Search - Electric Light Orchestra: "Out of the Blue" Tour - Live at Wembley/Discovery on DVD

Pay Attention!

Steve | UK | 11/11/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"ALL Listening? good! I will begin, DO NOT BUY THIS for the ELO concert, (Discovery videos fine)
Why do I say this? do i hate ELO? Do I hate this concert? NO and NO! This is the concert that many would be critics latched on to and accused the band of lip-synching their way through live shows! The sound has not been touched since it was broadcast on television in the seventies and whilst that would have sounded fine back then on our mono cathode ray tubes then, it does not bear repeating today!
Did ELO lip sync? NO!!!!!!! but watching this you could easily be fooled as many others were back then! I urge you to seek out the 2006 special edition of this fine concert to Truly hear what was played that night (The one without Discovery) The sound mix on this concert has been damaging to ELOs legacy and led people (including the Rock & Roll hall of fame) to dismiss this seminal band out of hand!.
Lets set the record straight! the sound mix used on ALL versions of this concert (up to 2006)was a puerile mono sound TV only mix that was dubbed over with the studio versions of the songs on several tracks! why? god alone knows, But it has taken as long as 28 years to put right Remember get the 2006 Out Of the Blue Live at Wembley!!! to at last hear this group perform LIVE on this concert and in DTS surround!
Only buy This version if you want the Discovery videos!

Thank you for listening."

Fine program marred by DVD authoring defect on bonus tracks

Philip A.Cohen | Bay Harbor Islands, Florida United States | 12/11/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This program would have rated 5 stars,if not for a DVD authoring defect on the bonus program "Discovery".On the 9 "Discovery" videos,there is a sound/picture synchronization problem which causes the sound to constantly run ahead of the picture.The 1990's Laserdisc didn't have this problem.With a little more quality control during DVD authoring,this DVD would have made a fine replacement/upgrade,since its' picture quality is generally better and cleaner than the Laserdisc.Shame on you,Eagle Rock Entertainent!!!Oh well,I got the DVD cheaply through a markeplace merchant for under $7.As an update to the above,when "ICE Magazine" confronted Eagle Rock Entertainment about the problem with this disc,Eagle Rock denied there was a problem,and said that I probably have an older DVD player(I use a Pioneer Elite DV-45A,which isn't that old),but then Eagle Rock concedes that one of the people that works for their DVD authoring house had the same problem.Whether you encounter this sound/picture synchronisation problem may depend on your disc player.You've been cautioned!!"

Forget the concert, buy it for the Discovery videos

William | Australia | 02/11/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The "Out of the blue" concert on here was originally released on VHS many years ago and was apparently overdubbed with the studio recordings to rectify the terrible sound. Essentially the concert was filmed back in 1978 and the sound wasn't captured well. The problem with overdubbing it, people watching the VHS thought they were watching a lip-synched concert.

The concert is now available on DVD and appears to be the original sound except for some songs which clearly sound like they have been overdubbed (Sweet talking woman). Also, the concert is dark and visually unappealing.

Included on the DVD however (as a special feature) are the videos for the Discovery album. WHile they are dated and simple, it makes up for the appalling concert. All of the songs off Discovery are fantastic and worth at least one viewing ... after that, just turn off the TV and listen to this classic album through your speakers.

If you want a good ELO concert DVD, purchase ZOOM which is from 2002 and features Jeff Lynne and new musicians performing all the hits - in DTS sound."

It's all about the "Bonus"

Cesar | San José, Costa Rica | 07/27/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a rare example in which the "Bonus" of a DVD can easily be considered the main feature. Indeed, I bought this collection more attracted to the DISCOVERY videos than to the concert. Why? Basically, because Discovery is one of my favorite albums of all time, and the collection of its videos is something that I watched on TV a lot, although fragmented, at the beginning of the 80's.

This collection of videos represent one of a few cases in which the artist released a filmed version of a complete LP to promote it, something that seemed to have a jump-start in those years (79 through 81) but that regretfully was not imitated afterwards ("Physical" by Olivia Newton John and "Visions" by Elton John are other examples).

Now, the fact that the videos were released in 1979 should tell you that they are very simple. Most of them are "perfomance" videos, it's only the band lip-synching the whole thing in a small stage and a couple of cameras, with some decoration and change of clothes everytime. Obviously, only 4 of the videos were a little more elaborated for commercial release: "Shine a little love", "The diary of Horace Wimp", "Last train to London" and "Don't bring me down". The rest have very basic production values. All the feature is preseted with a high quality image.

Now, after a while, to have Jeff Lynne's face, well, in your face, becomes a little tedious (come on, he's no Olivia Newton John!). Even if that happens to you, you can turn off the TV and just enjoy the music. The whole Discovery program comes in an enhanced (though not remixed) 5.1 dolby sound. I've never heard this album that clear and strong in my life. That's a real plus in having this collection.

Somebody claimed that an out-of-synch problem exists in these videos with the image and the audio, but I had no such problem, and hopefully you won't either (my DVD player is a Pioneer DV 578A).

The only low point that I found is that the closing credits of the "Discovery" feature run at the end of "Don't bring me down", so that video is not visually complete. But it's obvious that this is how the collection was originally compiled, so it's nothing new.

Ah, yes...there's also a concert in this DVD.

Although it's in 5.1 dolby also, the sound is not very good. Instead of "enhanced" it sounds with a little distortion. It's better to hear it in stereo.

The image is good, but not as good as with the videos, making no secret about the year in which the concert was filmed.
And in some songs, the help of a pre-recorded track as a support is evident (it's in those instances in which precisely the sound is more distortioned).

All these minor flaws shouldn't be a problem for any ELO fan who wants to own a collection of old songs live.

As to me, all this don't matter much. You see, for me the concert is a bonus... :-)"