Customer Reviews

The 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concerts

5 star:		(95)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I still have The 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Concert on my DVR from when it originally aired on HBO at the end of 2009, and I still often find myself viewing many of the standout performances pretty regularly to this day. I have vowed not to erase it until it is released on Blu Ray and DVD, and finally owning this will be a welcome treat!

If you're wondering where the Blu Ray version is of the 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concerts and you're reading this prior to November 2, 2010, the DVD is available at Amazon on September 28th, 2010, and the Blu Ray version of the package is available only at Best Buy for the first 30 days. Man, I hate that. But I've waited now for a year for this release, so waiting an extra 30 days is no sweat I guess. Anyway....

If you were at The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concerts or you saw it when it aired on HBO you already know how awesome these performances were that occurred over the course of two nights in late October 2009. If you haven't seen this and you like music, even just a little, you're in for a great experience. This collection is worth its weight in gold.

The great news is that the DVD and Blu Ray releases include a ton of bonus stuff that wasn't aired on HBO, so it'll be great fun again for me to give this entire release a fresh look.

According to Time Life, following is what's going to be on the release, and I've marked the standout performances with this mark: ***** Rest assured that almost every performance stands out; it's all a matter of musical preference. I like all kinds of music with a preference for hard rock, but some of these performances truly converted me into a fan of acts that I never liked or really paid little attention to prior to seeing this:

TOM HANKS
Introduction

JERRY LEE LEWIS
Great Balls of Fire

CROSBY, STILLS & NASH
Woodstock*****
Almost Cut My Hair
Love Has No Pride with Bonnie Raitt
The Pretender with Jackson Browne
Love the One You're With with James Taylor

STEVIE WONDER
For Once in My Life
The Tracks of My Tears with Smokey Robinson
The Way You Make Me Feel with John Legend (watch how Stevie chokes up singing this tribute to Michael Jackson...quite touching)
The Thrill Is Gone with B.B. King
Higher Ground/Roxanne with Sting*****
Superstition with Jeff Beck*****

PAUL SIMON
Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard (not included on the HBO airing)
You Can Call Me Al
Here Comes the Sun with David Crosby and Graham Nash
The Wanderer with Dion DiMucci
Little Anthony and the Imperials:
Two People in the World

SIMON & GARFUNKEL
The Sounds of Silence
The Boxer*****
Bridge over Troubled Water

ARETHA FRANKLIN
Baby I Love You
Don't Play That Song
Chain of Fools with Annie Lennox

METALLICA
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Sweet Jane with Lou Reed
Iron Man/Paranoid with Ozzy Osbourne
All Day and All of the Night with Ray Davies
Enter Sandman

U2
Vertigo
Magnificent
Because the Night with Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith and Roy Bittan
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For with Bruce Springsteen
Gimme Shelter with Mick Jagger and Fergie***** This performance just blew me away; I've watched this over and over again!
Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of with Mick Jagger
Beautiful Day

JEFF BECK
People Get Ready with Sting
Let Me Love You Baby with Buddy Guy
Foxy Lady with Billy Gibbons*****
A Day in the Life*****This number is also part of Beck's Live at Ronnie Scott's DVD which I also highly recommend, but the performance of it here at the R&R 25th is greatly enhanced by large images of The Beatles behind the band.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND (Gotta admit that I was not the biggest Bruce fan prior to seeing him here; his performances with Sam Moore, and then of all people, Tom Morello absolutely knocked it out of the park.)
Hold On I'm Comin' with Sam Moore*****
Soul Man with Sam Moore*****
The Ghost of Tom Joad with Tom Morello***** Okay, this is THE most memorable performance of the entire concert for me; Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine plays a guitar solo in this song unlike any rock solo I've ever seen!
Fortunate Son with John Fogerty
Pretty Woman with John Fogerty
Jungleland*****
A Fine Fine Boy with Darlene Love
New York State of Mind with Billy Joel
Born to Run with Billy Joel
Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher with Darlene Love, John Fogerty, Sam Moore, Billy Joel and Tom Morello

BONUS MATERIAL

CROSBY, STILLS & NASH
Mexico with James Taylor
Teach Your Children with Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne and James Taylor

STEVIE WONDER
Uptight
I Was Made to Love Her
Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours
Mercy Mercy Me with John Legend

SIMON & GARFUNKEL
Mrs. Robinson/Not Fade Away

METALLICA
Turn the Page
Iron Man/Paranoid with Ozzy Osbourne (the HBO version was edited; this apparently is not)

U2
Mysterious Ways
Where Is the Love/One with the Black Eyed Peas

JEFF BECK
Freeway Jam
Big Block

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND
London Calling with Tom Morello
Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher with Darlene Love, John Fogerty, Sam Moore, Billy Joel and Tom Morello (the HBO version was edited; this apparently is not)

I don't know how the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concert organizers could ever top this. All of these artists join together and play like they've been playing together forever to give viewers one of the most memorable shows in recent rock history.

