ZZ Top-Live at Montreux 2013 (Blu-ray) (2013)

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General		Extras
Category	Music	Main Menu Audio & Animation Interviews-Cast-Interview with Billy and Dusty Interviews-Cast-Interview with Billy Booklet
Rating
Year Of Production	2013
Running Time	80:44 (Case: 90)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Romaine Guelat
Studio Distributor	Montreux Sounds Shock Entertainment	Starring	Billy Gibbons Dusty Hill Frank Beard Mike Flanigin Van Wilks
Case	Standard Blu-ray
RPI	?	Music	Billy Gibbons Dusty Hill Frank Beard

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Linear PCM 96/24 2.0 (4608Kb/s) English DTS HD High Resolution Audio 5.1 (6912Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080i
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	Yes, infrequent
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

"Tres Hombres.........La Futura'".

    ZZ Top believes in keeping it simple. Just play good ol' boy rock with a tinge of blues and skip the "bs". Formed in 1969 and remaining unchanged since then, Billy Gibbons (lead guitar and vocals), Dusty Hill (bass guitar and vocals), and drummer Frank Beard have provided the backing track to countless biker booze-ups and redneck ho-downs. After moderate success in the 1970's ZZ Top achieved mainstream fame in 1983 with their eighth studio album Eliminator, which featured hits Gimme All Your Lovin' and Legs. The follow up album Afterburner didn't quite match the success of Eliminator but was still a solid performer. Since then ZZ Top has continued to perform live and record albums without achieving the level of recognition of those heady days.

    Recorded on July 10th, 2013 at the Montreux Jazz Festival, this concert proves that these old rockers have still got it as they belt out a set that is visceral yet technically polished. The trio feature all of their well known hits and add a cover of Hendrix's Foxey Lady for good measure. Gibbon's guitar work is still first rate and the metronome-like Frank Beard (ironically with only a token beard) belts those drums like there's no tomorrow. Included are contributions by Mike Flanigin on Hammond Organ, and Van Wilks on guitar in a jazz-blues tribute to the late Montreux Festival founder Claude Nobs. There are no flash-bombs and light shows on display here, just three old coots behind two of the most famous beards and shades in the music industry who know how to play good-time rock'n blues.

Video

    Video is presented in the original aspect of 1.78:1 with AVC encoded 1080i definition. The opening scenes demonstrate some minor combing artefacts due to the interlaced scanning but it's not obvious if you're not looking for it. Other than that the video is first class with crisp detail, bright and distinct colours, and natural skin tones. There are the usual issues for concert recordings, notably flaring and smearing from spotlights and back-lighting. The background video screens also display some moire effects which I assume aren't on the original screens. A 1080p presentation would be an obvious improvement but this is still very good as it is.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    Audio options are the default 2.0 LPCM mix at 4608 Kb/s and a 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio at around 8500 Kb/s. In common with the video this audio recording is excellent and captures the energy and dynamics of the original performance. Vocals are clear and to the front with mid and bass effectively showcased as well. In switching between the surround and stereo mixes I found the stereo more pleasing mostly due to the surround mix having a slight echo effect for the vocals. This effect might have been evident in the actual performance however, and other listeners might prefer it anyway so I don't count it as a fault. I also found the bass effect was more pronounced in the 5.1 mix however that too might depend on your equipment and decoding methods. Overall a very nice recording and presentation on this disc.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    Dynamic menu with looping concert footage.

Interview (6:00)

    HD video (1080i) and 2.0 LPCM at 1536 Kb/s.

    Interview with Billy and Dusty focusing on their jazz and blues roots and their introduction to Claude Nobs.

Interview (5:46)

    HD video (1080i) and 2.0 LPCM at 1536 Kb/s.

    Interview with Billy about the Montreux Jazz Festival and it's creator.

Booklet

    8 page glossy booklet with photos, write-up on ZZ Top and production information.

    Region A seems to be identical.

    ZZ Top Live In Montreux is a great showcase for these old rockers who really haven't changed much in forty years. If you might think their sound might not be relevant these days then check out the studio recording of Gotsta Get Paid from La Futura. That is one dirty mo-fo tribute to hip-hop classic 25 Lighters. Just love it.

    The beards are a bit greyer and we'll never know how much hair is on their heads (apart from drummer Beard), but these bad boys still have what it takes to start-up any backyard pit party. Highly recommended.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is excellent.

    Extras are meagre.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall