Search - Soundstage: Steve Winwood on DVD

Trust me, if you're a Steve Winwood fan...

S. Kurtz | Almost Asbury Park | 06/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"...you'll want this just for the incredible opener CAN'T FIND MY WAY HOME. I have a copy of this show and it's wonderful. It's beautiful. It's Steve Winwood and that tells anyone who knows anything about great rock music all they need to know.

Other highlights include DEAR MR. FANTASY, LOW SPARK, BACK IN THE HIGH LIFE, and DIFFERENT LIGHT from the last album, "About Time"...tho' to be honest, this is a show full of highlights.

One of the greatest voices in rock, if not the greatest, and a master of the Hammond organ and quite the guitar player, Winwood is one of those artists who personifies quality musicianship and a level of professionalism few other artists match.

I'm a big, big fan...if you can't tell."

PLEASE! Release the Entire Show!

Mr. William F. Minick | Oswego, IL United States | 09/05/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What a stellar performance! It's ridiculous and a shame the entire performance was not released for this DVD. I'm happy they included 3 bonus tracks, but that's only 11 of the 19 songs performed that night. I attended the taping for this show, and it was like all previous reviewers have said, an incredible performance and it needs to be released in its entirety.

The original set list for the more than 2 ½ hour show was...
1. Pearly Queen
2. Different Light
3. Cigano (For The Gypsies)
4. Can't Find My Way Home
5. Walking On
6. 40,000 Headmen
7. Empty Pages
8. Final Hour
9. Silvia
10. Rainmaker
11. Bully
12. Glad/Freedom Rider
13. Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring
14. Higher Love
15. Back In The High Life Again
16. Dear Mr. Fantasy
17. The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys
18. Why Can't We Live Together?
19. Gimme' Some Lovin'

Except for taking a few of quick breaks to allow the cameramen to swap recording tapes, there should be little editing that needs to take place. Do us all a favor and release the entire show!"

Highlife is short but sweet!

GLENN LEVY | Chicago | 10/22/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This DVD does everything right, the sound and video feed are perfect. Great song selection. Steve still has an aswesome voice, he hits all high notes still. His guitar playing is very enjoyable. the only thing I can fault This DVD for is it's short length, just about half of the concert is here. I watched on PBS, before I bought this dvd, and the song list was about twice as long as this. I really wish they would have included the whole show, it's not like DVD'S don't have the capacity. So minus 1 star for trimming it too much."

Superb - but not enough of it!

Matthew Bush | Seattle, WA United States | 08/12/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First, the positives. In my opinion, Steve Winwood and his band are one of the finest groups of musicians playing today, and this Soundstage DVD captures much of the magic of their live show. Traffic songs like "Glad", Freedom Rider" and the 11 minute "Rainmaker" demonstrate almost telepathic interplay of organ, flute, sax, guitar and percussion, and have never sounded better. The songs from Winwood's most recent release "About Time" are played with oodles of soul, and the band are obviously enjoying themselves. The DVD is filmed in high definition and the audio is as good as it gets... as close to "being there" as modern technology allows.
So why only 4 stars? Like a previous reviewer mentioned, the performance is too short. Although the Soundstage crew filmed the whole 2 hour plus concert, what we get here is the one hour televised set, plus three "bonus" tracks. Why not just release the whole uninterrupted concert?? a DVD can hold three hours of material. What doesn't make it onto the DVD are some of the most rocking songs. When I saw the band a couple of months ago, virtuoso guitarist Jose Neto (who has released several of his own CDs) stretched out and played some amazing solos on songs like "Silvia" and "Low Spark" but these don't make it onto the DVD, even though they were filmed. Sadly, the songs that do make it onto the DVD don't feature Neto at all. Finally, the packaging includes no insert, so we don't get a word about any of the musicians other than Winwood.
All in all though, one of the best DVD concerts I've ever seen, it's just missing some of the real gems, and for no good reason."