“Phil Collins – Going Back” Blu-ray Review
Sometimes, to know where you’re going, you need to remember where you’ve been. Multi-faceted musician/vocalist Phil Collins put this statement into action when he took the stage this past June to perform an array of classic hits. The latest gem from Eagle Rock’s stunning live DVD collection is Phil Collins: Going Back – Live At Roseland Ballroom, NYC. This was one of several concerts supporting the release of his Going Back album (Atlantic), which also serves up renditions of these Motown-era classics. Touted as “A bloody lovely show” by Time Out New York, this fantastic evening reminded all in attendance of the invigorating and timeless power of this music.
Synopsis
On this hot summer night at New York’s famed Roseland Ballroom, Phil Collins treats the packed house to a revue of his favorite soul and Motown tunes. On this two-hour plus set of over 25 songs, “backed by a killer 18-piece band…Collins got most everybody in the Roseland ballroom dancing,” states Rolling Stone Magazine. Faithfully recreating the songs he cherishes, like “Dancing In The Street,” “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone,” and “My Girl” he honored the music with authenticity. Bassist Bob Babbitt, and guitarists Eddie Willis and Ray Monette, of Motown’s original backing band The Funk Brothers, along with two members of Genesis’ live band, drummer Chester Thompson and guitarist Darryl Stuermer, also contribute to Collin’s musical celebration. Additionally, the DVD contains some behind-the scenes footage of the concert. Bonus features include an interview with Phil and rehearsal footage for the live shows with his commentary.
We once again enter into territory I’m completely unfamiliar with as my knowledge of Collin’s works is only what I’ve heard on local easy listening stations as my parents ride in the car. Not to say I can’t enjoy his music on some level, but it’s definitely not music I listen to by choice—and with this concert bringing back some of Collins most treasured and favored songs, I can say that I did at least recognize a few of them…and quite remarkably they sounded almost identical to how I remember. There’s always that bit of live concert difference when you hear songs you’re used to listening to the studio recordings of, but overall this was quite an enjoyable concert…especially with the enormous band of his backing up every one of his songs.
Speaking of the songs:
1.) Intro: Signed, Sealed, Delivered
2.) Ain’t Too Proud To Beg
3.) Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)
4.) Dancing In The Street
5.) (Love Is Like A) Heatwave
6.) Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone
7.) Never Dreamed You’d Leave In Summer
8.) Jimmy Mack
9.) You’ve Been Cheating
10.) Do I Love You
11.) Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever
12.) Going To A Go-Go
13.) Blame It On The Sun
14.) Ain’t That Peculiar
15.) Too Many Fish In The Sea
16.) You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me
17.) Something About You
18.) The Tears Of A Clown
19.) Nowhere To Run
20.) In My Lonely Room
21.) Take Me In Your Arms, Rock Me A Little While
22.) Uptight (Everything’s Alright)
23.) Going Back
24.) Talking About My Baby
25.) You Can’t Hurry Love
26.) My Girl
Overall a Recommended disc for fans, but if you’re like me and don’t listen to the same music your parents do then you can skip this one.
The Blu-ray
Eagle Rock Entertainment brings Phil Collins – Going Back to Blu-ray in a standard Elite Blu-ray case. A booklet inside contains information and photos from the concert as well as information about the group and this particular production, while the menu system for the disc lays out everything in a nice and tidy fashion.
The video arrives in an AVC encoded 1080i transfer and the concert itself contains a great amount of detail. Everything from the sets to the quick cuts to different band members as well as the crowd is included here and it all looks clean and sharp, side from a few soft close-ups likely due to the lighting. As is usual with Eagle Rock releases, the concerts boasts three audio tracks as well, a DTS-HD MA, DD5.1 and a PCM track. All three have their merits, but it’s the DTS-HD that is the king of the listing here, as it has a nice spread about the room and represents the individual musical styling’s remarkably well.
There are extras included which focus on Interview with Phil Collins and Rehearsal footage which boasts commentary from Collins himself. Fun extras for the fans but I admittedly didn’t get much out of it (though the rehearsal footage was cool because, again, that band he plays with is huge). A Recommended release for fans.
Phil Collins – Going Back is now available on DVD and Blu-ray.