Savage Garden - Superstars And Cannonballs: Live And On Tour In Australia

Savage Garden - Superstars And Cannonballs: Live And On Tour In Australia Review

Taken from the Brisbane concert on the Affirmation World Tour of 2000, "Superstars and Cannonballs" captures the amazing energy of Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones onstage as well as behind-the-scenes. The very complete concert portion features a mix of songs from Savage Garden (Break Me Shake Me, I Want You, Santa Monica, To The Moon And Back, Truly Madly Deeply) and Affirmation (The Best Thing, The Lover After Me, Hold Me, Two Beds and a Coffee Machine, Crash and Burn, You Can Still Be Free, The Animal Song, Gunning Down Romance, Chained To You, I Knew I Loved You, Affirmation), clocking in at a hefty 110 minutes. The concert can be played all the way through or you can select individual songs.

Also included is the band's commentary, displayed via a pop-up window in the lower right-hand corner of the screen regarding their feelings on the new songs from Affirmation, three music videos (two studio versions of Crash and Burn and I Knew I Loved You and a concert montage of Affirmation), several multi-angle songs, a discography, and the intriguing documentary "Parallel Lives" that traces Savage Garden's roots in Brisbane (Darren revisits his childhood home with original carpet and fence), life on the road, the price of fame, and silly moments with the band. We see Darren at press conferences and meet and greets, and it's clear from both Darren and Daniel how much their fans mean to them personally and not just as (Australian) dollar signs.

Special mention goes to the awesome title menu. So often, boring, static backgrounds are used, but there is a minute-long animation of fascinating imagery (Russian religious icons, tribal sculptures, botanical prints) that introduces the DVD and the concert itself. The concert is beautifully photographed as well, with the mind-boggling lighting and special effects. A real treat for Savage Garden fans and anyone looking for those elusive "Finally, a concert DVD done justice!" moments.

Savage Garden - Superstars And Cannonballs: Live And On Tour In Australia Overview

SUPERSTARS & CANNONBALLS:LIVE & ON TO - DVD Movie

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Louis Armstrong - Live in Australia

Louis Armstrong - Live in Australia Review

Louis Armstrong: Live In Australia 1964 is a marvelous DVD of an entire concert filmed for Australian television. Although rock and roll and "The British Invasion" were well underway in our country, Louis Armstrong was able to score huge successes with his band as we can easily see here for ourselves. Just as other reviewers note, Armstrong was always the consummate professional and he let all the members of the troupe have their time in the spotlight with solos and great singing. This is a must have video for Louis Armstrong fans; and fans of classic jazz will not be disappointed.

One reviewer indicates that this was all done in 1963 and not 1964. It's good that they pointed that out to us. Nevertheless, it makes little difference, as the quality of this concert is flawless. Louis Armstrong sings and plays with his usual charisma and passion; and Jewel Brown sings beautifully with great sensitivity on numbers like "Did You Hear About Jerry" with its Lain "cha cha" beat and "I Left My Heart In San Francisco," another stunning pop vocal song. Jewel Brown sings with true feeling and it shows as she gracefully entertains the audience as the musicians play. Wonderful!

Another very special feature of this concert is the songs that dominated the charts back in the day. We get "Mack The Knife;" "Perdido" and Armstrong sings a great rendition of "Blueberry Hill" much to the crowd's delight. Trummy Young sings a little bit and he also plays trombone and percussion--he was certainly versatile.

The concert end with a rousing interpretation of "When The Saints Go Marching In;" the entertainers do this with all their might and Jewel Brown sings and claps her hands high up in the air as she gracefully walks around the musicians on stage. The overall effect is both strong and very upbeat; and this makes a solid ending for this concert. The concert may only be 56 minutes along; but it's quite a show.

The DVD doesn't have special features unless you consider a few trailers for other DVDs a feature. The quality of the print is really rather good although there is a moment here and there when there is very brief "scratching" on the print. I assume that they cleaned it up as best they could and that this is what we have to accept; but overall it's still a pretty clean print.

Louis Armstrong and his band really made huge contributions to the arts; and we are all better off for their sharing their talents with us. I highly recommend this for jazz fans and especially for fans of classic jazz.

Louis Armstrong - Live in Australia Overview

One of the few complete concert performances of Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, this live recording features the legendary jazz trumpeter and singer on an Australian tour in 1964, when he had already become an international superstar and a living symbol of 20th-century American culture. As a founding father of jazz he revolutionized the world of music and became one of the most influential artists and entertainers ever. The impressive structure of his melodic ideas and the radiant sonorities and flawless technique of his trumpet playing all marked him out as jazz's first soloist of genius. Louis Armstrong set new standards for swing feeling, improvisation, scat singing and command of his instrument, but also for stage presence and entertainment, providing a model for performers in virtually every field of jazz and on every conceivable instrument. With his All Stars sextet, which he formed in the wake of the Second World War, he acted as an ambassador for jazz, restlessly travelling the world. The present documentary was shot at a time when he succeeded in creating a song that was a minor miracle: Hello Dolly even displaced the Beatles from the number-one position in the charts in 1964, a fact of which Armstrong was unaware as he was touring at the time. Armstrong's associates - among them drummer Danny Barcelona and singer Jewel Brown - were always more than mere extras. Armstrong seldom gave himself a moment's respite, but he had a gift for allowing each of his musicians to display his or her talents to their full advantage in pieces that enabled him to catch his breath and to make his programme more varied. This rare treasure - including such hits as Blueberry Hill, Mack the Knife and songs from the film "High Society" - captures the great man in all his glory as both a jazz pioneer and a peerless entertainer.

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