It should be noted that most of this material is previously unreleased. A handful of songs were featured on the DVD version of their greatest hits release. Filmed as a live concert for the then-fledgling music channel MTV (perhaps you've heard of them), the concert has seen sporadic showings on cable, but this is the first proper release of the concert in its entirety to consumers.
The energy of this concert is something not to be missed. I made the mistake of first listening to the audio CD before tackling the video. Although the audio-only version is great, you miss all the visual energy from the group. It's almost a problem that the band sounds so good; it's near-studio quality with textured applause, which is easy to take for granted as another Journey record. But popping in the DVD, you realize that they really are just that good. You can see them, and watch how tightly they interact as one musical unit. Neal, Jonathan and drummer Steve Smith all get turns at the token "solo", which although horrible rock cliches now, seem a little more genuine for back then. And they're also worked in as bridge material to tracks, so it's overall nice to watch them show off what they can do. And Steve Perry... The man was not only an amazing rock vocalist, but a very energetic and engaging frontman to boot.
The video quality of the show is quite good. The only thing really dating it is the fashion. (Sorry... I'll let it go now). The lighting is great, camera movement is unobtrusive, and stage and camera hands are generally unseen. There were only a couple of very minor glitches at the beginning of the show (we're talking very minor, nothing to worry about at all), but the source tape has been kept in excellent condition and thankfully is now digitally intact. And whether planned or not, the pause when changing layers on the disc is positioned during the encore break, which is the absolute best place for something like that to occur.
Article comments
1 - Paul Roy
Any relation to Steve? I think we are from the same generation. Funny review.
2 - David R Perry
You know, I actually still get that from time to time. I guess Steve is the only famous Perry (Luke doesn't count).
3 - Stacy Perry
I must say that I am proud to know that I have passed my love for good music on to my brother David. I lived the fashion moments for ya....and there are some great pics of this in our family album. I parted with the clothes with ease, the music will be with me forever. Rock on Steve! :)