Neil Finn-7 Worlds Collide: Live at the St James (2001)

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General		Extras
Category	Music	None
Rating
Year Of Production	2001
Running Time	129:38
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (64:03)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Paul Casserley
Studio Distributor	EMI Music	Starring	Neil Finn Tim Finn Eddie Vedder Johnny Marr Ed O'Brien Philip Selway Lisa Germano
Case	Soft Brackley-Transp
RPI	$29.95	Music	Neil Finn

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Linear PCM 48/16 2.0 (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

    Having just recently returned from a few weeks holiday in New Zealand, I can testify to the high regard in which Neil Finn is held in the land of the long white cloud. In fact, one of the best ways to rub a Kiwi up the wrong way is to describe Crowded House as one of the great Aussie bands of all time. Couple this with calling Russell Crowe a great Aussie actor and Phar Lap a legendary Aussie horse and...well you get the idea. There's nothing quite like upsetting our New Zealand cousins, and claiming one of them as an Australian is just about the quickest way to do it (and don't even think of mentioning the Rugby World Cup!). I spotted 7 Worlds Collide in a rather prominent display while browsing the shops in NZ and picked it up as I had heard good things from a couple of readers. Despite some negative aspects, I was certainly not disappointed with what I got and so I thought I'd share my thoughts with you.

    Neil Finn is a musical legend in New Zealand. He has enjoyed success for over two decades firstly as part of THE greatest Kiwi band of all time, Split Enz, then in a celebrated and all-too-short career as front man for the Trans-Tasman trio Crowded House. Since their demise, he has forged a very successful solo career. He decided to put on some shows in his home town of Auckland and wanted more than just a solo gig. He had this idea of getting some of the musos in the industry that he respected and had formed friendships with over the years to form a band, rehearse a bit, and then put on a couple of shows. The band would then disband before all the usual trouble that results when a large group of egos in the same room at the same time turn into something nasty. A great idea, but when you live in the proverbial Antipodes, it would have been a logistical nightmare trying to get everyone together. It seems though, that Finn has some pulling power and it took very little convincing to get some of the rock world's big names to travel to Auckland in April 2001.

    The musicians assembled were a sort of 'dream band' for Finn and included the likes of Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam, Johnny Marr from The Smiths, Radiohead duo Ed O'Neil and Philip Selway, brother Tim Finn, and solo female artist Lisa Germano. The band assembled in Kare Kare beach to rehearse for a few days before the performances that form the content of this disc were recorded at the St James Theatre in Auckland.

    Before a reasonably small crowd of what appears to be only a few thousand, this is a concert that spans the full gamut of Neil Finn's career and also throws in a few numbers from his guest's careers for good measure. The early Enz days are covered by I See Red, Stuff and Nonsense, and History Never Repeats. Crowded House favourites such as Fall At Your Feet, Four Seasons in One Day, and Weather With You keep the crowd happy, and some of the newer solo compositions such as Last To Know and a track from the recently released Finn brothers collaboration 'Finn', Angels Heap are also featured. Pearl Jam fans get to hear Vedder performing one of their numbers (Parting Ways) and The Smiths There Is A Light That Never Goes Out is also covered by the band.

    This is a very good disc that has better than average video and excellent audio. The content of the show itself can barely be faulted. There are too many highlights to list and describe individually, but if I had to name my top three moments in this two hour plus performance, they would be the acoustic performance of Last To Know, the live-wire rendition of I See Red with Eddie Vedder belting out the lyrics with help from Neil's son Liam Finn and his band, and the absolutely sublime acoustic performance by Neil Finn in Don't Dream It's Over (when the crowd sings back to him).

Video

    I've always liked widescreen concerts (if you think about it, a stage with a band on it is ideal for a widescreen show) and this one is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. Disappointment number one is the lack of 16x9 enhancement.

    Despite the lack of an anamorphic transfer,  I was surprised by how sharp and detailed this transfer is with few problems to report. The bulk of the video is shot with a clear and sharp focus, with the occasional shot offering a bit of blurred motion and haze for that sort of arty feel. There are some brief (all too brief actually) interview segments scattered between some of the tracks and at the very start of the concert. These have been altered to give a sort of old-age film appearance with the artefacts all artificially applied. Shadow detail did suffer a couple of times, but heck, it's a concert and being at the mercy of some highly variable lighting, it is really nothing to be too concerned about. There is no grain present and no low level noise. Sure it would have been improved by a proper anamorphic transfer but I'm more than happy with the quality on offer here.

    The colours on display are well rendered with only some intense blue light in the latter half of the show threatening to oversaturate on a couple of occasions, but is mostly well controlled.

    I noticed no MPEG artefacts and there is surprisingly virtually no other artefacting of any sort. Nice and clean, just how we like it.

    No subtitles are available which is a shame.

    This is a dual layered disc with the layer change occurring at 64:03 with a brief pause in the audio and video between Turn and Run and Loose Tongue. Reasonable placement that doesn't infringe on the overall viewing experience.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    If the video is pretty good despite the lack of an anamorphic transfer, then the audio is also excellent despite the lack of a dts soundtrack (this is disappointment number two). There are two tracks available and they are both beauties. There is a full-bitrate Dolby Digital 5.1 track and a PCM Stereo track. The latter is the default track. The superbly dynamic Dolby Digital 5.1 track was my track of choice after listening to the show twice through. Crank this one right up and you will not be disappointed.

    Dialogue and lyrics are clear and well balanced in the overall sound mix. There are no audio sync problems.

    There is quite a variety in the music in this concert, ranging from several acoustic performances with guitar and organ only on tracks such as Don't Dream It's Over to the full-blown grunge band and high voltage lyrics being belted out on I See Red. All are handled with aplomb.

    There is surround use, though not as aggressive as some concerts I have heard but when the crowd sing 'solo' during Four Seasons in One Day and Don't Dream It's Over, the sound presence is all encompassing and places you directly in the middle of the mob. A couple of truly spine-tingling moments.

    The subwoofer is seamlessly integrated into the overall sound mix and never once appears overdone.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

    Disappointment number three. There are no extras on this disc. A shame as a real behind-the-scenes documentary such as that featured on Sting - All This Time would have been invaluable and made this basically the perfect concert disc.

    A multi-region disc that is the same the world over.

    I'm really left in two minds after watching this disc a couple of times. It had all the makings of being possibly the best music/concert DVD to yet be produced, but due to the lack of 16x9 enhancement, lack of a dts soundtrack, and lack of some worthwhile extras, we are left to wonder what might have been. In spite of this, it is still one of the better music discs going around purely on the quality, variety, and sheer passion of the performance. These really are real musicians, playing real instruments, and having the time of their lives doing so. I certainly recommend that music fans in general and especially those that appreciate Neil Finn's music take a look at this.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall