Customer Reviews

Petula Clark - A Sign of the Times

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Not only is the concert, "A Sign of the Times" fabulous, but the
extra biographical history at the end of the tape is absolutely
priceless and a real must for any Petula fan. Also, the concert
portion is filled with not only her live performance in Norfolk,
Va.in 2000, but it shows her performing her hits from the 60's on different TV shows, such as Ed Sullivan, Hullabaloo, Lloyd Thaxton, Carol Burnett, Dean Martin & more, then goes back to her performing live on stage. Also included are home movies of her, Claude and the children. There is no money value that could
possibly be put on this tape for any Petula Clark fan. Highlights of the tape are "Color My World", "Who Am I", "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love", "Downtown", "Tell Me it's Not True", and a beautiful song, "Here for You". It's a must have for sure. Don't miss out on this one. Truly a fabulous tribute to a legendary performer, and a great gift to her fans. Don't forget to watch past the concert for more footage and Petula talking about her life, family, acting, and of course, singing.

Unfortunately, the concert portion of this DVD is almost painful to watch. Pet seems to be struggling with her notes on many of her 60's classics (although she hits the high notes on such Broadway fare as "Tell Me it's Not True" without breaking a sweat), and this distressing performance is only exacerbated by her shockingly unkempt appearance. Straggly hair, unflattering makeup, and the ugliest costumes ever to grace a major celebrity stand in stark contrast to the svelte, swingin' Pet of the Sixties that we see in cruelly contrasting footage.

On the plus side, this DVD features a fascinating documentary on Pet's life and career, which is endlessly entertaining. Also, the bonus FULL LENGTH clips from "The Ed Sullivan Show," "The Hollywood Palace" and Pet's own TV specials are worth the price of the DVD alone. Now, that's what we'd really love to see: a collection of Pet's classic performances from those great variety shows of yore.

Petula can still dredge up her old power and clarity, on record and in person. Sadly, when this concert was recorded, she was not at the top of her form. Buy this DVD for the "extras."

For any of the negative remarks anyone has said about this you have to ask yourself, "When will you ever get another chance to own a copy of Petula Clark in concert?" But, it is more than just a "no other choice" option, it is a fine piece of entertainment. I certainly do not accept Petula is not in fine form--both body and voice. The way she sings her songs during the concert are not carbon copies of the 60's originals played on the radio or on your "Greatest Hits" CD, but are performed wonderfully nonetheless, and a couple even better than the originals. The old clips from television appearances are great during the segment about her life, and I enjoyed the cutting in of a clip of Petula singing her songs during the 60's during the concert; it was a nice comparative glimpse. And rather than showing any voice deterioration it proves that she still has that strong, pure voice that made her world famous. If you like Pet, get it and enjoy it for whatever it is worth.

As a long-time Petula fan, I must say I was a little perturbed by some of the comments above on Pet's unkempt appearance and trouble reaching high notes. After watching this concert, the verdict is... I agree. Some of those outfits are really ugly, especially that gold lame number which is way too big on her. And what's with the false eyelashes? They are so thick she can hardly keep her eyes open!

But... on the plus side, Pet still has that magic that has endeared her to millions of fans around the world. I also bought the CD of this concert and when you listen to that, you don't hear the strain in her voice that for some reason is evident when you watch the video. Her renditions of the songs from Les Miz,and Blood Brothers are superb. And by the way, who is the idiot that decided to leave out her incredible rendition of "With One Look" from Sunset Boulevard?? This is outrageous, considering that it IS included on the CD of the same concert.

All in all, get this DVD, by all means, the extras included are a treasure you don't want to miss.

Someone must have thought the idea was brilliant and, in fact, the concept is an interesting one - film a contemporary concert with British superstar Petula Clark, then edit it by intercutting her present day performance with clips of her singing the same songs on various variety shows televised in the 1960s. Unfortunately, Clark was not in top form for the two concerts that closed the Virginia Arts Festival in Spring 2001 and were captured on film for broadcast by PBS late last year, and her weaknesses are even more pronounced when compared to her work thirty-plus years ago. (This is not to say she's past her prime, since her performance in concert in Long Beach in January 2002 was brilliant - and should have been the one to be captured on film.) Cutting back and forth between Clark "now" (dressed in a succession of unflattering ensembles, with her hair a mass of disheveled curls, she frequently struggles to reach or sustain notes) and "then" (with her powerful voice wrapping itself around notes with such clarity that you can hear her dot her "i"s and cross her "t"s) ultimately leaves the viewer wanting to see more of the old black-and-white clips and less of the recent performance. Guests Lou Rawls and Richard Carpenter contribute some pleasant moments, but with much of their appearances left on the cutting room floor, their inclusion here seems almost superfluous. Far more interesting is the 30-minute documentary that chronicles Clark's incredible life and career, now in it's sixty-second year, that is tacked on at the end of the concert portion and added an extra star to my review. Even non-diehard fans will find this section - with its rare clips and commentary by fellow artists who have shared the stage with her in the past - to be a fascinating portrait of a true superstar. If only her performance here could have offered better testament to the fact that Petula Clark is truly deserving of the title "show biz legend."

