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  • English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
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  • Music-only track - I Don't Trust Nobody
George Thorogood & the Destroyers - Live in '99
Warner Vision/Warner Vision . R4 . COLOR . 87 mins . E . PAL

  Feature
Contract

There was a time, in the early '80s, when George Thorogood sold more records per capita in my hometown of Perth than any other city in the world, including his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware. FM radio had such a love affair with George Thorogood that he regularly toured Australia, and his songs were pub jukebox staples, loved by bogans the world over. Some people are still wondering why.

Thorogood is an all American boy, a former semi-professional baseball player, and a purveyor of the blues. Thorogood's brand of blues could best be described as boogie blues, or rock-blues, with an emphasis on rocking tunes with plenty of slide guitar, saxophone and good-time lyrics about girls, cars, sex, and beer. His debut album with the Destroyers was released in 1977, but it wasn't until their 1982 album, Bad to the Bone that Australian audiences took any notice.

Thorogood capitalised on this success and toured extensively, not releasing another album until 1985. That album, Maverick, was perhaps his best selling, and included hits such as I Drink Alone and Gear Jammer. After a live album came Born to Be Bad, which contained more of the same boogie blues in songs such as the title track, Treat Her Right, and You Talk Too Much. Since then, apart from 1993's Get a Haircut, Thorogood hasn't really troubled the Australian charts, and has shown symptoms of what I call "The '80s Syndrome", whereby artists are still recording new material, less frequently, but relying heavily on live albums and greatest hits packages to generate continued income and interest. Admittedly, Thorogood is still a hardworking bluesman, playing live gigs in the USA almost constantly, but then again that is the best way to appreciate his music, in a live setting.

George Thorogood & The Destroyers: Live in '99 was recorded at the Fox Theatre, St Louis, Missouri in, surprise, 1999. The 14 tracks cover his entire career to that point, when he had notched up thirteen studio albums, so it is not a thorough presentation of his catalogue. Of course, some would argue that the songs all sound the same anyway, so what's the problem? George isn't quite as fit as he once was, but neither are the rest of us I guess. George never strays far from the formula that brought him his success, and therefore he has a pretty steady and loyal fanbase. The songs still rock out, and George sounds as good and as gruff in this show as he ever did. With minimum fuss and maximum honesty, Thorogood delivers just what the fans expect; boogie blues with a dose of rock'n'roll thrown in.

Tracklisting:

Be Bop Grandma
Who Do You Love?
Night Time
I Drink Alone
One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer
Half a Boy, Half a Man
As Long as I Have You
Get a Haircut
Bad to the Bone
Gear Jammer
Nothing New
Move it on Over
I Don't Trust Nobody
You Talk Too Much

  Video
  Audio
  Extras
Contract

This performance is presented in full frame and therefore it's not 16x9 enhanced. This is also an NTSC DVD so unless you have an NTSC compatible system, you are going to be disappointed. This is quite good to look at and the sharpness and clarity of the image are almost as good as anything I have seen. Colours are very natural, though stage lighting appears to make the colour vary, but this is misleading. Even under blue and red lighting, this looks good. There are no marks, or speckles, or spots, such is the quality. Black levels are also very good, and shadow detail is good, especially as it is usually dependent on stage lighting, and is often quite poor. The one negative is the very slight and infrequent aliasing on certain items, but considering I had to struggle to find fault with this transfer (other than it being NTSC), this is easily forgiven.

The audio transfer is slightly less impressive. There is a choice of the default audio Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo, and a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. The first thing you will notice is that the audio has been mastered at a very low volume, and for both audio options will need to give the volume control a serious nudge. For me, I gave it a significantly bigger nudge than I have for any other title.

Like most good live DVDs, this has most of the music placed along the front speakers, with music overflow and crowd noise placed in the rear speakers. There is one noticeable exception during Bad to the Bone, where George's manic slide playing is deliberately sent swirling around the room. Mostly, however, George's guitar and vocals are placed across the front and are loud and clear, though not really centred. There is some noticeable separation of other instruments such as the second guitar, keyboard and saxophone. There are minimal harmony or backing vocals.

Bass sounds are also somewhat subdued, which is not surprising for the blues. The subwoofer was called on a few times, but its presence was not significant. After listening to both options, I confess that I had a preference for the Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo over the 5.1 mix, which is a rare thing.

There is no layer change on this single sided, single layer disc, and audio synch is not a problem.

There are some interesting extras on offer when you consider that many live performance DVDs have few to none.

Interview: A one-on-one interview with George that lasts about eight minutes (not time encoded). It was recorded just before the concert, and has been slightly edited. It is in full frame and Dolby Digital stereo, though being an interview that isn't very important.

About the Band: This is four pages of easy to read text offering superficial information on the band and its future.

Scrapbook '99: A self-navigating photo gallery that takes about two and a half minutes (again not time encoded) and is accompanied by the song Move it on Over from the show.

Discography: One page listing all the George Thorogood albums and the year of release. There is no track listing or ability to select the albums for deeper perusal, it is just a list.

Web Links: You will require a DVD-ROM to access this feature, but I imagine typing George Thorogood into a search engine will give pretty much the same results.

Get Music: An audio only presentation of the song I Don't Trust Nobody from George's 'latest' album, Half a Man, Half a Boy. It is presented in Dolby Digital stereo.

Overall, this is a fun disc, especially for fans. The music and the performance are no nonsense straight-ahead blues, with a boogie flavour. Thorogood plays most of his bigger hits and some well chosen lesser-known tracks. The performance doesn't have the over the top theatrics of many other performers, nor fireworks, oversized stage props, or dancing girls - and it doesn't need it. The blues don't need it. Grab a beer, grab your buddy (George's own suggestion, not mine), and plug in your air guitar, it's time for the blues.


  • LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=1710
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  •   And I quote...
    "Songs about girls, cars, drinking beer, and - of course - sex. Thorogood's sense of humour and catchy tunes are sure to get your foot tapping... "
    - Terry Kemp
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Akai
    • TV:
          TEAC CT-F803 80cm Super Flat Screen
    • Receiver:
          Pioneer VSX-D409
    • Speakers:
          Wellings
    • Centre Speaker:
          Wellings
    • Surrounds:
          Wellings
    • Subwoofer:
          Sherwood SP 210W
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard RCA
    • Video Cables:
          standard s-video
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