Customer Reviews

Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) - Zoom Tour Live [VHS]

5 star:		(127)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

In what can only be described as an amazing compensation gift for having their tour cancelled, ELO's DVD literally pulls all the right strings. Being a lifelong fan of ELO after first seeing them on The Midnight Special belting out "In the Hall of the Mountain King", I have followed them religiously and was lucky enough to see them live on 3 separate tours. I even bit the bullet and saw ELO 2 a couple of years ago. I have clung to the hope for the last 9 or 10 years that Jeff Lynne would put out some of his own music for a change and my dream was realized earlier this year with the release of the wonderful Zoom. Although the record was horribly marketed as well as the subsequent ill-fated tour, my enthusiasm for the new music was not abated. In what can be considered a gift from the rock gods, this DVD will surely be a prized possession for years to come. The great surprise of this DVD is that Jeff Lynne has only improved upon his immense talent with the passing of time. Not only does he look like he still in a 1970's timewarp with his trademark fro, goatee and shades, his voice and musicianship have never been better. His singing is unparalleled and he hits every note flawlessly. He even displays some real guitar chops on hits like Ma Ma Belle and Roll Over Beethoven. His singing on Moment in Paradise, Can't Get it Out of My Head, Telephone Line and the surprising addition of One Summer Dream literally left me teary-eyed and speechless. The new band's playing is superlative and in my opinion, come the closest to duplicating ELO's studio sound I have ever heard from any incarnation of the band. There's a generous serving of hits scattered throughout the set and a bunch of new songs from Zoom. My only complaint, would have been to jettison a few of the weak songs like Easy Money and State of Mind from Zoom and to have inserted a few other hits. I know, they didn't perform Fire on High or Getting to the Point but the addition of those 2 favorite songs of mine would have really put it over the top for me. After getting my big screen TV and home theater system last year, I have become quite enamored at collecting rock concert DVDs like Talking Heads "Stop Making Sense" and The Moody Blues "Hall of Fame". But, I always longed for a state of the art ELO DVD to complete the set. The Live at Wembley disc just doesn't cut it because of the antiquated recording technology used then which sounds so hollow compared to today's digital quality. To me this DVD is important because it captures Lynne at his zenith and I will always have this moment captured in time forever to watch while I become a decrepit old man. This is truly a great show and I hope Lynne continues to record and perhaps launch a more modest and carefully marketed tour in the near future.

When I bought the Zoom CD, I was initially a bit disappointed. It was clearly a Jeff Lynne solo album rather than an ELO extravaganza, although he still hadn't lost the knack of writing a great melody. This CD has since grown on me and I now love it. "Ordinary Dream" must be just about the best song he's ever written.

In the light of all this, I bought the Zoom DVD with some hesitation. I needn't have worried. Recorded in front of a live audience at Television City in LA, Lynne's adopted home, it is a wonderfully understated surprise. It is a magnificently laid back event for which Lynne has surrounded himself with true professional musicians, including a couple of cellos and not forgetting the rather attractive, almost Stevie Nicks like Rosie Vela on harmonies. Only Richard Tandy on keyboards survives the original band, looking as though he's turned up from his day job in the City to play with his mate.

The thing that strikes me the most is the power and perfect pitch of Lynne's voice. I did wonder how this would carry live, having been used to hearing it blended in with echo and special sound effects in the glossy productions of his heyday in the lates 70's. However, he really does have a great voice and it does make me think whether he has fully exploited this asset in the past. He has in fact got the potential to be a great blues singer.

It's hard to pinpoint why I find this concert so satisfying. It is all quite static. The music is delivered through an almost session music medium in a relatively intimate venue. Some of the special effects of the originals are sacrificed in this environment. I suppose as would describe it as the "Jeff Lynne Band plays ELO". I think this is why it works. It's all about the the music and the voice, not the production, and it is clearer than ever, that this man's melodies stand up in their own right. In fact they benefit from being more exposed in this way. There isn't a weak one here, old or new, and at around 90 minutes this is great value.

Jeff Lynne enhances the experience with a bit of humour and, still hidden behind permed hair, beard and shades, he doesn't look any different.

This is a 5 star experience, a wonderfully understated surprise.

