Search - World Wide Live 2004 on DVD

Compressed sound and bad vocals make a sad dvd

GLENN LEVY | Chicago | 11/20/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"WOW what can I say, I was awaiting this DVD. I'm very disappointed with this DVD, where to start, the sound is so compressed it can't drive my 5.1 setup well at all, the mix is aweful. I had to turn it way up just to hear it a bit. Most DVDS you see all the speaker meters full to the limit with driven sound, this DVD does not even move the the meters at all. His choice of vocalist is not good at all, this guy just does not have the energy that I expect, most strained and unskilled.The people in the crowd seem to be dead or sleeping little wonder. the fact is I have always enjoyed Michael Schenker, but without a vocalist the caliber of Phil{UFO}Mogg. This band sinks Like a german U-boat. Even the soul felt playing of Schenker can't save this DVD from the bad sound and poor vocals. Do yourself a favor if your a UFO fan, pull out the old albums and have a listen, save your money better spent.
"

The Best Loyalty Is To Tell The Truth

Alexander T. Newport | Oro Valley, Arizona | 12/27/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I don't know why Michael Schenker doesn't just retire those old MSG & UFO songs given the fact that he can't play them nearly as well as he used to. He sounds like a geriatric imitation of his glorious past. His hands these days have no electricity or elasticity. There is very little passion in the man's sound or body language.

Dig, those old chestnuts are meant to be performed with a youthful pizzazz, full of vim & vigor, and sweat dripping off the end of one's nose, but those qualities are not on this dvd.

He's a shell thrice removed from how well he could play back in the early 80's.

The band he's employing look and sound like they should be playing Death Metal or some form of Spastic Rock. They play their parts adequately but don't play with any true soul or artistry. The keyboards sound rinky-dink cheap & amateurish. The vocals are generic modern-day Hard Rock, nothing especially good or bad about them, they get the job done and that's about it. And the same can be said for the rest of the band.

The picture quality is outstanding.
And you do indeed get to see Schenker's hands often enough, but the thing is, there isn't much to watch. Or, better stated, what you see are 8 fingers and 2 thumbs moving minimalistically. They hit just enough notes for us to recognize the skeletons of past virtuosic solos. He plays just enough to get by.

The interview is pure crap because the interviewer sounds like he's asking questions from a sheet of paper and does not rebound off the answers provided. All you get from this interview are short, chirpy answers to very lame, over-asked questions.

It's a red-faced shame that this dvd is the only video document of Schenker in concert ever to be officially released in the USA or England (as of this day in December 2004). If you want pro-shot videos of Schenker performing in his heyday then you will have to surf & search the www and/or make contact with video suppliers in Japan. Look for MSG Rock Will Never Die (Live at the Hammersmith 1983), MSG Rockpalast 1981, MSG Dortmund 1983, and MSG Super Rock 1984 Live in Japan.

Bottom line:
I don't like this dvd. You'd be wiser to get one of his audio concerts such as Back To Attack or Reactivate or Rock Will Never Die."

Extremely disappointing

M. Ferris | 11/01/2004

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I just received my copy and being a HUGE Michael Schenker fan since the 70's, I must say this is a big let down. First the sound quality is horrible, whats up with that in this day and age?? Compared to many other concert DVD's I've purchased this one by far is the worst sounding. My next nit is this: Where's Michael Schenker? The camera is shooting everyone BUT MS. Maybe a better description of this disk should be: "If you look close and quickly, you might notice Michael Schenker on guitar". I can really do without his bass player's drama and posing, obviously has some major self esteem issues. It seems to me that MS gets maybe 20/30% camera time. This is HIS concert right???
They could have found a better crowd for shooting a live concert DVD, this crowd was, lets say, non existant for a better word. My advice is to save your money. I'm still a big MS fan, always will be, but this disk just does not due the man justice."

Great DVD for Schenker Fans

Ken Evans | Virginia Beach | 01/03/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"For those of us that have waited and waited years for the chance to see and hear a good video of one of the most influential guitarists in rock, this is video delivers in some ways, and disappoints in others.

True, there are weaknesses in the video. But there are many strengths as well. I have given this concert several views, and it does grow on you.

Michael Schenker has lost some of his precision and pizzazz as a guitarist, but then most of us pushing 50 have. One thing that we learn is to play within our limits, and it seems as though Michael has scaled back his extensive soloing to accommodate this lack of fluidity. His band is tight though, something he has not always had to back him.

Here are some items of note, some negative, some positive:
-Chris Logan on vocals does a pretty good job. There is a lot of criticism of him concerning this DVD, but we have to remember that he is covering at least three other vocalists. His own songs are the strongest, as you would expect. His performance on "Assault Attack" is probably the weakest, which stands to reason, as Graham Bonnet is a superb vocalist who is difficult to cover. There is another shot in the video where the vocal does not match his mouth movement, an obvious studio "fix", but it passes quickly. But it does make me wonder how much doctoring went on with his vocals. His stage presence is lacking, not the most charismatic front man around.

-There are a couple of places where the keyboard sounds absolutely sick, most notably during the lead break on "Let it Roll". It does nothing to enhance the song; I think the keyboard player should try to stick to the originals a little closer.

-The drummer is dead on; he does a superb job throughout. I heard nothing from him other than good, solid drumming.

-Rev Jones, the bass player is fun to watch, and he is a superb player to match. He is a definite asset to the band.

-As far as Michael goes, there are a lot of ups and downs. He makes a couple of pretty noticeable gaffs during his lead breaks, and sometimes his improvisation will be a disappointment to those who want to hear a note-for-note performance. For example, the famous solo on "Rock Bottom" is really lame, a real downer for the last song of the video. There are times, though, where Michael shines.... but these times are just a little too few and far between for my liking. The songs Michael loves to play are obvious, as he actually gets swaying and moving, notably "Into the Arena" and "Lights Out".

There are a couple of other things that are irritants, as well. The camera shots are generally great, clear with decent editing. But when you are buying a video that should showcase the star, the camera cuts away nearly every solo Michael performs, either to another band member or to his picking hand. Maybe that's niggling, but I want to see the fret board hand! And the shots of his picking hand are a continual reminder that Michael has never taken the protective plastic off his guitar's pick guard, and it is peeling down. That just seems kind of unprofessional....which brings me to the homemade sign on his amps advertising his web site. It looks like either a 5th grader made it, or it was put up as an afterthought. Either way, it degrades an otherwise nice stage appearance.

Michael Schenker purists will love the chance to see him in action, but for me there is an undercurrent of disappointment with the video. There are those of us who always believed that Michael could do no wrong, but this video shows that he is a mere mortal. And that he can still play a pretty mean guitar.
"