Ian Parker Live - …whist the wind

 

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

 

 

In a Bonn, Germany concert from March 26, 2003, Ian Parker performs a set of his Bluesy Pop/Rock, Singer/Songwriter set that is better than you might expect.  I was most reminded of some of the songs of Three Dog Night of all things.  The concert itself runs about 110 minutes and features mostly original Parker compositions as follows:

 

1)     Funny How

2)     Catfish Blues

3)     Misfits & Fools

4)     It Hurts A Man

5)     The Love I Have

6)     Feeling Whole Again

7)     Everything & More

8)     Scared To Lose This Love

9)     She Cries

10)  Got No Answer

11)  Awake At Night

 

 

What is nice is that he is a good singer, talented musician and that comes with some sense of honest introspection and a knack for combining works and music together well.  I may differ on his philosophy about life and how far anyone can be redeemed, but his search for said ideas and feelings is half the fascination.  He is on the right track and I wonder if he may have a surprise breakthrough in the near future.  Give or take the mentality of narrowcasting radio and money-crunching record executives who do not like or even know music that prevents more true artists from succeeding, Parker has succeeded in having himself and his band captured well on this DVD.

 

The full frame 1.33 X 1 image throughout is taped and looks good enough, but one wishes for more as the music is as good as it is.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix has some detail that the PCM 16Bit/48kHz sound does not, but the PCM has some richness, making one wish for DTS once again.  Both in this case are a bit disappointing overall, so you will have to experiment to find which track suits you best.  Extras include a nearly 17-minutes-long artist profile not directly in the extras and a Rockpalast interview that runs over 10 minutes that is.  In both cases, he is very well spoken.  The 28-minutes-long “official bootleg” and nearly 18-minutes-long “impromptu jam” from the profile offer more bonus music than most Inakustik DVD titles have to date, while A Tale Of Two Vibes is another 28 minutes section, but is documentary almost all the way this time.  After all this, I was very impressed with Parker and his work: a real musician trying to say something.  Imagine that.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo