I knew that this concert movie was an acoustic show so I wasn't surprised that the tempo was slow at the beginning. But to start the show with Gilmour tuning his guitar was a bit much.
Once he did start playing, Gilmour was having such a hard time finding his rhythm that I found myself praying for the drums to kick in.
By the time things settle down, the really glaring problem with this film comes to the surface. The mix is horrible. The crowd noise drowns out Gilmour at times when they cheer a song they recognize, he is almost inaudible when talking between songs and at many points the backup singers completely cancel him out. I found myself constantly adjusting the volume which really takes away from the "concert experience".
There are high points in the show, but the low points are rock bottom. Comfortably Numb is a song that millions of people know by heart. Two versions are provided on the DVD - from the concert and in the bonus section. Neither of the guest singers (Robert Hewitt and Sir Bob Geldoff) know the words, have to read from sheet music and based on their phrasing have never heard the song before. Gilmour would have been better off asking for a volunteer from the audience.
The very best thing on the DVD is, oddly enough, in the bonus section. Screamin' Jay Hawkins' I Put a Spell on You, a blues standard performed with Mica Paris and Jools Holland, almost makes the DVD worth buying. Almost.
Watch Jonathan Demme's beautiful treatment of Neil Young: Heart of Gold if you really want to see a great acoustic concert film. That is the gold standard.
Once he did start playing, Gilmour was having such a hard time finding his rhythm that I found myself praying for the drums to kick in.
By the time things settle down, the really glaring problem with this film comes to the surface. The mix is horrible. The crowd noise drowns out Gilmour at times when they cheer a song they recognize, he is almost inaudible when talking between songs and at many points the backup singers completely cancel him out. I found myself constantly adjusting the volume which really takes away from the "concert experience".
There are high points in the show, but the low points are rock bottom. Comfortably Numb is a song that millions of people know by heart. Two versions are provided on the DVD - from the concert and in the bonus section. Neither of the guest singers (Robert Hewitt and Sir Bob Geldoff) know the words, have to read from sheet music and based on their phrasing have never heard the song before. Gilmour would have been better off asking for a volunteer from the audience.
The very best thing on the DVD is, oddly enough, in the bonus section. Screamin' Jay Hawkins' I Put a Spell on You, a blues standard performed with Mica Paris and Jools Holland, almost makes the DVD worth buying. Almost.
Watch Jonathan Demme's beautiful treatment of Neil Young: Heart of Gold if you really want to see a great acoustic concert film. That is the gold standard.