallery - original production stills. (4 min).

• Booklet - 20-page illustrated booklet. Packaging photos are included at the bottom of this review. (Please see screenshots).

• CD - the entire show presented on a bonus CD.
  
  1. Only the Lonely
  2. Leah
  3. In Dreams
  4. Crying
  5. Uptown
  6. The Comedians
  7. Blue Angel
  8. It's Over
  9. Running Scared
  10. Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)
  11. Mean Woman Blues
  12. Candy Man
  13. Ooby Dooby
  14. Blue Bayou
  15. Go! Go! Go! (Down the Line)
  16. (All I Can Do Is) Dream You
  17. Claudette
  18. Oh, Pretty Woman
  19. Oh, Pretty Woman (Alternative Version)
  

Roy Orbison: Black & White Night 30 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Very early into Blu-ray's cycle Image Entertainment's release of Roy Orbison: Black & White Night was one of my favorite. I thought that at the time it was one of the best sounding music releases on the market. This new release from Legacy Recordings/Sony Music Entertainment replaces the first out-of-print release and actually adds some new bonus concert footage. It also has a long rehearsal session with archival interviews, as well as a CD with the entire concert and booklet with original production stills. So, it is most definitely not a repressed copy of the original release from 2008. Consider adding it to your collections even if you already have the old release. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.