There is no question here. Add this to your cart.

I was at these concerts too and saw the special on HBO and the performances are awesome. Seeing U2, Mick Jagger and Fergie do the Stones' "Gimme Shelter" is worth the price of admission alone. But you also get tons of other great performances: Sting with Stevie Wonder; Jeff Beck with Buddy Guy and Billy Gibbons (the ZZ Top guy); Simon & Garfunkel doing all their biggest hits; Lou Reed and Ray Davies playing with Metallica; John Fogerty and Billy Joel playing with Springsteen; etc. etc. And it looks like there's a bunch of bonus songs that we didn't see on HBO. I definitely recommend this.

I still have The 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Concert on my DVR from when it originally aired on HBO at the end of 2009, and I still often find myself viewing many of the standout performances pretty regularly to this day. I have vowed not to erase it until it is released on Blu Ray and DVD, and finally owning this will be a welcome treat!

If you're wondering why the Blu Ray version of the 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert is available at Amazon 30 days after the DVD release date, it's because the Blu Ray version of the package is available only at Best Buy for the first 30 days. Man, I hate that. But I've waited now for a year for this release, so waiting an extra 30 days is no sweat I guess. Anyway....

If you were at The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concerts or you saw it when it aired on HBO you already know how awesome these performances were that occurred over the course of two nights in late October 2009. If you haven't seen this and you like music, even just a little, you're in for a great experience. This collection is worth its weight in gold.

The great news is that the DVD and Blu Ray releases include a ton of bonus stuff that wasn't aired on HBO, so it'll be great fun again for me to give this entire release a fresh look.

According to Time Life, following is what's going to be on the release, and I've marked the standout performances with this mark: ***** Rest assured that almost every performance stands out; it's all a matter of musical preference. I like all kinds of music with a preference for hard rock, but some of these performances truly converted me into a fan of acts that I never liked or really paid little attention to prior to seeing this:

TOM HANKS
Introduction

JERRY LEE LEWIS
Great Balls of Fire

CROSBY, STILLS & NASH
Woodstock*****
Almost Cut My Hair
Love Has No Pride with Bonnie Raitt
The Pretender with Jackson Browne
Love the One You're With with James Taylor

STEVIE WONDER
For Once in My Life
The Tracks of My Tears with Smokey Robinson
The Way You Make Me Feel with John Legend (watch how Stevie chokes up singing this tribute to Michael Jackson...quite touching)
The Thrill Is Gone with B.B. King
Higher Ground/Roxanne with Sting*****
Superstition with Jeff Beck*****

PAUL SIMON
Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard (not included on the HBO airing)
You Can Call Me Al
Here Comes the Sun with David Crosby and Graham Nash
The Wanderer with Dion DiMucci
Little Anthony and the Imperials:
Two People in the World

SIMON & GARFUNKEL
The Sounds of Silence
The Boxer*****
Bridge over Troubled Water

ARETHA FRANKLIN
Baby I Love You
Don't Play That Song
Chain of Fools with Annie Lennox

METALLICA
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Sweet Jane with Lou Reed
Iron Man/Paranoid with Ozzy Osbourne
All Day and All of the Night with Ray Davies
Enter Sandman

U2
Vertigo
Magnificent
Because the Night with Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith and Roy Bittan
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For with Bruce Springsteen
Gimme Shelter with Mick Jagger and Fergie***** This performance just blew me away; I've watched this over and over again!
Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of with Mick Jagger
Beautiful Day

JEFF BECK
People Get Ready with Sting
Let Me Love You Baby with Buddy Guy
Foxy Lady with Billy Gibbons*****
A Day in the Life***** This number is also part of Beck's Live at Ronnie Scott's DVD which I also highly recommend, but the performance of it here at the R&R 25th is greatly enhanced by large images of The Beatles behind the band.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND (Gotta admit that I was not the biggest Bruce fan prior to seeing him here; his performances with Sam Moore, and then of all people, Tom Morello absolutely knocked it out of the park.)
Hold On I'm Comin' with Sam Moore*****
Soul Man with Sam Moore*****
The Ghost of Tom Joad with Tom Morello***** Okay, this is THE most memorable performance of the entire concert for me; Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine plays a guitar solo in this song unlike any rock solo I've ever seen!
Fortunate Son with John Fogerty
Pretty Woman with John Fogerty
Jungleland*****
A Fine Fine Boy with Darlene Love
New York State of Mind with Billy Joel
Born to Run with Billy Joel
Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher with Darlene Love, John Fogerty, Sam Moore, Billy Joel and Tom Morello

BONUS MATERIAL

CROSBY, STILLS & NASH
Mexico with James Taylor
Teach Your Children with Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne and James Taylor