I was an ELO fan from day one... always have been, always will be. OK... so Jeff and Richard Tandy (piano, keyboards) are the only original members of ELO to be found. I would defy anyone to distinguish this incarnate from the original ELO sound. Jeff Lynne is a genius and his genius shows through in ZOOM. To one who thinks Jeff has no stage presence, I say some performers are visual, i.e. Cher, Tina Turner, Rod Stewart. Some need only to be heard to be appreciated, i.e. Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne. When did you ever see Jeff animated and bouncing around on the stage? And to one who thinks the dts production to be poor, both the audio and video on my dvd are very near the quality of the Eagles, "Hell Freezes Over"...which we can all agree is THE standard. If you were never an ELO fan take a pass on this one. The ELO sound just doesn't capture today's audience, which is why the ZOOM tour failed (along with the worst marketing in the history of the world). If you are an ELO fan, this is as good as it will ever get...BUY IT

I won't go into an overabundance of detail here because I'm sure most of you know about ELO and their history. Jeff Lynne is an extraordinary pop-rock composer who never ceases to amaze me with his transition through so many eras, yet he has a uniquely identifiable sound.

The Zoom concert is pristine quality with a more intimate feel than the huge stage shows of the 70's and the broad range of material actually comes across as well in this setting.

I do miss the presence of Bev Bevan and especially the harmony vocals of Kelly Groucutt in this latest incarnation. Those guys were so underrated to the sound in my opinion though Jeff could've been fooling us on all those albums.

Great sound, excellent tight performances and the music shines above all even if I just can't reconcile a bunch of session musicians and a cocktail waitress playing along with Jeff.

Richard Tandy shines as well with some incredible keyboard playing. He is a master. If you don't believe it, go back and listen to the "Time" cd. He is great here too from laying down the spacey textures to some straight-ahead southern rock boogie woogie lines.

I completely recommend this DVD especially in light of what most people are passing off as music these days. Jeff Lynne is dedicated to craft and that is rare these days in a pop music genre.

Back in the day (late 70's, early 80's) if you were lucky when you went to a concert, you got to see not only a great musical performance, but a SHOW. Unbelievable, lighting, special effects, along with a tight, sober band playing at the top of their game, made for an experience you never forgot.

NOBODY, and I mean NOBODY could hold a candle to Electric Light Orchestra. The stage show wasn't a prop, but an intergral part of the experience. Nowdays, if you get a band with a strobe and black curtains everyone goes nuts. Record labels say the cost is just too high to put on a show like that anymore. That's why you need this DVD.

The sound is awesome, the camera work is tight, and so is the band. The 24 song set includes all your favorites, and some new material as well. I'm jumping up and down in my living room, and the neighbors think I'm nuts.

Jeff Lynne has only one peer in pop music, and his name is Paul McCartney. This is a great showcase for a great time, and if you even remotely ever liked one ELO song, you'll kick yourself for not owning this.

If you saw the ELO show, and especially if you didn't, you need this video.

When Jeff Lynne decided to re-launch his good old Electric Light Orchestra with original keyboardist Richard Tandy and a bunchload of new friends, the media completely unnoticed it. Anyway, Jeff released the brilliant album "Zoom", and, surprisingly, decided also to promote it live. The fan base probably never believed that such a thing would have ever happened again, especially since Lynne's reluctancy towards live music (because of the difficulty in reproducing properly the intrincate ELO studio sound on stage).
But Lynne decided to surprised the world by announcing his "Zoom tour 2001", which launched at the CBS studios, with the recording of this DVD. Lynne goes through the many styles showcased by the Electric Light Orchestra through the years, performing almost every hit from the 70's, both faithfully and currently. The sound quality is amazing (the DTS 5.1 surround mix will blow your mind), and the performance itself is flawless.
Lynne, with his new backup band (girlfriend/vocalist Rosie Vela, keyboardist Richard Tandy, bassist Matt Bisonnette, drummer Gregg Bisonnette, guitarist/keyboardist Marc Mann and cellists Sarah O'Brien and Peggy Baldwin), are able to go through all the most classic compositions by the band (written by Lynne himself), tastefully combined with some of the newest compositions from "Zoom", and definitely surpass (by far) every previous incarnation's concert videos that are currently available, either by the 70's ELO (the poor sound/image quality "Out Of The Blue Tour Live At Wembley" comes to mind), or by a certain tribute band of the 90's who performed in Sydney with a full orchestra under the "Part II" tag.
And, for those who were afraid of Lynne's vocal ability deteriorating throughout the years, rest assured that Jeff's voice is as skillful as ever (or perhaps much more).
If you are a fan of ELO, past or present, you can't go wrong with this DVD. It's the best filmed/best performed/best sound-quality wise Electric Light Orchestra live document ever delivered. It was about time that a live DVD could do the band justice.

Let me start by saying that this DVD is a must for any ELO fan. It has many hits covering a span of years dating back to 1972. Jeff Lynne still has it, by gosh! The audio is the best for a concert recording I've heard in a while in 5.1 DTS and 5.1 Digital Surround. The video is crisp and is enhanced for wide screen TV's. It looks great on 65 inch wide screen, to say the least. All of the songs were played faithfully to the way they were originally recorded. This is probably the best thing besides actually being there. I still hold out hopes that there may still be a tour at some point.

Like a lot of rabid ELO fans, I jumped at this DVD at the first opportunity. Jeff Lynne returns to the live stage hot on the heels of his album "Zoom". He has put together an interesting mix of old and new faces with keyboardist Richard Tandy the only survivor from the original years to put in an appearance. Lynne's current girlfriend Rosie Vella does her best hippy impression by swaying an awful lot whilst providing excellent backing vocals. The rhythm section is as tight as one could want (the drummer even using a fire extinguisher at one point!) and the small but highly attractive cello section rounds out the ensemble. The setlist is pretty good with the expected plundering of new material dotted throughout the set which has heavy emphasis on the "Out Of The Blue" and "New World Record" albums. Sadly, the eighties have vanished in Lynne's eyes and albums such as "Time" and "Secret Messages" don't get a mention. This, in my mind, is the solitary drawback to this set. The sound is excellent and the picture good. I must admit that the moronic American crowd got on my nerves with a standing ovation after each number. Please guys, give it a break!!!!!

After working with the Wilburys, The Beatles and their various members. Jeff Lynne decided to reform ELO and brought along Richard Tandy the only former member to not go along with the lame Electric Light Orchestra Part Two project. Many people also don't seem to remember that Balance Of Power found only Jeff, Richard and Bev still in the band. This concert recorded on the first show of the band's Zoom tour is nothing short of excellent. Jeff and Richard are joined by a great backing group of performers and yes backing vocalist Rosie Vela is very pretty. The show mixes the band's most popular era(IE nothing after Discovery but something from Time would've been nice) along with several great Zoom songs. Alright, Easy Money and State Of Mind have become favorites although I like all the songs on the DVD. In fact, it was after watching this that I bought Zoom. The new songs fit well with old classics like Do Ya, Can't Get It Out Of My Head and Mr. Blue Sky. This is a classic DVD and belongs in anyone's collection who loves great music.

I was lucky enough to be at the taping of this DVD (well, the DVD is actually taken from two night's worth of shows, I was only at one of the two shows which were identical).

The concert features ELO's leader Jeff Lynne with a newly revamped ELO lineup. The planned 2001 tour was cancelled unfortunately, but this DVD was released despite the cancellation. It's sad that fans had to deal with a consolation prize, but this DVD is about the best consolation possible.

I am firmly of the belief that Jeff Lynne IS ELO. Apart from the first ELO album which was a collaboration between Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne, the rest of ELO's catalog is almost completely written, produced, and sung by Lynne. Anybody who tries to complain that this 2001 version of ELO is somehow not authentic enough is ignoring the fact that Lynne endured numerous personell changes over the years, precisely because ELO was basically his own project which could have just as easily been released under the name "Jeff Lynne."

The rather mediocre faux-ELO lineup that toured and recorded a few albums in the 90's as "ELO Part II" without Lynne is a testament to how important Lynne's songwriting, production, and vocals were and are. Note the prominent placement of Lynne's name on the cover of this DVD to alert potential consumers that this DVD is not one of the cheap "ELO Part II" productions.

This show mixes tracks from the 2001 "Zoom" album (which doesn't feature this live band; the "Zoom" album is pretty much Lynne solo with some guest spots from others) with plenty of ELO hits and a few relatively obscure gems (i.e. "One Summer Dream"). Lynne put together a band here that performs the all of the numbers impeccably. Lynne's voice is in top shape, which is an increasing rarity among so-called "aging classic rock" acts.

The DVD presentation is top-notch as well, with a great picture shot in high-definition, an excellent 5.1 mix (available in DTS and Dolby Digital) as well as a short interview with Lynne and a few interviews with fans waiting to get into the show.

This is about as perfect as a DVD can get. It's a great presentation of a great concert. It's too bad the band never got to go out on tour. Hopefully Lynne will once again resurrect ELO for another album and tour.