Boz Scaggs-Greatest Hits: Live (2004)

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General		Extras
Category	Music	Main Menu Audio Featurette-Backstage With Boz Featurette-Harbor Lights From The But Beautiful tour Gallery-Photo
Rating
Year Of Production	2004
Running Time	114:32
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (50:30)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Lawrence Jordan
Studio Distributor	Coming Home Studios Liberation Music	Starring	Boz Scaggs
Case	Slip Case
RPI	?	Music	Boz Scaggs

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) English dts 5.1 (768Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.75:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.75:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Ultra-smooth white soul with hint of cool funk. It is the music Boz Scaggs has been making for a long time. While many might associate Scaggs with the massive mid-1970s disco-era album Silk Degrees which spawned the hits What Can I Say, Lido Shuffle and Lowdown, he has been around a lot longer than that and produced many albums which he regards as far better than the 70s chart topper which still receives plenty of radio airplay nearly 30 years later.

    Boz Scaggs' early years growing up in Texas listening to rock and roll, R&B and the blues shaped many of his influences, and his path to a musical career began with several small bands both in the US and England, before a trip to San Francisco in the late 1960s landed him a gig with The Steve Miller Band. That stint lasted a year and saw him with the band for its first two albums. He eventually left and headed onto a solo career with the release of a self titled album on Atlantic records. But after being dropped by Atlantic, Scaggs returned to San Francisco to play the club circuit in the Bay Area which then led to a signing with Columbia Records that lasted 20 years and produced nine records, notably the mid-seventies Slow Dancer and of course one of the biggest selling albums of 1976 -  Silk Degrees. After an absence of more than 10 years, Scaggs signed with Virgin Records and recorded four albums including 1997's Grammy-nominated Come On Home, a blues and R&B collection that honoured his musical roots, and the critically-acclaimed 2001 release, Dig, which he described as the best work of his life in music.

    This exquisite live performance was recorded live at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco on 26 and 27 August 2003. It is a small venue with a small and intimate audience who are seated very close to the stage. The concert was filmed with seven cameras on high definition video.
   
    A wide and diverse mix of Scaggs' musical resume is played here. Scaggs himself is quoted as saying  "It is not every night nor just any band that can pull off this song list," From the jazz tinged Harbor Lights to the desperately blue Loan Me A Dime, this line up hits the highs, the lows and everything in between to provide a stunning backdrop to the artist and his most recognized work. The band features Matt Bissonette on bass, John Ferraro on drums, Drew Zingg on guitar; Jim Cox on the organ, Michael Bluestein on the piano, Charles McNeal playing sax, Rich Armstrong the trumpet, and back up vocals by Monet Owens and Barbara Wilson.

    The DVD is a little light on the extras side, but features some slightly different behind the scenes footage including rehearsals and backstage dialogue, a photo gallery, and a bonus performance of Harbor Lights by a stripped down jazz quintet.

    A highly enjoyable, quality filmed and recorded show, that will leave Boz Scaggs fans comfortable in the knowledge their man is among the coolest musicians on the planet, and may just gain this veteran of the industry some new acclaim. Worth a look.

Video

    This is a high quality widescreen transfer that looks superb.

    It is presented in an aspect of 1.75:1 and is also 16x9 enhanced.

    Shot using seven cameras, it benefits greatly from being recorded on high definition broadcast video, and as such it is extremely sharp and detailed throughout. There is no trace of any edge enhancement and there is not a single problem with shadow detail. Grain is absent and there is no low level noise. It really is that clear and detailed you feel like you are almost there.

    With the modest and natural looking lighting used, the colour palette isn't affected by the usual problems associated with so many concert shows. Everything is colourful, clear and well controlled.

    There are no compression artefacts present, and no video artefacts of any sort. Given the nature and youth of the source material, this is not unexpected.

    No subtitles are available on this disc, which is a bit of a shame.

    This disc is a dual layered disc with RSDL formatting. The layer change occurs between If You're Gone and Bright Lights at 50:30 and is nicely placed.

Video Ratings Summary

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Audio

    There are three audio tracks available for your listening pleasure. Two are Dolby Digital efforts, in 5.1 and 2.0 stereo respectively. The other is a dts 5.1 track.

    The Dolby Digital and dts tracks are similar in terms of quality. Both tracks offer one of the most enveloping and immersive surround experiences yet heard. You are placed squarely in the centre of the stage with instrumentation all around. The level of instrument separation and sheer clarity is amazing to behold, while the vocals are as clear and precise as they can be.

    There is plenty of surround channel use from both 5.1 soundtracks. The usual sounds of audience clapping and cheering from the rears emanate throughout the performance to impart that 'front-row' feeling.

    The sub is nicely integrated. The Dolby Digital 5.1 track makes more use of it than the dts track, but both offer seamless bass throughout.

Audio Ratings Summary

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Main Menu Audio

Featurette - Backstage With Boz

    A 14:43 candid true backstage look at Boz and the band. Filmed by someone with close access to all areas, this is about as candid as you can get with no script evident. It's fly on the wall and does become a little monotonous after five minutes.

Featurette - Harbor Lights From The But Beautiful tour

    An alternative stripped down version of Harbor Lights with a four piece band. Runs for 9:51.

Gallery-Photo

    16 black and white and colour photos of Boz and his band in action and backstage.

      The Region 1 disc is specified exactly the same as the Region 4 title.

   Boz Scaggs - Greatest Hits Live is a quality concert in an intimate setting. Fans of the Boz will enjoy every single minute of this superb show.

    The video transfer is exceptional. Clear, colourful, vibrant, and incredibly sharp, it really does enhance the enjoyment of the show. It ranks among the best concert video transfers I have yet seen.

    The audio matches the video in quality with ease. The stereo track is excellent, but the Dolby Digital 5.1 and dts 5.1 surround tracks are sublime. The separation of instruments and vocal and directional use of the surrounds has created one of the best immersive concert tracks I think I have ever heard.

    The extras are fairly light. The back stage featurette is different, but a little bland, while the alternative performance of one song is a nice touch.

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