Eric Clapton-One More Car, One More Rider (2001)

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General		Extras
Category	Music	Main Menu Audio & Animation Web Links
Rating
Year Of Production	2001
Running Time	124:49
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (63:30)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Danny O'Bryen
Studio Distributor	Warner Vision	Starring	Eric Clapton Nathan East Billy Preston Steve Gadd Andy Fairweather Low David Sancious
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	?	Music	Eric Clapton

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (448Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English dts 5.1 (768Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	Unknown	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    After watching a handful of music DVDs of late that are not much more than a direct transfer from videotape, complete with all the problems associated with that medium, and some fairly lacklustre audio soundtracks, I was quite excited when this disc arrived for review. In addition to the promise of reasonably recent and 16x9 enhanced widescreen video, the sticker on the front cover proudly proclaimed a dts soundtrack, which is usually always a bonus. I hoped my run of mediocrity was about to end. Well, apart from some minor MPEG compression problems in the form of macro blocking, this is a very good quality disc and highly enjoyable show. My luck had changed.

    Eric Clapton is the only three-time inductee of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame (getting a guernsey as a solo artist and as a member of bands The Yardbirds and Cream) and he must also be one of the best represented artists on the DVD format. There are at least five other DVD-Video discs available and a couple of DVD-Audio discs including a version of the Reptile album released. Have a look at some of the reviews of the previous releases if you wish to compare the content to this disc. Reviews of Eric Clapton & Friends In Concert, 24 Nights, The Clapton Chronicles: Best Of Eric Clapton, Live In Hyde Park, Unplugged and Riding With The King are all available online.

    Eric Clapton - One More Car, One More Rider was recorded in August 2001 as part of the tour to support his Reptile album. The title is an interesting one and after some research I found out that it actually comes from the line that a fairground ride attendant would shout out. Clapton heard one such attendant trying to fill the last spot on a fairground ride by shouting out 'One More Car, One More Rider' and liked the line so much he decided to name his live album after it.

    Produced by Eric Clapton and Simon Climie and directed by Danny O'Bryen (the latter also produced the DVD) the show  was recorded at The Staples Centre in Los Angeles. It features Clapton's regular touring band members Nathan East on bass and backing vocals, Steve Gadd on drums, Andy Fairweather Low on guitar, Billy Preston on Hammond organ and keyboards, and David Sancious on keyboards and guitar. All of the band are in fine form and get plenty of screen time to display their talents. In fact Billy Preston actually takes over the microphone for the first song of the encore Will It Go Round In Circles?

    The rest of the set sees Eric Clapton in fine form, effortlessly switching between acoustic and electric guitars. He offers up several songs from the new album that he was promoting and a few classics of his own and of others. Highlights would have to be the acoustic Tears In Heaven, the barnstorming Layla in its original form and not that FM-radio-friendly unplugged version from the early 90s, and a raucous Sunshine Of Your Love performed as one of three encores.

    Running for over two hours, there are twenty songs performed in this show. They are:

Video

    This is a very, very nice video transfer, that apart from a minor instance of macro blocking and a clumsy layer change is nearly perfect.

    Displayed in the aspect ratio of 1.78:1, it is also 16x9 enhanced.

    It is just about as sharp as you can expect from a modern digital recording. You know it's good when you are able to easily read the fine print of Fender Stratocaster on Eric Clapton's guitar and even tell what time it is on his wristwatch. There are no problems with any form of edge enhancement and shadow detail is never compromised. There is virtually no grain at all and no low level noise. The colours are excellent, with none of the usual concert problems such as oversaturation or flaring. Skin tones are perfect and the varied coloured shirts of the band members are beautifully saturated.

    Unfortunately there are some MPEG compression artefacts in the form of excessive macro blocking. This nasty pops up at 69:39 and continues for a full two seconds. It is solely on the wide camera angle positioned right next to the drummer and sees the whole picture break up into the usual small blocks briefly. Other than this instance I did not experience it anywhere else. There is some really minor shimmer on a couple of guitars and several microphone stands, but generally this is very well controlled and barely visible. It is not obtrusive enough for me to list the individual occurrences. There are no other artefacts of any sort anywhere else.

    Thankfully there is a subtitle stream available, and these are no ordinary looking ones at that. They are big fat bold letters in black serif font with a solid white outline. Very funky, though sometimes a little hard to read when the image becomes quite dark (which I guess is part of the appeal, since they don't intrude on the screen like most subtitles do). I did find them highly accurate though and are applicable to both the lyrics and Eric Clapton's between-song dialogue.

    Not surprisingly, given the length of the show and the number of soundtracks on the disc, that this is a dual layered offering. It is RSDL formatted and the layer change occurs at 63:30 and 63:32 right between I Want A Little Girl and Badge. I state two times, because it is one of the more clumsy layer changes that I have seen. It almost occurs twice with Eric pausing noticeably the first time, before moving slightly and then pausing again as what he is about to say is clipped at the beginning. Not the greatest placement or handling that I have seen.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    There are three audio soundtracks on this disc, including a 768Kb/s dts soundtrack. It is joined by a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack encoded at the bitrate of 448Kb/s and a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack encoded at the same bitrate. In short, these soundtracks are superb with basically nothing to fault. There is substantial and very well handled instrument separation across the front channels with vocals placed over all three front speakers. Each instrument is beautifully reproduced here, with the acoustic guitar during Tears In Heaven breathtaking in its clarity.

    The vocals are prominent throughout. Their delivery is as clear and fresh as a high mountain stream. These are quality soundtracks and it is the vocal quality that it really shines. It is also here that the dts soundtrack marginally nudges both of the Dolby Digital soundtracks for quality. They are just a little bit more clearer and natural sounding on the dts soundtrack. There are no audio sync problems.

    There is constant and consistent surround channel use. It is mostly used for the audience sounds and becomes most notable during the breaks between songs. There is a little instrument separation to the rear channels, but when it does happen it doesn't sound unnatural or forced.

    The subwoofer is seamlessly integrated

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Main Menu Audio & Animation

    The menu design is exactly the same image as the cover art of the disc. In the small billboard on the left of the screen is footage of Eric Clapton and band performing the intro and closing chords of Layla. This footage runs for around 30 seconds before re-starting.

Web Links

    A weblink to www.repriserec.com/ericclapton/

    The Region 1 disc is identical to the Region 4 offering.

    Eric Clapton One More Car, One More Rider is a superb concert DVD. This is a quality disc, showcasing a talented group of musicians, fronted by one of the most dynamic and respected guitarists going around.

    The video is of a very high standard, marred only by some trivial aliasing, a clumsy layer change, and a few seconds of poor compression resulting in some macro blocking.

    The audio is brilliant and lends itself well to some beautiful versions of Clapton classics.

    There are virtually no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall