Chris De Burgh – The
Road To Freedom Live (DTS)
Picture: B-
Sound: B Extras: C Concert: B-
In the mid-1980s, Chris De Burgh was threatening to break
through as a singer/songwriter. A&M
Records was still the real A&M Records, and they did their best to promote
him here in the United States. The
Irish/British talent first looked like he was going to make an impression in
the summer of 1983 when Don’t Pay The Ferryman hit the Top 40, but the
song was too artsy for Rock radio and too radical of Pop, so he did not get
far. The Music Video for the film song
was interesting. By 1987, the more
subtle Lady In Red arrived and was a huge Pop and Adult Contemporary
hit, also becoming a big selling single when they were still being
produced. Too bad it was so played-out
that radio never touched him since. The
Road To Freedom Live is a one-man concert taped 5/28/04 that shows the man
is still standing.
Named after his latest album, De Burgh takes the stage and
runs through a wide range of songs in a 90-minutes-long set that includes:
1) When
Winter Comes
2) The Road
To Freedom
3) The Same
Sun
4) Five
Past Dreams
5) Natasha
Dance
6) Lebanese
Night
7) A Rainy
Night In Paris
8) Songbird
9) St.
Peter’s Gate
10) Medley: Living On The Island, Night On The
River, Save Me, What You Mean To Me, Crying & Laughing, Tender Hands
11) Snow Is Falling
12) Borderline
13) Sailing Away
14) The Words ‘I Love You’
15) The Lady In Red
16) The Journey
17) Living In The World
18) Read My Name
19) Don’t Pay The Ferryman
20) High On Emotion
21) The Snows Of New York
The set reveals an artist steeped more in Irish music than
expected and one struggling through what his material is saying. He is for real, but the program sometimes
gets into split screen fanciness that defeats the performance. Furthermore, his voice is uneven during some
of the performances, particularly noticed on the two hit singles. However, fans will be pleased and as
compared to many performers of his generation, he fares better than most. Those who are curious will be entertained.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is sometimes
soft, but other times not bad. Too bad
the directing and editing approaches were not as good as the music. The sound is here in PCM 2.0 Stereo with some
Pro Logic surrounds, Dolby Digital 5.1 and a really solid DTS mix. The DTS in particular brings out the nuances
in his voice and has a warmer feel than the Dolby. The PCM is not bad either.
Extras include an odd stills section where the stills are decorated by
the menu, leaving an interview with De Burgh and a section of Fan Stories
adding nearly a half hour to the DVD.
They are not bad, but the music is the main reason to pick up this disc
and it is particularly recommended to those who like this kind of music.
- Nicholas Sheffo
