Fleetwood Mac

The Dance


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Details At A Glance

General
Extras
Category Music Theatrical Trailer(s) None
Rating Other Trailer(s) None
Year Released 1997 Commentary Tracks None
Running Time 105:48 minutes Other Extras Menu Animation
RSDL/Flipper No/No
Cast & Crew
Start Up Movie
Region 2,3,4,5,6 Director Bruce Gower
Studio
Distributor

Warner Vision Australia
Starring Mick Fleetwood
Christine McVie
John McVie
Lindsey Buckingham
Stevie Nicks
Case Super Jewel Case
RRP $39.95 Music Fleetwood Mac

 
 
Video
Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Full Frame MPEG None
Widescreen Aspect Ratio None Dolby Digital 5.1
16x9 Enhancement No Soundtrack Languages English (Dolby Digital 5.1, 448 Kb/s) 
English (Linear PCM 48/16 2.0, 1536 Kb/s)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio 1.33:1
Miscellaneous
Macrovision Yes Smoking No
Subtitles English
English for the Hearing Impaired
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits Yes, during credits

Plot Synopsis

    Recorded at Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank in 1997, this is a reunion concert of sorts for Fleetwood Mac, who had been in hibernation for a while at the time of recording The Dance album. The fact that they had not played live together for a while did not seem to be a problem as they jumped straight into one of the best renditions of The Chain I have heard from them. And the concert just went off from there. A collection of some of their best known hits interspersed with new tracks from The Dance album, this is a very enjoyable concert indeed.

    This is damn fine music from one of the genuine legendary bands of the rock era. This is a fine way to get to know this great band.

Transfer Quality

Video

    This is another fine transfer for a music concert.

    The concert is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

    Whilst there are the odd moments of soft (or non-existent) focus, in general this is a very sharp and well defined transfer. It is a very clear transfer with some very nice detail to it. The only real problem is the occasional flare when the camera looks straight at some of those stage lights, but this is not too distracting. There did not appear to be any problems with low level noise in the transfer.

    The colours come up pretty well in the transfer, although there are the usual problems in concert videos of trying to handle the wide variety of stage lighting. It has to be said however that in general they are better handled here than in other concert DVDs I have seen. The red lighting especially creates problems akin to over saturation but these never really detract from the show. A vibrant transfer with some nice rich tones once the stage lighting drops a little, with a lovely rich palette of tones for audience shots.

    There did not appear to be any MPEG artefacts in the transfer, and film-to-video artefacts consisted of some very, very minor aliasing which probably would not be noticed unless you were really looking for it. Film artefacts were virtually absent from the transfer.

    This is a dual sided disc, with the concert repeated on both sides: the only difference is that one side has a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack and the other side has a Linear PCM soundtrack. This is the second such DVD in the last few through the player, although I had not seen the arrangement before then.

Audio

    And this is where the problems arise. It is not often that I will say this, but give the 5.1 soundtrack the miss and stick with the Linear PCM soundtrack.

    Obviously there are the two English audio tracks on the DVD, a Dolby Digital 5.1 track and a Linear PCM 48/16 track. I listened to both soundtracks.

    The 5.1 soundtrack is quite weirdly balanced and the music and vocals came up quite unbalanced in my view. The vocals were very recessed in the soundtrack and it was at times difficult to hear the introductions to songs and other dialogue, especially from Lindsey Buckingham. There were no such problems with the Linear PCM soundtrack which was much more realistically balanced and the vocals came up very clearly indeed.

    Audio sync did not appear to be a problem with either soundtrack.

    The weird balance in the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack became most obvious through the rear surround channels. At times it seemed like the lead guitar was mixed into the rear channels which really is not a good way to listen to concert music. At times the bass guitar seemed to be completely lost in the mix, and it is quite weird to watch John McVie playing away and not really being able to hear exactly where the bass line is!! Add to that the fact that audience noise seemed all mixed to the rear channels, and this really is a most unusual soundscape that really is not at all convincing. The bass channel somewhat perversely has been overemphasized in the mix and the bass channel really thumps away, further drowning out the vocals. I could not get this reasonably balanced even by turning down the subwoofer and rear channels and turning up the front speakers. If you want a good example of the problem, try Tusk (one of my favourite Mac tracks) - it is amazing how little a contribution an eighty piece brass marching band cannot make to a track! Now listen to the Linear PCM soundtrack, and all that contribution jumps out at you, even without bass enhancement!

    The Linear PCM soundtrack is a much more satisfying effort with the vocals and music very well balanced indeed, with the resultant soundscape being far more believable and listenable. Even without the separate bass channel, the higher decibel level and far better balance of this soundtrack really gets the music rocking. This I could listen to all day long.

Extras

    Nada.

Menu

Booklet

    Just an advertisement is all that is in it!

R4 vs R1

    The Region 1 release is listed as being slightly shorter in length than the Region 4 release, but otherwise appears to be identical in content. Accordingly, the extra resolution of PAL, and the super jewel case packaging as opposed to a snapper case in Region 1, tips the scales in favour of Region 4.

Summary

    A very enjoyable concert from a great band, let down by a very problematic Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. If you are willing to accept a Linear PCM soundtrack though, which is a damn fine one, this is still worthy of consideration.

    A good video transfer.

    A very good Linear PCM audio transfer, a very poor Dolby Digital audio transfer.

    Where are the extras - the interviews, the biographical information and the concert information?

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio Linear PCM
Dolby Digital
Extras  
Plot
Overall Linear PCM
Dolby Digital

© Ian Morris
22nd November 1999

Review Equipment
   
DVD Pioneer DV-515; S-video output
Display Sony Trinitron Wega 84cm. Calibrated with the NTSC DVD version of Video Essentials.
Audio Decoder Built in
Amplification Yamaha RXV-795. Calibrated with the NTSC DVD version of Video Essentials.
Speakers Energy Speakers: centre EXLC; left and right EXLR; and subwoofer ES-12XL