A NIGHT AT RED ROCKS WITH THE COLORADO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (DVD)

Hope it doesn't rain

Red Rocks, for those who have not had the pleasure of visiting it, is a natural amphitheatre near Denver in the USA, into which an outdoor concert arena has been built. A number of artists have released live albums recorded there, usually inspired by the favourable acoustics. Here, the generously sized stage at Red rocks copes easily with the band and the large orchestra which supports them.

This concert by the Moody Blues is available both on DVD and CD. While the DVD does not offer any extras it does contain the complete audio/visual experience of the concert. The DVD also scores over the original single CD release through its running time. Here the show lasts for over 95 minutes.

For anyone of a "certain age", you will be all too aware of the fact that these days if you go to a gig by the Moody Blues, Yes, etc., the same people who were at the gig 30 years previously seem to be there again. So it is here, the audience are generally a bit greyer and/or a bit balder, as indeed are the band!

The songs included in the concert are largely predictable, their live repertoire showing relatively minor variations over the years. There is no criticism in this, the tracks selected are among the band's best, and cover a good cross section of their albums.

The performance is as might be expected from such an accomplished group of musicians, and the songs are in the main faithfully recreated. The addition of an orchestra does enhance the overall sound, but they are kept firmly in check in terms of the mix, with the band very much to the fore. There are some notable exceptions, such as the wonderful orchestral break on "Isn't life strange", which helps to give this majestic song an impressive new dimension.

In all, a good "Best of" package which manages to recreate the original studio performances well in a live environment. The DVD adds a welcome extra dimension to the experience.

After hearing the excellent CD recording of this specific concert I decided I had to have this DVD. Upon on playing it I was very disappointed. Not with the songs, they are all top notch. But the group stage perfomance... well, I heard they were never a really good live band and now I found they did not got any better with time. Those guys stand there playing with absolute no charisma, looking almost like amateurs in front of an audience: no stage moves, rarely speaking and genewrally looking awkward. Hey, if they did better shows I don´t know of any. This time they just were not convincing, even with their sound beefed up with the help of 3 keyboards players, 2 backing singers, add guitar and drums and even a full orchestra!

It´s really a shame that such a fine collection of songs, some of them all time classics, are perfomed so dully. Better stick to the CD, which I always hear with pleasure. The DVD I sold as quick as I could. My rating: 5 stars for the repertoire, 1 star at the most for the perfomance. 2 stars overall, a good DVD to hear, not to watch. Buy the CD, it´s better and cheaper.

Nights in red rock

This film was originally released in 1992 and as it is stated at the back of the box 'it's been more than twenty-five years since The Moody Blues began weaving their uniquely melodic spell on rock 'n' roll'. Now it has been another 17 years since this video was released. These guys are as old as The Beatles, The Who, Procol Harum and Pink Floyd and were already touring America when the likes of Yes, Genesis and King Crimson were just starting out making music.

On this DVD we get a full live performance by the band together with The Colorado Symphony Orchestra, filmed and recorded at Red Rocks in Colorado. The set list features songs from the 60's, 70's, 80' and 90's. The show starts with an overture played by the orchestra alone. The overture is interrupted by Graeme Edge reading Late Lament - a piece of poetry. Then the band is introduced and start the show proper with Tuesday Afternoon (Forever Afternoon). Personally, I think that this is a far too slow start of the concert. And this is not helped by the fact that they continue with Ray Thomas' slick For My Lady, Justin Hayward's New Horizons and John Lodge' Lean On Me (Tonight) - a symphonic overture, a piece of contemplative poetry and four ballads is not a very good way to start a rock concert in my opinion! Lovely To See You raises the tempo somewhat, but it isn't until Gemini Dream that the show really takes off. After this very late take off, the show is pretty good from then onwards.

I got this DVD at the same time as another Moody Blues DVD called Lovely To See You Live - a filmed show from the new millennium. The set lists are very similar. There were some songs that were new to me at the time like Lean On Me (Tonight), I Know You're Out There Somewhere, Say It With Love and Your Wildest Dreams. Of these I Know You're Out There Somewhere and Your Wildest Dreams are as good as anything from the band's classic period. The Voice from Long Distance Voyager is my personal favourite here, though. This album was the first Moody Blues album to feature Patrick Moraz. But Moraz is sadly nowhere to be found on this DVD.

The rockier side of the band - the side I much prefer - is further represented by The Story In Your Eyes, I'm Just A Rock & Roll Singer (In A Rock & Roll Band) and Question - all good rock songs. But there is hardly anything about them that I would say is progressive.

An annoying thing about this concert film is that Ray Thomas feels largely like the fifth wheel, spending most of the concert just sitting there and only occasionally playing a bit of flute or tambourine and singing a couple of songs.

The ending of the show suffers from the same problem as the start of the concert. After the eternal Nights In White Satin and the more up-tempo Question, which would have been a perfect place to stop, they insist on playing Ride My See-Saw, which for me is something of an anti-climax.

The Moody Blues is not one of my favourite bands, and this DVD, like the other Moody Blues DVD I mentioned, though both enjoyable, will not chance that.

Good, but non-essential.

It is surprising to notice that this dvd gets such a low rating. I rank it among the best I have seen, for the simple fact that the Moody Blues is in excellent shape, both vocally (Justin!) and musically, and that their classic songs blend perfectly in ths classical setting. Add to this that the venue is awesome (a natural amphitheatre in really red rocks) and the well chosen songs and there is your splendid show. The Moodies are not afraid of getting back in their own history when the orchestra sets off for a beautiful evening. The opening is absolutely great and can be seen and heard here in full length (it is really a shame that this piece of music was edited on the cd). When this is followed by 'Late lament', presented in his unique way by Ray Thomas, and the beautifully sung 'Tuesday afternoon' the evening is only at its beginning but promises to be unforgettable. 'For my lady' is a hardly ever played song from 'Seventh sojourn' and was the b-side of 'I'm just a singer...'. I personally like it very much for its simpleness and real British folky atmosphere and it is performed here flawlessly. The next song. 'New horizons' is a absolutely highlight. I rank it as the best song they ever recorded because of its melancholic melody and stunning orchestration, both on the studio album and in this live rendition. Actually this song alone is worth the purchase! It seemed impossible to keep up the high quality level the start of the show promises so it is no surprise trhat some weaker moments follow. 'Lean on me' and 'Gemini dream' are two of those weak moments, really simple songs without orchestra that can be considered fillers. But the Moodies pick up after that dip and perform some of their 'more recent' songs like 'The voice' and 'I know you're out there somewhere' which blend very well among their older work. Towards the end these old songs dominate again and rightly so, with another peak moment with 'Nights' and 'Question'.

Of course the band is not as dynamic as many seem used to and of course they are supported by some additional mjusicians, but that is their choice to make this a memorable evening!! And rightly so for the show lasts almost two hours and has so many highlights musically that I can watch it over and over again. This really is The Moody Blues at their best; it is too bad they don't perform more often with a full orchestra.