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Post by queenofthehours on Jan 21, 2018 16:32:59 GMT
Finally managed to get to a record shop to buy my copy of the dvd. About two months after everyone else has seen it!
The plan to watch it at Christmas failed and then I got ill so it wasn't until Friday that I could get to a real life store to finally hold the film in my hot, sticky little hands. I know I'd already have it if I bought it online but I really wanted to go and pick my own copy knowing it would be a paper sleeve - easily damaged. And I really enjoyed my real-world music shop experience! It was great! Everyone should do it! I can't remember the last time I was in a real record store. Just feel of the cds, browsing through the different records, hearing the music over the shop sound system, handing over money and being able to own my record straight away without waiting for the postman! - it was amazing. So music more fun than buying online.
I watched the dvd yesterday but I'll have to let my thoughts sink in first before I write on here about them.
A few of thoughts to start with - the little extra card in the back of the package, it serves no real purpose but I'm going to keep it because as far as I'm concerned it's like getting a free postcard. Has anyone thrown theirs out? Because I could never throw anything out with Jeff's face on it! The package looks beautiful but the sky was definitely not that colour on the night and I definitely saw no spaceship in the sky! Did I miss it fly by? I'm a bit sad that the support acts weren't included on the cd. I know they really couldn't be there but a full recorded show would have been nice. While looking at the booklet my mum asked if Jeff had on a wig, she's convinced that he wears hats to keep it on and that because he has such a "thick thatch" it cannot be real.
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Post by BSJ on Jan 22, 2018 18:56:07 GMT
I've not watch it yet!
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Post by babyzoomer on Jan 23, 2018 11:41:40 GMT
Finally got the chance to watch it today - quite ok...no surprises really. Strings sounded synthy, the overall sound was very...manicured. overall impression was that it's a bit detached and impersonal - and yet it is (at times) intimate and engaging. What the hell - it's the music that matters.
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Post by Timeblue on Jan 23, 2018 11:44:42 GMT
It's known that the whole show was 'ironed out' and any blemishes were smoothed over.
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Post by babyzoomer on Jan 24, 2018 12:45:34 GMT
It's known that the whole show was 'ironed out' and any blemishes were smoothed over. A fair bit of starch added, too. It's silly of me to expect spontinaety and fun from a 69 y.o. - but nevertheless.....
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Post by queenofthehours on Feb 2, 2018 21:27:53 GMT
I’ve seen the Wembley film a couple of times now and here are my thoughts on it – The opening shot of Jeff in the field I think is stunning; it gives you an idea of the epic concert to come and the choice of ‘Standin in the Rain’ as the first song was spot on. However I seem to have a problem with the placing of ‘DBMD’ after ‘MBS’. It never sounds right to my ears. But ‘MBS’ will forever have my most favourite guitar solo ever – short and precise, Jeff played it again to perfection. ‘All Over the World’ might be the best track on the film that shows the effect of ELO on everyone. So many happy and joyful faces! I have never been a particular of ‘10538 Overture’ but I really did enjoy it on the DVD, especially the end where everyone played guitar together at the front of the stage. ‘Xanadu’ got a great reception at the show, plenty of cheers and joy, and was one of my favourite tracks of the night. I didn’t know Jeff felt so warmly about the song. I liked the way the film showed the age range of Jeff’s fans in this clip; everyone seemed to adore the song. Other than ‘Xanadu’ my show highlight may be ‘WIWAB’ because, like ‘Xanadu’, it’s got Jeff’s emotional stamp on it.
I have never paid much attention to Jeff’s guitar work on ‘LTTL’ but on the film I just found it really fascinating to watch him. I’ve said before I’m not keen on ‘ROB’ but when played live it always works well and I especially loved the Wembley version. The film didn’t manage to capture the flames at their best; they were much better in real life and almost burnt your face off. You could hear them before you saw them but the DVD makes it look like the director and the pyrotechnician had fallen out. I honestly got better shots on my camera. Was it ELO who first made the Beethoven’s 5th/‘ROB’ connection? Because I can’t see how anybody could imagine otherwise. ‘WWH’, another highlight of any ELO show, I’ll always love the orchestral part in it, it’s just so lovely. At the show I could have sworn the audience was singing along and you can hear the same sound on the dvd whether this was true or a trick of the echo I ‘m not certain because I was sitting near the front.
