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Primal Scream: Screamadelica — Live Blu-ray Review

  • Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
  • Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
  • Resolution: 1080p/24
  • Audio Codec: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, LPCM 2.0, Dolby Digital 5.1
  • Subtitles: N/A
  • Region: ABC (Region-Free)
  • Rating: Not Rated
  • Discs: 1
  • Studio: Eagle Rock Entertainment
  • Blu-ray Release Date: May 31, 2011
  • List Price: $19.98

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BestBuy.com:
Screamadelica Live -

Purchase Screamadelica Live on Blu-ray at CD Universe

Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com

Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Performance
[Rating:4.5/5]

Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]

Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]

Supplemental Materials
[Rating:4/5]

Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures

(Screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG  thus are meant as a general representation of the content and do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)

The Performance

[Rating:4.5/5]

It’s one of the seminal albums of the 1990s and from the moment the first strands of “Movin on Up” start up, I am transported back to the days of the early-90s, of Inspiral Carpets, The Stone Roses, The Charlatans, and Ride. Screamadelica (1991), Scottish band Primal Scream’s third album surpassed the successes of founding member Bobby Gillespie’s former band The Jesus and Mary Chain by a mile. With their third effort, the band moved farther away from their punk roots and took on more psychedelic, classic rock, and acid house influences. For anyone who doesn’t know much about this band, they must remember their big 1991 hit, “Loaded,” a nearly instrumental track that sampled Peter Fonda in The Wild Angels and Edie Brickel & New Bohemians’ “What I Am” for a mash-up that resulted in an early-90s throwback to the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil.” If “Loaded” isn’t somewhere in your memory banks, then Screamadelica’s opening track “Movin’ on Up,” Another Stones-ish “Sympathy” sort of track has to be in there somewhere.

Screamadelica Live marks the first time the band ever performed this classic album live in its entirety, and it is fitting, considering this is now 2011, the 20th anniversary of the album. My, how time flies. The concert here, however, actually captures the band in 2010 at London’s Olympia Theatre performing live in front of a rather pleased audience, some older than others, but some a lot younger than I would have expected. I’m pleased to say that these tracks have stood the test of time, sounding a lot less dated than they could have, while the band members themselves put on an energetic show that delights the senses with numerous psychedelic background graphics, a brass section, and background singers.

My personal favorites from this excellent show are the aforementioned opening number “Movin’ on Up,” the sweet acoustic ballad “Damaged,” that sounds something like a sequel to The Stones’ “Fool to Cry,” and the “Shine Like Stars,” “Inner Flight,” “Higher than the Sun” sequence of songs, which sounds like a proggie, Floyd-ish dream sequence.

Track Listing:

  1. Movin’ on Up
  2. Slip Inside this House
  3. Don’t Fight it, Feel It
  4. Damaged
  5. I’m Comin’ Down
  6. Shine Like Stars
  7. Inner Flight
  8. Higher than the Sun
  9. Loaded
  10. Come Together

Video Quality

[Rating:4/5]

The Screamadelica Live show is alive with background graphics, flashing stage lights, and lots of colors. This all plays out rather well in this high definition 1080i recording on Blu-ray from Eagle Rock. There is some video noise that can be seen and detail is sometimes soft, but overall this looks quite good for a live concert, which is always difficult to capture.

Audio Quality

[Rating:4/5]

This is one of those oddball releases where when you go for the lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, you are not necessarily getting the best option. That’s not to say it’s bad, not at all, it actually sounds quite good for this sort of music with easy high frequencies and very extended lows, but the Dolby Digital 5.1 track seems to have slightly tighter low frequencies. The LPCM 2.0 stereo track, however, has the best overall balance altogether. It has a more present and natural sounding midrange and vocals are also a bit more upfront in the mix.

Supplemental Materials

[Rating:4/5]

With this release, you don’t just get the whole Screamadelica album performed in its entirety live, but there is an additional “rock set” where the band turns up the guitars and cranks out some aggressive tunes for eight more tracks, plus the Classic Albums – Screamadelica is included as well. With that, you get to see and hear the members of the band discuss how the album came together, listen to bits and pieces of the album broken down into its separate parts and more.

Rock Set:

  1. Accelerator
  2. Country Girl
  3. Jailbird
  4. Burning Wheel
  5. Suicide Bomb
  6. Shoot Speed/Kill Light
  7. Swastika Eyes
  8. Rocks
  • Classic Albums: Primal Scream — Screamadelica (1.78:1; 1080i/60; LPCM 2.0; 0:58.03)

The Definitive Word

Overall:

[Rating:4/5]

Eagle Rock continues their dominance in the area of concert videos on Blu-ray with the roll out of this live performance of one the classic alternative/indie rock albums of the 90s. Screamadelica Live is a must-have concert disc and the bonus rock set and Classic Albums program make a purchase a no-brainer.

Additional Screen Captures


[amazon-product]B004WJV6M6[/amazon-product]

BestBuy.com:
Screamadelica Live -

Purchase Screamadelica Live on Blu-ray at CD Universe

Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com

Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Performance
[Rating:4.5/5]

Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]

Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]

Supplemental Materials
[Rating:4/5]

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