Search - Paice Ashton Lord Live on DVD

70's big band music

This one goes to 11.... | Chicago,IL | 12/18/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a really good dvd to watch.First of all,it shows how versital
Jon Lord and Ian Paice are as musicians.It's great to see some of the backstage stuff that goes on.As (Lord) says(I'm calm on the outside,but
on the inside he's a wreck").I think the best part of the dvd is the
"Lifespan" documentary.To see that even the pro's have to go through a bunch of different musicians to find the "right" one.Also to see them write/record the songs and to see (I think it was)Martin Birch at the controls is pretty neat.Plus you get to go back in time & see how much has changed in terms of recrding studio's,recording boards,etc.Anyway
I liked this dvd and recommend it for fans of Jon Lord & Ian Paice."

Concert + Documentary

Philip A.Cohen | Bay Harbor Islands, Florida United States | 04/10/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This program combines a 65 minute BBC concert with a 49 minute documentary called "Lifespan".The BBC concert is generally excellent,and the group performs what was then its' standard live show.It features most of the songs from the group's lone L.P. "Malice in Wonderland",plus one song from the Jon Lord/Tony Ashton L.P. "First of The Big Bands",and a Bernie Marsden lead vocal on a cover version of James Taylor's "Steamroller Blues".The picture quality on the concert is excellent,though the sound mix is somewhat uneven(Tony Ashton's lead vocals are sometimes down too low,though his erratic microphone technique is somewhat to blame).The overall sound is reverberant,though it was apparently the nature of the room itself

The second feature is "Lifespan",a filmed documentary about the group's formation,recording sessions & first concert(with a few complete songs).This was aired back in 1980 on U.S.A. Network's "Night Flight",and it's nice to have it on DVD.The picture quality is no better than it was then,like a videocassette transfer of a film that(even then,in 1980) was scratchy,low-resolution and stained.

Despite the presence of Deep Purple's Jon Lord & Ian Paice,this was not a heavy metal band.It was a funk band,somewhat akin to the funkier numbers on Deep Purple's "Stormbringer" album.The late Tony Ashton's woozy/boozy,sing/talk persona was apparently real(he was an actual alcoholic,though ultimately his death was from cancer,not drinking-related causes)

Be cautioned that the DVD(as supplied by marketplace merchant "Caiman"),while it is an "all Regions"(Region zero) DVD,it is British PAL format.If your DVD player isn't equiped to play(and or convert) foreign DVD's,you can always play the disc on any home computer which has a DVD-ROM drive."