Deep Purple-Live at Montreux 2006: They All Came Down to Montreux (2006)

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General		Extras
Category	Music	Main Menu Audio & Animation Interviews-Cast-(24:50) Booklet Music Video-Hard Rock Show (59:06)
Rating
Year Of Production	2006
Running Time	103:06 (Case: 186)
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (58:45) Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Aubrey Powell
Studio Distributor	Rajon Vision	Starring	Ian Gillan Roger Glover Ian Paice Don Airey Steve Morse "Funky" Claude Nobs Michael Bradford
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Dual
RPI	$29.95	Music	Deep Purple

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/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	Yes

    Deep Purple and the Montreux Jazz Festival have become synonymous with one another thanks to Purple's iconic anthem Smoke on the Water. Their superb 2006 performance, titled They All Came Down To Montreux, is captured here on the closing night of the festival's 40th anniversary year.

    This band, the current incarnation of the ever-evolving Deep Purple lineup, includes keyboardist Don Airey and Guitarist Steve Morse. Their last two albums have utilised this group of musicians and have been fantastic; both Bananas and Rapture of the Deep showcase this band at their lyrical and musical best in my opinion. Having said that, vocalist Ian Gillan is having a bit of difficulty while on stage, missing lines of lyrics here and there and struggling to keep up. The patented Gillan scream is nowhere to be heard, but I do honestly feel that he is writing some fantastic lyrics of late, very scathing of the industry.

    "I threw out a rock, it sank to the bottom. The ripples went out, but the rock got forgotten." - Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye

    I often wonder what goes through the collective mind of bands when it comes to deciding upon set lists. Considering this band has umpteen albums of material that would be recognisable and appreciated by fans the world over, why they would choose to perform two b-sides barely known by anyone but themselves is beyond me. Why not surprise us with an oldie or something? The songs Things I Never Said and Well Dressed Guitar are not legitimate album tracks, but they can be found on assorted imports and special editions of their latest album. Similarly, When A Blind Man Cries is a b-side from the Machine Head album that was only recently included on the remastered version as a bonus track. The Montreux 2006 set presented here is actually missing the song Perfect Strangers and was said to have a video glitch that prevented it from being included on the DVD. In case you're wondering, the song Too Much Fun is an improvised jam.

    Producer Michael Bradford (a huge, African American fellow) joins the band on guitar for the encore, beginning with Hush, after hilariously being introduced to the crowd as Ritchie Moreblack. Bradford replaced Steve Morse for a short time soon after this concert while Morse took a break on family business. Festival founder "Funky" Claude Nobs, also a mean harmonica player, joins the band on stage during the encore.

    For more Deep Purple-related reading, check out my other reviews; Live at Montreux 1996, Rainbow-Live in Munich 1977 and the Concerto For Group & Orchestra DVD-Audio disc.

Video

    This is an average PAL transfer, but it is not without its share of glitches.

    The transfer has been framed in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, complete with 16x9 enhancement.

    There seems to have been some kind of frame rate manipulation performed here, because there are overlapping video frames that make motion appear distractingly jerky and ghosted, especially so on a large display. Ordinarily, I wouldn't hesitate to put this artefact down to the conversion process from NTSC to PAL, but, I have the HD DVD version of this release on hand and it exhibits the same glitches. I should also note that both the PAL disc and the HD DVD have the same runtime. Without viewing the NTSC release of this title, it's difficult to say whether this video glitch is a flaw in the transfer to disc, or perhaps a fault in the source material. It was well publicised by Eagle that the track Perfect Strangers would not be included due to issues with the video source, so perhaps this news betrays an underlying issue to varying degrees throughout the feature? Admittedly, this isn't the kind of drastic video glitch that will offend everybody. You'll even find most other online reviews (even certain high-profile HD review sites) fail to notice the problem, but it sure annoys me.

    There is also a distracting strip of video noise down the left side of the frame on this transfer that will likely go unnoticed by most viewers due to the overscan of their displays. It is not present on the HD DVD version.

    As far as SD transfers go, this is a bit on the soft side, with good visible detail in guitar strings, clothing and the like and absolutely no jagged edges to be seen. Shadow detail is very good. There is no low level noise evident in the transfer.

    Colours appear a little bloomy and garish in comparison to the HD version. Having said that, the bright stage lighting is handled adequately, without any major issues.

    MPEG compression grain and mild blocking can be seen on occasion, usually during motion or bursts of strobe lighting. Slight compression grain can also be seen around foreground objects, microphone stands and the like.

    There are no subtitle streams provided.

    Disc one is is dual layered (DVD9 formatted), with a layer transition placed during the feature at 58:45 immediately before Highway Star. Disc two is DVD5 formatted.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    There are three soundtracks accompanying this concert on DVD. The default soundtrack is a rather flimsy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (192Kb/s). Alternate surround options in Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) and dts 5.1 (768Kb/s) may be selected on the fly.

    Gillan's singing voice is always distinct in the mix and easy to discern above other instruments. I didn't notice any audio sync issues.

    The surround channels are employed to great effect, pushing crowd noise and cheering as well as an enveloping array of instrumentation. Some drums and percussion are panned to the rears, particularly cymbals, and some keys and guitar spill to the rears as well. Vocals are generally confined to the front centre channel.

    At the 90:00 mark some strange electronic beeping can be heard in the rear left channel, akin to mobile phone interference, just as a guest singer approaches the microphone. How embarrassing for that poor fellow!

    In comparing the three audio tracks, I found the dts to be the loudest by far, with noticeably superior depth and brightness overall. I have no hesitation in naming it as my preferred of the three soundtrack options.

    The LFE channel augments the bass guitar and kick drum very nicely. During the encore of Black Night, Roger Glover changes to an alternate bass guitar, with a large 'soap bar' style pickup that emanates a very fat bottom end. The bass tones in the last song really stand out from the rest of the show.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu

Booklet

    A three-panel colour leaflet, with photos, Montreux poster art and liner notes by Dave Ling of Classic Rock Magazine.

Disc One

Interviews (24:50)

    The interviews are separated into nine segments, playable individually or via a play all function. Here the band members discuss their long-standing relationship with the festival, how the song Smoke on the Water came about and how they managed the transition between keyboard players.

Disc Two

Hard Rock Show (59:06)

    Recorded at the Hard Rock Café in London, this short set moves at a fantastic pace and places the band in a setting that vastly contrasts the huge Montreux venue. This is a tiny pub stage, cramped and sweaty, with the band rubbing shoulders with each other. Technically speaking, this is a well recorded gig. Most of the cameras are hand held and a bit shaky at times, and the audio options are the same as the first disc. Unfortunately, the quality of the audio isn't quite as crisp, and the mix is almost entirely frontal. The image is framed in 1.78:1, with 16x9 enhancement, and some visible compression issues. It's a great show - in many ways, I prefer it to the gig on disc one.

1. Fireball
2. I Got Your Number
3. Strange Kind Of Woman
4. Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
5. Lazy
6. Rapture of the Deep
7. Wrong Man
8. Perfect Strangers
9. Highway Star
10. Smoke on the Water

    The video transfer is disappointing.

    The audio transfer is excellent.

    The extras include a fantastic bonus gig.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall