Search - Bob Brozman In Concert on DVD

Ace playing, poor camera work, pompous monologues

O. Buxton | Highgate, UK | 02/10/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"From your first listen, you know Bob Brozman is an extraordinary guitar player, and seeing him play live only cements that impression. His work on resonator instruments of all shapes and sizes is simply eye-popping. He's technically awesome - I have never seen anyone extract so many tonal variations and nuances from a single instrument (and a resonator guitar is hardly the most versatile instrument to work with) and he's stylistically diverse: Brozman throws in Hawaiian, calypso, tango, and any number of other styles, often without warning and without the Officially Required Deference into the material of such iconic artists such as Robert Johnson and Charley Patton. A blues purist might scorn this, but anyone with an open mind won't - this is a blast from start to finish.This VHS is let down on two scores: First, by so-so quality film and stupid camera work - there's certainly no call for camera wizardry - just pointing a camera at the man and hitting "record" would have done nicely, but the producer seemed intent on capturing the balding pates of large swathes of the audience for no obvious reason. Second, by Brozman's inter-song patter: there's more of it than there ought to be from a professional artist; frequently it's inaudible, and when you can hear it, alas it's usually self righteous and politically correct. Brozman is hardly the only guitarist who could profitably heed Frank Zappa's advice, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't: shut up, man, and play yer guitar."

"So Beethoven's 9th. You ready?"

Pharoah S. Wail | Inner Space | 12/24/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If you've had this for years and are just reading reviews for entertainment value then you've liked this for a long time but you also realize that Bob has surpassed this in the intervening years. If you already own Post-Industrial Blues, Live in Germany, Blues Reflex, Rolling Through This World, Four Hands Sweet & Hot, etc... then you've heard Bob go beyond this. I don't mean beyond this in superficial ways like "faster" or "louder". I mean deeper, heavier, more emotional.

The sonic quality... the production values... in these respects, no one will say that In Concert compares favorably to Live in Germany. The sound on Germany is much more large, lush, and beautiful. Plus Germany is a genuine dvd, with all the 5.1, etc... sound options and extras/interviews you expect from a dvd. In Concert is essentially just a VHS tape on dvd. Live in Germany gives a better, warmer sonic picture of the way these amazing instruments sound in Bob's hands.

I still like this, though. National Hawaiian Hollow Necks, National Single Cones, and vintage Weissenborns. There are no hollow necks or single cones on the Germany dvd, and he uses them less on his albums now also. If you prefer Single Cones over Tricones, this is your dvd. The single cones have a large presence here. La Vie En Rose, Telegram Blues and others will make you squeal with delight. We also get some great illustrations of why I love the idea of Bob making an album of only wood guitars (or just wood guitars and National Hawaiians). Zoe's Lullabye again makes me feel that Bob could do monumentally beautiful instrumental versions of Row Jimmy (a Grateful Dead song) on the wood Hawaiian guitars. I've felt this way ever since track 1 of Tone Poems III: The Sounds of the Great Slide & Resophonic Instruments.

He's very funny on In Concert, too. In the In Concert era, Bob was a great, brilliant entertainer. His musical conception was already there, but still... back then, he was not yet the total giant he is today. Now it's all really come together and blossoming, with his rhythmic scope even deeper now. In the past 8 or 9 years he's become 1 of the great artists of our time.

To wrap it up... if you already own most or all of the things I've mentioned above, this may feel like a couple steps backwards. Every album I've mentioned here should be owned before you begin to feel you need this. Still, at least Netflix it to find out what you think of it, but if you find yourself lukewarm on it, don't let yourself believe it's up there with the stuff he's done in the past 7 or 8 years."