Great movies and great music - those are what make DVDs such a rich and fecund medium.
Music in particular is enriched by the DVD experience. There has never before been such a marriage of image and music. Perhaps, in ten years' time, today's DVDs will be looked on with fond nostalgia, and we'll marvel at how we accepted their inadequacies. But for now, I'm grateful for the technology we've been given.
In this case, the technology has brought us a 52-minute film (eight minutes shorter than stated on the liner) of Roxy Music and Bryan Ferry in their heyday, on the road in Manchester, in 1979.
Roxy Music - On the Road Live was recorded in the year their avant-garde album Manifesto was released, and the live concert reflects just how progressive and, at the same time, ultra-cool, this group was (and, judging by the recent Australian revival tour, still is).
The concert is one for true believers. It eschews some of their biggest 'public' hits, but gives us the songs the Roxy afficianados have always loved - In Every Dream Home a Heartache, Editions of You, Virginia Plain and more.
Ferry is, as always, the king of cool style, sporting the sleek svelte lounge-lizard look while all around him is grunge. The six-piece band includes three other original Roxy members - sax player Andy Mackay, guitarist Phil Manzanera and Paul Thompson on drums.
This is vintage Roxy, one of the most influential groups of the late 20th century. Despite the running time of only 52 minutes, it is a rich and rewarding program.
The 4:3 full screen image is, for the time and medium (television recording in 1979), sharp and well detailed.
It is video, with all the limitations that carries with it. But there is nothing to mar enjoyment of this Manchester concert.
Sound has been re-processed to give us a DD 5.1 surround track, and is clear and strong, with a tight and precise lower-end and a good natural perspective with realistic spaciousness.
The running time of only 52 minutes could have been improved by inclusion of other material of the time - vintage TV appearances, for instance.
The only 'extra' is a trailer for another Umbrella concert disc - The Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams. It gives us the title-song almost in full; a worthwhile addition.
Overall, I'd recommend the disc. It is not as essential an item as the stand-out DVD Bryan Ferry & Roxy Music - The Video Collection, but is a worthy complement.
