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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Brian Wilson-On Tour (2002)

Brian Wilson-On Tour (2002) (NTSC)

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Released 20-May-2003

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Music Menu Animation & Audio
Featurette-Meet The Band
Featurette-Brian on The Beatles
Featurette-Postcards From The Road
Booklet
Rating Rated E
Year Of Production 2002
Running Time 76:29
RSDL / Flipper RSDL Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By John Anderson
Studio
Distributor

Warner Vision
Starring Brian Wilson
Case Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI ? Music Brian Wilson


Video (NTSC) Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Full Frame English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
English dts 5.1 (1536Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio None
16x9 Enhancement No
Video Format 480i (NTSC)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles None Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    Brian Wilson is among a handful of the most highly influential musicians ever to grace a studio or stage. As the driving force and main songwriter behind the group The Beach Boys, Brian and the group enjoyed many years of success from the early 1960s with songs such as Fun, Fun, Fun; California Girls; Little Deuce Coupe; Do It Again, and possibly the greatest song ever written Good Vibrations. The harmonies of The Beach Boys have seldom been equalled, and never surpassed, though many have tried.

    This documentary/concert performance has Brian in solo mode, hitting the road again after many years battling depression and becoming a virtual recluse. Despite being absolutely petrified about setting foot on a stage again, in 2002 he toured much of the US and other parts of the world (coming to Australia earlier this year). Brian hasn't always come across in the media very well in recent years, the obvious effects of his mental problems pretty plain for all to see. But this documentary footage is a rare and candid insight into just what drives the new-look Brian Wilson forward. We see family footage and Brian playing with his young daughter and generally appearing enthusiastic to be virtually re-discovering some of his famous material all over again.

    The music consists of several live songs performed from a couple of his shows in the US, and while quite few in number, all are played with the aid of a band who sound like they have been performing them for years. Between these songs are various images of back stage action and other rehearsal and road footage. Brian is visited by rock legends such as Pete Townsend, Neil Young, and Ronnie Spector from The Ronettes. These, and other performers such as Sheryl Crow and Eddie Vedder, discuss what Brian Wilson means to them. The sight of Neil Young being given a lesson on how to master the opening chords of Good Vibrations is particularly amusing.

    The following tracks are played in full during the documentary. There are other Beach Boys classics played throughout, but since they are either cut short or merely rehearsal performances, I have listed only the complete concert songs:

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Track Listing

1. Fun Fun Fun
2. California Girls
3. Do it Again
4. God Only Knows
5. Darlin’
6. This Isn’t Love
7. Caroline No
8. Lay Down Burden
9. Good Vibrations
10. Surfin’ USA
11. Barbara-Ann

Transfer Quality

Video

    First things first, a word of warning. This is an NTSC disc, so make sure your display is capable of showing it before handing over your hard-earned.

    The transfer is presented in the aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and it can really be summed up in one sentence - unremarkable, but with no major problems that unduly detract from the viewing experience.

    It is sometimes sharp and clear, and at other times fuzzy and soft, so there's something for everyone here. While there is nothing wrong with the image, it is just a little drab and dull at times for my liking. There are no shadow detail problems, and minimal grain. There is no low level noise.

    The colours pretty much match the rest of the image, being quite dull and drab most of the time. Little vibrancy is evident and again it is difficult to get excited over the palette on offer. The concert scenes suffer none of those sorts of problems which often crop up with intense single coloured lights, but they barely lift themselves above any great level of saturation either.

    There are no MPEG artefacts and few other video-style artefacts worth worrying about.

    There are no subtitles available.

    This is a dual layered disc, but I was unable to spot any layer change.

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

Audio

    We are certainly spoilt for choice in the audio department, with three soundtracks to choose from. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is complemented by Dolby Digital 2.0 and dts 5.1 tracks, with the latter being the seemingly all-too-rare full rate encoded effort of 1536 kbps. It was my preferred listening choice, being slightly cleaner and punchier than the Dolby Digital 5.1 track. I only verified the presence of the Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.

    The vocals and spoken dialogue are excellent; the soundtrack comes across beautifully clear. The concert performances are where the disc really shines and thankfully there are no major problems with any of the tracks.

    There isn't what I would call consistent surround channel use. It pops up here and there on the live concert performances only, and is used to good effect.

    The subwoofer is never obvious in its use, being sparingly used and seamlessly integrated into the soundtrack.

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

Extras

Menu Animation & Audio

Featurette - Meet the Band

    Brian's new band were playing in a bar, covering Beach Boys songs, when Brian heard them. He was so impressed by what he heard, he asked if they would like to become his new touring band. Like that was a difficult question to answer!   This is a brief 4:26 minute featurette which sees each of the band members introducing themselves and explaining what playing for Brian Wilson means to them.

Featurette - Brian on The Beatles

    Among some of Brian's early influences were the four lads from Liverpool. In this extremely quick 1:37 minute interview segment, Brian explains his reaction when he first heard Love Me Do.

Featurette - Postcards From The Road

    Some miscellaneous touring footage from the various concerts and bus/plane trips that obviously did not make the final cut. Total running time is only 1:57 minutes.

Booklet

    A four page colour booklet that simply lists the chapter stops and the various band members.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    The Region 1 disc is identical to the Region 4.

Summary

    Beach Boys or Brian Wilson fans will love every minute of this. It provides a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse (albeit very brief) of one of the most influential musicians in history. The fact he has been a virtual recluse and incredibly media-shy for many years simply adds to the value. The actual performances are well recorded and well presented, even if the video is a little drab and the extras are brief.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Darren Walters (It's . . . just the vibe . . . of my bio)
Saturday, September 06, 2003
Review Equipment
DVDLoewe Xemix 5106DO, using RGB output
DisplayLoewe Calida (84cm). Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationHarmon/Kardon AVR7000.
SpeakersFront - B&W 602S2, Centre - B&W CC6S2, Rear - B&W 601S2, Sub - Energy E:xl S10

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