Customer Reviews

Tower of Power In Concert (Ohne Filter)

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

 

 

Since we see so little of Tower on conventional media (a head-scratcher for sure) I applaud the Germans for wanting to capture this great band--and if they had some audio folks that understood how to mix, this would be a very exciting disc.

As it is, it documents a good performance with a good lineup on the band, but because the audio is so bad (it sounds as tho it was recorded with a cassette recorder at the back of the hall) it really brings the presentation down.

I'm a fan, and would rather have something than nothing, but I really can't recommend this as a good representation of one of my favorite all-time bands.

Sadly...

Being a hard-core fan since the "East Bay Grease" days, I was thrilled that TOP was finally bringing to market a concert DVD. I've seen them in concert several times going all the way back to when they did a split bill with Cold Blood (still the best concert I have ever been to). Being an owner of Soul Vaccination: Live, I was expecting comparable audio quality and boy was I let down! The producers and mixers of this project should be ashamed of themselves! Not to mention those cheesy graphics that appear after the beginning of each tune. This may be the way they do it in Germany, but drop it for the USA. We know the tune by the third note coming out of the Funky Doctors Sax. I can't believe the boys in the band whole heartily endorse this project. Save your money on this one for the next time TOP is in town or pick up Soul Vaccination: Live.

Tower of Power is an excellent band. I have been a fan since the early seventies. I enjoyed the DVD; however, it really does not do justice to their power sound. The overall quality of sound is not what one would expect. The bass was virtually non existent. You simply could not hear it. But for a true fan as myself, I was just happy to finally get some type of T.O.P. performence on video. The song selection was great. I truly hope they will decide to do another DVD project in the US.

Sound quality is not that great...wish that it had more options as well. I was very excited to see that this DVD was coming out and now I am disappointed of what I got. Good tunes, but not at powerful sounding as it could be. As I watched it for the first time I could barely hear the bass thumping through the band. Good for a collector, but not for someone wanting the power that this band should project.

I saw TOP on this and other tours - they are funky and tight. The band's performance on this DVD is on the money, but the persons responsible for the audio recording and/or mix should be ashamed of themselves. I am a neophyte musician and audio enthusiast and I can hoestly say that I have created some demos and on-the-fly recordings of live performances that are mixed better than this. The bass is nothing more than a low-end drone, which is unfortunate because Rocco is probably the most skilled player in this band - no disrespect to the others intended. The drums are there, but don't sound as if they're driving the band the way I remember the live shows. Buy it if you must, but I was rather disappointed.

This concert is taken directly from a TV-broadcast from 1998 (hence the slightly cheesy titles in between songs). "Ohne Filter" was a German TV-show dedicated to showing live performances of blues, jazz, R&B and soul artists, and since none of this is mainstream, the series was produced on a limited budget. Consequently, the visual and sonic quality of this DVD is not immaculate, although I think it is not nearly as bad as some people make it sound. The bonus material is redundant, but that is not what I bought the DVD for.

Do not buy this DVD if you are looking for a visually impressive concert dvd, making full use of this medium - you will be disappointed! However, in my opinion it is the music that counts, and Tower of Power deliver what you expect from them, which already makes this DVD wortwhile to me.

I was so excited to see Tower was finally going to release a dvd. However , maybe they shouldn't have. The audio is terrible , it is all horns & lead vocals. Drums,keys,guitar,bass & backing vocals are buried in the mix. Save your money. Tower is much stronger than this. If you want to see a great Tower video , check out Francis Rocco Prestia's "Fingerstyle Funk" instructional video. It has some clips of T.O.P. in concert playing most of the classics & the audio is very good. They also have some great closeup shots of Rocco layin' it down. Like other reveiwers have said,go see them live & you won't be dissapointed.

This is a disappointing video. The camera work is okay, but the audio is mediocre. It's not mixed well; you can't hear the solos and the vocals are inconsistent. It was filmed in a TV studio which may explain the poor acoustics. If you just want a rare video record of your favorite band, buy the video. But let's hope the band comes out with something that looks and sounds better.

I give this band the 5 stars as they deserve it. They have been playing for 3 decades and are nothing but a top notch band. But, I was told this DVD performance was a new concert and if you look on the technical info, it shows 2003, when in fact, this was done in 1998. I find that to be very misleading and as the other person said, the venue deters from the bands quality and professional image. The videography absolutely stinks. Whoever produced this mess needs to see a proctologist. This is a great band folks, why wasn't a live performance done in a much more suitable venue and in 2003??
Come on, get real.........Great band, but either their management needs to be fired or whomever is responsible for this mess. They played well and I love them, but its like a Picasso hanging in the mens' room of McDonalds!

Having seen T.o.P many-a-time, I wanted to see how well a live show translated onto DVD. Overall, not very impressive. I'm not sure how the audience was picked (even though Brent Carter alludes to it being in a TV studio, which is obvious)but they don't seem to be representative of the "hardcore" Tower of Power fans. The set list is very reminiscent of the Live CD put out during the time of this taping, with the exception of the slower ballads and the #1 "You're Still A Young Man" (Which are surely missed on the DVD) The sound on the DVD isn't all that great either. There is also a Dolby 5.1 option which I didn't try yet, but perhaps that is why the sound just doesn't jump out at you. The bonus features are also quite lax. A third rate bio with spelling and pronunciation errors which any person with the least bit of knowledge about T.o.P should know and an interview with the producer of the German TV series (like we care??) And I'm sure that Norbert Statchel (even though not with the band anymore) is thrilled that his name is spelled Bobert in the band lineup.

Overall, its a necessary, if not expected addition to any T.o.P collection. However, get out and see T.o.P when they come near your home. Their live performances will blow you away!!