Customer Reviews

The Strat Pack: Live in Concert

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Let's cut to the chase, shall we? The reason I obtained this dvd was because I love guitar and want to obtain the best guitar dvds out there. This DVD is pretty darn lame for a show that's supposed to be celebrating the Fender Stratocaster electric guitar on the occasion of it's 50th Anniversary, a huge milestone for a pop culture icon. There are basically two reasons to buy it: Gary Moore's incendiary tribute to Jimi Hendrix on "Red House," so hot it will melt your dvd player, and David Gilmour's three songs.

The rest is pretty tepid and the roster features some no-name talent that have NO Business being on that stage: Theresa Andersson!? Who? Yeah, she plays guitar, but she's a rhythm player. Jamie Cullum?! Who?! Nobody in his band even PLAYS guitar! What were these producers even thinking putting a keyboard band like this on the bill, LET ALONE the video? Amy Winehouse?! Who? She's a weak singer that can barely hold her own on Karoake Night at Billy Bob's BBQ-O-Rama and would got stomped by "American Idol's" Simon.

A few other fret-grinders play well: Hank Marvin (great version of "Sleepwalk"), Albert Lee, and Brian May. Paul Rodgers is in excellent voice. Joe Walsh slogs through four tunes, but his playing here cannot hold a candle to his monumental performance on Clapton's "Crossroad" Guitar concert DVD. He looks very tired and shagged out.

The All-Star jam at the end is awful, mostly because they chose a poor vehicle for guitar soloing, Rod Stewart's "Stay With Me."

Where were the rest of the Stratocaster greats? Ever hear of a guy named Eric Clapton? Fender even sells a Clapton Strat model. If I am organizing this show, I organize it around Clapton's schedule and I don't do it without him! How about Richie Blackmore, Yngvie Malmsteen, Jeff Beck (another guy you cannot do a Strat tribute show without), Mark Knopfler, and a slew of others I am no doubt forgetting.

The packaging for the DVD is so poor it bears commenting. The DVD's graphic design is incredibly weak...it drags the entire product into B-grade level. Staid and trite font choices along with cookie-cutter presentation of photos is at a quality level high school seniors can produce in a few days in Photoshop. The producers, Eagel Rock Productions, either were too cheap to hire real graphic designers and artists or their staffers need to go back to design school for a few more years.

The show has a very UK-bent to it (shot in the UK at London's Wembley Arena), which is odd since Fender is an American company. How you stage a production like this for such an important occasion in rock and pop culture without the requisite talent is beyond me. A much better value for your money is Clapton's "Crossroads" Concert DVD. All this being said, it bears repeating that Gary Moore's "Red House" really captures the spirit of the celebrated electric guitar and the event. The producers of this show at least go that right, and it's one of the greatest versions of "Red House" I've ever heard.

One can only hope when the 75th Anniversary of The Strat comes around, they look back on this terrible flop for the 50th and produce a show worthy of this great electric instrument.

Well the idea SOUNDED fantastic: Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Fender Stratocaster with a live concert featuring some of its greatest practitioners. Unfortunately somewhere between conceptualization and realization, things went horribly wrong. Now maybe I'm not aware of the logistics needed to pull off such an event, but even a monkey with a bag over his head could've picked a better set of names. I WILL give the organizers this though, they struck platinum when they landed David Gilmour, easily one of THE premiere guitar gods to be associated with the Strat (or ANY guitar for that matter). Likewise Gary Moore. Though considered a Les Paul man since 1990, Gary has abused quite a few strats throughout his hard rock/metal days so he easily qualifies. And to be fair, they supposedly had the legendary Jeff Beck signed as well (certainly another of the greatest EVER) but somehow managed to lose him in the end. From there, things rapidly deteriorated to the point of complete confusion. Where was Robin Trower?? It's been said that he's been staying close to home due to touring costs. And Ritchie Blackmore?? Couldn't anyone convince him to plug in again for just one night?? How about Mark Knopfler?? Buddy Guy?? What about young guns Joe Bonamassa, Chris Duarte, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd?? Didn't anyone think of buying Eric Johnson a plane ticket??? Unfortunately, oversights like these made for a rather disappointing show. If you're a guitar-playing music fan looking for strat players to show you how it's done, you'll have to wade through a lot of junk to get to the good stuff. But enough whining; here are the highlights:

