Customer Reviews

Godsmack - Live [UMD for PSP]

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The band should demand a refund from the company they hired to make this DVD.

Sound: For about half the concert I was wondering what was up with the sound. Then the camera panned way back, and I saw the mic hanging from the ceiling. Yup, it appears that they just put a mic in the audience and recorded the sound that way. Certainly sounds like it. Yes, this disc "features" DTS, but for the first time that I've encountered, DTS sounds significantly WORSE than Dolby 5.1. To top it off, the 5.1 is mostly name only - it doesn't seem that much effort was actually made separating sounds that should be on the left from those on the right, or in the back, etc.

Why did they not go through the mixing board for the sound? I can't even begin to imagine. For those that wrote that there is nothing wrong with the sound, it is just the way a live show sounds, compare the sound of this disc to an excellent live DVD, such as Metallica's S&M, or U2's all that you can't leave behind. You can capture sound from a live concert, and not have the end product a muddy mess.

Worse than the sound, however, was the complete lack of care that the producers took to capture the feeling of the concert. I highly doubt they had even been to a show before they filmed. It looked like they were trying to make a music video, a bunch of sweeping shots, weird angles, etc. Except that they managed to universally miss the points of interest. You would hardly know that there were pyrotechnics, video displays or anything else in the concert. Looking at the other music stuff Image Entertainment has done (Tribute to Brian Wilson, Doors VH1 special, the Who live) is it really any surprise that they had no idea how to capture this concert?

And special features? What? Interviews, road videos, behind the scenes, interviews with the director of the concert, music videos, etc. Don't waste your time looking for them. They ain't here.

Worst of all, this disc completely failed to capture the essence of the concert. NIN's "and all that could have been" practically bleeds emotion (perhaps this is an unfair standard for other DVD's to live up to) but Godsmack's bleeds blasé. There is no emotion, there is no attempt made to tailor this concert to Godsmack. Had any other band been up there, I get the sense it would have been filmed and edited exactly the same.

I like the band, but this DVD is not worth the money.

I just recieved this DVD in the mail today and I've already watched it twice. This live DVD by Godsmack is ubelievable, it is just like being at one of their concerts without the mosh. As for the people who been giving this DVD lower ratings then what it is worth because of sound, you have to think that is LIVE. Even if you like Godsmack only a litte this DVD will rock your world and make you want to go see them in concert. There is only one thing to say about this DVD; The best concert DVD/video ever. I especially love the "whatever" version they have on here. Other music videos I have watch such as the Linkin Park one don't come close to the same intensity as this.

Well, I'm glad to see others had problems with the audio too. I thought maybe I had something wrong here...

Most of the problems are with the vocals... the center channel mix should have been a lot louder. I tried both the Dolby Digital and DTS tracks and had the same problem. I turned up the center channel +8db and that seemed to help some, but still not totally satisfactory for a DVD these days. I have TV shows on my TiVo that have GodSmack playing live on them and they sound way better than this DVD.

I still like this DVD, but I sure wish the audio was better.

this dvd features clips from their explosive tour of the us with clips from behind the scenes into all the way into the crowd , godsmack puts on an excellent live show everytime and "Godsmack Live" is just like the real thing!

Without a doubt, Godsmack puts on an incredible concert. It's very high energy. The band members are excellent performers; however, you can't hear the vocals. Even when Sully addresses the crowd, his words are distorted and virtually inaudible. It's quite unfortunate because, if the vocals were clearer, I would rate this DVD a lot higher.

The DVD is enjoyable only as a result of the overall energy that comes blasting through the speakers.

For superior sound, listen to their Changes DVD. That is incredible. And, I do mean incredible. Unfortunatley, even that DVD has a flaw, the concert footage is broken up by interviews, and the song Voodoo is trampled on by interviews.

If this Live DVD had the sound quality of the Changes DVD, it would be one of the best concert films ever. But, it doesn't.

It's a shame...

Rather than repeat what other reviewers have already written, I felt compelled to address the concern others have made regarding the sound and vocal quality. This DVD sounds like the audio was recorded off an open digital microphone rather than straight from the soundboard. It has a bit of an echo to it, and at times the vocals can get a little bit too low in the mix. Overall it is a great DVD, but not the highly produced and polished "platinum quality" sound that some people have maybe come to expect. I attended a Godsmack show on this tour, and this DVD is what it sounded like to be there. If you like the band you will love this DVD.

The sound is terrible! I love the music and I've worn out both of their CDs but the poor sound on this DVD has no power at all. Sully is almost inaudible. Godsmack ought to be embarrassed by this release. I can't even watch the whole thing because the poor sound is such a distraction. For those that say that this is true concert sound, I submit that a concert DVD out to sound like the first row not the last row. Save your money...it's not worth half the price.

If you already have the Changes DVD, you can pretty much skip this unless you are a big time Godsmack fan or want to see them performing more songs from Awake other than the title track. People say the audio is horrible. That is the major complaint from most reviewers and I have to agree, to an extent. The worst part of it is Sully's vocals. In this concert, his audio levels are way down. You really have to turn up your TV in order to hear him. However I noticed that his voice seems to become clearer and louder as you progressed through the concert or maybe that was my ears adjusting to the low volume. To simply put it, the worst part is the beginning and I swear I also hear a slight background ping in the beginning as well from the snare drum. Other then that problem, this is a pretty decent DVD and show from 2001. The largest problem however isn't even the fault of the DVD. If you have seen the Changes DVD, you will be spoiled by how flawless it is and will view this one as being a lame imitation. If you want to get Live and don't have changes yet, I advise you to buy this one first so you won't be so negative to it the first time you see it. Last comment: $23? I wouldn't pay that price unless my life depended on it. Go to a Best Buy, they have it for a shockingly low 6.29! Is that an unbelievable price difference or what? Well like I said if you are a big Godsmack fan check this out, otherwise you can skip it.

I feel the sound quality is very good, except for one thing. The vocals are too low. When Sully talks to the crowd you can hardly hear him over the cheering crowd. If the vocals were louder this would be one of the best live concerts ever shot. However, because of the low vocals Its just above average and this is coming from a huge godsmack fan, by the way the new DVD called changes, kicks this dvd ass. Except that the live songs are broken up with interviews in between. I would highly recommend changes over this dvd, only because the low vocals.

I saw Godsmack a few years ago, probably mid-2001, and I enjoyed myself at the concert, and while nothing's ever as good as the real thing, a DVD comex close. It's got all their hits ("Awake", "Greed", "Voodoo", "Keep Away", "Whatever") as well as some of my favorites ("Trippin'", Sick of Life", "Bad Religion") to keep me (and more than likely YOU) entertained. They always give a good performance and Sully does a good taking with the crowd during and in between songs.

The concert is 80 minutes, so it's well worth the price. I didn't even think about this until I read the other reviews, but a lot of people complain about the sound quality. As I said, I wouldn't have even thought about the sound quality because it sounded good to me, but then again, I was listening to it on headphones on the computer. But my only complaint is that there are absolutely no extras. But hey, the concert's the main point, and you get one hell of a main point.