Customer Reviews

Best 25 Years of Pop - Prod By Trevor Horn

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was lucky enough to be at this show last year, and it was a wonderful evening. Very rarely does an opportunity arise for so many great artists to come together and perform on one stage, so it was moving to see so many acts, and fans, gather together to pay tribute to the talents of Trevor Horn, possibly the greatest producer of the last 30 years.

All the performances were of a high standard, including Trevors' own band The Buggles, who opened the show with two UK top 20 hits, "Video Killed The Radio Star" and "The Plastic Age". Other highlights included the reformed and newly fronted Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Yes ("Owner Of A Lonely Heart"), the divine Ms Grace Jones, vocal spot on and oozing charisma on "Slave To The Rhythm", and of course ABC. Martin Fry is a true showman and he was on top form for this performance.

For me, the highlight however was the duo DOLLAR. They reunited especially for this event - no mean feat given Thereza Bazar now lives in Australia. Dollar are a group who have never been given their rightful place in musical history. They were the first act who recognised Trevors producer potential from The Buggles records, and as such were the first to utilise him as a producer (and song writer). The result was 4 smash hit UK singles, two of which are included here, "Give Me Back My Heart" and "Mirror Mirror". It was the sheer magnificence of these records (most notably "Hand Held In Black And White") that attracted ABC to Trevor Horn. ABC of course became a global phenomena, opening the door for Frankie, Art Of Noise, Seal. You get the picture. Upshot is, had it not been for Dollar, you probably wouldn't have the chance to view this magnificent show, because a lot of these records wouldn't have been made.

Produced by Trevor Horn, a concert for The Prince's Trust, is a musical tribute spanning 25 years of British Pop and the legendary career of producer Trevor Horn.

This concert is currently being shown as a reduced 90 minute version on the High Definition channel, HD-Net this January, 2006. If this show is any indication as to the quality of the upcoming DVD, then sign me up now! Over a year in post-production, "The Best 25 Years of Pop" will be an epic DVD when it's fianlly released this March.

Video and sound quality is absolutely incredible! Shot in HD and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, the highlights I was most impressed with was YES's "Owner of a Lonely Heart", Seal's "Killer" and Frankie Goes to Hollywood's entire set. The sound definitely captured the presence of the evening, and had the walls of my house vibrating with glorious sub-harmonics. The Bass was clean and tight, pulsating rythym sections, and the vocals, crystal clear. It was said that over three million dollars was spent in the production of this event, and it's clearly evident. A must own!

A real stunner. I too saw the 90 minute version on HDNet. Top notch the entire way through. And better still, the reviews below are as learned about the music, performers, and production as Horn is. He must be a man of details. Many of his records are audiophile dreams, with procuction and musicianship that has drama and tension, which are captured beautifully here in the concert. Many original musicians came to play, and best of all, all those little moments that run throughout these songs that we've memorized over the years are here in the concert too, without being pedestrian. No song sounds loose or slapped together. Pleasuredome was everything I was hoping it would be. All the best dramatic musical moments were nailed. Fry was incredible. Seal sounded better than I've ever heard him, and Grace looked like it was still 1987. A real energy throughout. Would have liked to have heard Tempus Fugit though. Still, to do Pleasuredome, at all, and then to do it so well. That's encouraging.

It blew me away!! I was channel surfing last night and came across this concert but unfortunately (or luckily) caught the last 25 minutes, Seal's last song of his set, and the big Finale with "Frankie Goes to Hollywood". That was all I needed to see...sign me up for a copy! I have been all over the net trying to find one with no luck, SOooo...Amazon...let's get with the program and find the FULL DVD ! When word gets out , it will sell like hotcakes, guaranteed! The T.V. version was pared down to 90 minutes, but I saw information that apparently the full DVD is almost 2 1/2 hours! As for what I saw, the production, visual, clarity, sound, were all absolutely pristine! I was awestruck by the show and quality and remember, I was watching it on T.V., not direct from the disc. If "Frankie Goes to Hollywood's " big finish ("Welcome to the Pleasure Dome", then into "Relax") is any indication of the rest of the show, I'm sorry I missed most of it. But not to worry, those 2 songs alone are worth the price of the DVD. "Frankie" is without Holly Johnson, but it didn't matter ..the new "Frankie" came out with all the typical "Hollywood" antics complete with the "Adam Ant" mascara, and their rendition of "Relax" was spellbinding, (Holly who?) for those dissappointed with previous "Frankie" DVDs, this show will definitely make up for it! Now..we're waiting..where is it??

I, too, saw the condensed version on a high-definition cable channel. I'm hoping the full-length version will be released on DVD soon, and eventually in high-definition on BluRay or HD-DVD (both of which have better options for sound than does DVD). I'll buy the DVD to tide me over until a high-def disc is available.

Unlike most other concert films, where the filming and sound recording are incidental, the concert itself in this case was clearly designed around the filming and recording processes. Many cameras and many microphones were used, and the sound mixing and video editing are first-rate. The quality of the final product is mind-blowing (at least in the 1080i HD version I saw). My three favorite acts were Pet Shop Boys, Seal, and Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

Be sure you have a multi-region DVD player before purchasing as this DVD only exists as NTSC Region Code 2.

Here is the track list:

1. Buggles - Video Killed The Radio Star
2. Buggles - Living In The Plastic Age
3. Dollar - Give Me Back My Heart
4. Grace Jones - Slave To The Rhythm
5. ABC - Poison Arrow
6. ABC - All Of My Heart
7. ABC - Look Of Love
8. Art Of Noise - Close To The Edit
9. Propaganda - Dr.Mabuse
10. Yes - Cinema
11. Yes - Owner Of A Lonely Heart
12. Belle & Sebastian - I'm A Cuckoo
13. Belle & Sebastian - Step Into My Office
14. Pet Shop Boys - Left To My Own Devices
15. Pet Shop Boys - It's Alright
16. Lisa Stansfield - Takes A Woman To Know
17. Tatu - All The Things She Said
18. Seal - Killer
19. Seal - Kiss From A Rose
20. Seal - Crazy
21. Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Welcome To The Pleasuredome
22. Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Two Tribes
23. Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Relax

Bonus Features
24. Documentary
25. Frankie Say Reform Lead Singer Contest

Fun concert. I ordered the "Slaves to the Rhythm" DVD, which is the same thing as this from Amazon.co.uk. It plays perfectly on my U.S. Toshiba DVD player and Samsung DLP TV through a HDMI port, thought it was the UK version. I was charged in the native currency and paid shipping, but I still got the item from the UK in only a week with the cheapest shipping option. Good job, Amazon.

Absolutely amazing. I am short on adjectives to describe how fantastic this event was. By a complete series of random events, I just ended up in front of this on HDNet the other night. Now I can't wait to get the full version. I try to catch most HD broadcasts of live music and this was by far the greatest treat I've received in HD.

It brought back so many great memories Trevor Horn produced in my youth. ABC was solid, but the Pet Shop Boys, Seal, and Frankie stole the show. Very few producers happen upon one good band let along 5+. I believe it's a testiment to the quality of the man they all came together to honor. Lucky Brits!

This concert DVD is simply amazing. I would recommend buying it for the sound alone - recorded in 5.1 at Wembley stadium for someone who is known for producing, so you know it will be good. The surround sound on the Art Of Noise track is incredible. Wonderful artist lineup, I just let this DVD run in the background sometimes when I'm doing stuff around the house.
Consider buying it from your local PBS station as some of them have offered it in the past (KCET in Los Angeles for example)during their pledge drive.