I think several of you who put Petula down need to take a closer look. I just bought this and watched it over the New Year and I thought it was absolutely great! It makes me look more forward to seeing her in concert in March 2007. I think in these reviews there is a great loss of respect and understanding - she sounds wonderful for her age and it's great that she's even still touring! So anybody debating whether to buy this or not, I definitely think you should go for it. The concert and bonus features on this DVD are worth it!!

I SPENT TODAY WATCHING AND RE-WATCHING PETULA...I FELT LIKE I WAS BACK AT PICADILLY SQUARE.

GREAT ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE, AND PHOTOS FROM HER CHILDHOOD AS A STAR SINGING IN WWII WARTIME LONDON.

PET HAD HER FIRST BIG CHART SONG APPROX 1954 IN THE UK--PRIOR TO "DOWNTOWN" IN THE USA/1964.

THIS DVD EXHIBITS OVER 50 YEARS OF A CAREER SPANNING SEVERAL CONTINENTS AND BELOVED FANS WORLDWIDE.

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR HER RENDITION OF "SUNSET BOULEVARD" WHICH SHE PERFORMED ON BROADWAY FOR I THINK 9 MONTHS IN THE STATES.

PET ALSO SANG TO WWII SOLDIERS TO BOLSTER THEIR SPIRITS--- BEFORE MOST OF US LEARNED OF HER IN 1964. I WAS 13 WHEN I FIRST HEARD "DOWNTOWN" AND DREAMED OF THE FUN IN LARGE CITIES LIKE TIMES SQUARE, BRITISH PHONE BOOTHS IN PICADILLY SQUARE AND DOUBLE DECKER BUSES:)

LOTS OF FUN LOOKING BACK AT THOSE BRITISH "BRITTANIA" LOGOS (REMEMBER THE "PATCHED/QUILTED JEANS" WE WORE:) AND THE "BRITTANIA" T-SHIRTS AND LOGOS ON ALL SORTS OF LATE SIXTIES AND SEVENTIES MERCHANDISE?:)

PET HAS A NEW COMPILATION OUT 4/15/03....I THINK THIS MAY BE THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION:) I LOCATED IT AT BN BUT NOT AMZ.COM?

REMEMBER, PETULA APPEARED IN "FINIANS RAINBOW" AND "GOODBYE MR. CHIPS" WITH PETER O'TOOLE ....HOPE BOTH MOVIES ARE PUT ON DVD:)

THANKS PET FOR ALL THE JOY AND HAPPINESS YOU HAVE GIVEN THE WORLD AND NOW AGAIN ON DVD:)

The concert portion was filmed at the Virginia Arts Festival in Norfolk in 2001, apparently for PBS (although I have never seen it on our PBS station). Petula was born before WWII, so many who remember her from the 60's will be dismayed or shocked at her current style of clothes and hair. I wish there were more of her great songs on the concert portion. As some of the background indicated, she has a distinctive voice and one would instantly recognize who was singing if one closed their eyes. She sings some songs with Lou Rawls and Richard Carpenter but otherwise she sings her trademark songs, with orchestra and choral backing. There are some very nice background pieces in the supplemental information, and clips from appearances on TV programs in the 60's and 70's, and a complete listing of her works through 2001. In her concert presentation, close your eyes and the words seamlessly blend into clips from the past, although your ears will tell a change in the quality of the sound. If you are a fan of Petula, you will probably appreciate this update to her career. If only for the music, then check out some of her released material for perhaps better sounding music, and perhaps older material. After listening to the DVD, I popped a vinyl record of her songs that I had in the 1960's, and relived some memories.

I really enjoyed the overall content of this DVD. Not only does it capture a recent Pet. in concert, but it also features a nice look back at her life and career. With many 'flashbacks' to 60's/70's TV, and 'special' performances with stars such as Andy Williams, Peggy Lee, and the great Dean Martin. It's very good quality, and excellent value for money.

There is and has never been a female vocalist and entertainer like Pet Clark. She has proved her versatility and range for over 60 years. It's about time she arrived on DVD. Unfortunately, her talents are not well showcased in the main concert portion of this release. As another reviewer pointed out, she has sounded better in the past, and even now she can still belt it out on a good night. I saw her perform in SUNSET BOULEVARD, and she never failed to reach the high notes, nor did she strain the way she seemed to at the Norfolk concert taped for the disc.

Particularly disappointing is the vey poor transfer to DVD from the master tape. Viewed on a large screen, the resolution is quite poor -- fuzzy on closeups, downright ugly at distance shots. There is no 16x9 enhancement for widescreen TVs, yet the concert presentation is in widescreen. This leaves even less screen for picture information, and the result is just sad.

The segments from the old TV appearances and even recent interviews with Pet are much sharper by comparison. Somebody really dropped the ball on this one. Too bad, because nobody popular in the 60's besides THE BEATLES has ever deserved a DVD time capsule more. Still, this is probably the best we will get for a long time, and the price is right. Pet Clark fans will certainly not want to skip the title, but they'll wish it was better.