Even with all of the problems I have mentioned, this is still a very enjoyable DVD. "Digging In The Dirt" sounded excellent, but the rapid-fire helmet cam changes made me dizzy. "Sledgehammer" easily bested its sterile studio counterpart, and "Don't Give Up" was especially haunting with some exceptional vocals from both Gabriel and Paula Cole. The final encore of "In Your Eyes" featured a wonderful extended intro, and the electric violin and extra vocalists gave it more of a world-music ambiance.
There were some great bonus features included on this DVD, including a three-minute, time-lapse recording of the Berlin show set-up and tear-down, a making of Secret World Live featurette, and a preview of the Growing Up Live tour. A tour photo montage is also included, which is accompanied by an interesting "Steam (quiet version)" that sounds like it could have been recorded by Radiohead.
If I were a bigger Peter Gabriel fan, I think that I would have been a little pissed at him for almost completely ignoring his earlier work. It is bad enough that he completely shuns his Genesis classics, but he only plays one song, "Solsbury Hill", from his first three solo albums. No "D.I.Y.", "Games Without Frontiers", "Biko", "Shock The Monkey"? Come on Peter. The set list was almost all Us and So material. Not sure why the awesome "Red Rain" is on the album version, but not on this DVD either. I personally enjoyed his Growing Up Live DVD much more. The production quality was far superior, and the performances and stage show were more focused and entertaining. I'd highly recommend both though.
Set List
Come Talk to Me
Steam
Across the River
Slow Marimbas
Shaking the Tree
Blood of Eden
San Jacinto
Kiss That Frog
Washing of the Water
Solsbury Hill
Digging in the Dirt
Sledgehammer
Secret World
Don't Give Up
In Your Eyes
Performance 8/10
Production 6/10
Read all of my DVD concert reviews at Roy's Reviews
Article comments
1 - Mark Jochim
Very nice review; and don't worry about it being "late" (I just read a Blogcritics review of a film first released in 1961).
I enjoy this DVD much more than [i]Growing Up Live[/i] because it was a much more cohesive show (although that one's great, too). As for the heaviness of the [i]Us[/i] and [i]So[/i] material, that was mainly the decision to promote those albums at the time. His shows during that period definitely included more of the older songs such as "Shock The Monkey" and "Games Without Frontiers" (which were both released on his earlier concert video, [i]POV[/i]. "Biko" was a less frequently-played song on that tour and "D.I.Y." wasn't played at all (I think the last time it was performed live was in 1983). I'm not sure why "Red Rain" was left off, though, but I think the songs included do flow perfectly and I don't miss anything left on the cutting-room floor.
2 - Mark Jochim
Oh, yes. Peter hasn't done any of his Genesis material during his solo shows since 1978 (he used to perform "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" and "Back In NYC") -- unless you count the 'Six Of The Best' reunion show at Milton Keynes in Oct. 1982. For that matter, Phil Collins never performs Genesis songs in his solo shows (well, "Behind The Lines", but he re-recorded that for his first solo LP), nor does Mike + The Mechanics. They all like to keep the solo material and band material separate and feel that if they don't have the rest of the guys playing with them it would be cheating the songs and their history.
Only Steve Hackett plays plenty of Genesis material during his solo shows and has re-recorded a number of the earlier band songs as well (check out his 'Genesis Revisted' 2-CD set for most of them).
3 - Paul Roy
Mark,
Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford never did any Genesis songs with their other bands, but atleast they still got together AS Genesis every so often until finally breaking up a few years ago (or did they?). When Steve Hackett performed a few Genesis classics on his Once Above A Time DVD they were incredible. I'd just like to hear Gabriel do some because alot up us were never fortunate enough to see the Gabriel-era Genesis live.