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(More customer reviews)God, how I hate to give Gabriel only 4 STARS!! Well, here goes. I couldn't decide whether or not to buy this in the store when I first saw it, but I just received it as an early Christmas present. This 2 Disc set contains scattered performances from the 2004 European Tour, STILL GROWING UP LIVE. The venues for each song are different and each performance has a different feel. Some are small venues while others are bigger arena venues. Some performances are a little lackluster while others are genuinely breathtaking and contain that religious awe which confirms why you're a Gabriel fanatic in the first place. As everyone knows, "Genesis is Great, but Peter Gabriel is God." Gabriel only tours about once every ten years, so any time you can find a LIVE performance on DVD it's usually a must have. Everytime he comes to L.A. I spend at least 250.00 to 500.00 dollars to see him up-close. He's the only artist I'll spend that kind of money on. And if you're a Gabriel fanatic you know what I'm talking about. I actually got to touch him once when I was in the front row at The Forum in L.A. Yay! This was in the 80's when he would do LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME Live. SO (pun intended), is this worth having for the fanatic? The answer is a resounding YES.
The concert footage on Disc One is about 90 minutes long and contains seven new LIVE performances including:
COME TALK TO ME
SAN JACINTO
WHITE ASHES
THE TOWER THAT ATE PEOPLE
BURN YOU UP, BURN YOU DOWN
GAMES WITHOUT FRONTIERS
and BIKO.
Personally I think SECRET WORLD LIVE contains the superior version of COME TALK TO ME. And, SAN JACINTO for that matter. But, this version of SAN JACINTO contains Peter's backstory to a French audience on how this song was inspired by a Native American that he met while on tour. (Make sure you turn on the subtitles which allows you to understand Peter's French. The subtitles won't distract you from enjoying the music as they only appear when Peter is speaking to the audience.) SAN JACINTO is my favorite LIVE Gabriel tune and the performance here is stunning.
There are four reason's to buy these Discs if you're a fanatic. ONE is the performance here of SAN JACINTO. Always great LIVE.
TWO is the song WHITE ASHES, from the LIVE IMPORT OVO TOUR CD and a marvelous new addition to the dark side of Gabriel's repertoire.
THREE is the song THE TOWER THAT ATE PEOPLE, which is also from the IMPORT OVO CD. In my opinion this one performance alone makes this worth a purchase for the fanatic. It reminds me of a LIVE KING CRIMSON improv that might have appeared on THE PROJECKTS Discs. (Is Tony Levin a co-author here?) Although it's a structured song, it harkens back to Gabriel's dark RAEL persona from his LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY or early solo days. It's extremely rare, progressive, and one of the best tunes Gabriel has written in years. It blew me away!!
And the FOURTH reason is the extra track on Disc One: NO SELF CONTROL from the 1988 THIS WAY UP tour film P.O.V. THIS CUT IS AMAZING!! (Although, it's mixed with the video production of the same song which distracts somewhat from the LIVE performance.) In my opinion this is Gabriel's greatest tour video and it isn't available on DVD. (I still own a VCR just so I can play my VHS tape copy of this unbelievable concert performance.) Now I get to beg Peter. Please, please, Peter!! Release the entire P.O.V. concert on DVD!! I won't feel whole as a person or a fan unless you do!! (I hope he heard me.)
Disc Two is the same concert footage as Disc One, but with interviews and video inserts included. I wish they had just made a straight documentary out of this. It's a little bit of overkill. The music distracts from the commentary and vice versa. Disc Two also includes some studio and TV extras that will appeal to the hardcore fanatic.
The concert footage was shot in Widescreen by Hamish Hamilton with documentary footage shot by Anna Gabriel. There are some nice close-ups of Gabriel with some annoying edits and not enough shots of Tony Levin. Every Gabriel fan knows Tony Levin has played on every Gabriel tour and solo album since the 70's. He's a Gabriel mainstay and the best bassist in the world. He should have been featured more prominently here. Ah, that wonderful Chapman Stick has been shortchanged.
The sound is a mixed bag depending on where the individual concert takes were recorded. Some tracks sound GREAT while others sound GOOD. There is a DTS setting as well as a 5.1 surround setting. As you'd expect, the menus look and sound great. This one may only be for the hardcore fanatic. Everyone else should buy GROWING UP LIVE and SECRET WORLD LIVE.
Now, where, oh where is P.O.V. on DVD!?!
Click Here to see more reviews about: Peter Gabriel - Still Growing Up - Live and Unwrapped (2005)
November 2003 saw the release of Peter Gabriel's Growing Up Live DVD , chronicling his world tour, which was celebrated for its spectacular theatrics. Still Growing Up Live & Unwrapped brings Peter Gabriel together again with the award-winning director Hamish Hamilton, capturing his performances in all sorts of smaller and more intimate venues around Europe for the Live version of the DVD. For the "Unwrapped" version (Disc 2), which explores the world behind the songs, Anna Gabriel took over the director's chair with the collaboration of Hamish Hamilton. A simpler approach suggested a different set list, and Peter, Hamish, and Anna were determined that this should be filmed in a very different style. It shows Peter Gabriel as many of his fans love to see him, just playing his music.
Click here for more information about Peter Gabriel - Still Growing Up - Live and Unwrapped (2005)
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