Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Typically, David Garrett's concert DVDs are only available in the US through PBS pledge drives. The footage is the same as his German concert DVDs, but the American PBS versions are noticeably shorter than their German counterparts, and "Rock Symphonies" is no exception. However, this time around Decca has put more thought into the total package. David's first concert DVD seemed rushed into production, lacked any sort of interactive menus, and cut between songs with no warning and frequently no introductions (this was in part due to the fact that most of David's intros are in German for a German audience). On "Rock Symphonies," the root menu is the same as the "Rock Symphonies" album cover, except the grey background rotates clockwise, giving the impression of movement. The "Chapters" menu features the promo photo of David standing on a rooftop with animated dark clouds sweeping across the sky. The "Bonus Features" menu is the close-up of David with eyeliner...gorgeous! There are two bonus tracks, "Bicycle Race" and "Live and Let Die." These can only be accessed from the "Bonus Features" menu and not the full concert, apparently. The "Behind the Scenes" feature is the same as the North American EPK for "Rock Symphonies" (just shy of 6 minutes).
Sound and picture quality are great (according to the back of the case, it's 5.1 Surround Sound and 2.0 Stereo). The biggest improvement over the PBS David Garrett: Live In Berlin is that the introductions flow smoothly into the songs, rather than cutting from song to song. There were actually more non-album tracks like "Mission Impossible", "Peer Gynt,' "Child's Anthem" and "Adagio in G Minor" than "Rock Symphonies" tracks ("Kashmir," "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Walk This Way," and "Asturias"). Minus one star for leaving off David's smokin' cover of Metallica's "Master of Puppets," which was hands-down one of the best covers on Rock Symphonies. Australian guitarist Orianthi really rocked out with David on the Michael Jackson medley, which saw David exploring "Billy Jean" and "I'll Be There" on the heels of last year's cover of "Smooth Criminal." It was also nice to see one song ("Zorba's Dance") carried over from the David Garrett album of last year. However, compared to the German Open Air Live DVD, there are only thirteen tracks (plus the two bonus tracks accessed separately) clocking in at just shy of an hour. It's too bad that they didn't include the studio interviews with David that were filmed as part of the PBS pledge special as bonus materials, seeing as this is a PBS exclusive.
Overall, the PBS "Rock Symphonies" DVD feels like Decca took more care with packaging and designing menus (using hi-res promotional photos from "Rock Symphonies" and adding animated backgrounds, for example). It's great to hear David add his own unique intros to the songs, like the stories about him being an ersatz drummer at a gig in London, or the story about when he was seventeen and a girl tried to kiss him on the beach. His connection to his fans is obvious...he dedicates one song to a "couple in love" in the audience, and he positively glows whenever he performs. If you're looking for the full David concert experience, by all means get one of the German versions: there'a a regular, Region 0 2DVD set, ASIN B003V89YT6 and a Blu-Ray version, ASIN B00415Z9Y2 at Amazon.de. With shipping and currency conversion, the German Open Air Live DVDs will run about twice what you'd pay for the US version, but it clocks in at 2 DVDs, 196 minutes and 28 songs total, far more than the 15 (!) on the PBS single-disc version.
PBS "Rock Symphonies" Tracklist: *song NOT in broadcast program
1.Kashmir
2.Schubert's Serenade
3.Smells Like Teen Spirit
4.Mission Impossible Theme
5.Walk This Way
6.Michael Jackson mini-medley -- Billy Jean / I'll Be There
7.I'll Stand By You
8.Peer Gynt
9.Asturias
10.Child's Anthem
11.Adagio (Albinoni)
12.Zorba
13.Hey Jude
14.Bicycle Race*
15.Live and let Die*
German "Rock Symphonies: Open Air Live" Tracklist: (ASIN B003V89YT6 and ASIN B00415Z9Y2, Available at Amazon.de)
Tracklisting:
01. Kashmir
02. Brahms: Hungarian Dance No.5
03. Hes A Pirate ('Pirates Of The Caribbean' Theme)
04. Live And Let Die
05. Serenade
06. Jota Navarra
07. Smells Like Teen Spirit
08. Csárdás - Gypsy Dance
09. Duelling Banjos (Duelling Strings)
10. Mission Impossible ('Mission Impossible' Theme)
11. Walk This Way
12. Smooth Criminal
13. Childs Anthem
14. Vocalise
15. Summer
16. Peer Gynt Suite
17. Bicycle Race
18. Zorbas Dance
19. Humoresque
20. Little Wing
21. Asturias
22. Master Of Puppets
23. I'll Stand By You
24. Rocking All Over The World
25. Thunderstruck
26. Nothing Else Matters
27. Flight Of The Bumblebee
28. Hey Jude
Click Here to see more reviews about: David Garrett: Rock Symphonies (2011)
This concert special was taped before a live audience at Berlin's open air Wuhlheide Theater. David Garrett has touched hearts and astounded audiences around the world by carving out a unique and wholly new artistic path. In a thrilling performance that moves all ages, the young German violinist weaves classical standards like Vivaldi's works with rock and pop hits from the likes of The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith and Nirvana.
Get 10% OFF
Click here for more information about David Garrett: Rock Symphonies (2011)
No comments:
Post a Comment