STEVIE WONDER
Uptight
I Was Made to Love Her
Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours
Mercy Mercy Me with John Legend

SIMON & GARFUNKEL
Mrs. Robinson/Not Fade Away

METALLICA
Turn the Page
Iron Man/Paranoid with Ozzy Osbourne (the HBO version was edited; this apparently is not)

U2
Mysterious Ways
Where Is the Love/One with the Black Eyed Peas

JEFF BECK
Freeway Jam
Big Block

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND
London Calling with Tom Morello
Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher with Darlene Love, John Fogerty, Sam Moore, Billy Joel and Tom Morello (the HBO version was edited; this apparently is not)

I don't know how the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concert organizers could ever top this. All of these artists join together and play like they've been playing together forever to give viewers one of the most memorable shows in recent rock history.

There is no question here. Add this to your cart.

Length:: 2:47 Mins

I love Rock N Roll. So put another dime into Amazon's pocket baby...or soemthing like that. This is my first video review of a concert. I hope you like it!.The 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Concerts (2BD) (Blu-ray)

In this day and age it is unacceptable to find DVDs with Audio Video Synchronization problems.

This DVD is full of great performances, the audio and video are top notch, and it is a must buy, however, it is a shame that Disc 3 with the "bonus performances", is marred with audio video synching problems.

As stated by another reviewer, the producers should have moved all the material cut from the HBO special (the bonus performances) into the regular concert as it was performed during October 29th and 30th, 2009, for a better viewing experience. And in the process, they would have been forced to fix the audio video sync.

Hope future editions are fixed as this is truly a gem.

Too few hours, & too many great bands.
With that said, RUN, & buy this superlative collection
Yes, lots of premier acts; (Eagles, Dead, Airplane, Floyd, Fleetwood, etc.), weren't present. Whoa; the ones that were, kicked butt!
My highlights; U2/Mick, & Fergie; (Gimme Shelter)
Stevie Wonder/Jeff Beck; (Superstition)
Everything else was phenomenal
Picture quality/Blu-Ray/9.5; ditto for sound; nothing is perfect.
I'll save my 10 for "Ladies & Gentlemen"/Blu-Ray, next week.
My HD/DVR/HBO version, was almost as good/picture quality
True/HD/DTS sound, is at least a level better, than 5.1
Plus, the Blu-Ray has an additional hour plus, of music.
FYI: Only at Best Buy/$24.95, & worth EVERY penny.

I had this on my DVR for some time, but had to give it up to free up space. Sure hated to do it, but was praying for a DVD release. It's finally here!

If you have not seen this show do yourself a huge favor and get this set. The concert was one of the most amazingly entertaining I've ever seen. Everyone playing seemed to be fired up and playing at their emotional best. Staggering performances! This will be the best $30 I've spent in a long time.

I find no need to write once again about how great the performances are on this set.
However, there are a few things that do bother me about it:

1. Like many people said, it would have made much more sense to give us the concerts as they happened, instead of sticking "bonus" tracks to a seperate disc.

2. There's no credit given to the brilliant sidemen who play with all of these guys. I think players like Vinnie Colaiuta and Tal Wilkenfeld from Jeff Beck's band deserve to have their name written next to the big guys.

3. The booklet that's included with is, well, a bit disappointing. Apart from the technical details (who wrote each song and which company handles the royalties), all you get is a reprint of a Rolling Stone article from last year. Sure, it's a nice read, but it makes me feel like someone cut a few corners. I was expecting something special.

4. The introduction at the beginning contains short snippets of footage taken at rehearsals. It's a shame they didn't include more of it, especially considering how the interviews in the above article repeatedly talk about what a great time they had in rehearsal.

Besides that, it's wonderful. It's still worth 5 stars, and if you're a fan of good music, get it!

Hello, I am writing from Germany; please apologize mistakes, if you see one or two...
This Blu-ray Disc is the Nr. 1 in our house. I have in my music-room many and more DVDs and Blu-rays, but this is the very best that we have ever bought. I am 54 years old and all my favourites are on the stage, that I liked. So what do I want more?! - Brilliant sound and super-sharp picture, a booklet and a cover that was signed by all singers and musicians. - Best regards from Germany. - The shipping to us was in a verry short time, by the way, thank you to amazon.com for that!!

As a collector of historic and memorable live concert VC's and DVD's, this one rates right up there with No Nukes, et al. As a result of the producers decision to develop the collaborations vs. a typical 'greatest hits' production, the uniqueness and synergy between the 'Mount Olympus' performers is likely something never to be repeated. Where else will you see Jerry Lee Lewis share a (revolving) stage with Metallica? Also, likely the last time so many of the Woodstock 'old guard' would likely be able to dig up for display so many 'cornerstones' of modern rock evolution...