Johnny Hallyday – Live At Montreux 1988 (Eagle DVD)

 

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

 

 

Longtime singer and sometimes actor Johnny Hallyday performs at Montreux in a concert that seems strained and is not the best I have seen him for the few times I have at all.  A popular singer for decades in his home country of France, he gives it his all in Live At Montreux 1988, but it just seems like a bad night.

 

The songs include:

 

1)     Rock ‘n’ Roll Attitude

2)     Dans Mes Nuits On Oubile

3)     Pendue A Mon Cou

4)     Mon Petit Loup

5)     Laura

6)     Que Je T’aime

7)     Je Te Promets

8)     Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On

9)     La Feu

10)  Envie

11)  Le Bon Temps Du Rock & Roll

12)  J’oublierai Ton Nom

13)  Gabrielle

14)  Je T’attends

15)  La Musique Que J’aime

16)  Aimer Vivre

17)  Quelque Chose De Tennessee

 

 

From what little I have managed to hear of his work over the years, this just does not measure up to his best work and though he is giving it is all and has some good moments, it does not add up to a great performance.  The audience seems happy, Hallyday seems happy, but beyond that, it is just flat.  For fans and the curious only.

 

The 1.33 X 1 image is very soft, taped in analog video (PAL or NTSC, it does not matter) and can be difficult to sit through at times.  The DTS 5.1 and lesser Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo mixes are all problematic as the original recording is just too compressed and plagued with problems at the source, despite Eagle’s best efforts to make the sound good.  The only extra is a bonus track, To Stop The Game.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo