SOME ENCHANTED EVENING

This is the weakest of the three live albums recorded during BOC's prime, released to give the band a break from their incessant touring chedule. It's been re-released this year with a DVD included. The album itself is no great shakes, containing some uninspiring covers and many songs that were featured on the two other live records. The new edition doubles the length, making for a more attractive package, although purely for the music, Extraterrestrial Live or On Your Feet or On Your Knees are much better purchases. I was more looking forward to the DVD with great anticipation- BOC in all their glory in 1978! I was a bit disappointed, however. The footage is great to have, but the sound is bootleg at best. I've acquired bootlegs that sound a lot better, in fact. Such sound issues on DVD have happened before, as in the case of the BJH Caught Live DVD, but I was more inclined to be forgiving in that case, since that was done by a smaller company. This release, however, is a Sony Legacy DVD. Do they really expect us to believe that with all their financial resources, they could not have done a better job of restoring the sound and picture from this film? It can be done, as the excellent Led Zeppelin DVD demonstrated.

Nonetheless, the DVD does make for a decent package, and any footage of Buck Dharma from the 70s is welcome. Despite the muddy sound, the extended version of Astronomy, with lasers flashing in the background, is awe-inspiring. Roeser is definitely the second most underrated guitar hero of of the 70s (after the great Bill Nelson, of course).

If you love the BOC, you should get this, but be warned, the album is not the best of their live work, and the DVD may be a bit of a letdown, despite the historical value of the footage.