Customer Reviews

Hall & Oates: Live at the Troubadour [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It hardly seems as though thirty-five years have passed since Daryl Hall and John Oates played The Troubadour. These gentlemen are like a fine wine - they get better with age! If you are looking for a cookie cutter recording of the songs you know and love, this CD may not be right for you. That being said, I submit to you that with the new arrangements and instrumentation found on this CD, your favorite songs will sound better than ever!
What is apparent to the listener is the fact that the vocal performances and harmonies are stronger and more intense than ever before. In addition, the multi-faceted and extremely talented T-Bone Wolk and Charlie DeChant shine bright during this performance.
As for the DVD part of the package... I cannot give it such high reviews. The editor on the project has seen fit to jam the performance full of extremely quick cuts - enough to cause the viewer to need a dose of Dramamine. There are blatant mis-synched shots where Daryl doesn't even look like he's singing the same song as being played. I am aware that this was a two night, best of, compilation. But, I believe that any of their single song performances would have served the viewer better than what was slapped together. It was a good effort, but I feel more of the performance electricity by listening to the CD than watching the DVD.
If you are a die hard fan that HAS to see the performance in order to take away the magic, then buy the combo. If you are truly a music aficionado, and simply want to envelop yourself in the joy that is "Hall and Oates," then the CD is the way to go.
For me, listening to "When the Morning Comes," brings me back to a moment in time when a young child fell in love, simply by turning on her AM radio.
So during this season of giving, I thank Daryl and John (and all that encompass Hall and Oates)for continually sharing their gift with all of us!

I just picked this up used at my local record store (yes, we have a couple where I live...envy me!) and I'm not sure why I did but boy am I glad!

Its a very "unplugged" sort of treatment..which I favor over electronica anyway...and the songs really are not hidden behind too much production but the band is very very good.

nearly 20 songs are played 2 hours (much better than all the 1 hour half shows on DVD these days) and Halls voice is still very very good..blue eyed soul. The bonus interviews are also a nice touch..

If you are a fan this should be a "buy it now"...if your not, I'm not sure why you are reading but this would be a good DVD to start with and you will find you know more of these songs than you thought you did! I believe Hall and Oates officially passed Simon & Garfunkel as the most popular duo of all time many many years ago...and all I mention that for is to note they did have a serious string of hits!

First things first: The performance on this disc is fantastic. Any H&O fan is going to love it. It's been thirty years, and their voices have mellowed, but not weakened. They always had impeccable harmonies, and that's still very much true. From an instrumental perspective, the acoustic nature of the performance allows for some really neat things, arrangement-wise. They've updated the arrangements of some of their classics with great results.

Anyone who is familiar with Daryl Hall's monthly webcast, Live From Daryl's House (http://www.livefromdarylshouse.com) will be familiar with the format of the performance and the players. In fact, at times this concert feels more like an episode of LFDH with special guest John Oates. Daryl has always been the frontman and featured player, but John has such a beautiful, mellow voice, I found myself wishing they had featured him more often (check out the most recent episode of LFDH where John was a guest...his tracks are beautiful). After 30-something years, there's still quite a bit of magic left in these two. I just wish they would give us some new stuff.

For as terrific as the music and performance are, whoever edited the video of the performance should be ashamed of themselves, tested for drugs, banned from ever using editing equipment again...take your pick. There are multiple instances during every song where the audio and video just DO NOT SYNC UP. These aren't artistic edits either...the video is just slightly ahead or behind the audio. It feels like there was no time track for them to use to match up the audio and video. The band would have been better served using the same crew that does the webcasts. If they did use the same crew, then they were waaaay off their game on this one. What makes it frustrating is that as fans, we've waited for ages for a new DVD release, and errors like these take away some of the lustre of the disc.

Please don't get me wrong. I'm still very happy with this purchase. It's just that the video issues keep this from being perfect. Even a casual H&O fan is going to love this disc. This performance serves notice that they've still got "it", and hopefully this will lead to some fresh material from them in the future.

Great performance but the aprox 1 second out of sync between the sound and the screen is inexcusable.

In working for the Philadelphia Spectrum for 27 years,We had every act you could imagine some not so nice and then you have probably the nicest performers we ever had there Hall and oats.You know there are always acts that sound nothing like they do and you want that sound when you see them,Hall and Oats never had to worry about that they have never lost the great voices and talent that took them to the top in the 80,s.I,am so thankful to have met and became friends with them back when they were starting out and I cherish the pictures I have with them,they are a class act.They might not be originally from Philly but there and South Jersey Think they are the best.
Thanks Darryl and John you always made the Spectrum come alive and this release shows why.
Scott Denny

After reading all the Postive Reviews on this BR
I bought it and I Completely agree with everyone
Regarding this Live Show on BR
It's a Must have Concert with Stunning True HD 5.1 Audio
Great PQ it was shot beautifully at times u feel like u are in the front row

The performance was Flawless
5 Star Set of 19 Classic Songs
Daryl Hall and John Oats still make great music and still to this day
Don't get Nearly enough Credit for there work
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame needs to watch this Show and Induct them in the Hall of Fame

Best Concert BR Disc I've watched so far
It surprised me, Better then expected
10/10

For some reason the producers of concert videos think they have to do MTV type cut backs every 5 seconds from one thing to another. Dont these guys understand that the constant video jumping around gives people a headache? Beside that this is a great DVD and worth having. They play a small club and the intimacy comes through in the concert. All of their best hits are in here and a few of their newer songs that Ive never heard are also really good. If you are H&O fans youll enjoy the video once you get past the constant cutting back and forth. I cant believe John Hall is 65 yrs old. He looks 50 in this video!

desde muy chavo fui a fiestas de los 80¨s Daryl Hall & John Oates crearon un estilo bien definido dificil de olvidar, el video consta de las canciones mas famosas , (claro...algunos añitos despues) pero con igual profesionalismo, relamente vale la pena revivir esta musica, la compra significo una verdadera inversion.

What can I say to do these two justice. Very strong voices, sound better than ever. A pleasure to listen to and watch perform.

I have always been a fan even when it was uncool to like them,living in Australia I hadn't heard anything about them for 20 years,I just happened to see it on the shelf,bought it went home and was blown away,These guy's are Artist's of the highest calibre,they have stripped back the Technology and play those great songs in a basic Band format,the Musicianship is incredible,the harmonies are up there with the Eagles,Daryl Hall is one of the Greatest Singer Songwriter's to ever walk this Planet,This is one of the Best Music DVD'S out there,Sound and Picture Quality are excellent.I have since bought there two other DVD'S,Our Kind of Soul and Live in Concert, but feel Live at the Troubadour is the best of the Three,I have already worn out my first copy of this DVD.GO buy it and enjoy it.I would love to see Daryl Hall and Michael Mcdonald do a duet.