For me, the whole reason to buy this DVD is David Gilmour, who took the stage to a standing ovation. The crowd was not disappointed. Although he looked a bit thrown off by the house band at times (some cues were missed by the band during the free time intros to two of the songs), once he settled in he just soared. Without question, of all the acts that night, Dave displayed the widest array of sonic possibilities a stratocaster can offer: bending strings; caressing the whammy bar; using volume swells; feedback touches; playing behind the nut; all the while blending lush liquid melodic lines with searing hot earth-shaking licks. I've certainly seen him perform these songs better, but even "mediocre Gilmour" is stunning. The next reason to pick this DVD up is Gary Moore. Another astounding player, Gary performed a barn burning version of Red House, taking his battered strat from hushed whispers to absolutely blazing runs in the blink of an eye. Like Gilmour, he demonstrated how much can be done with the instrument in his way-too-brief set (I highly recommend picking up his Live at Montreaux DVD as well as tracking down his two flawless out-of-print VHS shows). Other highlights include Hank Marvin, whose simple but silky lines decorated with light whammy bar touches really showcased the gorgeous pure tone of the stratocaster. His set was a nice surprise and clearly illustrated why he was such a hero to many of England's greatest players. Then there was Albert Lee who lit up an otherwise dull moment by pop/country act Theresa Anderson. Lee's flashy chicken pickin' during Country Boy was a brief highlight of this otherwise dreary set. Phil Manzenera was another nice surprise. He played a mid-tempo instrumental with a slight Eastern flavor, taking advantage of the strat's tremolo bar. I would've liked to have heard more.

The extras here include interviews with some of the performers reminiscing about their first encounter with the Fender Strat and how it changed them. I found this segment rather enjoyable. If you are a guitar player yourself, you will likely relate to a lot of the comments and may develop a sudden urge to go shopping for a 2-tone sunburst strat with a blonde neck.

So bottom line, is this worth it? Well like most "star studded" concert discs, you will likely watch the full show once and then find yourself just jumping around to your favorite cuts later on. How many cuts are worth jumping to is obviously up to your own personal taste. All in all this is basically a fair DVD that could've been miles better. As a final thought, if you're on the fence and need just one good reason to drop some cash on this, remember that the proceeds go to Nordoff-Robbins Musical Therapy. And that's not a bad reason at all.

I finally picked up a copy of this DVD as a Gary Moore fan after reading the mixed reviews here on amazon. This concert, somewhat similiar to Eric Clapton's Crossroads guitar festival, has recieved some negative reviews here mostly because of the guitarists who were not included in the show. I judged this show by the performances in it instead of worrying about who was left out and I wasn't disappointed. Despite the absence of Eric Clapton and a few others I would've liked to see, this is still an enjoyable presentation with plenty of strong performances by Albert Lee, Hank Marvin, David Gilmour, Paul Rodgers, Paul Carrack, and others. The only two disappointments are some pretty crappy singing attempts by Ronnie Wood and Amy Winehouse. Everyone else is just fine.

I must agree that the definite highlight is watching the great GARY MOORE walk out on stage and show everybody who the most criminally overlooked blues-rock guitarist in the world is! Moore makes the most of his brief slot with a powerhouse version of "Red House" that simply blows Jimi Hendrix's recording right out of the water. Gary calmly takes the stage, greets the audience politely, and then proceeds to TEAR IT UP with an electrifying performance that only Stevie Ray Vaughan could have matched! You can hear the crowd roar their approval during Gary's SCORCHING extended solo, and he ends the song to a well-deserved standing ovation.