I’m glad the film left in the part about Richard Tandy being absent as it helped make him a part of the show even though he wasn’t there. At least if his face was not present his name will be immortalised in the movie. I don’t know if anything was cut out but I suppose some “dead time” might have been. It felt weird seeing all the fast cuts and camerawork when I was sat there all night basking in Jeff with just one angle of view. It made my night feel much longer than the DVDs run time. Not that it’s a bad thing as ELO’s music is well suited to the energy of fast camerawork. I thought the sound on the film was great but I suppose Jeff went back and boosted his voice up a bit. In real life I think he’s got quite a quiet, thin, sweet voice not at all as strong as that on his LPs but Jeff’s got every right to tinker with in because that’s his art. Some people like to complain that Jeff doesn’t chat much onstage. Well, he’s chattier than some bands are and he always says enough and none of it is irrelevant. Perhaps the inclusion of the rehearsal clips and the interviews with the band are there to make up for the stage talk? If it was it’s a great ruse and Jeff seems more relaxed but if not it’s still a good inclusion because behind-the-scenes stuff is gold. I loved the bit where the band all sang together. And I’m intrigued about rehearsals because I stood outside the stadium the night before listening and it was just magical; like hearing ghosts on the breeze at twilight.
I really love the end credits and the use of ‘AITU’. It got me feeling all emotional, I don’t know if it was the song or its use against the shots of Wembley but it was very effective. Thumbs up to the director for picking a new song to end with rather than something established. One thing that stood out was the fact that the entire band seemed to get equal treatment with the camera. It did not just focus solely on Jeff and this has boosted my affection for the rest of the band tenfold. So many people were dancing and having fun on the film, it seemed that the director didn’t have to search far to get shots of enthusiastic fans. Not me however, I was sat in silent awe and if I had danced I would be afraid of missing one moment of the show. Happily I couldn’t see myself on the DVD but I could find myself as a blur in certain camera angles of Jeff’s right side. A lot of the time I could not even believe I’d been to this gig! It really did look different. But then what would be the point in being there if it looked the same as the film? It was wonderful to relive all the magic again. To hear ‘Twilight’ at twilight, to see the enchanting phone lights during ‘Can’t Get it Out of My Head’, I could feel the air and smell all the smells as if I were still there. I still could not recognise the songs – to me the thrill of the show meant the whole thing was just one huge ELO lump of joy – song titles are only for CD covers!
Now, I think we need to talk about clothes. How did I not notice until now Mike was wearing a Star Wars t-shirt?! Two of my favourite cultural icons in one show! It’s probably a bit random for a gig but is it? But ELO is the next best advert for space after George Lucas’s epic. Also, Milton and Ian, matching shirts? Almost. I think the band should have co-ordinated their clothes because those two stand out.
My mum was watching the DVD and took great offence to one guy in the audience wearing a Springsteen t-shirt. She wanted to know why Jeff had no grey hairs but her favourite tunes were ‘DBMD’, ‘Turn to Stone’, ‘WIWAB’ and ‘WWH’. In fact on second viewing she turned the tv up so loud it almost rivalled Woody’s ear-splitting monopoly with ‘IWICBCE’. She even took to playing ‘TTS’ and ‘DBMD’ from the live Zoom LP on her tablet to see if they were the same.
The two things I took from the show that I also took from the movie are the feeling of pure happiness all over and the natural phenomena that came out to greet the night. The beautiful sunset, the incredible rainbow, the suitable splash of rain; it was as if the concert designers had put them in place especially as portents of ELO. The pyrotechnics, lights and videos and spaceship might all be thought of in advance along with the search lights and helicopter but the unrehearsed beauty of the phone lights during certain songs and the free natural marvels were not and couldn’t have been thought of by anybody.
I'll end with the helicopter - When I first heard it in the sky I thought it was for security but after seeing the shots taken from it in the movie I can safely say that the money spent on the chopper was money well spent. Not only did they add to the epic quality of the film but they added some poignant visuals to the already emotional 'AITU' at the end. If Jeff couldn't have a spaceship flying then the helicopter made a good compromise.
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Post by unomusette on Feb 2, 2018 22:13:46 GMT
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Post by BSJ on Feb 3, 2018 0:25:51 GMT
queenofthehours, I am not going to read your review until after I've seen the DVD. It will be awhile. Did you have to totally rewrite your review? Nothing was saved? Brutal, if so.
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Post by Horacewimp on Feb 3, 2018 15:16:34 GMT
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Post by queenofthehours on Feb 5, 2018 17:17:24 GMT
Thank you! queenofthehours , I am not going to read your review until after I've seen the DVD. It will be awhile. Did you have to totally rewrite your review? Nothing was saved? Brutal, if so. I had my notes but the words inbetween were lost because I foolishly didn't save them in Word and wrote straight onto the post It was difficult to decide whether to try and remember the original or write something new. Thank you!
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