If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On

It was William Shakespeare who said it first; music does provide sustenance, certainly for the soul. Even Fleetwood Mac borrowed from Shakespeare¿s line when they labelled their third album Then Play On.

Originally, music lovers attended live performances to enjoy music, but the advent of recorded performances, from the earliest cylinders through shellac 78 rpm, vinyl 45 rpm and LP formats to the latest CD format, enabled people to listen to their favourite performers at home.

The next big thing in music was the video cassette which offered music videos of concerts, enabling us to once again enjoy the concert experience, but in the comfort of our living rooms.

Technology advancements have resulted in musical DVDs, Blu-ray discs and High Definition format DVDs, each offering increasingly superior quality video and audio.

The latest DVDs offer features not previously available in the video cassette era; these usually include extras such as interviews and behind-the-scenes snippets, designed to make the viewing and listening experience more enjoyable.

Some great music DVD¿s

Led Zeppelin


David Bowie

Pink Floyd

Tina Turner

Pussycat Dolls Live From London

For an enjoyable concert experience, not a stadium rock epic by any means, Jeff Beck¿s Performing This Week, Live at Ronnie Scott¿s is a masterpiece of musicianship. With guest artists such as Eric Clapton and interviews with Jeff and his band members, this DVD cannot be recommended highly enough.

Another favourite video from back in the 1980¿s is the film made around Chuck Berry¿s 60th birthday, put together by Rolling Stone Keith Richards. If you are an aficionado of pop, rhythm & blues and rock ¿n¿ roll, you will love this DVD featuring interviews with greats such as Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and more. And then there are the performances by the Stones, Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Linda Ronstadt and of course, Chuck Berry.

The list of collectable DVDs could go on forever, not just concerts, but carefully crafted interpretations of songs, think of the offerings by Michael Jackson, for example, or mini films loosely based around a song story line..

In our ever-changing world, the music DVD enables us to enjoy the talents of musicians that we would perhaps not be able to see live on stage and have them perform in our own homes. Music technology will undoubtedly keep making huge advancements. One thing is for sure, music will continue to play a major role in our lives.

 

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