Heart – Dreamboat Annie: Live 2007 (Summit/Shout! Factory Blu-ray)

 

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

 

 

Heart becomes one of the few music acts with a second Blu-ray release as Dreamboat Annie: Live 2007 arrives with another recent performance.  It is five years newer, but not as strong as the duo performs the following songs:

 

1)     Magic Man

2)     Dreamboat Annie (Fantasy Child)

3)     Crazy On You

4)     Soul Of The Sea

5)     Dreamboat Annie

6)     White Lightning & Wine

7)     (Love Me Like Music) I’ll Be Your Song

8)     Sing Child

9)     How Deep It Goes

10)  Dreamboat Annie (reprise)

11)  Mistral Wind

12)  Goodbye Blue Sky

13)  Black Dog

14)  Misty Mountain Top

15)  Love, Reign O’er Me

 

 

They have dumped their 1980s hits, but added more Led Zeppelin and a Who track, but all in all, this is not as effective as their Alive In Seattle concert and I had issues with that one too.  In both cases, I wondered if a classic concert from their 1970s heyday was filmed and could be issued on Blu-ray.  They can still sing and play, yet there is a disconnect I feel in watching both because of both the band’s personal turmoil versus the record companies and their 1980s comeback that always felt purely commercial and never palpable or real.

 

The 1080i 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image is no better than the show from five years before, captured on the same kind of older HD format and the results are no better than the older release.  The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix is sadly poorer with a soundfield that is awkward and general recording that is not as musical as the Alive In Seattle Blu-ray.  Though still engaging and better than any DVD equivalent, Dreamboat Annie: Live 2007 never adds up as I had hoped, though fans will enjoy it.

 

Extras include stills and Heart Mongers Speak! featurette.  You can read more about the Alive In Seattle Blu-ray at this link:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7200/

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo