Soundstage Presents Michael McDonald In Concert

 

Picture: C+     Sound: B-     Extras: C     Concert: B-

 

 

Before he really went overboard with the commercial success of his two very bizarre albums of Motown Record cover songs, Michael McDonald gave a performance for the concert TV series Soundstage in this 2003 installment of the revived series.  Running about an hour, McDonald is already moving towards older R&B forms in the following set:

 

1)     It Keeps You Running

2)     Sweet Freedom (from Peter Hyams’ action/comedy Running Scared)

3)     I Keep Forgettin’

4)     I Heard It Through The Grapevine

5)     Ain’t No Mountain High Enough (with Nick Ashford & Valerie Simpson)

6)     Ain’t Nothin’ Like The Real Thing (with Nick Ashford & Valerie Simpson)

7)     Black Water

8)     Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me)

9)     Minute By Minute

10)  What A Fool Believes

11)  Takin’ It To The Street

12)  You Belong To Me

 

 

Tom Johnson and Patrick Simmons from his band The Doobie Brothers join him from song one, which helps out an already decent gathering of musicians.  Sweet Freedom and I Keep Forgettin’ are underwhelming, but they’re lack of energy are tolerable versus his poor take of the Marvin Gaye-arrangement of Grapevine not helped by the violin section, while The two great Ain’t songs are too manufactured sounding, despite the welcome presence of Ashford and Simpson.  When he gets back to familiar ground with Doobie classics, the concert is at its best.  Black Water and What A Fool Believes fare best in conclusion of this set.  Carly Simon’s You Belong To Me was co-written by McDonald and is here as a bonus track.  It is one of the best performances on the disc.  He is extremely talented and this critic can’t wait until he gets back to some original material.

 

The image is (again) credited as 4 X 3 (1.33 X 1) full screen, yet the DVD case gleefully celebrates the fact that the show is shot on Hi(gh)-Definition video.  The problem, all current and future HD is 1.78 X 1/16 X 9.  The result is we once again get a compromised reframing that is not anamorphic and looks like some lopsided version of 1.66 X 1, which defeats the whole purpose of shooting in HD to begin with.  That is unfortunate, but that’s what has been done here, so be forewarned.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is better than the Dolby 2.0 Stereo with Pro Logic surrounds, but would have been better had it been in DTS.  Like German TV’s Ohne Filter series, many installments of which have been reviewed elsewhere on this site, the new Soundstage does its best to boast state-of-the-art playback.  This combination is passable, but not everything it could or should have been.  Extras include bio/discography of McDonald and his bandmates, a “backstage pass” feature that shows how the new show is set up that is interactive, a stills gallery and a “meet the band”: segment that is fine for what it is.  Too bad this was not longer, because McDonald has a larger repertoire.  I would have even been happy to hear him sing his backup from old Steely Dan hits over these Motown covers, but at least he spared us Yah Mo’ Be There.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo