Alice Cooper-Live at Montreux 2005 (2005)

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General		Extras
Category	Music	Main Menu Audio & Animation CD
Rating
Year Of Production	2005
Running Time	93:23
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Romain Guelat
Studio Distributor	Eagle Eye Media Rajon Vision	Starring	Alice Cooper Ryan Roxie Damon Johnson Chuck Garric Eric Singer Calico Cooper
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$29.95	Music	None Given

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Linear PCM 48/20 2.0 (1536Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English dts 5.1 (1536Kb/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

“Welcome to my nightmare. I think you're gonna like it”

     Music in the 70s saw the emergence of punk and disco, hard rock and glam rock, reggae and hip hop, and the transformation of Vincent Furnier into Alice Cooper. To impressionable teenagers growing up in that decade, Alice Cooper seemed to epitomise what was dangerous, and therefore so very appealing, in rock music. To parents at the time he must have represented the epitome of evil - a devil worshipping, chicken killing pied piper who would lead their children to hell. As the years unfolded however it became clear that although he had his own demons in alcohol addiction, and spawned subsequent shock rockers like Marilyn Manson, Vincent Furnier was more of an angel than a devil.

     The Alice Cooper band's rise to success was not sudden. Two failed albums in 1969 and 1970 did not hint at what was to come however that period did see the formation of the Alice Cooper look and hype. Choosing the stage name Alice Cooper was the first stroke of genius. Press releases at the time declared the band was named after a reincarnated witch revealed during an Ouija board session. This would sound far more intriguing than the reality of Vincent plucking the name out of thin air. Then came the "chicken incident" at a concert in Toronto, Canada. In events similar to the bat biting episode of Ozzy Osbourne, a live chicken found its way on stage - probably brought in by one of the patrons. Alice assumed it could fly and so threw it into the crowd where the unfortunate bird was torn to pieces. The story transformed into Alice biting the chicken's head off and drinking its blood on stage. This version of events was demonstrably false - but the subsequent publicity was priceless.

     Alice Cooper finally found commercial success after teaming up with producer Bob Ezrin for their third album Love It To Death. I'm Eighteen from that album reached number 21 on the charts and the album cover itself helped gain publicity by requiring a strategically placed thumb to be airbrushed out of later pressings. The band's sound had become harder edged and had lost the psychedelic nuances of earlier releases. The Alice Cooper stage show had also transformed into increasingly violent theatrics with a gothic theme. On stage Alice staged mock torture scenes, electrocutions, decapitations, hangings and chopped up bloodied baby dolls. By 1972 the Alice Cooper show had become infamous but it was the hit of School's Out that transformed the band into a world wide success. To the dismay of conservative public figures like Mary Whitehouse and the horror of parents worldwide, Alice Cooper became a music phenomenon. Calls to ban them from performing only served to build up the hype and increase their popularity. As Alice Cooper once noted "we were into fun, sex, death and money when everybody was into peace and love............we drove a stake through the heart of the Love Generation".

    Fast forward thirty years to the Montreux Jazz Festival of 2005. Although Alice had never stopped touring for any length of time could the now legendary performer in his sixth decade still produce the goods? Well based on the evidence of this concert Alice has lost nothing over the years and still performs with the energy of a young man. For ninety minutes, and incorporating twenty seven numbers from his extensive catalogue, Alice slices and dices across the stage like the ring master of a carnival horror show. The theatrics and stage effects aren't as dark as seen in the Brutally Live DVD, but there is still plenty of gratuitous blood and mock violence on show. During I Love The Dead, and after Alice receives his well deserved fate at the hands of "Madame Guillotine" (administered by his real-life daughter no less), the freshly severed head is in turn kissed and bitten by a zombie-like henchman. Thankfully Alice is soon resurrected in white tuxedo and cane to deliver School's Out and three encore songs to the wildly cheering fans before closing the show. The only very minor criticism I had of the show itself is the inclusion of the ballad I Never Cry in the set amidst hard driving rock songs. If it was part of a stage theatrics (as seen later for Only Women Bleed) then that would be fine, but I thought it slowed down the tempo and dampened the atmosphere unnecessarily.

     Like the ghost train at a carnival, you know its only a bit of fun - but if you suspend sensibilities and go along with the ride it will surely reward. Alice Cooper and his excellent band (including ex Kiss drummer Eric Singer) really excel in this concert, delivering ninety minutes of driving rock to an enthusiastic audience. For those who like their rock served up with liberal doses of thrills and mock horror this DVD is highly recommended.

Video

     According to the credits this concert was shot in high-definition and this is evident in the quality of presentation on display. Video quality is excellent throughout with sharp vibrant colours and little smearing when panning through stage lighting. The overall image is quite bright which perhaps results in the blacks not being particularly deep. The clearly defined wrinkles in close-ups of Alice's face are a testament to how sharp the image is throughout although oddly the closing credits are quite blurry. Minor macro blocking was evident in some shots where the camera was looking into a stage light - for example during Go To Hell - however overall there were few faults that could be found.

     The transfer is presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio and is 16x9 enhanced.

     The picture detail was very sharp throughout and definitely better than average for a concert video. There was no noticeable grain or low level noise with my only criticism being the surprisingly blurry end credits.

     There were no significant video artefacts with only hints of aliasing in, for example, guitar close ups.

     This is a dual layer disc but I could not detect the layer change using my equipment.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

     The default audio track is LPCM 2.0 at 1536Kb/s and it's a gem. When played in direct stereo mode without surround processing enabled the soundtrack really rocked. Sampling the 1509Kb/s dts 5.1 track I was similarly impressed by the punch, increased ambience and appropriately introduced directional effects. By comparison the 448Kb/s Dolby Digital 5.1 track was weak and insipid and not recommended at all. On balance I favoured the dts track over LPCM because of the introduction of crowd atmosphere, punchier base and use of rear stage effects. Accordingly this review and the ratings awarded are based on the dts offering.

     The front sound stage was used very well with main vocals coming from the centre channel and guitars from left or right. It's a pet peeve of mine that centre channels are often underutilised in concert mixes so I was very pleased with this offering.

     The surround channels were used very well to simulate the crowd atmosphere and to present specific rear stage effects during, for example, Feed My Frankenstein, and Welcome To My Nightmare.

     The subwoofer use was excellent in providing bass guitar and drum rhythms. It was prominent without overshadowing the other channels.

     This is definitely one of the best mixed concert DVDs that I've heard and is therefore highly recommended on that basis.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu

    The menu featured looping video and audio.

CD

    A set of nineteen tracks from the concert video were provided in CD format. Songs missing from the concert DVD involved theatrical aspects which probably wouldn't transfer well to an audio only format. Total running time of the CD is 66 minutes.

    This release appears identical to the region 1 offering apart from using the PAL 4 format.

    Alice Cooper-Live At Montreux 2005 is a must have addition for fans of Alice Cooper, and rockers of all ages. The originator of shock rock may have aged but he can still show younger wannabe's how to entertain with style and macabre good humour.

    The video quality is excellent.

    The audio quality is excellent.

    There are no extras apart from the supplementary CD.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall