Let me begin by stating that this is NOT a thread about high resolution or discrete surround mixes! That being said...
I'm guessing I'm not the only one of us who is mesmerized by those infomercials for Time-Life CDs - not because we don't already own the songs we want on CD, but because we get those 3-second clips of the original performers from "back in the day." Like how often do we actually see what the group PILOT looks like?!?!?
So one night back in November I saw an infomercial for The Midnight Special on DVD - here was my chance to actually get complete songs from these often faceless artists. So I took the plunge - here's my report.
First of all, this collection is "not available in stores." But it IS available at http://www.midnightspecial.com/. Apparently some are capitalizing on the fact that people aren't aware of this, because the set is selling for ridiculous amounts on Ebay. So go to midnightspecial.com and get it for $129.90 after shipping.
I've been having a blast watching this stuff. MOST of it is 100% live, but there are exceptions, especially when you get into the later years of the show (the show ran from 1973-1980, and the collection is one 15-performance DVD for each year, plus a "Million Sellers" DVD). Those that aren't live are either:
There's also a killer performance of the Edgar Winter Group doing "Frankenstein." To me, the studio recording sounds nearly impossible to duplicate live, but they take it to a new level that removed any doubts I had about spending $130 for this set.
And, O.K., maybe REO Speedwagon became a cliche in the '80s, but there's a live performance of "Roll With The Changes" that will remind everyone that they used to be a ROCK band. I was on the edge of my seat for the whole thing.
How could I forget the rare Steely Dan video?!?!? "Reeling In The Years" with Denny Dias and Skunk Baxter on guitars - and Skunk wasn't sitting down, either! And they NAILED it.
I admit I'm a sucker for pure '70s pop, and "Smoke From A Distant Fire" is one of my favorites. I'm sure back in the day people saw the Sanford Townsend band and thought, "Hm, yeah. They could be another Steely Dan." Who knew? Here today, gone tomorrow! But they nailed it, too.
The sound of this collection is O.K. - it's like watching TV in the '70s, O.K.? Imagine that - and the Dolby 5.1 option is a joke. But watching these groups in their hey day is a blast.
I'll stop here. By all means, if you have any interest in this at all don't hesitate to ask. Unfortunately, Pilot isn't on this collection!
Paul
I'm guessing I'm not the only one of us who is mesmerized by those infomercials for Time-Life CDs - not because we don't already own the songs we want on CD, but because we get those 3-second clips of the original performers from "back in the day." Like how often do we actually see what the group PILOT looks like?!?!?
So one night back in November I saw an infomercial for The Midnight Special on DVD - here was my chance to actually get complete songs from these often faceless artists. So I took the plunge - here's my report.
First of all, this collection is "not available in stores." But it IS available at http://www.midnightspecial.com/. Apparently some are capitalizing on the fact that people aren't aware of this, because the set is selling for ridiculous amounts on Ebay. So go to midnightspecial.com and get it for $129.90 after shipping.
I've been having a blast watching this stuff. MOST of it is 100% live, but there are exceptions, especially when you get into the later years of the show (the show ran from 1973-1980, and the collection is one 15-performance DVD for each year, plus a "Million Sellers" DVD). Those that aren't live are either:
- A live vocal performance with backing tracks
- A live recording with the vocal re-done in the studio
- A 100% lip-sync'd performance
There's also a killer performance of the Edgar Winter Group doing "Frankenstein." To me, the studio recording sounds nearly impossible to duplicate live, but they take it to a new level that removed any doubts I had about spending $130 for this set.
And, O.K., maybe REO Speedwagon became a cliche in the '80s, but there's a live performance of "Roll With The Changes" that will remind everyone that they used to be a ROCK band. I was on the edge of my seat for the whole thing.
How could I forget the rare Steely Dan video?!?!? "Reeling In The Years" with Denny Dias and Skunk Baxter on guitars - and Skunk wasn't sitting down, either! And they NAILED it.
I admit I'm a sucker for pure '70s pop, and "Smoke From A Distant Fire" is one of my favorites. I'm sure back in the day people saw the Sanford Townsend band and thought, "Hm, yeah. They could be another Steely Dan." Who knew? Here today, gone tomorrow! But they nailed it, too.
The sound of this collection is O.K. - it's like watching TV in the '70s, O.K.? Imagine that - and the Dolby 5.1 option is a joke. But watching these groups in their hey day is a blast.
I'll stop here. By all means, if you have any interest in this at all don't hesitate to ask. Unfortunately, Pilot isn't on this collection!
Paul