Electric Light Orchestra: Out of the Blue Tour Live at Wembley (DVD)

How surreal is this? The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester are cordially received by Don, David and Sharon Arden (years before she became Mrs. Ozzy Osbourne and barely recognizable here) for a sold out charity concert at Wembley Arena on a hot August night in 1978. None other than Tony Curtis, yes that Tony Curtis introduces the band as "the most outstanding rock group in the world today, my friends, The Electric Light Orchestra". Then a gigantic replica of a spaceship emits dry ice and laser beams and just when you'd expect Richard Dreyfuss to emerge with child size Martians, ELO hit the stage with an excerpt of "Concerto for a Rainy Day".

Originally released during the early days of DVD, the newly remastered print under review is a fine document of a time seemingly long ago when ELO was a household name. Alas, the DVD is not a complete show but an hour long edit from the Out of the Blue world tour. Never a favorite among hardcore prog rock fans, ELO nevertheless produced some classic progressive pop songs many of which are performed here, such as "Turn to Stone", "Sweet Talkin' Woman", "Do Ya" and a rocking "Roll Over Beethoven". Though I am certain there was plenty of studio trickery to tweak the sound quality, Richard Tandy shows that he was an underappreciated keyboardist as there's mellotron choir and vintage analog keyboards aplenty.

The picture quality is fine given the age of the material, although the inclusion of post production video effects, so common on 70s concert videos, is a little annoying. There are two audio options, a standard stereo mix and a 5.1 surround mix both of which sound surprisingly punchy for a film of this vintage.

There is only one bonus feature but it is a very good one, namely a video version of the entire Discovery album. Released in 1979, Discovery introduced a disco element to the mix, which made it the band's most commercially successful album to date. Five of the nine tracks were top ten hits in the UK and while I miss the band's more progressive tinged songs, Discovery is a good albeit poppy record. All nine tracks received a promotional video and they are all reprised here, both in stereo and in 5 channel surround; I must say that the surround mix is particularly impressive.

All in all, this is a fun DVD and absolutely recommended to the ELO fan. All we need now is for the remainder of the band's back catalog to be given the remaster treatment. How about it Mr. Lynne?

Program Contents

1. Concerto for a Rainy Day
2. Standing in the Rain
3. Night in the City
4. Turn to Stone
5. Tightrope
6. Telephone Line
7. Rockaria
8. Wild West Hero
9. Showdown
10. Sweet Talkin' Woman
11. Mr. Blue Sky
12. Do Ya
13. Living Thing
14. Roll Over Beethoven

Discovery Bonus Feature

1. Shine a Little Love
2. Confusion
3. Need Her Love
4. Diary of Horace Wimp
5. Last Train to London
6. Midnight Blue
7. On the Run
8. Wishing
9. Don't Bring Me Down

Added: August 18th 2006
Reviewer: Steve Pettengill
Score:
Related Link: Face the Music Online
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Language: english

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