How surreal is this? The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester are cordially received by Don, David and Sharon Arden (years before she became Mrs. Ozzy Osbourne and barely recognizable here) for a sold out charity concert at Wembley Arena on a hot August night in 1978. None other than Tony Curtis, yes that Tony Curtis introduces the band as "the most outstanding rock group in the world today, my friends, The Electric Light Orchestra". Then a gigantic replica of a spaceship emits dry ice and laser beams and just when you'd expect Richard Dreyfuss to emerge with child size Martians, ELO hit the stage with an excerpt of "Concerto for a Rainy Day".
Originally released during the early days of DVD, the newly remastered print under review is a fine document of a time seemingly long ago when ELO was a household name. Alas, the DVD is not a complete show but an hour long edit from the Out of the Blue world tour. Never a favorite among hardcore prog rock fans, ELO nevertheless produced some classic progressive pop songs many of which are performed here, such as "Turn to Stone", "Sweet Talkin' Woman", "Do Ya" and a rocking "Roll Over Beethoven". Though I am certain there was plenty of studio trickery to tweak the sound quality, Richard Tandy shows that he was an underappreciated keyboardist as there's mellotron choir and vintage analog keyboards aplenty.
The picture quality is fine given the age of the material, although the inclusion of post production video effects, so common on 70s concert videos, is a little annoying. There are two audio options, a standard stereo mix and a 5.1 surround mix both of which sound surprisingly punchy for a film of this vintage.
All in all, this is a fun DVD and absolutely recommended to the ELO fan. All we need now is for the remainder of the band's back catalog to be given the remaster treatment. How about it Mr. Lynne?
Program Contents
- Concerto for a Rainy Day
- Standing in the Rain
- Night in the City
- Turn to Stone
- Tightrope
- Telephone Line
- Rockaria
- Wild West Hero
- Showdown
- Sweet Talkin' Woman
- Mr. Blue Sky
- Do Ya
- Living Thing
- Roll Over Beethoven
Reviewer: Steve Pettengill
Score: 
