DVD ReviewJoni Mitchell has adapted over the years into nearly as many different personae as David Bowie. This self-filmed performance video catches her in 1983, just coming off a lengthy tour, post-Mingus, as she was in a more hard-rocking tone as a complete contrast to her earlier folk material.The performances are live but in studio (though audience noise sometimes is layered in), with occasional bits of stock or footage acting as counterpoint to the music. Storm and horse imagery is a bit on the hackneyed side, but things are also spiced up by head-scratching footage from Viridiana, and more plausibly, from Koyanisqaatsi and Woodstock. There's a bit of (silent) performance footage of Charles Mingus over God Must Be a Boogie Man. Random snippets of tour performance and offstage footage also make their way into the blend, keeping the visuals interesting and varied. While today it's sometimes painful to hear her perform, Mitchell is still in pretty good voice here, not yet having succeeded in demolishing her once-beautiful voice through too many packs a day (a case of tragic self-destructiveness if there ever was one). She performs with intensity and vigor, and her backup band, including her then-new husband bassist Larry Klein keeps up with her just fine. The song selection includes a couple of classics sprinkled in among other material that wasn't familiar to me but nonetheless interesting and worth a listen. The concluding version of Woodstock is marvelous, with Mitchell on solo electric guitar, transforming it once and for all into an achingly mournful valediction to the long-gone Peace Generation. The program consists of: Wild Things Run Fast Raised on Robberty Refuge of the Roads Sweet Bird of Youth Banquet You're So Square (Baby I Don't Care) Solid Love God Must Be a Boogie Man For Free (He Played) You Dream Flat Tires Chinese Cafe Underneath the Streetlight Woodstock Rating for Style: A Rating for Substance: A- Image Transfer
Image Transfer Grade: C Audio Transfer
Audio Transfer Review: Both a PCM stereo track and a 5.1 remix are included. Each has its advantages, with the 5.1 giving a more spacious soundstage. But the audio seems a shade more natural on the PCM track, most notably in the bass solos, which sound less harsh in the PCM version. Both are very clean tracks with excellent bass and presence, and preference of one will largely be a matter of taste. Audio Transfer Grade: B+ Disc ExtrasAnimated menu with musicScene Access with 13 cues and remote access Music/Song Access with 13 cues and remote access Packaging: generic plastic keepcase 1 Disc 1-Sided disc(s) Layers: single Extra Extras:
Extras Grade: D Final CommentsA vigorous performance from Mitchell makes this one a must for her many fans. The source material limits the quality of the picture, but the sound's excellent.© 2000-2004 digitallyOBSESSED! |
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