Some have asked why Eric Clapton did not show up for this concert. I ask why Gary Moore was never invited to Clapton's Crossroads festival the same year this show was filmed??? After witnessing the overwhelming power and intensity that Gary displays here, you have to wonder if Clapton has any desire to get blown off the stage by this guy...and I say this as a Clapton fan with no disrespect to Eric!

If you are a guitar lover with an interest in classic rock, this DVD is a nice addition to your collection. For Gary Moore fans, this DVD is a must-have that is easily worth the 15 bucks you will pay.

I have mixed feelings about this disc. Some great moments and some that didn't belong, or have any reason to belong, on a celebration of the Fender Stratocaster, ie Jamie Cullem? not even any guitar in the song. Get off! What a waste of time.

Highlights:
Okay, main reason to buy this disc, for me, was David Gilmour. The outstanding Pink Floyd guitar player that is playing the very first Fender Strat made on "Marooned" and "Coming Back to Life". Full version of "Sorrow". At 59 David remains strong in his playing and vocals. I also recently discovered that David, beside being a gifted player, is also a quiet charitable giver to homeless causes, giving several millons of pounds to charity. It is nice to hear a "rock star" doing this.

Next is Gary Moore. Absolutely blistering performance of "Red House" that will make any guitar player jealous of his abilites.
True to form, he uses only Bass and drums as accompaniment in tribute to Hendrix.
Nice country/bluegrass picking from British player Albert Lee when he plays "Country Boy".
Hank Marvin shows that he still has the licks when he plays the old songs from the Shadows.
Nice to see Mike Rutherford from Genesis, and Phil Manzanera, who was backing David Gilmour through his set.
I've seen better performances from Joe Walsh, but still entertaining.
Watch Phil Palmer playing guitar in the "house band". He gets opportunity to play some lead guitar in several songs and he is an under-appreciated player.
I always like seeing Brian May from Queen, but it was strange to see him playing a Strat, when he usually only plays his home-made red special (he does bring it out on one song).

Now, why not make an effort to get some excellent strat players who were not there? ie Eric Capton, Yngwie Malmsteen, to name two. I'm sure that if this were truely a celebration of the Fender Strat there would have been a more concerted effort made to obtain these guys who have made their living off this excellent guitar.
Overall 4 stars, but Gilmour and Moore earned them.

...I agree with much of what has been written here. Just to summarize, as a musician, I enjoyed watching most of it; but it's pretty lame for such a momentous anniversary. Also:

1. Couldn't Fender round up some of it's signature artists (Clapton, Blackmore, etc.) ... even for taped appearances?

2. How lame to have a band with no keys, players using Gibson and other brand guitars, some musicians most people have never heard of.

3. How lame to see Paul Rogers struggling to read the lyrics to the finale (stay with me) and Ronnie Wood trying to direct the others; couldn't they have done a couple of rehearsals for such an event?

4. Ronnie Wood's voice shattered my fish tank and killed a guppy

I watched this perforformance in HD on HDNet several times. As others have mentioned here there are some great performances, and the performance by Gary Moore certainly is incinderary. However since the Stratocaster has been around for a long time, this concert is useful in order to be exposed to artists you would not see elsewhere. For example, I was mesmerized by Hank Marvin's guitar playing, which illustrates that one does not have to play fast or hard in order to produce facinating sound from the guitar.

The concert is pretty good with varying types of the music, some of which I don't care too much for. But at least on my disk, there are three things wrong with it:
1. The packaging and the DVD disk itself promise a DTS sound. Even though I have a DTS decoder as part of my receiver, there is no option in the disk menu to select that audio option.
2. The editorial and the menu promises to have some interviews, but none was found on my copy of the disk.
3. There is a moment or two of freezing in the middle of the last song that Paul Rodgers performs with the help of Joe Walsh. This may be due to the transition from one layer to the other, but it is the most apparent among my "dual layer" I have viewed.

This is a concert celebrating 50 years of the Fender stratocaster guitar held in London in 2004. Honestly, I purchased this dvd just because Paul Rodgers was one of the performers. It's the only live viewing that I know of him performing Muddy Water Blues, which made it worth the price, imho. The entire concert was nicely done, from the opening performers, the Crickets with Albert Lee and Brian May providing the guitar work to Joe Walsh just killing it on Life's Been Good and Rocky Mountain Way. There were several folks I've never heard of, which sent me to the internet to check them out. All in all, a good show; besides obviously Paul, the standout performances to me were Gary Moore doing a respectful version of Red House, Paul Carrack and Mike Rutherford with How Long and I Can't Dance and the aforementioned Joe Walsh numbers. The highlight, of course, was Paul. Opening his set with an unhurried, soulful as hell performance of Muddy Water Blues; Paul then introduces his son and daughter and the three perform the kids' beautiful song, Drinking. Crowd pleasers All Right Now with Brian May and Can't Get Enough with a somewhat lost Joe Walsh follow. The only bad performance, I have to say is Ronnie Wood singing Ooh La La; oh my. He's saved, though when all the stars join him for a rousing version of Stay With Me with Paul doing a great job on vocals despite obviously not knowing the song. If you like inspired guitar playing, this is a nice disc to pick up.

I bought this DVD as a Srat player since 1959, and was amazed at the collection of artists and their skill with the Srat.

Sure, ther were some Srat players who were not there, but i was impressed by several players that i was totally unaware of.

How can you not love the great Albert Lee? He absolutely blew me away with Country Boy.

I listened to Hank Marvin on radio Luxumberg while living in Germany and he showed us all how the Strat can produce great sounds for instrumentals that inspired the US Ventures. (The Ventures originally made their reputation as Fender players and junped ship to Mosrite) Having Hank's son Ben on the stage with his obvious pleasure in backing dad was a special treat.

Theresa Anderson has been dissed by many reviewers, but she gives a spirited delivery and shows how younger musicians naturally gravitate to the Strat.

What can we say about Mike Rutherford and Paul Carrick? They did three great songs with true enthusiasim and a lot of heart. Phil Palmer showed his incredible talent at playing note-for-note covers of Hendrix, Clapton and Harrison. He was always smiling and surely enjoyed being on stage.

Gary Moore (along with David Gilmour) was the star of the show. He covered Hendrix better than Hendrix - and i am an original Hendrix fan. What a great demonstration of the sonic range of the Strat! He gave his all and clearly enjoyed every second.

I agree with others that Jamie Cullum, despite his good work, does not belong on a Strat tribute since he has no guitars! I just skip his song.I appreciate his support of the concert in any cased.

Amy Winehouse was great because of the excellent guitar work during her delivery of Stronger Than Me.

I now have a newfound appreciation of Paul Rodgers vocal range. Having his kids on stage was a little strange, but they did an entertaining job and again showed how the younger folk gravitate to the Fender for its incredible versatility.

For me the highlight of the concert was David Gilmour and Gary Moore. David did maybe his best ever renditions of three Pink Floyd classics. Seeing him at 59 and remembering him at 30 gives me chill bumps. I just hope he continues to make more music as he is clearly one of the most expressive Fender players of all time. I listen to his three-song set at least once a day.

Some have critisized Ron Wood, but lets remember that he is known not for his vocals but for his total domination of the Fender Strat. He really is the model for guitar players living the dream.

You may have different favorites on this DVD, but i believe this is a must have for any serious Strat lover or guitar fan. We can find other sources for the Start greats who were not there.

All I can say is this is a great collection of musicians. Incredible just wonderful! If I had to pick only one music DVD it would be this one.
David Gilmour and Gary Moore just might be the two greatest guitarist in the world.