Morrissey-Who Put the 'M' in Manchester (2004)

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Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/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	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Morrissey (full name Steven Patrick Morrissey or more commonly known as The Moz to his many fans) is a singer/songwriter from the northern city of Manchester, England. He first rose to prominence as the lead singer of the highly influential 80s group The Smiths. After that celebrated band split in 1987, Morrissey began a successful solo career and has had the distinction of charting top ten British singles in three different decades. Morrissey is often regarded as one of the best lyricists of his generation, with many artists who have come along since The Smiths citing him and the band as a major influence. Regarded by many in the mainstream media as a bit of a grump and an often miserable bugger, his songs do not shy away from morbid or controversial topics including child murder, gang and domestic violence, prostitution, racism, drugs, homosexuality, disability, assassination and terrorism.

    After an absence from the music scene of more than a few years, his legion of fiercely loyal fans would have been clamouring to get tickets to this show - especially those in Manchester, his hometown, where support of local acts often reaches frenzied levels. Recorded in May 2004, this show at Manchester's cavernous Evening News Arena was promoting Morrissey's newly released album You Are The Quarry, and it also just happened to be recorded on his 45th birthday, lending an almost celebratory vibe to the whole show.

    Die-hard fans of The Smiths looking for a trip back in time will probably be disappointed with this concert, since most of the tracks are taken from Morrissey's solo career, with eight tracks taken from the You Are The Quarry album. Notable exceptions to this include Rubber Ring and There is a Light that Never Goes Out, though classics such as Panic are disappointingly absent. Apart from the lack of older material, this is a cracker of a show with a singer who is very much at ease with where he is at with his career and his place in the world, controlling the stage and the crowd. Morrissey is backed by a solid band, including guitarists Boz Boorer and Alain Whyte, bassist Gary Day, Deano Butterworth on drums and Mickey Farrell handling the keyboards.

    There are 19 songs ranging from The Smiths' 1985 track The Headmaster Ritual from the Meat Is Murder album, through to several tracks lifted from his new album You Are The Quarry. All the tracks are listed below:

Video

    This is a high quality widescreen transfer that looks superb. It is about as close to reference quality as a DVD could hope to be.

    It is presented in an aspect of 1.78:1 and is also 16x9 enhanced.

    From the opening images containing postcard-style snaps of various aspects of life in and around Manchester, through the interviews with excited fans to the main show itself, this is a high quality looking image. Benefiting greatly from its recording on high definition video, this is an extremely sharp and detailed effort. 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.

    Apart from the huge, no make that HUGE, bright red glowing marquee at the back of the stage proudly proclaiming MORRISSEY to the crowd, the rest of the lighting is quite modest and natural looking so the colour palette isn't affected by the usual problems associated with so many concert shows. Everything is colourful, clear and well controlled. I do love those big red letters though and they do scrub up quite well in this pristine video transfer.

    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 at 45:56.

Video Ratings Summary

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

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.

    If you thought the video transfer looked good, wait until you hear the audio. The Dolby Digital and dts surround tracks are similar in terms of quality. Both tracks offer some of the most enveloping and immersive surround experiences you could possibly need. You are placed squarely in the centre front row with crowd all around and musicians to the front. The level of instrument separation and sheer clarity is beautiful to behold, while the Morrissey's vocals are as clear and precise as they can be. These are top shelf audio tracks, make no mistake about that.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu Audio

Bonus Track

    Five live performances taken from another performance at the Move Festival in Manchester. Included are First of the Gang To Die, I Have Forgiven Jesus, Everyday Is Like Sunday, There Is A Light That Never Goes Out and Irish Blood, English Heart. These five bonus songs add another 20 minutes worth of Morrissey live.

Music Video

    Bonus music videos for the songs Irish Blood, English Heart, I Have Forgiven Jesus and First Of The Gang To Die (UK & US Promos).

    The Region 1 and UK Region 2 disc are specified exactly the same as the Region 4 title, except the local release lacks a rather odd extra contained on the Region 1 disc. The inclusion of a reportedly shockingly detailed animal abuse video feature from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), called Meet Your Meat, is apparently not for the faint hearted. Morrissey is a proud vegetarian which points to the most obvious reason for its inclusion - though what it has to do with this concert is beyond me, so its inclusion is hardly what I'd call a reason to favour one disc over another. Hence, I'll call it a draw.

    Morrissey - Who Put The 'M' In Manchester is a quality concert disc that fans of the enigmatic Morrissey are going to love. While the absence of much material from his days with The Smiths is a little disappointing, anyone with an interest in the man, his moods and his music will enjoy this regardless.

    The video transfer is exceptional. Clear, colourful, vibrant, and incredibly sharp, it really does enhance the enjoyment of the show.

    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 superb

    The extras are fairly light, though the inclusion of five more live performances is a welcome addition.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall