diVinyls-Live (JAiLhoUSE RoCK) (1993) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Music |
Main Menu Audio Biographies-Cast |
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Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 1993 | ||
Running Time | 85:21 (Case: 65) | ||
RSDL / Flipper | No/No | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 1,2,3,4,5,6 | Directed By | Chris Fitz-Gibbon |
Studio
Distributor |
Avenue One Warner Home Video |
Starring |
Christina Amphlett Mark McEntee Charlie Drayton Jerome Smith Lee Borkman |
Case | Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip | ||
RPI | $34.95 | Music | Divinyls |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | Full Frame | English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) | |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | None | ||
16x9 Enhancement | No | ||
Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 1.33:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles | None | Smoking | No |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
Follow-up studio work after their successful first album release, Desperate, in 1982 was slow and painful in gestation involving several changes of record label and producers. What a Life was released in 1985, partly produced by Mike Chapman (who also co-wrote Pleasure and Pain), but despite favourable critical reviews it failed to achieve significant album sales and the duo relocated to Los Angeles, returning in 1988 with the more successful Temperamental. The 90's saw a slow evaporation of the band with more time spent again in the US and Paris and occasional live performances including this DVD recording of 'JAiLhoUSE RoCK - DiVINYLS LIVE' performed on 31st July 1993 at the recently decommissioned Boggo Road Jail in Brisbane. At this concert they were supported by Charlie Owen on guitar, Lee Borkman on keyboards, Jerome Smith on bass and Charlie Drayton played drums.
This is a high energy concert with no punches pulled from the performance of Amphlett or McEntee. The backing band is competent, without being sensational and the crowd is suitably appreciative and unintimidated by the menace of the former penitentiary. Most of the favourites are there, although Sleeping Beauty is noticeably absent. The set opens with Boys in Town and proceeds at breakneck pace through 16 songs to finish with Pleasure and Pain. These are all delivered with suitable gusto without any particular track standing out.
1. Boys In Town 2. Make You Happy 3. Only The Lonely 4. Guillotine Day 5. I Need A Lover 6. Open Windows 7. Love School 8. Lay Your Body Down | 9. Science Fiction 10. Tempermental 11. Sex Will Keep Us Together 12. Make Out All Right 13. Bless My Soul 14. I Touch Myself 15. Aint Gonna Eat Out My Heart 16. Pleasure And Pain |
The feature was shot on video and is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. It is not 16x9 enhanced.
The transfer is of moderate sharpness but loses this in low light scenes such as the grainy crowd scenes at 2:27. Shadow detail is limited and low level noise is present in the backdrops towards the end of the feature.
Colours were quite bright usually, but were occasionally washed out due to the spotlights on Chrissie and due to the stark contrast of the on-stage lighting setup.
There are lots of transfer artefacts to be seen, right from the word go, on account of the single layered transfer - we're treated to Gibbs effect on the opening titles at 0:05, posterization at 0:39, macro-blocking (eg the drums at 46:44) and although aliasing is infrequent it's noticeable on a crack in the stage floor (eg at 4:18).
There aren't any subtitles and they're not really necessary.
This is a DVD-5 (a single layered disc) and so there's no RSDL transition.
Sharpness | |
Shadow Detail | |
Colour | |
Grain/Pixelization | |
Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
Film Artefacts | |
Overall |
Although the video quality isn't great, the audio is slightly worse!
We have just the one stereo Dolby Digital 2.0 track on offer, encoded at a measly 224 bps. This means that although the concert doesn't sound too bad on your TV, blasting it out on your shiny HT system reveals a harsh, 2-dimensional soundstage lacking presence and bass. In fact, the only time we get to hear the bass is in the intro to Pleasure and Pain at 76:49. This is an occasion when reaching for your tone controls, or even better, putting the digital feed through DTS:Neo or Dolby Prologic II processing, results in a much more pleasant listening experience. Incidentally, IMHO, DTS:Neo knocks the spots off DPII on most music, this DVD included.
Dialogue from Amphlett's lead vocals was clear enough and in synch, but McEntee's backing contribution got largely lost in the mix.
Unless you resort to putting your sound processor into gear, there is no surround or subwoofer activity.
Dialogue | |
Audio Sync | |
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
Surround Channel Use | |
Subwoofer | |
Overall |
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The video quality is mediocre but acceptable on the small screen.
The audio quality is disappointing and justifies after player digital bass and surround management.
The extras are just about non-existent and a token offering only.
Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | Harmon & Kardon DVD10, using RGB output |
Display | Pioneer SD-T50W1 (127cm). Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
Audio Decoder | Yamaha RX-V995. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
Amplification | Yamaha RX-V995 |
Speakers | B&W 602 front/rear. B&W LRC6 Centre / Solid (AKA B&W) 500 SW |