Customer Reviews

Dire Straits Alchemy (20th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

The people who have criticised this Blu-Ray disc fail to consider the following:This concert was filmed in 1983 on 16mm film at a time when even the best consumer video format(Laserdisc) had resolution less than what DVD has today. We can all agree that the performances and surround sound mix on this Blu-Ray disc are superb. I've purchased both the Blu-Ray & DVD editions from Amazon's British website and viewed both on my 54" plasma T.V. and can assure you that the Blu-Ray disc's picture is dramatically superior to the DVD edition, even if Blu-Ray makes the film grain more visible(the concert was filmed under low-light conditions).

I should explain that the reason why the U.S.A. price on the Blu-Ray & DVD editions is quite high is because Universal Music in the U.S.A. is merely importing the British discs instead of pressing their own. It's much, much cheaper to import them yourself from Amazon's British website. The British DVD set has been pressed with NTSC video/All regions, and the British Blu-Ray disc has been pressed for worldwide(all regions) playback compatability. Universal in the UK also offers a set which pairs the DVD with the 2-CD audio set. Universal can't officially distribute that edition in the U.S.A., where Warner Brothers' license on the group's CD releases is still in effect.

As for the music in this concert, it finds the group touring behind their "Love Over Gold" album, at a time when the group had added keyboards, saxophone and a more proficient drummer for a more exact reproduction of the group's increasingly melodic & complex arrangements. This doesn't mean that there isn't improvisation and elaboration. There is, and the group finds a groove and stretches out with renditions that are typically much longer than their studio counterparts.

But I do have two very valid criticisms: "Love Over Gold"(which is included in the CD version) is still omitted from the video version, though the film footage exists and has been used in video compilations such as "Sultans of Swing" & "Dire Straits-The Videos". And, of course, the annoying piece of hair fluttering around inside one of the three film cameras(during the last two songs) remains present with no attempt to retouch it, though certainly there are things that could have been done in the digital domain to retouch the image(techniques that were used on the DVD of "The Who-The Kids Are Alright")

I couldn't be happier that "Alchemy" is on DVD at last! Over the years I have worn out two VHS copies, and the CD is among the most played in my library, so I'm thrilled to finally have a shiny new DVD in my hands. Some have criticized the DVD for having imperfect picture quality, and it's true that there are imperfections, the notorious "hair" on one of the cameras' images towards the end of the show is the most objectionable artifact, and I too wish the picture had been cleaned up a bit, but it is certainly not as onerous as some make it sound. Remember that this DVD is from a single show that occurred at the Hammersmith Odeon in London on July 23, 1983, and was shot on 16 mm film: given the vintage of the footage, I think the image is more than acceptable (though I'm not sure it's worth the extra for the Blu-ray disc) and any imperfections are more than made up for in the quality of the audio track, which is superb.

I have always been a huge fan of Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler, primarily because of their musicianship. It's pretty amazing that the musical craft was so highly prized that there was a point made to put a note on the cover reading "This is a recording of excerpts of one Dire Straits performance, it contains no re-recordings or overdubs of any kind." It is not uncommon for live albums to be tweaked in the studio, and given the complexity of the material here, it's astonishing that the concert is musically flawless.

This concert was done at the heights of pre-"Brothers in Arms" fame, and contains much of their best material. With the much improved sound quality of the DVD (versus VHS) the crispness of the recording is readily appreciated, and people who have watched it on both will notice differences between the two readily (I noticed the biggest difference in Mel Collins' saxophone part on "Two Young Lovers.") There is nothing to critique on the performances, and I still think of these versions of "Telegraph Road" and "Going Home" as the finest ever recorded.

The DVD also comes with a couple of extras including the captivating BBC documentary on the exhausted band after "Communiqué" was released. At the time the band was still a foursome and interviews of the original four members are extensive, as is footage in the studio revealing the song development process. I found it especially fascinating to watch how "Making Movies" progressed from the embryonic form shown here to the final recorded version. Any fan will love to have this feature, and it justifies the cost of the DVD by itself in my estimation.

I highly recommend this DVD. Despite some visual imperfections, the music is sublime and more than makes up for any shortcomings in the image, but that's what you should expect from Knopfler and company: the bottom line is always about the music, and overdubs are never required.

Let's get the bad out of the way, Alchemy was filmed on video. What you see here on this Blu-ray is likely the best this will ever look, it's limited by the source material. No amount of baking, scanning and what-have-you is going to do this source material any favours.

This is also presented in the original aspect ratio of 4:3, meaning on a high definition TV you will have black bars on the sides. This is perfectly normal. If they were to re-scan the source material to present it in 16:9 you'd be now stuck with around 400 lines of source resolution and it would be ugly, so either zoom in on it or please hold your tongue...this is as good as it gets.

Now for the juice - Chuck Ainlay has gone back to the original master tapes and done an amazing re-mastering of Alchemy as well as an amazing multi-channel surround mix, mastering to 24-bit/96kHz and encoded using the dts Master Audio codec, which is of course lossless.

The surround mix is enveloping and accurately reflects the feel of a live concert. Every single nuance of the performance seems to come across with delightful clarity, from the subtleties of Private Investigations to the all out rock and roll of Sultans of Swing. Until now the best I've ever heard Alchemy sound is on the original German vinyl pressing, but I have a new favourite and it is this Blu-ray disc.

Whether you kick the lights and TV off and flick your receiver into a PURE DIRECT mode, shut your eyes and float away into this amazing concert or watch it at the same time, this one will be sure to be in constant rotation for a long time to come. Alas this isn't the pristine 1080p24 16:9 35mm transfer that I'm sure people would love to see, but with the elements available I think we're very lucky to finally have such an incredible audio presentation of this truly wonderful performance.

Thanks Universal Music and thanks Chuck Ainlay...and of course thanks to Dire Straits, you still rock as hard in 2010 as you did in 1983.

Hi Folks,

this just arrived and while Amazon.com claims its run time is 60 minutes its actually 1:30 for the concert another bit for a couple of classic TV appearances and another hour for a very cool documentary which is archival quality not something produced recent...so I feel pretty darned happy for my 12 dollar investment indeed!!

Whether I would upgrade to blu-ray is debatable....the picture is not poor but its of its age and not something perhaps benefited by that format...

Jump on this one folks!!!

The sound is great in DTS 5.1 surround. Yes, the video is poor for BluRay. That is the problem with modern technology, it blows away 1983 technology. If you were watching this on your 1983 TV it would be GREAT. I am sure for a $1,000,000 you could fix the video, but then the price point would be much higher. And for an old catalog item like this, not likely to go triple platinum on BluRay, I am sure the producers weren't going for that. I bought it without regard to the 1 star reviews and am quite pleased with my purchase.

The PQ is rubbish - 4:3, incredibly grainy, noisy, soft, lots of camera dirt - even one camera has a (large) hair or something on it and very distracting when that camera is used for closeups.

The AQ is superb, crystal clear - 96khz, massive use of the surrounds, really feels like you are there. lots of crowd noise and the actual music itself sounds awesome and the vocals are always very clear. A surprising amount of low end as well. Really stunning audio, which makes up for the horrible video.

...but I love this Blu-Ray's image. As some people already pointed out, it was filmed in 16 mm film under low light conditions. That explains the amount of grain and the hair you can see intruding in some shots. The point is: after all this is film, the colors and the black levels are superior. I add to this something very personal: I LOVE film grain. To me, it is much more beautiful than any digital video artifact. It makes the image feel warmer, and the whole experience of the concert more moving.

The audio mix is, of course, superb. I only have one problem with it: some important piano parts in Once upon a Time in the West are almost unheardable here. Otherwise, quite perfect. Nice bass level.

REVIEW OF THE REGULAR DVD Version (not the blu-ray) : WAY overdue on DVD, and despite its flaws - namely, limitations of the source film and the famous stray 'hair' in front of one of the cameras, that was just as annoying in the mid-80's as it is now), Dire Straits' "Alchemy" is really an essential concert film that any fan of real/honest-to-goodness TALENT should see. What a novelty in today's music scene - a band that could actually PLAY their instruments. This should be required viewing/listening for today's young bands. The main concert runs around 90 minutes or so, and looks better than I remember it looking on MTV & my beat-up videotape from the 80's. Plus, there are songs here that were not on the one-hour edited tv version (Telegraph Road, Solid Rock). There's really not a bum note played here, and hilights are many - Knopfler's playing, Terry Williams' drumming, some excellent sax from Mel Collins, great keyboards from the very underrated Alan Clark, the closing "Going Home", among others. Sound is excellent, and nice extras here too - two early BBC appearance clips and an hour-long BBC documentary I'd never seen before, that appears to have been filmed around 1980 or so (during the rehearsals and recording of "Making Movies" while Pick Withers and David Knopfler were still in the lineup; there is a fair amount of live performance footage in this, from earlier shows). The blu-ray is pretty expensive, so if you're going to have a conniption over grain/etc. vis a vis the pricey cost of the blu-ray, then you should probably consider at least getting the regular version while it's relatively cheap, because this concert belongs in any serious rock collection. Accept the limitations in the interest of having this available to view again (though, it's too bad they didn't digitally remove that stray lens hair.......).

Alchemy is one of, if not my favorite live album/concert I have ever owned/heard. I have owned multiple versions of it, remasters etc, I want to get the SHM at some point or if it comes out on SACD so I can listen to the better quality outside of a Blu Ray player, that should give you an idea as to my bias in favor of this album.

First, anyone who gives this a con due to the video quality is a fool. The concert was filmed in 1983, do you really think its going to have video quality that equals today's current Blu Rays? If the video quality is a deciding factor in you purchasing this than just buy the CD as you wont appreciate the HD audio.

I really can't say anything actually negative about this remaster. This Bluray really does make an already immaculate performance sound immensely better. In fact, I may put it on right now. Playing on 1st generation PS3 over an Onkyo HT-S3300 (basic Onkyo HTiB setup but still performances AMAZING)

Get this Blu Ray, you will not regret it.

The dvd I received was excellent. It was part of one concert in 1983 prior to Money For Nothing. The hair was only on one camera and was on the last song. The camera shot was used four or five times. Not a big deal. I have three dvd's from 1985 concerts that have really good audio. I guess they are considered bootleg.
While the video doesn't compare to this DVD. it is good enough because the music is the thing. A Knofler fan should buy this DVD.